This weekend, Bernard and I went to visit a Fulbright colleague who teaches in Eger, Hungary. Eger is a breathtakingly beautiful little city at the foot of the Bukk Hills.  It is famous for withstanding the Turks at a big battle in 1552, but by 1596, the Turks defeated the local Hungarians and occupied the…

After my class and office hours on Wednesday, a colleague showed us around downtown Miskolc.  Everyone is getting ready for a big festival this weekend called the Kosconya Festival.  Kosconya is a thick jellied soup, kind of like consomme, that is made from meat.  Some Hungarian students said it was tasty, others literally shuddered and…

My father was over 50 when he brought us (my mother, my two brothers and me) to the US.  One of my sisters was already married and the other one was in London completing her education.   He had $20 in his pocket.  The man who met us at the airport in Chicago was one…

In addition to the financial meltdown, Hungary is in the midst of a demographic crisis.  The birth rate here is among the lowest in Europe (if not in the world) and the mortality rate for men between the ages of 40 and 70 has skyrocketed in recent years.  We see people of all ages smoking…

Although most Hungarians don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, globalization is having an impact nonetheless.  I thought you might appreciate this display in a local Kavezo (coffee and pastry shop) around the corner from our apartment. Wishing you all a happy day! Thanks for tuning in and best regards, Marcsi

Despite several inches of snow, Debrecen continues to bustle.  After the departmental  faculty meeting, Bernard and I waited with crowds of Unideb students at the tram stop.  We weren’t surprised when the first tram failed to stop…we could see the sparks and dark smoke pouring from underneath.  The entire crowd tried to squeeze onto the…

I miss  the paper.  I can access all kinds of newspapers and journals on-line.  But it’s not quite the same.  I like holding and folding–it’s more fun to do sudoku and the crossword when you can hold it on your lap and wrestle with it.  The laptop never really conforms to my lap.  On the…

My Fulbright is a dual appointment.  I teach two classes at the University of Debrecen and on Wednesdays, I travel 90 minutes to the north to the city of Miskolc where I teach a class in the American Studies Department at what used to be the Technical University. The two cities couldn’t be more different,…

If you’ve read the post, “Henry Takes a Ride,” you know that we love our pets. I am happy to report that Henry is on the job, protecting my sister-in-law’s porch and patrolling the yard (Airedales were used to guard airports and other military installations back in World War One). She recently told me that…

Americans often complain about red tape and their frustrations dealing with government bureaucracy.  I have to confess, that except for the time we got audited by the IRS, we haven’t had too much trouble (aside from a few long waits at the DMV). We had some hints that we might be in for some rougher…