Cookie Attempt Number 1

I made chocolate chip cookies today! Overall I think they're pretty good ( they got Éva's stamp of approval) but there are a couple kinks I need to work out. I used a little too much butter I think, and the brown sugar here has a significant amount less of molasses. I'm considering adding some honey to get a smoother consistency--kind of like peanut butter cookies. But! Overall they're pretty yummy.

Recipe I used:

• 550 mL unsifted flour
• 5 mL baking soda
• 5 mL salt
• 250 mL butter or margarine, softened
• 175 mL granulated sugar
• 175 mL firmly packed brown sugar
• 5 mL vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 168 gram packages semisweet chocolate chips

Heat the oven to  190 ºC, and bake for 10-ish minutes

Why not a flour parade?

This post goes straight out to the grandparents (and anyone else not on Facebook to see these pictures)! There is a parade in Debrecen, on Hungary's Independence Day, which is renowned for its flower carts. Every cart is adorned with dried and fresh flowers, and competes in a contest for the most beautiful. My favorite, the white Pegasi cart, won this year :)

Hungry for Brigitte Quotes

I would ask everyone to remember everything in 'Hungry for Brigitte Quotes' is completely out of context. Very, very, out of context. (also is it vain to quote myself? I think probably yes. Oh well)


"You wouldn't want to miss this Rotary experience because of some accidental human slaughter" --Kristian

"Your booty's too big, it knocked me overrrrrrrrr"--Moira

"You're such a tiz"--Moira (bonus points for the pun, gurl)

"Draga means expensive because dragons are expensive." --Haley

"Instead of learning Hungarian, I'll learn to twerk. It's basically the same thing."--me

"Thank you ladies and gentlemen; I now realize you are not only full of s***, but full of music."--Kristian

"We're in a viking ship; let's make out"-- me

"My life is basically a Mad Lib"-- me

Language Camp is the Brussel Sprout of Your Rotary Exchange Meal

Language camp doesn't have to be awful. It is what you make of it, as cheesy as that is. Yes, there are communal bathrooms that leak/don't have faucets/don't have toilet paper and yes there is a possibility the mosquito population is at an all time high because of an inordinate amount of rain in the area, but there are also friends you could swear you've had your whole life and there are lessons that stick with you more than you know, both making you happier than you'd think.

Basically, language camp is a brussel sprout. It can be the worst part of your meal and be awful, or if it's done right can be surprisingly pleasant (not to mention good for you; eat your vegetables kids!) If you sit around thinking about how awful eating your brussel sprouts is gonna be, wait till they're stone cold, and are determined to think they're gross there's no way you can enjoy them. But, if you take advantage of every opportunity to eat good brussel sprouts, acknowledge that they could be better but overall they're edible, and basically eat what you're given with a positive attitude, you'll never have a disappointing meal.

The message one should take from my food metaphors (which I acknowledge are a bit of a stretch) is that language camp got really enjoyable when I got off my butt, out of my cabin, and accepted my situation. Arriving somewhere after 20+ hours of travel and being told to wait for lessons to start was a little too much to handle. Lessons themselves were a little too much to handle too at first. Usually I balk at people who say to "let go" of your stress, or to "embrace education without worrying about grades" but that is exactly what I'm recommending for anyone in a similar situation.  I probably won't even listen to my own advice once my school year here starts, but I actually learned a lot of Hungarian when I stopped worrying about writing down every little thing and started just listening and asking questions.

So, basically, accept that you have to go to language camp before you can go off on your exchange adventure, and accept that you have to eat your brussel sprouts before you can have any chocolate cake. Metaphor over! *bows*

Bisque Post: Language Proficiency

On a walk around Debrecen just now with my host mother, she and I discussed the merits of IB classes versus normal Hungarian classes in regards to my learning the language. IB classes are in English so I would have motivation to stay active in school and still be with Hungarian students. However, I may not be exposed to so much Hungarian. Normal classes would be in Hungarian from the get go and would not slow down for a foreigner, but I would be more exposed to the language. I have decided to stay with the IB class Rotary automatically put me in because I think staying in school will be important to gaining fluency, and liking school and attending would be harder if I became demoralized the first week from how little I understood.

All this being said, apparently I'm a little more gung-ho about becoming proficient at Hungarian than most. Hungarian is in the top five hardest languages worldwide to learn (according to my host mom also here's a link to language difficulty ranking) so most exchange students barely grasp conversational. This is daunting. I'm a little discouraged to be honest. My end goal remains the same though; I will learn this language. Hearing all of my worries and hopes about Hungarian for my exchange, my host mom inquired about how well Erick, my brother, learned Polish. When I explained my "competitiveness" with my brother (taking the ACT at a young age to try and beat him, attending the same academics based high school, etc) and his fluency in Polish, she understood. I know people who have mastered "impossible" languages, and I want to join their ranks. This is all a little naive (okay a lot I'll admit it) but at this point I'm comfortable with my unrealistic optimism.

Hugs and kisses!
Puszi!

(sidenote: I'm calling this a 'bisque post' because bisque is thick and heavy, so from now on a 'bisque post' is one that has potentially heavy subject matter and isn't full of fluffy selfies :(

I brought a stuffed Stitch to Hungary with me because I'm a sap and stuff. So, it's sitting on my bed this morning and it didn't occur to me that it might be weird that a 17 year old sleeps with a stuffed animal. That is, until Èva (my host mom) came in to put the parade in Debrecen on my tv. I was anticipating a little judgieness just because I'm supposed to be a mature individual yet I still have this teddy bear thing. But! Long story short Èva's amazeballs and Stitch and I are groovy

Rotary Students: Masters of the Group Selfie

 

 

   

Our selfies take the cake!

Hungry for Brigitte Quotes?

Hey! At Uni we collected quotes to publish in our senior yearbooks to either inspire or embarrass our classmates. To no ones' surprise I appeared in a few sections (read as: Brigitte has no filter and says a lot of stupid stuff)

Anyway, I think I'm a hoot, and I would hate to think anyone would miss out on awkward out of context commentary for a year, so I've decided to start a "column" of odd things that I hear/think/say here in Hungary!

And now...the first installment of 'Hungry for Brigitte Quotes,' which are all from my Hungarian lesson notes *cue fanfare*

" Hogy vagy?

Brigitte vagyok."

"I take comfort in the fact that xylophone is still the only word anyone can think of beginning with x"

"Let's play a game; is that dirt or ants"

"Why did you have to bring incest into this"

"A picture'a worth a thousand words and stupid can't be all of them."

Bonus fun (if you're brave): ask me about my theory of ambient hotness or the cups that 'was not empty'

Thanks everyone, hugs and kisses!

Szia!

I have no idea who may be following this blog, but it's supposed to be a record of my year on exchange. If my posts lack continuity I'm very sorry except for probably mostly not sorry. This post is just to establish a URL and stuff. I was going to talk about packing and nervousness and stuff, but writing about how worried I am/was isn't/won't help my situation. I'm going to leave for Paris in an hour-ish and I'm super excited (as I have told everyone) so wish me luck!

Thank you all for being interested, and I'll try super hard to be entertaining!