Distractions

Distraction. Procrastination. Call it what you will, it plagues my life. I can set daily goals and only complete two. I can start something and never finish it -- I went a week before looking at this entry. I won't even mention how many unfinished entries I have. You could probably argue that I have ADD, but I'm not about to take any meds for it. The thing is, I can't decide if distractions are a good thing or not.

It has its downfalls, I understand that: I have started attending a Hungarian Reformed church, Talipont, that meets in a pub (check-out the Ippel's for more about that: hopeinhungary.blogspot.com); in most cases, the pub is closed on Sunday, but this Sunday, they had an event before church. The event lingered throughout the service -- flashing lights, people walking in and out, a drunk man wanting to ask questions, a couple making out in the corner of the bar. Yes, I was easily distracted. It was hard for me to concentrate on the preaching; I had to close my eyes to focus. It's moments like that where distraction is bad. Another good example -- getting my updates out; I have one started for every month.

So how can it be a good thing? Some people might think I'm crazy for thinking of it the way I do, but I'll try to make my thoughts clear.

I'll start with the fact that I've named my blog desperate distractions. I started using that phrase for a series of emails during exam week that were meant to be that needed distraction after hours of focus. Distractions are there to keep people sane, to keep me sane.

Next, I think God speaks through distractions. My day has been brightened numerous times. When a bird's chirp hits my ear and I stop to find a small swallow making such boisterous music. Or when I stop on the way to and from school and watch the imaginations of little kids being reenacted on the playground. I've ahd thought provoking discussion when I've let a topic distract us from the lesson. I've shed a foul mood when I stopped grading to talk with friends that I haven't talked to in quite a while.

As you can see, I live in a world of distraction, be it good or bad. However, the negative view of distraction consumes my time. I easily fall to the temptation of information overload. My weak immune system falls prey to the bacteria of Facebook, BBC news, or the latest pop culture news (Mat Kearney, Shawn McDonald, Switchfoot, Augustana, and Lupe Fiasco are all releasing new albums this coming year; I think that proves my point) So please, bear with me as I work at altering the metaphor that currently resides with the distractions -- a disease. I'd rather my distractions build me up instead of tear me down. I'd rather have communication be my distraction instead of the current disease, and I hope that by admitting i things will start to change.

---

Psalm 142

I cry aloud to the Lord;

I lift up my voice to the Lord for

mercy.

I pout out my complaint before him;

before him I tell my trouble.

When my spirit grows faint within me,

it is you who know my way.

In the path where I walk

men have hidden a snare for me.

Look to my right and see;

no one is concerned for me.

I have no refuge;

no one cares for my life.

I cry to you, O Lord;

I say, "You are my refuge,

my portion in the land of the living."

Listen to my cry,

for I am in desperate need;

rescue me from those who pursue me,

for they are too strong for me.

Set me free from my prison,

that I may praise your name.

Then the righteous will gather about me

because of your goodness to me.

---

Szent Matthias Cathedral and the Reformed Church

Szechenyi Hid and Szent Istvan's Bascilica

A Christmas Briefing

I have had a few people asking about my Christmas break, and I realized that I never posted anything on it. I had an amazing Christmas break. I went to Germany - Regensburg, Velburg, Nuremberg, Munich, and Neuschwanstein Castle - and Prague, Czech Republic. I went with two friends.

Ryan Troglin,

fellow ESI teacher and good friend

Leah Nieboer,

dear friend from Calvin. Currently teaching in Lithuania

We went to Nuremberg (Nurnberg) and Regensburg to see what the hype was about their Christmas markets. Supposedly, they are the best; Budapest has them beat.

We stayed in Velburg at a friends house; unfortunately, the friends were gone. So we had the house to ourselves. On Christmas day, we tromped through the snow to a castle ruins on top of a hill.

After the tromping, we strolled through the small town and peeked inside the church. Our Christmas ended with a fantastic home cooked feast. After our stay in Velburg, we headed to Munich. Unfortunately, my picture count of Munich is lacking because I injured my camera and had not fixed it yet.

We took a day trip from Munich to Neuschwanstein Castle and we basked in the beauty of that area. I could have looked at the mountain side for weeks.

It all ended in Prague where we enjoyed fireworks over the Charles Bridge to bring in the New Year. Thought I would just wet your taste buds on Christmas instead of make your eyes heavy from a lot of reading.

Szalagavato

On Friday February 4 I had the pleasure of experiencing my first Szalagavoto. The closest comparison that I could come up with for this event would be a combination of a senior ball and a graduation. Szalagavoto is meant to be a time of celebration and acknowledgement of graduation for the school leavers -- the graduating 12th and 13th graders. Students, parents, and teachers all attend.

The event begins with the school leavers entering and standing in rows by class. As they stand, the principal comes up and gives a speech to them. After that speech, the class teachers pin a ribbon on each of their students. These ribbons are worn by the students until they graduate; in fact, I'm beginning to see a lot of people walking around or sitting on the metro wearing these ribbons.

The principal giving his speech. To the left of him, you can see some students (11th and 12th grade) holding a pillow with all of the ribbons for the class.

Once the ribbons have been pinned, a series of class dances are performed. Every class performs a dance, most of them fun and with popular American songs (Michael Jackson or Cotton Eye Joe for example). The picture above was the first dance. It was a traditional Hungarian dance that every Szalagavato of old did. The picture below was a fun dance that some of my students were a part of. Their class teacher is one of the English teachers; she is the middle person in the black tank top. Yup, the class teachers join their classes.

However, the mood of the dances change when they come to the last dance. The last dance they perform is a Vienna Waltz. All of the girls come out in elegant prom dresses (almost like wedding dresses) and the men in nice suits and they perform the dance. They perform it twice rotating 180 degrees, so that each side of the stadium was able to see the different groups.

These two pictures are of the Vienna Waltz. One of my student and one of the group.

Unfortunately, I cannot upload the videos that I have of the dances because they are too large, but I'll keep working on it; it's worth it to see them.