Best Thing I Ever Learned From…

For awhile I’ve wanted to start this new series on best things I’ve learned from people, places, and things. Some of the anecdotes may be funny, some may be serious, but I’m excited to reflect on people, places, and things I’ve encountered that have impacted me in any positive way.

Since it’s been raining literally non-stop for almost two weeks here, I thought I’d start this series off with a bright, light-hearted one: best thing I ever learned from… the sun.

Because sunshine, I miss you, dearly.

Fall anywhere in Europe is basically a recipe for gray skies, some wind, and no sun. It makes me feel painfully, vitamin-D deficient and pale (and if you know me, you know I’m not exactly pale…). But every time fall comes around, I kind of have to laugh at myself. Because just a few months earlier, in the dry, scathing heat of the Texas summer, I find myself holed up in the corner of my house, basking in the ice-cold air conditioning, far away from the burning, could-cook-an-egg-on-the-sidewalk heat. Smack dab in the middle of summer, whenever I have errands to run and have to be outside for any prolonged period of time, I find myself internally groaning and wishing for cooler temperatures, knowing most of my strength will be sapped by the summer sun, leaving me with energy only to splay on my couch watching re-runs of Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta.

Dare I say struggle bus? Continue reading

Art of Translation

It’s been a bit of a minute since I last posted, but I’m back (with a couple exams behind me too, to boot)!

Fall is here! I love this time of year. I’m pretty sure I can vouch for the fact that no matter where you are, fall weather is always agreeable – whether the day is quietly sunny or breezily cloudy, it’s beautiful. I’m enjoying Pécs’s fall weather so much (minus the mosquitoes… shudder); looking out my window in the early evening at this time of year brings on bouts of introspective thoughts and future-minded daydreams. I experienced one of those thoughtful days recently; a couple weeks ago, I hosted a Bible study at my place here in Pécs with the ladies from the church I attend here (I use the word “host” loosely…though I didn’t cook any food for the event, I’ve recently gotten into baking and a little cooking! I apologize in advance because I may be sharing a ton of food photos in future months…). Since my church here strives to reach out to as many Hungarians as possible, services are often held in Hungarian, and then translated into English (or vice versa). So this time, the Bible study was taught in English, and translated into Hungarian. It was a hilarious ordeal at the onset, because our Bible study leader speaks both English and Hungarian, so at certain intervals, she’d stop and look at her friend translating her words into Hungarian and say, “Aw come on! That’s not what I said! There’s a better way to say that!” We all had a good laugh at these instances, chuckling to ourselves about the translator’s use of artistic license in conveying original words and ideas to the listeners. Continue reading