Holidays in Hungary:
It has been a wonderful experience to spend Christmas in a new country, community and culture. While I certainly missed my family and friends back home at times, the incredible hospitality of Hungarians has made me feel right at home here. One of my favorite days of my entire year so far was Saint Miklós day. Traditionally in Hungary Santa Claus visits on the 6th of December, as on Christmas morning the baby Jesus delivers the presents. We celebrated in the children’s home in Görögszállás this day by having a party for the families, along with a visit from Santa. It was very exciting for me, but the kids were maybe too young and were quite frightened by the new stranger. However their moods improved quickly when they discovered the sweets that Santa had brought them!
During Christmas time I was welcomed into a few different homes, and was able to experience a fantastic Hungarian Christmas! On Christmas Eve I went to my mentor’s daughters house and spent the day with her family. She has four children whom I see every weekend at church and are always very excited to see me and to teach me new Hungarian words. In the morning we put up the Christmas tree, which I was told is a tradition to do on the 24th, which was new for me as at home ours is often up long before then. The rest of the day was spent eating, playing with the new toys and games that the children had gotten, and playing outside in the fresh snow that had fallen overnight. It was a very memorable day, and I am continuously overwhelmed by the generosity of this family.
On Christmas day, I was invited to have lunch with another Hungarian family in Nyírtelek, in-between the morning and the evening church services. I have connected with this family as the mother and her son both attend the English class that I teach once a week at the church. Despite the language restrictions between us, we had a truly wonderful time chatting in our broken Hungarian/English! Aside from cooking me a delicious Christmas lunch, the family also gave me many gifts, chocolates, and cakes to take home with me. The mother even made sure to call her sister who now lives in America, so that I could speak with someone in English on Christmas! I continue to be pleasantly surprised by the kindness that I am shown here, and I am so grateful for the relationships that I have built thus far. Spending the holidays in my community was a wonderful experience and I really did feel right at home.
Miles Goes To Hungary 