I am staying in a beautiful 1930's style building, this is the main dormitories for the students and I am living in a little flat just off the corner of the building. It has a large bedroom/living space, a kitchen, a bathroom and a toilet room. It's very comfortable and has a beautiful view of a lovely park, which has statues of famous Hungarians who had connections to Sárospatak.
The town has lots of shops, corner shops, grocery shops, a newsagents, a number of second hand shops (a lot of the clothes and shoes are imported from the UK) and some restaurants, bars and cafes. But what I love about the town is it's history. The school I will be teaching at is a very famous Hungarian school, it was founded as a theological college in 1531, one of the first Reformed theological colleges in Hungary. The wealthy aristocrats of Hungary, the Rakoczi taught here, back in the 1500/1600s. So far, the school has around 400 students, but it is difficult as there is a decline of students attending this school, as students apply to other schools. The aim of this year is to try and get students to come to Refi and this is through the school public relations team called the Refi Revolution Team. It started in 2012 by Aiysha Jebali and not only is it a media team, but is also a mission team. Throughout the years, the team organises different fundraising events which help to pay for a trip to the UK. This is a special trip, as it is a mission, which means students and teachers from Refi travel to London, spend time and fellowship with Christian organizations and churches, then travel by bus to Aberdeen and then again spend time and fellowship with different churches, giving presentations, holding Bible studies and helping those in Aberdeen who are less fortunate than ourselves. The past two missions have been very successful, so many people have been blessed by the students and are encouraged to help support the school and its ministry. We hope that Mission 2015 will be just as successful.
I just got my timetable this week, I am teaching 26 hours a week, teaching ten high school classes and teaching primary school classes, but only two lessons a week. Still, with the classes, lesson planning and Refi Revolution Team, I will be a very busy bee! I am excited to start though and hopefully this will be a great year, just as this is a great opportunity.
Before I finish this blog post here are some photographs of Sárospatak:
It is a beautiful city, with much history and one which I look forward to exploring and learning about.
Viszontlátásra! (Goodbye in Hungarian)
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