Spencer's Hungarian Happenings: Winter Break Week One in Summation

So since I took ages to blog about my break I wanted to try to put it all in one post but I had so much fun that I will have to break it up a bit :) So here goes week one. December 19th - December 27th (I am starting on a Thursday because one of the events was on Thursday)

This may have been the previous week but I am just going to group it in here. The entire Hungarian class gang (Marietta, Nicolas, Pedro, Octavio, Damaris, Tao Yi, and I) went to watch a handball quarter final. Hungary versus Brasil. We had one real Hungarian and one real Brazilian and five of us left to pick sides.

I choose Hungary but unfortunately Brazil won after double overtime.

On Thursday we had a Rotary Christmas party :) I had completely forgotten how to sit up straight for multiple hours on end so it was a good reminder.

We had some fancy food. The first two courses were bad.

The following two and a half were very tasty :)

Leave it to the exchange students (cserediákok) to have two desserts :)

Rotary also presented us with these great books as Christmas presents :) I know my mom will enjoy it sitting on our coffee table :)

Now we come to Christmas eve :) I spent most of December 24th with Nicolas.

We made dinner, and by we made dinner I mean the trained chef made dinner and I chopped potatoes and peeled half an apple ;)

We also watched Jurassic Park, which I had never seen before.

and listened to some good remixed Christmas songs before we headed to church, which is held at midnight on Christmas eve here in Hungary.

P.S. I didn't take the above picture

The church was completely full by the time the service actually started. Standing room only but we got there early :)

We didn't understand anything of the sermon but we both really enjoyed trying to read along with the songs in Hungarian and being part of such a big tradition in our city :)

On Christmas day I woke up two hours before the rest of my family so I could have my little American Christmas. I was spoiled rotten. Both my family and my Nana sent me Christmas boxes and they even wrapped everything :D I swear the wrapped presents sitting around was as good as the presents themselves :)

Later on Christmas day I went to my first host family's house to celebrate with them :) It was lovely. We just hung out and watched a movie and exchanged gifts. They gave me a pillow with our only family picture printed on one side and my favorite sisters picture on the other.

Now we come to December 27th :D I went to the weekly Disco at the Ice Rink with Nicolas

It was a blast :) It would have been worth going just to watch him dance. He has been skating for twelve years and was the only one there who could actually dance to the music and flashing lights, which was probably irritating for him but I certainly enjoyed watching him.

Then he wrote Szeged in the ice fluff to commemorate what, I believe, was his last time in the Szeged ice rink as he left szeged on the 30th of December after a 7 month volunteer exchange in Hungary.