Life Decisions

Hungarian for the day: Kellemes Húsvétot - Happy Easter!

As Easter draws near here in Hungary an important time of the year for SOL volunteers like myself has arrived: the time to decide whether or not to commit to another year in our posts or to mosey along. I've been thinking about this decision quite obsessively, and I hope I've made the right decision because as of this week I've responded to both my school and the SOL organizers that I'll stay for another year.

I believe a list of explanations is in order:
-First of all, I like my job more than I've ever liked any job. Not to say that I don't fantasize about throwing certain students out of the school's 4th floor window, I think every teacher does that. But most of my students are pretty cool and I enjoy our classes together and I think they do as well. It's not perfect, but then again a job is a place where you show up in exchange for money so as far as that goes I think this position is pretty good. Also I like my colleagues and as long as it took me to break the ice with them I don't want to start the process over again in another position.
-Probably the main reason for staying is that I feel like I've already been through the really tough part of the experience and I want to reap the benefits of having gone through it. What I mean is this: when I moved here I spoke none of the language, knew next to nothing about the culture and context of my new home, had no high school teaching experience, and had never lived alone. More than that all of little things are what really add up. I didn't know how anything around me worked, from the bus systems to ordering rituals at the local market. It was tough and it took about 6 months but now I'm, more or less, accustomed to this Hungarian life. I think next year could be a drastically different experience because I'll come in knowing the deal at school, with a wide network of acquaintances that I hope are turning into close friendships, and with much more useful linguistic abilities, bringing me to my next point...
- I tried to learn Hungarian in a year, I really did. I have countless flashcards all around my house, I've labeled everything in my apartment, I sit through Hungarian soap operas to try and absorb the dialog, I eavesdrop on my students to pick up how the kids these days are talking, I meet people to swap English for Hungarian conversation hours, and I constantly have my nose buried in a Hungarian grammar guide or exercise book. I'm not, however, going to be anywhere near the level of Hungarian I set out to reach by the end of this year, and because I don't want all of this hard work to amount to yet another language half learned and then forgotten, it's Hungary again for me. I think that life here in general has improved primarily as a function of how well I speak Hungarian so I think that a year here with the ability to to, you know, actually talk to the people around me will be a good time.
-I partly came over here for academic experience, but making progress on exploring Hungarian and Eastern European politics has been a slower process than I'd expected. Basically this is because the adjustment took longer than I'd expected and also because doing any sort of research into the politics and society of a country requires speaking the language. I'm hoping to make some connections through some of my Szeged U. friends with some political science professors to interview them for a real kick-ass paper to get me into grad school.
-Grad school is another good reason to stay here - applying to Ph.D programs is a tortuous and soul-crushing process that takes time and effort in huge qualities. Not only will I be much more likely to actually get into a grad school if I stay because I'll speak a rare language better and be able to do some research here, quiet little Szentes will provide me with the countless hours of silence and solitude that I'll need come fall to apply to school.

So that's my decision. I hope it's the right one and I guess only time will tell. The only think I really fear is that by about halfway through next year I'll go insane because of how quiet it is here. We shall see. At any rate I've got to jet and pack. I forgot to mention probably the biggest reason I'll return - life on this hemisphere means tons of incredible travel opportunities! I'm off to meet Josh and Alina (!!!!!!) in Prague for Easter break! Szia!