International Women's Day

Sunday the 8^th of March marked International Women’s Day. This has been recognised over the world as a day to celebrate women and all they do. There is not really a big celebration or tradition for Women’s Day in the United Kingdom, so it was quite a surprise when I was given a lovely yellow flower by a student  last Friday(don’t know what type it was – my knowledge of flowers is shocking!) 

The weekend quickly passed and Monday arrived. I started my first lesson and some very sweet male students gave me another flower on behalf of the class. As the day went on I received more flowers, including some in a pot plant. Finally at the end of the school day there was a short meeting held in the staff room and the headmaster read out a passage from the Bible (Proverbs 31) and he thanked the women for all of their hard work and said this should be a day to celebrate them. We then received a lovely lily from the male teachers, a delicious cake and a bookmark with a verse from the Bible on it. It was a lovely gesture and I realised that Women’s Day is a much bigger celebration in Eastern Europe than it is back home. I spoke to my mother about it and she said she would much rather have this celebration than Mother’s Day. Maybe the celebration may rub off on the British – we never know!

If any flower experts are able to identify the flowers in the pictures, please let me know and educate me! :)

Rachel

xxx

  

Proverbs 31:10-17: 

¹⁰A wife of noble character who can find?
    She is worth far more than rubies.
¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
    and lacks nothing of value.
¹² She brings him good, not harm,
    all the days of her life.
¹³ She selects wool and flax
    and works with eager hands.
¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
    bringing her food from afar.
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still night;
    she provides food for her family
    and portions for her female servants.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
    out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;

her arms are strong for her tasks. 

Budapest Part 2

Hello everyone! I apologise for the delay in blogposts, however the internet access here can be limited and when it works, it can be temperamental! Anyway,  here I am with another blog update. This time it is about my recent long weekend trip to the capital city of Hungary. Yep, you guessed it: Budapest.  It was half term at school and I wanted to take a holiday to the big city. On Valentine’s morning I travelled by train to Keleti station. It’s a long journey (four hours) but it is worth it. 

Upon arriving at Keleti station, I went straight across to the metro to buy a ticket. However the machines weren’t accepting my cash or card much to my frustration so instead I had to go to the ticket and information office to buy it. Not to worry though as I soon was headed to my hotel. Arriving at Deak Square, it took me at least half an hour going around in a circle trying to find my hotel on Vaci Street. I don’t know why I got so lost, it was right in front of me! I thought I was good at following directions as well!

I checked in and arrived at my room where I proceeded to flop down on the bed and access the wi-fi on my phone. It was also good to watch some television (I don’t have a television in Sárospatak) and listened to some great songs on the music channel. A few hours later I was starting to get hungry, so went off in search of something to eat.

I managed to find a reasonably priced (and posh) restaurant just off the corner of Vaci Street. It felt strange as it was Valentine’s night and here I was sitting eating alone. Rather than wallow in self pity, I ordered myself a plate of paprika chicken, which was delicious. After leaving the restaurant I wandered down to the Danube and was once again amazed at how pretty the centre of Budapest looks at night. Then it was back to the hotel and to bed. 

Sunday morning arrived and it was a quick metro ride to Golgota Church. This church was founded in the early 1990s and since then it has become a thriving church for many Christians in Budapest and the rest of Hungary. The services are conducted in both Hungarian and English. I attended the 12pm service and it was good to go to an English speaking church, as I have not been in one for around six months (apart from Christmas). After the service it was time to go sightseeing and I spent most of Sunday afternoon at Buda Castle, walking up to the palace and enjoying the beautiful view of the city. I also saw soldiers at the palace who were marching, which prompted many tourists to take photos and videos (myself included). Then it was time to return to Vaci Street, where I treated myself to a McDonald’s (which I haven’t had for such a long time!) 

Monday arrived and it was my last full day in Budapest. It was also the day I met my friend, who works as a missionary. I met her when I volunteered for an English camp in summer 2013. It was great to see her again and we enjoyed a great lunch. The rest of the day was spent going on Metro 1 (the oldest metro line in Budapest – build in 1896) and visiting Heroes Square. It is a spectacular monument with statues of very important Hungarians. Behind the monument is City Park with a Bavarian-style castle where I enjoyed walking around and watching people ice skating. Returning to Vaci Street I had another McDonald’s, visited different shops (some which were familiar from home) and bought a cinnamon funnel cake (which is a European speciality). I took one final walk along the River Danube to visit the iron shoes memorial for those people who were shot into the Danube during World War II. This brought a close to the final night in Budapest. 

The next day I sadly had to leave Budapest, but not before I visited the synagogue, the Jewish quarter and a fantastic coffee shop just across the street. I had the most delicious cappuccino, white chocolate and coffee cake. Four hours later, I was back in Sárospatak exhausted but so happy that I had gone on this trip. However it won’t be long until I am back in Budapest again!

Below are some photographs of my trip: