To my teacher, mentor and friend, Mrs. Kronstadt (Kman) July 24, 2009

Kmannnnn,
Here I am, in my second Hungarian village. After 3 incredible weeks in Csatar, Hungary, I have landed in Alsobodok, a tiny village about an hour outside of Komarno. This has been quite the journey. I was thinking about you this morning while teaching my morning class, and decided i should write and see how you are... And, of course, talk about myself.
To catch you up: I started out with a brief 3-day orientation in Budapest, with the other volunteers in my program. Theres about 15 of us. Theyre from all over, but mostly Washington DC or California, mostly students at georgetown or stanford. What an amazing group. you know how they say that trauma can bond people? well we were all going through a common, "What the HELL am i doing?" phase, and we bonded pretty quickly. Needless to say, i have made lasting friends on this journey. It is intoxicating to be among such adventurous, curious, friendly, kind people. ive found my favorite way to ease fear is to lather up on the enthusiasm and with them theres plenty of that to go around!
anyways, after budapest, we were put on a train to western hungary, to a city called Zalaegerszeg. Zalaegerszeg is a "large" city of about 60,000, surrounding which many of us were stationed in nearby villages. I lived in a village of 500 called Csatar and taught just across the street in a village of 1100 called Bocfolde. I wish there was an easy way to describe my experience there without sucking dry a well of clichés. Yea, it changed my life. It made me see the world in a different way. it opened my eyes and i realized how similar and different we are from one another. it really did all those things. i was welcomed into these villages, chock-full of the most boisterous, jovial, excited men and women ive ever seen in one place. none of whom spoke a word of english. Well, thats not true-- there were two people in the village who spoke english, both were wonderful. but i had the most fun when i was with the people who knew none. i picked up some hungarian in those 3 weeks, and it got easier and easier to understand bits and pieces of the language.
i wish i could tell you everything i did in one email, but theres just too much. i wrote down all the things i did everyday, to make sure i would never forget, so maybe when i get you on the phone someday ill read off the milelong list. I met incredible people who became dear friends in too short a time. it broke my heart to leave them, but i had to come to my new village. so, after an elaborate dinner set up by the mayor, where a magazine came to write a profile on me (they promised to send me a copy), a tearful goodbye, and a five hour train ride, I was in Komarno. There, i met up with the other volunteers for a few days before heading to my new village. and now, here I am, in Alsobodok, a much more quiet village in Slovakia. this experience is very different from the one i had in Hungary, but i can just feel the courage from it seeping into my pores. and as homesick as i am for more places than i can count-- la, ny, and csatar--i hear you in my head saying, "if you do it once, youve done it, if you do it twice, you can do it," and i feel brave.
Thats not to say im ready to come home, because im not. besides, i have more stops to make before i fly back. So far, ive seen more than i have ever before. ive been to budapest, to rural hungary, to ljublana, slovenia (the other volunteers and i had a CRAZY day there...only when youre 21 can you rationalize traveling for 10 hours to party for 24!), and to komarno. next weekend i will be in prague, then the following weekend ill be back in budapest, and then ill be in cyprus for a week of glorious relaxation before heading back to my island. I have a 12 hour nighttime layover in london that i might spend running around the jolly ol town. By the time i return to my manhattan, on august 18, i will have stepped foot in 6 different countries, one of which I didnt know existed until 2 months ago (slovenia) and another whose language ive learned solely by way of immersion (hungary).
so here i am, satisfying my curiosity and learning the ways of these people. there is so much more to talk about, and i cant wait to tell you more about it. is there any chance youll be in new york in the fall? im thinking about coming back to la for a little bit, but i have to find a job first--thats another thing im devoting my free time to while im over here. The Job Hunt. yuck. I figure this is a good time to apply, while i sit here on the other side of the world, feeling brave, seeing what else i can do.
i love you, kman.
foram