I Mean It This Time

I know I say this every time, but this weekend’s basketball game - best one yet! But I get ahead of myself.

Friday evening was tame - mainly, me watching movies in my flat. Later, Juli and I went out driving. She let me drive around in her car a bit, which was amazing after I figured out where first gear was (I do drive standard, but her car is different than mine).

Saturday we went to the game. Szolnok vs Paks. Beyond being a rival, Paks is also the team that formerly owned Davis, Szolnok’s newest American player. They had a large group of fans there to support them, and the fans had brought their own drum, noisemakers, and banners. So in addition to the match, there was also an ongoing battle between the fans to see who could be loudest, who could out-drum the other, and who could yell the nastiest things. Juli and I sat right in the middle of Section Crazy (those of you who have been to a game know what I mean) and chanted and clapped and screamed and jumped as much as we could. Highlights include:

-when one of Olaj’s players dunked the ball so hard, the timer above the basket was knocked sideways
-the fact that we have cheerleaders, honest-to-short-shirts-and-perky-hair cheerleaders, and moreover, when they lost the beat of their performance because we were chanting too loud
-learning some new chants and taunts, such as “Indul a busz!” and “Hol a bajnokok?” and one song that was just “picsa” every other word
-getting fallen on by people higher in the stands who jumped too hard and lost their balance, or who were trying to charge onto the court
-the fight that broke out after the game when an old man (a Paks fan) called Szolnok a bunch of gypsies
-the fact that we WON! Despite a gloomy outlook and a close game for the first 3 quarters, Szolnok pulled it off 72-59. Oh yeah, we rock. Hajrá Olaj!

After that, what could really make the weekend better? Well, being invited for lunch to one of the other English teacher’s lovely house in Szandaszölös (one of Szolnok’s nicest suburbs). The weather was perfect, the food was amazing, and Edit and her son (who will soon be taking one of the English exam) were great company (as were her husband and daughter too, they just didn’t talk as much).

So knock on wood, the coming week shouldn’t be too bad, since I already have complete lesson plans (gasp!) for each and every class. Plus, there’s a midweek game (yeah, sorry, I’m back to basketball again) on Wednesday. Then hopefully I get out of here for the weekend. Then a short week, and then Transylvania. Then spring break. Then it’s mid-April, and there’s only two months left. Wow, happy spring.