Countdown to Boston

I always look forward to going home for the holidays but am especially excited this year. It’s not like my life in Budapest isn’t good; things are great or at least no worse than they would be if I lived in Boston. So why have I been obsessed with all things Christmas for the past month and a half?

I often feel uncomfortable here – whether I am trying to do Agni yoga in Hungarian or my coworkers abruptly stop all conversation when I walk into the office kitchen. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and part of the reason I wanted to live abroad in a non-English speaking country was to be out of my element, but it has been difficult not having a familiar, happy place (hanging out with my best friends or being lazy on my couch in Boston with the dogs) where I can go to recharge.

Let’s take last Wednesday morning.

Walking into the office, I run into Zoli, the guy in charge of company cars. I say hi and a few words in Hungarian, and Zoli avoids eye contact and nods (my Hungarian lessons are a disaster; my revised tactic is to smile like a lunatic and greet everyone I see). When I get to my desk two minutes later, I have an email from Edina that Zoli wants to arrange a “programme” with me. I respond, “That would be great!!!” because if you don’t use excessive punctuation or emoticons in email, you are perceived as an unfriendly bitch. After a few more emails, it is decided I am going with Zoli and Csaba – another guy who works with the cars – to Zoli’s house for lunch, which will be cooked by his wife, Viola.

This wouldn’t be so strange but I don’t speak Hungarian, and Zoli and Csaba certainly don’t speak English. We end up having a hilarious lunch where Zoli’s wife cooks a delicious, HEAVY meal of garlic soup (sorry, coworkers), meat in creamy sauce, cucumber salad, and roast potatoes, and we mime and communicate in broken English and Hungarian.

Lunch was awesome but at the end of the two hours I am ready for a nap – and not just because of the heavy meal. But I cannot take a nap because I need to go back to work and keep up the Alex-represents-Americans-well routine.

So I am V to E excited to come home to a place where my family and friends already know me, and I don’t have to try to articulate my personality through hand gestures and simple sentences. And Christmas traditions like Bob’s Diner, Dutch Baby, and Mama Bochicchio’s annual holiday (news)letter make the holidays even more familiar and comforting.

See you all in Boston soon!