Christmas Market!

Well, Christmas is just around the corner. Here in Hungary they have a Christmas Market each year at this time. Vendors come and set up booths to sell their merchandise. Almost everything that is sold is hand made and very beautiful. There is lots of pottery and jewelry. Also there are food vendors who sell traditional foods such as stuffed cabbage, sausage, and many pastries. Enjoy.

December

Well, December is already here! Crazy, I have been here for 11 months now and feeling more and more settled in. It snowed here the other day and has been rather icy since. Today one of the missionary families had a Christmas open house for all of the teachers and their families. It was very enjoyable. Then I went to a friends house and watched the movie "Awakenings" with Robin Williams. What an incredible movie. I really recommend that you watch it. It is very thought provoking in regards to the value and quality of life and what is really valuable. But be ready to cry, it is very touching. Well, that's all for now, but more pictures soon.

Chinese Dinner, again!

Well the other night Heather and I were planning to get Peking Duck. We got home from being out in town a little later than expected and weren't quite sure we wanted to venture out into the cold. So I decided to try and order over the phone, in HUNGARIAN!
I opened up my Hungarian phrase book and rehearsed how to say my address, how long will the wait be, how much will that cost, and could you repeat that. After organizing my phrases and practicing I made the phone call. And it Worked. There were some moments when the lady was talking and I had no clue what she was saying, so I just said ok. Well, it all came in just a few minutes and we got everything we bought. It was great. I felt like I had accomplished so much. So here are so pictures of us enjoying our food.

Pottery

Today, my sister and I joined a couple friends and went pottery shopping. We went to the famous "Herend" pottery store. They have had several patterns that are more than 17 years old. There are patterns with blue flowers, primrose, morning glories, and poppies. They are really lovely and I'm thinking I might begin to save money and start buying one of the patterns and build up my dish collection.

Heather in Hungary too!

Heather is visiting for a week or so and would like you to see the uniqueness of Hungarian bathrooms, which have the toilet in a separate room from the sink and shower. Also, toilets are flushed all different ways. One must guess, and to date, Heather has not seen any flush like US toilets. Hannah's is her favorite with the water tank above and the draw string. WAY COOOL! You must appreciate all things unusual when visiting a foreign country. Please enjoy the pictures of the two crazy sisters and the sister with the growing belly. (No unkind comments, please)

My Apartment!

Hi,
I had a request to show pictures of my apartment. This is my roommate Mary. We live very close to where we work. Here is a picture of the apartment and the school with only a street to separate them. The apartment is little but cozy. Enjoy!

Chinese Dinner!

Well, it has been a while since I last updated, so here is just a simple "Day in the life of Hannah" entry. Tonight I was able to catch up with my friend Sarah, who by the way got engaged this weekend, over a Chinese dinner. We took the bus to the resturant, I enjoyed some Peking Duck, and then we went to wait for the bus home. But it was going to be 30 minutes. So we decided to just walk home. It was a nice evening (not too cold) and the walk felt good.