High School

Today, for America Day at one of the many local high schools, I was asked to talk to a group of students. There was no theme or topic given. The organizers just wanted a native speaker to talk to the students. I was escorted to a room with about 25 students who were bunched in groups and jabbering away. The scene seemed pretty typical to me.

The teacher asked the kids to take their seats and I was introduced:

“This is Tom – he is from America”

As in any group, there were a few kids who were deeply engaged, many who were somewhat interested, and a couple who could barely stay awake. Since I had no topic assigned, I wanted to get them to tell me what they were interested in. Only two of the students had been to America and they did not want to talk or share much information. I asked the class “When you think of America – what is the first image that comes to your mind.” The response was “McDonalds.” There is a McDonalds very close to the school in a beautiful baroque building that also houses the City Hall. The second image that they said was “fat people.” We talked a while about how people in Hungary walked everywhere while we Americans tend to take our cars everywhere. There seems to me to be quite a few fat people here in Hungary, but I didn’t say that to the students.

One of the more engaged students wanted to know about Barack Obama so I talked a bit about politics and the election. The 45 minutes passed quickly and the kids seemed to enjoy the discussion. I came away feeling like I had done my bit to help out the American Corner here in Pecs.

Then, today, Thursday April 30 we were invited to a High School Graduation. However, they do not use that term. It is called “School Leaving Day.” It is a really strange system. The kids in the 12th grade all over Hungary participate in this “School Leaving Day” on the same day. However, their work is not done. They now have a six week exam period. That is not a typo – it is a six week exam period. They take written exams and then oral exams during this six week period. The graduates are divided into groups A,B,C, and D according to their concentration of study.

They stand with their group during the ceremony which has the typical music, speeches, poems and awards. The parents had picked fresh flowers late the evening before (in the rain) and the halls of the school and 12^th grade classrooms were decorated with fresh flowers.

This is Carol with the new graduate - Karen Lolita Takas

Most of the graduates were given flowers by their families, but there were no caps and gowns and no diplomas. We really felt honored to be invited to attend this ceremony.

Rural Romania

Romania is very proud of being accepted into the EU, although they have much to accomplish before it is an actuality. Hungary is much farther along in the process and is certainly about fifty years ahead of Romania. Tom and I visited primarily the northern part of Romania, which is more rural and undeveloped than the southern part. The roads are flat out terrible—filled with potholes and very narrow. For this reason Tom and I hired a guide/driver to take us on our week long trip for Easter break. Adrian, our guide, was a great ambassador for his country and very knowledgeable. He was a retired captain from the Romanian military and knew about five languages. Fortunately, he knew the roads very well. If no oncoming cars were insight, he drove down the middle of the road most of the time to avoid the holes in the road. This tactic didn’t help when we came upon the numerous horse-drawn wagons.



We seldom saw a tractor; the people tended the field themselves with their horses and homemade tools. The land looked rich and fertile.

Adrian took us to a local market where we got to see the locals firsthand. The older women wear the same black kerchiefs and skirts. They could not have been friendlier and liked having their picture taken. We felt completely comfortable in the market and not like onlookers. They wanted to show us what they had made and produced. One man opened up a jar of horseradish for me to taste. He wanted me to take a full-finger dip right from the jar, an invitation I accepted. It was fabulous!


All of the food is so fresh. The cheese is homemade and the fruit jam was incredible. It was like eating fresh blueberries—unbelievable. I bought a jar to bring back as well as some sheep’s cheese. We will have a feast of fresh bread, cheese, and jam here in Pecs.



Another unusual thing is that the people paint all the tree trunks white. I grew up seeing this in the South on occasion, but this phenomenon was ubiquitous. Adrian said that they did it first to keep the rabbits from eating the tree bark. I have never heard of rabbits craving tree bark. The second reason is that the folks like the way it looks. We saw them touching up the white bases of trees.

I have also never seen so many churches—and that includes Bhutan and its countless temples. Every little village has its Orthodox church and its Catholic church. Several have Lutheran churches. In one town we saw a huge Baptist church. Many churches are under construction; they aren’t old. Adrian said he thought possibly the Romanian people were too religious.



Tom and I knew nothing about the Orthodox church. It is similar to the Catholic church but no belief in the Pope, a different calendar, and a different cathedral layout. We were in Romania for our Easter but the Orthodox Easter was a week later. We witnessed many of their rituals, but never attended a mass. We saw believers kiss religious icons and then kneel underneath and pass below three times. We remembered how the Bhutanese walked around their Buddhist temples spinning prayer wheels and marveled at the power of religion. On the Orthodox Palm Sunday, the churches were so crowded, people stood outside and listened on the intercom. The churches and local farm people will be a lasting memory of Romania.

Back From Romania (again)

Yes, we have been rather quiet of late. We left Pecs on April 1 to go to Debrecen where we visited with our friends, Bernie and Margaret, and attended the monthly Fulbright meeting. From there, we were picked up by a guide to take us to the extreme northern parts of Romania for a week of getting to understand and appreciate the culture of this country. Our trip was a wonderful experience where we learned so much about the history and unique events of this part of the world. I don't think I could say that we had fun - but I can say that there are so many images that will stay with me for a long, long time. Here in 2009, in a country that has been admitted to the EU, farmers still transport manure to be used for fertilizer in horse drawn carts. ALL older Romanian peasant women dress alike and ALL of the older men wear hats that appear to be a few sizes too small. The traditional folk hat is called a clop. The women wear black skirts and black head kerchiefs. Carol decided that she didn't want to grow old in Romania.



We saw fortified churches where the exterior frescoes, painted 500 years ago, are clearly visible today - even though the paint is only 2 mm thick.


I'll save the narrative for the slide show that we will bore all of you with when we return, but I must relate one very odd occurrence.

We chose to stay in a small village named Iza near the town of Sighet. The accommodation was at a private home that has a few rooms in a separate wing that are rented out. Internet access was iffy at best and the Championship game of the Final Four was being played on Monday night in the US (Tuesday morning at 4 AM in Romania). I was excited about UNC playing Michigan State for the title and our hosts assured me that I could use their computer to watch the game. That morning we went to the market at this small town and I was shocked to see this:



A guy with a UNC ball cap. I had my picture taken with him and viewed this as a very good omen for UNC. The guy had no idea what I was talking about, what UNC was, or why I wanted a picture of him but he did not object.

At dinner, I reminded our hosts that I would be tip-toeing up to the computer room to see the game a 4 AM. They assured me that it was no problem - just walk on through their eighteen year old daughter's bedroom - she would be asleep. If it had been anything other than the Final Four with UNC playing, I wouldn't have bothered to get up at 4 AM in a strange country and creep through a young woman's bedroom to use a computer. Of course, the video feed did not work so I sat for two hours in front of a box score that gave a written play by play updated every 30 seconds.

We won handily and it was all worthwhile. Thanks for reading.