Janos Hegy: Then and Now

On January 9, 2010 when I visited Hungary for a month, I took a trip with Jenn Goodwin and the Ippels into the Buda hills to Janos Hegy. Janos Hegy is one of the tallest hills of Budapest and it has a tower that you can climb to see a great view of Budapest and its surrounding areas. These are the pictures from that trip:

Erzsebet Tower

The View

(with Jack, Cindy, and Jenn)

This past weekend on October 15, 2011, the DenIppel Ford Hostel had a teacher visit from Bratislava that wanted to go hiking; we chose to hike the Buda hills. So after a year and a half, I returned to Janos Hegy to see what the view was really like:

 Erzsebet Tower

The View

I think I'll return again.

U.S.A. - United Students of Angol

Jack and I have successfully kicked off our English club this year and each week it is gaining steam. 

The first week the die hard core of English Clubbers from last year came (7 people); they brainstormed ideas for the name of this year's club. The next club day our group grew a little (12); we played a name-game and voted on this year's club name: United Students of Angol. Today our group grew even more (18); we made signs to advertise and played Never Have I Ever.

Both Jack and I like how the club is developing, and personally, I'm really excited about it. It's a great mix that ranges from 9th graders to 13th graders and beginners to advanced level students. Many connections with the students have already been made and we can see possibilities for great friendships forming.

Something I've loved seeing is that two beginner students have plunged head first into English club and they are loving it! It's makes my day to see a huge smile on either of their faces when they are enjoying a game and using English at the same time; both of these students were taught their English ABC's at the beginning of September. Another day maker is seeing some of these 'baby' ninth graders talking to and hanging out with some of the 'big-dawg-on-campus' 13th graders that they have met at U.S.A.

We are very fortunate this year/semester to have someone come to the club to help out. Digression: The focus of Calvin College's semester in Budapest this year is service learning so every student is given a volunteer position someplace in Budapest. One of the college students has been placed at our school, and she comes every week to help at school and at U.S.A. Back on track: She has been a huge help and has been able to connect really well with some of the students. It has also been good for the female students to have a female American presence.

In the next couple months there will be a lot of exciting English club events happening (Halloween club, Christmas club, Movie Night Club) and I hope to remember to bring my camera to them so I can give you more pictures than of one of the signs a student made - a sweet sign to say the least!

If anyone has any great, fun group games or activities that we could play at U.S.A. please let me know! Jack and I are always always always looking for ideas for the club.

Best Use of Graffiti

WALL-E!

I saw this on my trip to Bratislava, Slovakia a few weeks back. It stopped me dead in my tracks; I had to admire it.

For My Mom

It's tea season!

Okay For Now

" There aren't too many things around that are whole, you know. You look hard at most anything, and it's probably beat up somewhere or other. Beat up, or dinged up, or missing a piece, or tattooed. Or maybe something starts out whole and then it turns into junk...

When you find something that's whole, you do what you can to keep it that way.

And when you find something that isn't, then maybe it's not a bad idea to try to make it whole again. Maybe." Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt P175 - 176

Balagas

On April 29 all of the school leavers (the students graduating - some 12s and all of the 13s) came together to celebrate Balagas. Balagas is basically the Hungarian form of America's graduation.

Everyone -- students, parents and teachers -- gathers in the school courtyard between the A building and the B building. The middle of the football (soccer) "field" is blocked off for the graduating class while all of the parents and other students pack around the area, standing. No seats are set up for the families to sit at; they stand the whole ceremony.
The ceremony begins with each class walking through the school and saying farewell to the classroom. The classrooms that they walk through are decorated with balloons and flowers. When they reach the last classroom, several younger students hand each student a balloon to hold during the ceremony.

During the ceremony, I had two of my 12KA students hang out with me. Their class was signed up to do the clean-up after the ceremony, so they didn't go home, but stuck around school the whole day. We talked as we watched the ceremony; I had them translate some of what the students and teachers were saying during the presentation. The whole event is very casual. People are entering and leaving all the time. They are moving from one side to the other. They are talking to other parents. They are playing with their kids.

Even the graduating students are talking out loud with each other as the ceremony is going on. Very different from an American graduation.

This year there were 7 graduating classes because Trefort combined with two other schools last year. It was a large group for a graduating class. Like receiving the diploma holder, the students received a small satchel with a forint coin and a polgacsa; that is what I am told is in the bags. They wear it the whole presentation. The evening was filled with students singing songs and reciting poetry. From what I could see, I think the head master was the only person that actually gave a speech.
I thought it was funny to see that every balloon with writing was in English. There were no balloons with Hungarian writing on it.
When the cermony finished, the students let go of their balloons. Two classes fought to have their set of balloons go up last. One class (the picture below) decided to tie all of their balloons together and send it off.

It was quite the experience.

Discipline

Discipline in a classrom rests on a little blue book - the Ellenőrző (pronunciationish: ellen - nuh - r - zuh). If a student is misbehaved, you give them a verbal warning. If they continue to misbehave you ask for their Ellenőrző (LBB)

This little blue book is the parent - teacher - head teacher connection. A teacher takes the book and writes a note in it. If the sutdent doesn't have his/her LBB, well, tough luck:

A teacher cannot send a student out of the classroom.

A teacher cannot send a student to the head master.

A teacher cannot repremand a student with no LBB.

Besides all that, a taken LBB means the student is already in trouble, so, why stop? Honestly, a student said that to me: "You already took my Ellenőrző so why should I stop?"

It is during moments that involve the LBB that I consider quitting.

Fortunately, those moments pass.