Christmas in Europe

My favorite part of Christmas in Europe is the ambiance of the Christmas markets.  Pick any city in Europe and you'll find their version of the Christmas market.  Some are cheesy, Chinese-made trinkets, like in Prague, Czech Republic.  Others are traditional crafts and ancient settings, like Dresden, Germany.  Budapest puts on several Christmas markets throughout the city.  You always know Christmas is here when you see men hanging lights down Andrassy Avenue and the little wooden houses, where vendors sell their crafts, being hammered together in every square.

Give me a cup of mulled wine, a walk through the market and friends to meander with... and it feels like Christmas.  It's a bit different than the advertisements, giant shopping bags and big jolly Santa Clauses you see in America.  But the Christmas spirit is definitely in the air.  Christmas is Budapest definitely puts you in the spirit of the season!

Budapest, Varosmarty Square

Dresden, Germany

Vienna, Austria

The Hungarian Cure-All

My mom has a book of my great grandmother's titled Home Remedies for All Ailments (or something like that).  As a teenager I enjoyed looking at the recipes for everything from home-made cleaning products to home-brewed medicines.  Most medicines often involved a bit of whiskey.  In Hungary it's not much different (even today).

Pálinka is the medicinal liquor of Hungary.  Many Central and Eastern European countries have their own versions.  In Hungary pálinka is distilled from fruit, mostly plums.  It tastes a lot better than American whiskey, but still burns on the way down.

I've been battling a head cold this week.  No surprise in December.  As I stupidly went to work each day, my Hungarian co-workers all had the same advice for me... You need some pálinka.  Being that a recent guest gave us a nice bottle of home-brewed pálinka from her mother, my sweet husband set about giving me my dose of Hungarian medicine each night this week.

Pálinka mixed with hot water and cloves does make a person feel better.  It may not be a cure, but it sure helps me sleep and alleviate some of that sinus pressure.  The cold hasn't gone away, but my Hungarian co-workers are right... a shot of Pálinka is good medicine.  Egészségedre!

Turkey on "Turkey Day"

Working at an American school overseas has its perks.  Having Thanksgiving weekend off when the rest of Europe is going about regular business is one of those advantages.  For international teachers, this four-day weekend means only one thing... travel time!  This year we headed off to Istanbul.  The humor of being in Turkey the day we should be devouring turkey was not lost on us.  We decided to spend our day consuming too much Turkish delight instead of turkey and dressing, and we enjoyed our sugar comma to the fullest.  Aside from consuming too many sweets, we saw the sights.  What a beautiful city to explore.

A fusion of East meets West.
Chaos and order.
Asian markets and European shopping malls.
Mosques and churches.
The call to prayer echoing throughout the day.
Chestnuts roasting on open fires on the street.
The sea.
Honking horns.
Byzantium, Roman Empire, Ottomans.
Democracy.
All in one GIANT city.

Normal Life

My blog posts usually involve some travel experience or a cultural nuance of living abroad.  The truth is, most days are just like everyone else's days...  Pretty normal.  I spend five days a week going to work, coming home, cooking dinner, sitting on my couch for a few minutes and going to bed.  On the weekends, we go out with friends on Saturday night and sleep in on Sunday morning.  It's the same no matter where in the world we go.  This is the part of living abroad that isn't really blog worthy - my life is the same as yours, as everyone's.

Eat.
Sleep.
Work.
And have some fun.

But that's one of the things I love about living abroad.  Life becomes normal even when you spend Thanksgiving sight-seeing and you can't speak the same language as the grocery clerk.  It's normal because everywhere in the world people go about their days doing normal things.  We all have to.  It's life.  Life, no matter where you live it, is pretty much... normal.

A realization from Nairobi this week...

Last weekend Nairobi experienced a terrorist attack that horrifically continues a week later.  The attack happened the same place my husband and I had our first date, a place we often shopped for groceries, the cinema where we watched movies and the shops where we bought English books.  I have spent the week communicating with friends to make sure everyone is OK.  My friends are supporting those they know that have been affected by this tragic event.

After contacting friends, I emailed my family, knowing my mom would have an immense feeling of relief that we no longer live in Kenya.  But our conversation ended with my realization that this happens in America multiple times a year.  Kenya has not had this kind of attack since 1998 when the US embassy was bombed, but America has shootings in small towns, big cities, schools and cinemas far too often.  People watch the news about Kenya this week and think, "Oh that's Africa.  That kind of stuff happens there all the time."  Wrong.  Not in Kenya.  Nairobi has its carjackings and house break-ins, but people don't go into schools and malls and kill people.  It doesn't happen.  And an attack, like last weekend, hasn't happened for 15 years.  Whereas America... How many shootings and attacks have occurred in the last year alone?

At this point in history, I have to say that I would feel safer living in Nairobi than I would an American city.  If I had children, I think this feeling would be even stronger.  America, what has happened that the land of the free and home of the brave makes a small-town American girl feel this way?

Nairobi, you are in my thoughts and prayers.  Hearts around the world are with you.

More info about Nairobi this week...
Nairobi Westgate Mall Terror Attack, And the Folly of 'Otherness' - What Al-Shabaab Revealed About Us
Kenya Standoff - The Victims