Halloween!

In the US, Halloween is a huge event with candy and costumes for all ages.  In Hungary, it's not even a real holiday.  We haven't seen any special candy or decorations. People are not in costume, at least not the majority of people.  When we were walking home this evening, we saw about four people with face paint.  They were not together but they all had a scary type of face paint made to look like a skull.  They had no other costume or accessories.

I've been noticing that I miss certain foods and products. One of my favorite types of candy (especially around Halloween) is the Reese's peanut butter cup. It is something that I definitely miss. The special holiday shapes always seem to taste better. Reese's cups do not exist in Hungary.  I don't know why but Hungarians seem to prefer all other nuts to peanuts.  There are plenty of sweets made of walnuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, and chestnuts.  Peanuts and peanut products are rare.

Tomorrow is All Saints' Day (Mindenszentek).  Dan and I are going to check out a cemetery that is near our apartment.  Don't worry, this isn't a macabre event.  Every grave is decorated with flowers and candles and it is supposed to be very beautiful.  We've had two different people recommend this event to us so I'm sure it will be great.  I found a video online from last year.  I will be sure to post pictures or film from our trip tomorrow.

 

Horn Music!

One of my favorite things about any library is when the give away freebies! I've collected many books, scores, and cds over the years as libraries have upgraded their collection or removed duplicates. I wasn't expecting this situation in Hungary but it happened today.  There were extra copies of some new cds so Dan and I checked them out. I was so excited to find a cd with horn music! Hooray!!

Here is the cd. It is a collection of works by young Slovenian composers brought together by the horn player Saar Berger.  After sampling the tracks, I am definitely looking forward to listening to this music.  Horn and percussion is a pairing that is not used frequently. We need more of it. The music sounds fresh and exciting. I encourage all horns players to check it out!

Also, I'm excited to know another word for horn, rog. :)

Photos and Language

Good news! The photos have been posted from our trip to the American Corner in Pécs.  Dan and I had a wonderful experience. I hope you enjoy the pictures! Click on this link to see them:

https://picasaweb.google.com/acorner314/ConversationClubOctober22


This past week, Dan and I started privately tutoring a student.  It has been very interesting. Our student is a high school boy hoping to go to college in the United States this fall. We're helping him prepare for the spoken portion of the TOEFL test. The title stands for Test Of English as a Foreign Language. His English is already at a very high level. The problem for any person studying a language is finding a conversation partner.  Reading, writing, and listening are all good but they can only help so much.  Speaking the language is the most beneficial.  We have been helping our student by asking him questions and discussing a variety of topics.  Even though we have only met twice, we can already see an improvement.  I can easily relate to our student. Although we're here in Hungary, we don't have as many opportunities to speak Hungarian as you might think.  In order to keep my Hungarian progressing, I'm going to start Hungarian lessons soon. I have been studying on my own but I think having a person to help me will be better. I'm looking forward to my lessons and I will let you know how they go!

Pécs - Day 2

On Thursday, we decided to see as much of Pécs as possible before our trip back to Budapest.  It was an amazing day! First, we ate breakfast at our hotel.  When we came down to the lobby, there were two place settings set for me and Dan.  We helped ourselves to the food, just like in an American hotel, but the fancy place setting made it special.  Our first stop was the Cathedral.

It was beautiful!! I took so many pictures that it was hard to choose which ones to show. Unfortunately, I can't post them all.  The inside has gorgeous paintings of the Bible stories, apostles, and saints. Here is one picture from the inside.

 Underneath the cathedral is a crypt. It is also beautifully painted.

After the cathedral, we went to the Cella Septichora.  This UNESCO World Heritage Site is an ancient Christian burial ground from the 4th century! This first picture shows the remaining walls from the Cella Septichora.  It was a "sepulchral building with a unique floor plan with seven apses; it was not used for burial purposes."

There were two main burial chambers to see inside the building. The artwork was shocking because it's in such excellent condition.  Here is the information they provided us: 

"Burial chamber I (Peter-Paul): discovered in 1782, this late 4th-century chamber consists of an above-ground chapel, the subterranean burial chamber proper, with religious wall paintings, and a small vestibule leading to the burial chamber. It is cut into the slope of the Mecsek hills.

Burial chamber II (Wine Pitcher Chamber): a two-storey structure, with limestone walls and brick vaulting. On the wall of the niche carved above the sarcophagus there is a painting of a wine pitcher and glass, symbolizing the thirst of the soul journeying to the netherworld."

The picture below shows the ceiling of the Peter-Paul chamber. We were able to enter a small room below the chamber and look up through a glass ceiling. I actually gasped when I saw it. 

One of the burial sites included a sarcophagus which held the remains and this glass pitcher.  It's amazing to think they could make a pitcher out of glass in the 4th century.

In several sections of the Cella Septichora, they pointed out the use of the Christogram in the paintings and carvings. Dan and I were unfamiliar with this symbol.  This picture shows part of our guidebook which explained the design and meaning.

After the Cella Septichora, we visited the ancient Christian mausoleum.  This structure is also from the 4th century. There are paintings and carvings which have been preserved. On the left, you can see depictions of Adam and Eve and Daniel with lions.

Now for the romantic part of the day. There is a street in Pécs with a lock-wall.  The origins aren't romantic.  Apparently a student once returned his lock to the school by just putting it on the fence.  However, a tradition started for couples in love.  When a couple puts a lock on the fence, their love is "locked" together. Of course Dan and I wanted to participate as well. The original sections are completely full of locks so they have built a new structure for additional locks.

This is a picture of the lock we bought and our wedding rings. We were able to write our names on it and our wedding date (July 19, 2014!). I liked this lock because it had a letter S and the little heart makes me think of Hello Kitty.

Our final stop for the day was the Zsolnay Museum.  The Zsolnay family produced ceramic and porcelain products for all sorts of purposes. Their work includes sculpture, vases, dinnerware, figurines, and even architecture.  Zsolnay tiles are found on many famous buildings including the Mátyás Templom in Budapest. Here are a few pictures of my favorites. This first picture is from a well. The ducks have a special glaze where different colors can be seen from various angles.

This picture shows small little tiles in a frame. I was amazed by the detail of the landscapes.

Finally, this is a violin that they had made. We weren't able to get very close to it but it was beautiful. You can see more of their products on these websites: http://zsolnay.com/shop/   http://www.zsolnay.hu/

After the museum, we had to head to the train station for our journey home. Dan and I loved Pécs! The city was beautiful. We particularly enjoyed the slower pace than Budapest.  There were tourists at all of the places we visited but it remained rather quiet. We were often the only two people in a certain area.  It's nice not to be crowded while learning about these amazing pieces of history. I recommend Pécs for everyone! 

Pécs - Day 1

On Wednesday, Dan and I traveled to Pécs in southern Hungary.  The American Corner in Pécs has a English Conversation Club and we volunteered to be their guest native English speakers.  Our day began with a three hour train ride.  I enjoyed looking out the window during our ride. Southern Hungary is quite mountainous with lots of trees.  When we arrived in Pécs, we walked to our hotel near the city center.  We were immediately amazed by the beautiful architecture.  In the center of the city is the Mosque of Pasha Qasim.  The Turkish architecture stands in sharp contrast to the surrounding buildings.  It serves as a Catholic church today.  Unfortunately, it was under construction so we were unable to go inside.  This picture was our first sight of the mosque.

You will also notice a giant horse statue in the picture. This is a new addition to the city.  There is currently a Leonardo da Vinci exhibit in Pécs. The horse statue is something da Vinci had hoped to make himself.  A modern artist constructed this massive statue according to da Vinci's design.  

After we checked into our hotel and ate lunch, we walked to the Zsolnay Cultural Corner, the home of the American Corner.  During the Conversation Club, we talked about books, movies, food, and traditions with about 13 people. We had so much fun! The one hour event lasted about three hours. Getting to know the Hungarian people has been our favorite part of this Fulbright experience so far. Yes, my research is going well and the sights are great but the people are my favorite.  After speaking with people hoping to improve their English, Dan and I are always amazed at how exceptional their skills already are.  I wish my Hungarian was as good as their English. We have a few more events like this lined up but I hope we can do more.  I enjoy getting to know people and learn about their lives. 

Silence

One of the things that always surprises me in Hungary in the silence.  I first noticed it when I visited last summer.  When I was in Balatonfüred in August 2013, it was incredibly hot.  It was above 40 celsius every day of my trip. Everyone opened their windows at night to cool off.  As I tried to go to sleep I was surprised about how quiet it was. Nothing. Every now and then, I could hear someone cough in the distance or maybe I could hear someone's steps on a street a few blocks down.  Surprisingly, it's the same here in Budapest. At night, our neighborhood is silent. There was one day when I woke up around 6 and I opened the windows. I just looked out at the street and heard nothing.  It's amazing. I can't decide if it's unnerving or refreshing, maybe both.  Most places in Hungary do not have air conditioning. There is no "white noise" of constant machinery or people. Back at my old apartment, there were times when I would arrive home late at night and it was never quiet. There were always sounds of air conditioners and heaters.  If they weren't running, I could always hear a hum from the vehicles on the interstate.  This makes me wonder how much sound is going through my ears back home.  I've noticed here that I can hear one person walking down the street. One car driving down our street seems incredibly loud. Of course there are other factors at play.  Dan and I have noticed the lack of animals. There are pigeons on the high traffic streets but otherwise we haven't seen any other birds, squirrels, or even bugs.  I don't know that I have even heard or felt wind near our apartment.  The most air movement is felt waiting in the subway. Also, all of the buildings are made of cement. I guess it is the ultimate sound-proof material or something. I'm not quite sure.  I never realized how much sound I'm used to hearing until it is gone.

Messiaen

Last Sunday evening, Dan and I attended the Hungarian premiere of Olivier Messiaen's Des Canyons aux étoiles.  Concerto Budapest performed the piece at the stunning grand hall of the Liszt Academy. It was a wonderful performance.  I have studied Messiaen's works in school but this was the first time I have heard one of his orchestral pieces live. My focus was naturally on the horns.  Yet my focus often turned to the piano and percussion as well.  The percussion had their own set-up in the choir loft of the hall and two percussionists even performed at the front of the stage.  The pianist was a very young gentleman. I thought he was fantastic! The piano part is very prominent with many solos. One of the other main solos is an entire movement for solo horn. (This movement is actually the only part of the piece which I had heard before.) The solo was played by Szabolcs Zempléni.  We had heard him play the Ligeti Horn Trio just two days prior.  I was inspired by his performance.  He played entirely from memory.  The grand hall at the Liszt Academy has wonderful acoustics. His high notes had amazing resonance.  The horn section also impressed me.  Just like the last time I heard Concerto Budapest, I was struck by their balance and blend. The most unfortunate part of the performance is that program does not list the personnel. Who are these horn players? I want to know more about them! Can I take lessons with them? Des Canyons aux étoiles begins with a horn solo so I was hooked from the start. The first horn, shown on the right in the picture below, was playing a type of horn that I have never seen.  (I apologize for the horrific picture from my phone)

In my dream world, the program would list the personnel but also other fascinating information such as the make/model of their instruments.  Since Sunday I've been trying to find information about this type of horn but I still have no idea. It is not the traditional Kruspe/Geyer wrap horn. Nor is it a Vienna horn. Whatever it is, the first horn player and this instrument had an amazing sound.  It was incredibly full, rich and smooth. It is the way I hope to sound. I would be curious to hear it up close and perhaps try this instrument myself.

Here is a recording so you can hear the piece yourself. If you have a free hour and a half, go ahead and listen to the entire piece.  My favorite moments are the following:

The opening horn solos in "The Desert" - 0:00 - 3:48
The solo horn movement "Appel interstellaire (Interstellar Call)" - 27:18 - 35:02
The end - 1:06:49 to the end
1:06:49-1:10:50 = Perhaps Messiaen's music here inspired the NBC theme and the T-Mobile ditty. ;)
1:10:50 - This is the amazing unison horn line. It gloriously rang through the hall!

Contemporaries

Although the music of Frigyes Hidas is interesting on its own, I aim to demonstrate its relevance by placing it in a larger context. One way that I will do this is by examining the works of other Hungarian composers who lived and wrote at the same time as Hidas.  Although I cannot give as much attention to these composers, it is important for me to know about Hidas' contemporaries.  Rather than compare Hidas' oeuvre to his contemporaries, I have decided to focus on one of the standard brass ensembles, the brass quintet.  A brass quintet includes two trumpets, one horn, one trombone, and one tuba.  So far, I have found at least ten other brass quintets composed by Hungarian composers around the same that Hidas' quintets were composed. I look forward to sharing how these pieces compare and contrast to Hidas' brass quintets.  Here are some of the other composers I will study:

Sándor Szokolay (1931-2013)
László Kalmár (1931-1995)
Miklós Kocsár (b.1933)
Kamilló Lendvay (b.1928)
István Láng (b.1933)
Sándor Balassa (b.1935)

With each of these composers, there are many opportunities for further study. Hopefully I can research their brass works in the future as well!

Ligeti Horn Trio

Tonight, Dan and I had the privilege of hearing a live performance of the Ligeti Horn Trio. I was very excited about this performance. The horn player for the piece was Szabolcs Zempléni.  If you look at my previous post titled "Frigyes Hidas," you can see him as the horn soloist for the Hidas Horn Concerto. Although I didn't have a chance to meet him, I know what I want to say if I ever have the chance. "Hello. You don't know me but you have played such an important role in my life. I saw your performance of the Hidas Horn Concerto on youtube.  This performance introduced me to one of my absolute favorite composers and inspired the research I'm doing today. You were the beginning of the journey that brought me here to Hungary." Whew! I hope that I can inspire people like that someday. I hope I have the chance to share this with him in the future.  Anyway, the concert was great! Here is the program:

Schubert: Characteristic March
Alban Berg: Four Pieces for Clarinet and Piano, op. 5
Jörg Widmann: Fünf Bruchstücke (Five Fragments)
Franz Schubert: Arpeggione-Sonata, D. 821
György Ligeti: Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano
Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata for Violin and Piano in G major, op. 96

FEATURING:

Izabella Simon, Dénes Várjon - piano
András Keller - violin
Szabolcs Zempléni - horn
Jörg Widmann - clarinet
István Várdai - cello


Here are some thoughts I had about the concert (in no particular order, because it's late).

Ligeti lived about the exact same time as Hidas. It's amazing how different their music is.
The horn part for the Ligeti Horn Trio is ridiculously hard.
Jörg Widmann has a presence on stage that I wish to have someday. He has that energy that keeps moving through the rests. I loved his soft entrances that came from nowhere.
I'm not sure that I've ever heard a piece by Alban Berg live before. It was great!
My listening experience is lacking when it comes to string repertoire. I should listen to more of their music and apply their musicality to my own playing.

On Sunday, we're going to go hear Concerto Budapest where Szabolcs Zempléni will be playing the horn solo in Messiaen's Des Canyons aux étoiles. Hooray for a horn filled weekend!

Freedom Dance

On Monday evening, Dan and I attended a film screening sponsored by the Fulbright Commission and Central European University.  The film, entitled Freedom Dance, is a short animated documentary about Edward and Judy Hilbert and their journey to escape Hungary during the 1956 revolution.  Edward Hilbert was a cartoonist and his own drawings were used to create the film.  He had made a sort of diary with cartoons depicting the events.  The film producers were able to animate these drawings to tell the story.  I thought that the final result was quite amazing.  The combination of the cartoon mixed with footage from an interview worked well.  I particularly felt that the score was well suited to the action on screen.  There was nothing cartoonish about it.  The music was mainly piano with occasional violin solos and synthesized sounds.  This light instrumentation perfectly accompanied the story without overpowering it.



We enjoyed the film.  I think that personal stories like these have such a powerful impact which cannot be gained from a history book.  I also thought a lot about Hidas during the film as he lived almost exactly the same time as Hilbert. Edward Hilbert lived 1927-2006 whereas Frigyes Hidas lived 1928-2007.  Unlike Hilbert, Hidas remained in Budapest.  I look forward to learning more about Hidas' life during this time. The current scholarship on Hidas does not include much information about his personal life, especially as it may relate to historic events.  Here is a recording of part of Hidas' Organ Sonata, composed in 1956.

 

Eger (and surroundings) Day 3 - Noszvaj, Recsk, Feldebrő

On the last day of our trip, we visited three villages near Eger.  First we went to Noszvaj to see the De la Motte mansion. The mansion was built in the late 18th century. Each room of the house was painted by some of the best artists of the time.

Here is one section of the ceiling from one room.  

The paintings are amazing. There is so much detail and symbolism.  Even the areas around the windows are painted to make the room look like there are columns and other 3-D structures when the walls are actually flat.  

After Noszvaj, we went to Recsk.  I don't know that I can repeat everything we learned because it was too upsetting.  From 1950 to 1953, Recsk was the location of a forced labor camp.  The prisoners were taken from their homes in the night and kept without trial.  Many were scholars and other intellectuals whom the Soviets feared. The stories we heard were sickening.  The men were forced into hard labor with minimal clothing, food, and shelter. They were mentally and physically tortured with extreme methods. 

It took a while to break the mood after that.  Our final stop was a church in Feldebrő. The church is unique because while sanctuary is Roman Catholic and the crypt is Greek Orthodox. Built in the 11th century, the original church was mostly destroyed. Centuries later, they built on top of the crypt and the standing walls to create the church that exists today.  Although the sanctuary area is quite beautiful, the crypt is the best part.  The paintings from the 11th century were remarkable. 

Eger Day 2 - Touring the City

On Friday, we had the opportunity to tour Eszterházy Károly College and the city of Eger. My favorite part of the tour of  Eszterházy Károly College was seeing the Camera Obscura.  At the very top of the college, there is a small dome with a room on the inside.  This room is completely black  with a large white table in the center. Using mirrors and natural light, the camera obscura reflects a view of the area outside onto the table.  The camera obscura was built by the Hungarian astronomer Maximillian Hell in the late 18th century.  Here is diagram of how it works.

When the image appears on the table, it is basically like watching live video footage. Our tour guide explained that the camera obscura was built for fun.  I can imagine that it was incredibly fun in the 18th century because we enjoyed it as well.  The camera can be pointed all around the city.  We watched people walking down the sidewalk and cars driving down the street. It was hilarious! Unfortunately this photo doesn't do it justice.

After our tour of the college, we went to the fortress of Eger and the Basilika.  We learned about the history of Eger and the significance of István Dobó.  In 1552, the Turks attacked Eger and István Dobó led the successful defense.  The book "Eclipse of the Crescent Moon" is an important novel by Géza Gárdonyi which chronicles this event.

Our final event of the day was a wine tasting at Sike Winery in the Valley of the Beautiful Women. Since I'm not a wine drinker, it was interesting to learn so much about wine.  We learned how to properly hold, swirl, smell, and taste the wine.  We tasted five types of wine, including Bikavér ("Bull's Blood").  The name of this wine is connected to István Dobó.  Here is the story we were told.  When the Turks were unable to defeat the Hungarians in Eger, even though they outnumbered them 40 to 1, they were astonished.  They saw István Dobó standing on the walls of the fortress. He was drinking heartily with red liquid flowing down his beard.  Although he was actually drinking wine, the Turks assumed he must be drinking something powerful to give him strength...the blood of a bull. This story led to the development of the name Bikavér.

Eger Day 1 - Internationalization Conference

I'm getting a little behind with my posts because we've had a busy schedule. Last week, we spent three days in Eger.  It was a wonderful trip! On Thursday, we caught an early morning bus to Eger where we attended the Internationalization of Higher Education conference at Eszterházy Károly College. We participated in two lectures by Hans de Wit. You can read his bio here.  He discussed the meaning of internationalization and a strategies for implementation.  Although the focus was on higher education, I feel that I could use the same concepts with my private horn students.  The goal is to assist all students, not just those with the privilege of studying internationally, in becoming global citizens.  I enjoyed the lectures and hope to continue learning about internationalization in the future.

That evening, we attended an extravagant dinner.  First, we had snacks in the courtyard while traditional musicians and dancers performed.  Then we went inside to begin the program.  In addition to several award presentations, we witnessed the graduation of the students of the Master of Business Administration program of the Open University of Malaysia. My favorite part of the program was a performance of Robert Schumann's "Carnaval" by Gábos Judith, the head of the music department. After her performance we had a delicious four course meal.

Now let me come back to the traditional dancers and musicians.  They were my favorite part of the evening. I took these short videos so everyone can enjoy the experience. This first video is two men playing flute and bass.  The bass player is not using a traditional technique. Instead he is striking and tapping the bass more like a percussion instrument.

In this video, we can see a trio of string instruments playing a traditional Hungarian song. I have heard this before but I cannot remember the name.

The final video shows the dancers. Some of the men's movements included leg slapping, snapping, jumps, and kicks.  The women were more often spinning and swaying.  Part of the video shows the women dancing with wine bottles on their heads.

Hajvágás

It must be two-post Tuesday.  There are just too many good things to share.  Today, Dan and I got haircuts.  Hajvágás = haircut in Hungarian. It was an interesting experience. We found a place right near our apartment so we decided to go there. Yesterday, we stopped in to ask about making an appointment. I used my Hungarian phrasebook and we were able to get a time for today. As we went today, we were armed with the phrasebook, our dictionary, and pictures of what we wanted our hair to look like just in case. All in all, it worked out well. To me, the neatest part was watching the guy cut my hair.  It was different than at home.  After my hair was washed, he combed my hair straight up. Then he would cut the ends diagonally.  He did this for a while. When it was almost done, he would brush all of my hair into a tight tight ponytail.  He twisted the ponytail and then pulled up and away from the back of my head. My hair would fall out of the twist and then he used his fingers to pull the front forward into the style.  I've never seen this done before.  I don't know much about haircutting techniques but I like the final product.  I'm sure we'll go again sometime while we're here. Here is the final look!

Hidas Analysis

The first part of my research is getting to know Hidas' music to the best of my ability. I have been listening to recordings and studying the scores individually. I wanted to share a few of the pieces with you.

Two pieces that I have been studying this week are Negyesfogat (Four in Hand) and Hét Bagatell (Seven Bagatelles).  Negyesfogat (Four in Hand) is a 5 movement work for trombone quartet. I had the opportunity to hear the Corpus Quartet (a Hungarian trombone quartet) play this piece on their tour last spring.  They were fantastic!  It was neat to hear Hidas' music played by Hungarian musicians at my own school.  I shared my research plans with them and they were excited to know that I was studying Hidas.  They enjoy his music as well.  If you visit their website (click here), you can hear them playing the piece. You will see a music player on the left side. Scroll down the list of pieces to click on Frigyes Hidas - Four in Hand.

Hét Bagatell (Seven Bagatelles) is a seven movement piece for 12 trombones. This piece was commissioned by the International Trombone Association in 1980.  I enjoy this piece because the sheer number of trombones allows for broader chords and more contrast between melody and accompaniment. Here is a video performance by the Eastman Trombone Choir. Enjoy!!

Peanut Butter

Before coming to Budapest, I had often heard people say that one of the foods they missed while traveling in Europe was peanut butter. Dan and I assumed we wouldn't be able to find any.  We were pleasantly surprised to find a small jar at the Spar near our apartment.

We both eat it and it does the job, but it's definitely different.  The texture is not as smooth and it actually doesn't spread well.  It seems less sticky than peanut butter in the United States.  For example, when I try to spread it across a banana, it doesn't want to stay on the banana. It can easily fall or be picked off. We did a little bit of researching. The Spar peanut butter has 65% peanuts, various oils, and salt. In the US, there is actually a law that peanut butter must be at least 90% peanuts. No wonder. The Spar peanut butter is not even as good as the cheapest off brand of peanut butter at home. We heard that there are a few places in Budapest that have imported some peanut butter. It's part of the "foreign food" selection. Maybe we'll have the chance to get some while we're here.

Shopping and Desserts

Here in Budapest, stores are more specialized.  Before moving here, I was so used to going to HyVee or Walmart to get anything I needed.  Now, we've adjusted to shopping at several different stores.  For groceries, we have been shopping at Spar (a Dutch grocery chain). For toiletries and cleaning supplies we can go to Müller or DM (both German retailers).  For any medicine or vitamins we have to go to the gyógyszertár (the pharmacy).  It takes a bit more planning to purchase everything we need. On the other hand, it is fun to explore new and different stores when we find them.  Right near our apartment, there is a new shop, a cukrászda. This means a "sweet shop."  They have all sorts of desserts and pastries. The other day, we got some fancy desserts to celebrate being together for three years. It was delicious.

Yesterday, we got even more delicious desserts. This time, we went to the Gundel Patisserie. The Gundel restaurant is a very famous, and fancy restaurant near the Budapest Zoo in City Park. We chose the Chocolate Mousee and Sacher Torte. They were both amazing!

Luckily, we spend a lot of time walking around the city to balance all of the chocolate we've been eating!

Not Quite the Same

Wow, I can hardly believed that we've lived in Budapest for a month! Time has gone by so quickly. Each day is still an adventure. I don't know that I'll ever grow tired of it. There was the immediate culture shock, and jet lag, after arrival but the longer we are here we notice more tiny differences. I wanted to share one example. 

I've been going to the Budapest Music Center almost every day to look at Hidas' music and to use their computer to access the National Audio and Video Archives. Using their computer means using the Hungarian keyboard and the computer all in Hungarian. It's funny because the computer looks just like our computers. It has the same functions and software but it's also completely mind boggling. From a distance it looks the same but it's not. Thankfully, I have been able to access what I need. That is, after frequently typing Hidas Frigzes by mistake. Here is a picture of a Hungarian keyboard for comparison. Enjoy!