Last templum in Baja

This is my last week in Baja.  Next week I head to Paris. So I am now counting down the last time I do things. For example, Friday was my last eyebrow tinting. Today was my last walk to church (templum). I put some pictures below. Church bells ring telling people church is starting now. The bells ring half an hour before the service and again 15 minutes before the service and finally a minute before the service. That tells people when to start walking to church. I usually head out at the 15 minute warning. The workmen finished laying bricks in the new sidewalk. Now when I walk home arm-in-arm with the neighbor néni we don't have to walk in the street!

Yesterday was my third to last fry bread at the piac. Wednesday will be my second to last, and Saturday will be the last. I could get langos at a shop on the Sugo canal, but that's not near as fun as going to the bazaar. The sights and sounds, smells of fresh flowers fruit and veggies, people of all descriptions, sellers calling out to passers by, baby chicks and ducklings peeping, kids eating ice cream, it is all rich and full of life.  I love the piac! 

I expect my last pedicure this week. And last visit with neighbors and friends. I hope we will to to Fiszt to see cousins. If we go we will take the bus. My husband told me what hard workers they are, and how picturesque was the town when he last saw it. The cousins came to the funeral, and we're very kind to me, inviting us to visit. I am looking forward to it!

I finished my mending, and will ask if there is anything else I can sew in these last few days. I haven't had many chores while my husband's sister is off work. She fees the animals and does the marketing. I do my laundry, clean the floors, help with the weeding and mowing. But she is a busy gal, taking care of dozens of things, and there's not much left for me to do. She will return to work a few days a week after I go home. She is basically retired now, just working a bit for extra pocket money. 

I think I understand a bit about how retirement and healthcare works here. I think that folks get a small pension when they retire. Everyone has basic health care and can go to the doctor whenever needed. There can be a long wait for major services. So people also pay privately for services that they need fast, or for specialties. For instance, I understand that many women get private pay services for gynecology and for delivering babies. Gals will save up money in order to pay. A doctor can have a career in a state hospital and a private practice at the same time. When a dog bit me I went to the hospital emergency room for treatment. I received treatment free of charge. Thankfully it was a minor injury. I don't know what it would be like if I needed stitches or surgery. Please, I don't want to find out! The pharmacies here are pretty cool. It's almost like going to see a nurse. You walk in to the shop, tell the white coat clad service personnel about your problem. Then he or she gets the medication you need. I was bitten by some kind of insect and my face swollen  up like a balloon overnight. I took a Benedryl in the middle of the night. The next morning we went to the pharmacy and the pharmacist gave me a stronger medication. It knocked me out! Note to self: take prescription antihistamine on my next trip. Benedryl is good, but my reactions are pretty strong and Benadryl only takes the edge off, I need something stronger. I hope that was my last allergic reaction in Baja!

What else is last? Today's lunch was the last meal together with my husband's sister and niece. We ate outside, it was sunny and breezy. I said grace, and started tearing up as I spoke. Afterward, Frank's sister hugged me, we both cried a bit. We agreed that it is sad that I only have one week left here. I will treasure every moment. Even the difficult ones wherein I can't make myself understood. Or when I don't understand someone else. That is most moments! Really, this language is wickedly difficult to learn! I know lots of words, but the endings are all twisty and turn-y. I recognize lots of root words, but with the multitude of suffixes I feel like the words all swim around in a big cauldron, swirling together and making no sense. I know that that is a piece of meat, that is a carrot, and that is pasta. But I don't know their relationship to each other so I don't know what kind of stew it is. I am positive that my niece told me that the gym is closed on Sundays. But yesterday she said, "no, it is open in the evening." Most of the time I just say, "ok," and follow along like a little duck after its mother. This will not be the last week of that! When I get to Paris I will follow my other niece around like a little duckling! The rest of the meals this week will be just me and my sister in law. She cooks like crazy and I look forward to her home fries. They are the best fries I have ever had. I think I already said that, but they are so swesomly crunchy on the outside and tender and buttery on the inside, that I have to say it again. I will be sad to eat my last meal of home fries!

Here are photos of my last walk to templum in Baja. 

Country mouse and city mouse

Last weekend I went to Budapest for a few days. It was Memorial weekend in the USA, and Children's Weekend in Hungary. I felt like the country mouse going to visit the city. I got on the bus going north, and we drove through several picturesque villages.

For some foolish reason I presume that everyone is going to Budapest, so when I get on the bus I just say "good day," and hand the driver cash for the fare, without requesting my city. He looks at me. Oops! "Budapest, please." He makes change and gives me the ticket, "good day." The bus is full when it leaves Baja, and it empties out as we go north. People get on and off, mostly off. By the time we arrive there are only a dozen people on the bus.

I'm getting used to the stucco houses and shops with tile roofs. The really old buildings have moss growing on the tiles. It looks like lots of the roof tiles are made of stone. Some of the major buildings in the villages are made of stone, such as municipal buildings and churches. Most shops are brick covered with stucco. I keep my eyes open for stork nests, hoping to see a stork or some babies. I finally get a picture out the bus window, see below. May Day was May first, and it is a national holiday. I see decorated tres all over the place. In one town I saw giant dolls in a tree; a boy was climbing up to a girl at the top of the tree. I think that the idea was for him to reach her and ask to marry her. It's very sweet! After about a three hours we reach the Budapest suburbs. My cousin picks me up and takes me to the house. The children will arrive in the morning, so the adults have a quiet evening at home. .

The next day the children arrive. The little girl will turn seven this weekend, she has a friend over to play, and I play with them as well. It started out as Hide and Seek, but turned into Zombies. I was naturally, the Zombie (see the post about the dog bite). But after a while the little girls turned and started chasing me. I was a very fearful zombie! I ran away howling, waving my arms in the air. We made so much joyful noise that the next door neighbor girl came to join us. Little kids are such fun!

The birthday party was the next day, Saturday. So we went to the piac (bazaar) for fresh fruit, veggies and eggs. The city piac is open every day of the week unlike the country piac. Well, except for Shopping Day, of course. We also went to the toy store to pick up a couple of presents. I told her she could choose anything within a certain price range, and she got a little doll that smells like cake. It's a "thing" here, and she has several of those dolls. Children's Day is a big deal, and is actually the whole weekend. We buy presents for all the kids, even the children who are now grown ups. 

At the birthday party I met all kinds of relatives, great aunts, cousins, and people related by marriage. One of the friends has a plan to come to the USA and ride a Harley across Route 66. A wonderful tradition! We have a home made ladybug cake, it has fondant cling and marzipan flowers and antenna. The layers are strawberry and poppyseed. I bring several pieces back to Baja for the family here. We play football I the front yard before dinner, and share a round of fruit brandy, palinka. We all have to down our drinks in one tip of the glass. 

 The next day we go downtown and have a nice walk about with some, you guessed it - ice cream!  Just like in the country there are little shops of all sorts close by, an  auto mechanic is  right beside the house and you'd never know it. Naturally there are chickens and roosters all over the place. And ice cream stores a few blocks away. A friend of the family. Runs an import grocer, bringing fancy cheeses and oils from Italy. I don't think that kind of thing is available in our small town down south. 

The are a few differences, though. Our little town down south has some tourism, but nothing like Budapest. It's easyto feel like I live in Humgary since I'm staying with family. I enjoy watching tourists eagerly contributing to the national economy. Budapest has little two-man taxis, called Tuk-Tuk. I've seen them in Belize and Peru. They almost look like pedi cabs, with the driver up front, and a fold down-soft top for the two passengers. Compared to Budapest Baja is a sleepy town. I know there are tourists in Baja, but the downtown area is small and I don't see them as often. 

The ride back home is becoming familiar, I recognize towns and landmarks and I know when we are getting close. It was nice having TV, it helps with language. But it will also be nice to be able to ride my bike all over the place.