We are two days into our kids camp this week, and it is going great!  It’s been raining the last two days, but Laura is a genius with organizing kid stuff, and we also have a secret weapon…..Uncle Daniel.   More pictures coming soon.

So I’m trying to find an English copy of one of Albert Wass’ books. The Hungarian title is “Elvész a Nyom.” The English version was titled “The Trail Perishes.” We’re going to read it in Hungarian with some friends, but it would be awesome to have it in English.  I’ve looked everywhere that I can think of.  Does anyone have any tips for finding the English copy?

Sziasztok! Nagyon jó volt veletek lenni tegnap este. Köszönöm, hogy eljöttetek! Remélem, mindannyian túlélitek a vizsgaidőszakot! Itt egy pár fényképet a mult hétról!

Vártunk néhány honapig a bogárokat eljönni.

Csaladi nap Visegrádon.

Az idő szokatlanul szép volt ezen a napon.  Amikor felmentünk ezzel a mozgólépcsővel a HÉV végénél, láthattuk a kék éget.  Miután összetalálkoztam néhány ismerősömmel, gondoltam, hogy alkamas lefényképezni a Batthyányi tér környezetét és a napi munkát végző embereket, akik elsuhantak mellettem.  Talán többet kellene magyarul írnom.  :)

Happy New Year!  I hope you are leaping into 2008 with eager expectation.  For the new year I’d like to carve out three 45 minute slots per week for swimming and possibly swim the 5 Kilometer race across lake Balaton in the summer.  Never thought I would enjoy swimming for exercise, but it has really grown on me while living in the water polo capital of the world.   

I’m also adding a couple new components to my journaling this year.  Journaling has been so helpful for me over the years with the inward, outward, and upward journey.  I’m also really glad moleskin notebooks are back in business!!

Thirdly, I’d like to create more integration between this blog and our present communities, our work with Nexus, and our spiritual and family journey here in Budapest.  I’ve mapped out a plan for this, and I’m going to give it a try for a month and see if the plan needs adjusting. 

Fourthly, we of course still have some concrete goals for working hard on the Hungarian language. 

I’ve heard that 46% of us are still keeping our resolutions after six months.  That sounds conservative to me.  So here is a helpful acronym for goal planning from the project management world- S.M.A.R.T.:

• Specific - goals should be specific and clear as opposed to general.
• Measurable - goals need to be capable of being measured in some fashion.
• Adjustable - there needs to be a way to adjust your goals according to your rate of progress…if it is faster or slower than originally anticipated. 
• Realistic - goals can be set beyond you present ability but are attainable over the present length of time.  Research says that difficult goals usually lead to improved performance as long as those goals do not exceed your ability to attain them. 
• Time-based - there should be a clear time-frame (short-term, intermediate-term, long-term.)  There should be clear target dates set from the beginning.  

And you know, thinking of goals in positive terms instead of negative terms is always more effective.  And process goals are usually better than outcome goals (improving effort or performance vs. winning a competition).  And finally, most goals deserve a good strategy.

With our minds we plan our ways,
But God directs our steps.
-Proverbs 16:9

There is no end to language learning.  But language learning is not an end in and of itself.  The purpose of language is relationship by the sharing of meaning through story.  Through language we can corporately remember our story, and through story we can ask, “what is this meaning that we share?” 

I recently read a languistic study comparing the number of syllables Hungarians vs. Americans could recall.  Hungarians can recall 19 to 24 syllalbes with accuracy, while Americans can recall 13 syllables.  Of course the average Hungarian word is much longer than the average English word.  This might have something to do with it.  Who knows?

Most gyakorolom írni magyarul egy kiscit.  Szabad érezzed az írásom jávitani kérem szépen.  Próbálom használni néhány új szólások. 

Amikor mi pihentünk a Horvátországban két hét ez ellöt, akartunk elmenni a Pagra.  Pag van egy kisci mediterén város a hátsó véghöz egy hosszu félszigeten.  Hát, csütörtökön elmentünk találni azt helyet. 

Indultuk a szálodánk kora reggelben, és ezallat utazásánk mi megnéztük a kép tenger mellet van az elképzelhetetlenül szép hegyekkel.  A földrajza hihetetlen volt.  Mi nagy örömére, tudtuk számolni tizenegy különbözö országok rendszámait.  Egy órát után megérkeztünk a Pagnál.  Meglepetésünkre, egy nagy gyermek park a Pagban.

I’m currently reading “Vidám Mesék” (Happy Stories), a children’s book by Vlagyimir Syutyejev.  I never thought that reading about little ducks, kittens, and mice would be so challenging and intellectually stimulating.  Actually, this book is perfect for our stage of Hungarian.

I’ve also picked up these awesome vocabulary cards.  Our system of learning vocabulary work fairly good, but I’m eager to work through this set of 1000 words.  Actually its about 3000 since they do a great job including synonyms and corresponding verb/noun/adjective forms.  They are actually designed for Hungarians learning English, but they work the other way around too.  Here’s a phrase I’m working on: “Valaki nagy örömére…” (Much to somone’s delight….).

I play soccer with some guys 2-3 times a month on Saturdays, and today Kristof wrote out a page of Hungarian soccer lingo (words/phrases).  I needed this Hungarian lesson like it was going out of style.  When I’m on the field I just speak in English all the time.  (The fellas have good English, and I think they can understand most everything I’m saying.)  BUT, now when one of the guys does some really fancy footwork I can say, “Szétcselezi az agyát” which means, “he tricks his own brain apart!” 

Some other very cool/useful phrases: “Vigyázz mögötted!” (Watch out, he is behind your back!), “Lőjj!” (shoot!), “Remek védekezés” (Good Defense), “Héé” (Hey, I’m running here too so would you be so kind as to give me the ball), and “ketten vagytok” (there are two of us, so you’re not alone at the attack).  I can’t wait to try some of this out.

Our team of researchers have concluded that there are three effective and proven ways to learn the Hungarian language. 

1) be born in Hungary…to a Hungarian family.

2) marry a Hungarian who only speaks Hungarian.

3) have a brain transplant with a Hungarian brain.

Szeretném elmesélni a napomat.  Ma reggel, amikor mentem a HÉV-hez, megálltam a fodrásznál megtudni, hogy van-e szabad hely.  Régóta nagyon hosszu a hajam.  Ildinek, a fodrászomnak volt szabad ideje és levágta a hajamat.  Most nagyon jól érzem magam.  Hajvágás után HÉV-vel elmentem a Belvárosba.  Aztán elgyalogoltam az irodámba.

Segítségedet és finomítasadat köszönöm Ági!