It's hard to believe I have already been in Budapest for two months, but that "monthiversary" is coming up quickly. As a Peace Corps volunteer with twenty-seven months of service ahead of me, two months seemed like nothing -- but as a Fulbrighter with only nine months total... time is passing too quickly! That said, I think I'm really getting into the swing of things here. Work is going really well, at both workplaces.
At ELTE, where I teach, fall break is upon us so we just had our mid-terms. When I asked my students how it went, they said, "HARD!"... which I take as a good sign! (Hehe.) Outside of teaching, my colleagues have asked me to put together a Writing Workshop for the students who are working on their thesis papers this year. As an extension, we are working on a project to start a writing center at our university. Unlike at many American universities, ELTE students don't have somewhere they can go to have their papers proofread and checked over for content, formatting, style, etc. Also, here oral exams are much more common than essays, so students tend to panic when they actually have to write something. So, a writing center is much needed! And since good writing is something I really appreciate, I am happy to help in this effort.
Things are going well at Fulbright as well. Now that I've gotten the hang of things in the EducationUSA office, I am working on bigger projects. I've been put in charge of putting together a Counselor Training Academy -- basically, a one-day workshop for Hungarian high school teachers and guidance counselors to learn more about the American higher education system, and to understand how they can help their students who want to study in the U.S. -- things like how to fill out materials on the Common App, how to write a letter of recommendation, where to look for scholarships, etc. It's really exciting to be a part of this, because I remember when I applied for college as a high school senior in Stockholm, there was very little support from my school because most of my classmates were applying to European or British universities.
Outside of work, one thing that has been challenging has been making friends, firstly because I don't see my colleagues that much, and secondly Hungarians as a whole aren't exactly bubbly and outgoing. But I am making progress! Recently, after deciding I needed to meet new people, I went to a coffee meetup for international women in Budapest. I found the event through Facebook and I was hesitant to go, but I am so glad I did! I met several new people from all over the place (Germany, South Africa, Romania, U.K...), including a few other teachers. I've already signed up for a potluck in a few weekends--now to figure out what I should "cook" that other people might actually want to eat...
On a final note, I'll be traveling quite soon to the U.S., to D.C. specifically, where I will take the Foreign Service Oral Assessment. This is the final testing component of the Foreign Service recruitment process, and consists of a completely nerve-wracking day-long interview/exercise where you are constantly watched by assessors as you work as a group, answer questions, etc. I'm very grateful just to have gotten to this point, but I'm nervous all the same -- justifiably so, I think, given the amount of time, effort, and money it has taken to get to this point. (I started this process in 2014!) The good thing is, I will find out the day of whether or not I passed. If I do pass, there's a whole series of new hoops to jump through and its still far from guaranteed that I'll get hired -- but if I fail, I start again from square one next June. Please keep your fingers crossed for me!
For now, it's back to grading tests for me! Until next time, readers.
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