7/11
We went to the "Big" Farmer’s Market today in both Kishegyes and up the road in Topolya. Zia (and I upon introduction) were greeted by about 30 people. A "greeting" is defined thus: a high, shrill scream, followed by cheek kissing (two, maybe three times, you never know), a few phrases in Hungarian directed at me, a big stupid grin in return, and then my part of the greeting is over and Zia takes over.
A Farmer’s Market in this part of the world is much like a grocery store. You get your produce here, but you can buy washing detergent, cookware, clothing, shoes, toys, canned goods - just about anything. But the market is as much a social activity as it is a market. The market in Kishegyes is held on a temporarily closed street with permanent concrete stalls for the vendors. In Topolya there is a more permanent set-up.
From there we went to the CBA Market in Topolya, the store owned by Feri and Ani. Upon meeting them on the way to the car we were invited up to their very Euro-chic office for espresso. Great art work on the wall and more detail by the genius woodworker guy.
From there we went home for lunch, and then the 2 hour afternoon folk music show on TV. Then out to the deck to practice - a typical afternoon in Kishegyes.
Dinner this evening with a visit from Lajos and Bori. The schnapps course this evening is Quince, about which more in a later entry. Dinner is a casserole made of potato, hard boiled eggs, cheese, sour cream, salt and pepper. A little weird but pretty good. Right after dinner we were joined by Zia’s friend, Emese, a seventh grade school teacher, and her husband, Joe (a nick name given to him because he listened to the Hendrix tune "Hey Joe" a lot).
7/12
Emese gave us a tour of her school this morning. It is in the center of town, and used to be a bar (many of us would feel right at home), with a central courtyard that is now a play space, but in the day was where you parked your horse when you dropped in for a drink.
See if this sounds familiar; Europe just conducted a test of 58 countries. In one area, Serbian schools came in 56th of 58. You guessed it, now every area of instruction must find a way to tie into this area. The area? Not math and language, in which areas they scored very high. No, we are talking about life skills here, vacuuming, doing laundry, balancing a check book, ironing, budgeting for groceries, etc. OK, doubt we would do very well there, either.
The tour starts in the gym. I have heard numerous complaints from PE teachers over the years over the conditions of the floors. Trust me, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet folks. The wood is unfinished and made of small tiles. Can you say splinters?
Next we see a first grade classroom, interchangeable with one in the States except for all those extra letters in the alphabet over the black board. A quick trip to the office to meet the Principal and her secretary, and then out into the hall to look at the student art. Pretty good stuff.
Upstairs, we look in on a physics classroom. The special science tools - 3 sinks and some plants.
Next we see Emese’s class room. She teaches 5th through 8th grade history and seventh grade homeroom. You are greeted by the expected bulletin board of Niccolai Tesla, the patron saint of Serbian science, and then the typical history set up, maps, maps, and more maps. The 5th grade year, Emese teaches from early times to the Greek and Roman periods. 6th graders cover the middle ages to the renaissance and a healthy dose of early Hungarian and Serbian history. 7th graders cover the "Age of Exploration," the Turkish empire, Balkan history, the Hapsburg Empire, American Independence (to which she adds a little bit of the Civil War (?!)), the French Revolution, back to Hungarian History (which is not included in Serbian text books), and up to the 1848 Revolution. 8th graders work to the present. Emese says she doesn’t teach about the current war, that is politics, but does teach about the factors that contributed to it happening.
From Emese’s room we go back downstairs and across the courtyard to the music room. The music instruction here, like most Hungarian schools, is based upon the Kodaly method. There are stacks of folk music on the piano that I am drooling to get my hands on (the Kodaly method is entirely based on folk music), and, ominously, ten accordion cases in the corner.
Instruction in Europe is based on an 8 year primary school system. At the end of 8 years, students are directed to "magnet school" to begin learning career skills (yes, there are students who start medical school after 8 years of school). According to Emese, 80% of Kishegyes is out of work or a seasonal employee. This severely limits their options for future employment.
This evening we went to Verbas (Vrvas) to get a painting for Peter’s friend’s 75th Birthday. Peter, Vera and Zia are looking for a store that Ani told them about with great art work, which leaves me free to people-watch. The main drag is a wide tree-lined boulevard that is perfect for strolling, and many folks are taking advantage of it this evening. The blatant displays of flirting by the local teens, the guys being all macho and the ladies with the "just right" clothes and make up, have me laughing out loud and make me homesick for work (well, maybe just a little).
Peter and the ladies are clearly in a hurry to get this done and get outta here! On the way home, Vera explains that local dances often devolve into knock-down-drag-out fights between the Serbian-Serbs and the Montenegrian-Serbs (both local to that town), and the smart Hungarian (the minority there) bales long before trouble brews. Zia says that the clerks understood Hungarian, but would not speak it, and that she felt uncomfortable the whole time we were there. All this a mere few miles from Kishegyes. Clearly there is a long way to go before things calm down around here.
For all you beer lovers, a lot of lawn-mower-beers lately. But one that is pretty OK is MB Pils. The local hooch is made by Braueri MB (naturally), about 5%, starts like a pretty good, classic pils, but disappears on the palate quickly. On the whole, not bad though.
Dave
No comments:
Post a Comment