Yay Christmas Season!!! :)

Gratitude 44

I am thankful for the beauty of Christmas time. The lights, the snow (except that's missing in Hungary right now), the jolly cheer, hearing holiday tunes as you walk down the street, all the festivities, the sweet smells of peppermint, cookies, gingerbread, and cinnamon, etc. I love it! :)

(Also, I've been here since the end of August with my camera and just now discovered Sunday night that I can play around with the pictures...edit, change color, add words/borders, etc. Go figure! haha! But hey, the color change in this photo actually makes it look like there is snow in Budapest...but there sadly is not.)

Continuing on...

Saturday was a glorious day in Budapest...despite the rain. Such a brilliant city! It was Wendy, Clare, her sister Mary, Hilary, Casey, and I that went. When we got off the train, we sang Christmas carols in the train station. haha! Yes, we are crazy, but it was great fun...and we made some people smile!

We went ice skating in the park by Heroes Square! Such fun! Cold but fantastic. I have always wanted to go to NYC in winter and skate in Rockefeller Center, but skating in a park in Budapest, Hungary with a castle behind you and a grand monument in front of you...yeah, that's pretty sweet. :) Wendy had never been ice skating before! Crazy I thought! But then again, she is from "down under" where it definitely doesn't get very cold.

Afterwards, we hopped on the Metro and found our way to the Christmas markets. How exciting! Just as Dr. Mathias said, they are awesome! So many things and pretty decorations and yummy food. We got a mug of hot mulled wine to warm us in the cold and wandered around the markets looking at all the vendors. It was definitely a great experience to see and so glad we went.

In the evening, Wendy, Hilary, and I returned to the markets for a bit. It was even more gorgeous lit up with the Christmas lights and trees and garland! :) I love Christmas time!!

We took the last train back to Kecskemét and were greeted by beautiful white Christmas lights glittering through the whole town square! Nagyon szép! So lovely! It had been the first day of the Kecskeméti Christmas markets. :)

Sunday was the day when I everything came crashing in my brain. I realized that I only have 2 1/2 weeks left and have to wrap everything up in that time. Let's just say, I'm currently slightly overwhelmed. And stressed. And frustrated. Had a bit of a freak out. All will be well, though. Just lots to think about.

I took a walk around the Christmas markets in the town square and found the most amazing gift for my dad. hehe! It's brilliant! Quite excited. ;)

Today, I was just not ready for anything, but I made it through. We had a Hungarian music literature exam, which Sun-Xing and I had stayed up really late studying for the past two nights because it was the only time we had to work on it. Ugh! I don't do late nights and early mornings so well. I need my beauty sleep. haha! The exam went well, though, I think. Nothing horrible.

Solfege was not as successful, but semmi baj. It'll get there. Klára sensed the frustrations and stress and nerves. I arrived back to class after our break before the others, and her and I had a short chat, which made me feel a little better.

My voice lesson was not so great on the singing level. At least, I didn't feel so personally. János asked if I was tired. (It's never good when your teacher asks you that.) I was tired. My voice was tired. Not enough sleep. Stress. It all influences how you sound. However, I think it was a good lesson on a different note. I was really frustrated, and we talked a lot about it, why I was, what it was, how it was, and really started to pinpoint the difficulties I was having. We're making some great progress. There's just not enough time... So frustrating.

Apparently, I'm making strides in conducting, as Zoltán seemed pleased...but then I think he started to get frustrated as I kept not being able to fix what he was asking. He remained very light-hearted through it all, though. (I think he was afraid of a repeat incident of a few weeks ago. haha! I needn't worry, though, I don't think. Talking with him helped...and helped him realize how much trouble I was having.)

Sun-Xing and I went to dinner at the River Pub tonight because, again, neither of us wanted to cook, and our brains were on overload. When we came back, I caught János before he left to discuss what to sing on the Christmas concert. This shall be interesting...

Now, I am off to bed. Crazy day of work to do tomorrow. (But I'll probably sneak out to the Christmas markets for a bit...) Piano lesson in the morning...