Promise kept

Hello!!

I have had a busy last few weeks. And I have not really had time to write in this journal since my parents arrived two weeks ago or so. They arrived in London on the 7th of May. It was great to see them after six months I can tell you. :-) We did a bus trip around London, one of those touristy ones that takes threee hours! But I think it was a nice way to spend some time with my parents who were tired after the flight anyway!

On Sunday the 8th May we met up with my cousins for lunch. There were ten people at the lunch, and it was lovely to see them all again. After lunch we went to the Globe Theatre to see Shakespeare's The Tempest. The theatre is a replica on the banks of the Thames built like the original Globe Theatre of some 500 years ago. So we sat in the upper balcony and watched a modern interpretation of the play. I enjoyed myself, as I tried to imagine myself watching the same play all those years ago with all the "groundlings" throwing fruit at the players if they were displeased with them!! Groundlings, by the way, are the people who have to stand for the length of the play in front of the stage.

Tuesday we flew to Hungary. I was really looking forward to meeting the relatives. I had heard so much about them, and I was finally going to be able to put faces to names! We were met at the airport by Pista and Eva, and their ex-son-in-law Tamas. We settled into our flat, and had a quiet rest of the day. We were staying in a flat in the centre of the city. Now when I say the centre of the city, it is unlike the city centres of Australian cities. There are no high rise office buildings, but many apartments buildings, shops, and offices. It is a real mix.

I guess I don't need to tell you everything we did, as I would take up a great deal of space!! I will give you my impressions of Budapest. Even though I had never been there, I did feel a connection to it. My mum is Hungarian, but left there as a child of nine. I have been brought up with the Hungarian language around me, but I cannot speak it. Mum cooks Hungarian food, which I miss a great deal over here! I loved meeting my relatives, who are all gorgeous. It is certainly a different life over there, much more stressful. I think it has to do with the low wages, which would cause a great deal of stress with me that's for sure!

We did a little bit of sight seeing when we were there. It was really just a taster trip for me. As I know I will be back. So it was nice to be able to get a feel for the country with a native speaker in tow! We ventured 2 hours out of Budapest on the train to where mum was born. The town in called Bekescaba, and it would really be just another town to me, had I not gone there with mum. She was able to point out certain things she remembered from her childhood there.

I initially spent 5 days there with mum and dad. That was what I could fit in around work etc, but plans changed slightly. My grandfather's first cousin was in Budapest at the same time we were, which was fantastic. So, in honour of his being there, a family reunion was organised for the weekend after I left to go back to London. So, Scott and I flew back for a few days. I am so happy I went back. There were about 40 people at the reunion, which was held at a small function centre. I am quite familiar with the family tree, but to actually meet the people whose names appear on the tree is quite something else. I found it a little overwhelming to begin with, but I had a lovely time. I had written a form for everyone to fill in, so I can update the details on my family history database. From the info I collected, I will be able to send everyone a new family tree, so everyone knows where they fit in.

Family's are funny. You certainly cannot choose who you are related to, but I am very happy that I am related to the people I met in Budapest.