Cultural:

Week six is over! It really is starting to scare me how quickly my time in Budapest is going.

This week was certainly a week to test my knowledge of Budapest as my parents came to visit me and I wanted to take them to all the great sights of the city. It was the first time that I was relying fully on my own knowledge and not relying on others, and so I was very proud of myself that I didn't get lost and that my parents got to see everything that I wanted them to!!

On Tuesday morning I met mum and dad after I finished school and I took them to a lovely street full of typical Hungarian restaurants and cafes. (I attempted to use some of my Hungarian phrases when ordering food, which impressed dad!) I had already told mum and dad to take the bus tour in the morning and so they had an idea of what sights there were, and so after lunch I took the underground to the house of terror to let them gain an understanding of the history of communism within Hungary. One thing that struck dad was that Hungary has lost about 2/3's of its orginal size throughout the difficult times for the country, and also the fact that people of only 30 years old can vividly remember the days of communism within their country.

After visiting the house of terror I took mum and dad to the market where we walked around and looked at some of the typical hungarian tourist merchandise, and then we picked up Kirsty and Kathryn and went for some dinner in the 'octagon' area, which is full of European restaurants, and at night time the area is beautiful with the street lamps and cobbled ground.

(The photo to the left is of the indoor market)

Then on Wednesday I met mum and dad after school again and I took them for some Hungarian 'goulash' in the local indoor market, and then we went on a boat trip along the Danube river. These were both new things for me to experience so it was a great day for us all. I was surprised on the boat trip by the huge size of Margaret Island which is in the middle of the Danube and splits it in half. It holds a hotel and mini water park and even has an outdoor cinema (which I am very excited about going to when it gets hot!)

(The photo to the left is of the end of Margaret Island)

On Wednesday night we walked around St.Stephen's Basilica and went into a wine bar with background jazz music which was a lovely way to finish off the day.

Mum also booked me into a room in the Gellert hotel, which made my week! (The gellert is the main hotel in Budapest and is included in all of the tourist books.)

(The photo below is of the Gellert hotel)

So I woke up on Thursday morning and had a full hot breakfast as well as lots of fruit and yoghurt. This was

certainly luxury compared to what I have been getting used to over the last 6 weeks! After breakfast I went with mum and dad to the gellert thermal baths which are within the hotel complex.

On Thursday afternoon I took my parents around the city to show them the school that I teach in and also showed them my university.

So the three days that I had with my parents were very busy! It was so great to see them and it also felt good to realise that I actually do know my way around the city and was able to tell mum and dad things about it.

This week I also celebrated St.Patrick's day with some international girls who were staying in our flat this week. It was great to spend time with 4 other girls who are all from different countries around the world. We went out to an area called, 'Deac Ferenc' where the faculty of art held an event with a band playing balkan music. I had never heard anything like it before. It was amazing to listen to.

Personal:

Another highlight of my week was that Spring has finally arrived! The Hungarians in my flat told me that it comes suddenly, and this is certainly true, as on Tuesday morning I woke up to snow, and on Thursday morning it was 18 degress! Everything looks so different in the sun and people around the city are happier!

In our spare time this week we met up with Klari, (our hungarian mentor) and our friend Kaitlyn from America. We brought them along to watch the Ireland six nations match on Saturday in an Irish pub, along with some of our other American friends. Although Ireland lost against Scotland it was so good to eat some Irish food!

(The Irish girls are ready to support Ireland in the photo below!)

Professional:

This week I was able to teach the first grade English class at school. I was really pleased to get the chance to teach in this class as I knew it would be the most challenging. It was the first time in my experience of teaching that I felt I was teaching English from the very beginning. I am enjoying teaching the children the alphabet as I am witnessing the very first stages in learning the English language. It has been challenging also as the children's English vocabulary is very limited and so I am learning to mime what I want the children to do, thus my acting skills are improving a lot!!

In my forth grade English lesson my teacher said that she was enjoying watching my style of teaching and that she is learning from the Irish style. This was really encouraging to hear, and to know that I am moving forward in my teaching skills.

Thus it has been a really positive week in Budapest...