International Reflections

Welcome to International Reflections!

Welcome to International Reflections, the blog of George Eisen, Associate VP for Academic Affairs and Executive Director of Nazareth College's Center for International Education. Founded in 1924, Nazareth College is a co-ed college with undergraduate and graduate studies in the liberal arts and sciences, and professional programs in health and human services, education, and management. The College is located near Rochester, New York, and currently enrolls approximately 2,800 students. For more information on the College, visit www.naz.edu.

Final Post--Leaving Veszprém with a sad heart--Monica Weis SSJ

I knew this day would come, but I have been reveling in the "meanwhile"--enjoying the present moment and not thinking about the end of this wonderful teaching semester in Veszprém, Hungary.  But today is my last day here. My students have finished my exams. Most of them did very well, but I regret I will not be here to witness the quantum leap in thinking/writing they seem ready for.

I have seen much of this fascinating country: multiple corners of Budapest; Sopron and environs; Pécs; Lake Balaton and surrounding villages; Abbeys, vineyards, museums, and porcelain factories; and a bevy of kávéhaz (coffee houses). Although Advent has signaled the season of waiting, the Christmas spirit broke out early in Budapest; other towns are quickly catching up with forrótbor (mulled wine) at Christmas markets everywhere.  Despite the grim economic situation here as well as throughout the world, celebration is in the air, and carols can be heard from impromptu musicians and scheduled choruses.

So, I am signing off, as does one of the US national news broadcasts with a picture of Rockefeller Plaza.  Enjoy this young lass at the temporary rink in front of St. Stephen's basilica in Budapest. 

Love to all and

Boldog Karáncsonyt.

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" --Monica Weis SSJ

"Oh, the weather outside is frightful"....so goes the traditional Christmas song. In Veszprém, that's true.  A fog has settled onto the hills and valleys, and for the last two weeks--because of the freezing temperature--the trees and edges of buildings and cobblestones have been covered with a skin of ice: iced fog. Everyone hoped this was temporary, and we did have one bright blue sky day that gave all of us townspeople hope, but the freezing fog has settled in again and made travel difficult. The real challenge is for all the merchants who are standing in their pine booths all day from 9 - 6 p.m. for the Advent/ Christmas market--right here in the square outside my flat. There are about 25 booths set up with the usual fare: scarves, hats, mittens, candy, local food and mulled wine. Those guys in the cooking booths, at least, are keeping warm! 

But I have had occasion to be in Budapest for several days and the Christmas market there has been in full swing since the middle of November. Because Budapest is a much larger city, there are more than 100 booths set up from about 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. in Vörösmarty ter--right in front of the famous Gerbaud coffee and sweet shop [background of this picture]. The area is filled with people enjoying the sausage, cheese, and handmade crafts of high quality. The items are lovely and the crowd is exhilarating. And the lights at night give just that romantic flare that make Budapest one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.

Sadly, I have only 2 1/2 weeks left here in Hungary, but I am ready to come back any time....just say the word.  These four months have been a wonderful respite...challenge...and time of personal growth.  Who could ask for more?  

"I myself am part of the weather..." --Monica Weis SSJ

Now that it is November, I remember fondly the searing heat of August and September in Veszprém, Hungary.  All those hills and all those clothes drenched in sweat. But this is the time and place of contrasts.   Last week in sunny Rome I was enjoying a cappuccino al fresco at the Piazza Navona, and listening to a jazz group play Sinatra's "I did it my way."  But that was last week and my plane landed in Budapest in a temperature of one degree celsius. Now back in Veszprém we have been fogged in for several days.  A low-lying mist covers the town with crystal. This morning the fog froze on trees, houses, cars, and pavements. Early morning rush hour was a nightmare for many people, but city workers were out sprinkling gravel on every surface: roads, sidewalks, cobblestones, steps. It reminded me of Thomas Merton's powerful 1965 comment on the weather--that he had "a deep and legitimate need to know...what the day is like, to see it and feel it, to know how the sky is grey, paler in the south, with patches of blue in the southwest, with snow on the ground, the thermometer at 18, and cold wind making your ears ache.  I have a real need to know these things because I myself am part of the weather and part of the climate and part of the place, and a day in which I have not shared truly in all this is no day at all.  It is certainly part of my life of prayer."  Good words to live by.  Let the fog roll in and beautify this small part of my world.

Two cheshire cats -- Monica Weis SSJ

Somehow my life is filled with DRAMA!.   Last Sunday, returning from the Lutheran service in town and being the guest of the wonderful co-pastors, Dora and Zolton, I arrived at my apartment building and was stumped.  My key would not go into the lock.  Had they changed the locks and, because I couldn't read the signs, missed the announcement? What WAS the problem? Yes, it was the right key.  After sitting on the steps for 15 cold minutes with no one coming from either direction, I realized that I was going to have to solve this problem myself with some ingenuity.  I first had to figure out what the apartment number might be of the woman who lives on the floor below me.  OK, done.  Then I pressed her bell...hoping... "Monica, vagyok." [I am Monica].  Then a few plaintive English phrases from me, but I could tell I was going to be rescued.  Maria arrived at the door to let me in, inspected the problem, and began notifying all the residents that the lock was jammed, even putting a sign to that effect on the door.  Great! but I was marooned in my apartment for the day, and, on Monday, hoped that once I left for work, I would be able to get back in at the end of the day.  YES! lock fixed and meanwhile I had discovered that each apartment also has a number code that can be punched in to release the lock.  {Now they tell me!!]

Ok--so what does this have to do with cheshire cats?  Well, mid-week I had a birthday that seemed to go on for 3 days--a celebration that garnered two cakes.  How could I possibly eat the substantial remains of two cakes?  How about a thank you to Maria for saving me?  With my best Hungarian, I approached her door, bearing a plate of yummy cake of white, chocolate, and chestnut layers, covered with a shell of rich, dark chocolate.  "Jó este kivánok. Tegnap születésnap. Köszönöm." (Good evening; yesterday, my birthday. Thank you.).  That simple gesture merited a kiss on both cheeks and an invitation to come sit and have a visit. Sadly, my Hungarian ran out before Maria's did and we ended up grinning at each other in silence....like the famous cat of "Looking Glass" fame.  Nevertheless, a neat birthday memory of the wonderful Hungarian people I have met.