Fear, Failure, and Forty-Four Letters: My Hungarian Experiment

The highlight of my week was Dad asking me to say something to him in Hungarian, and even though he doesn’t speak the language, he said I…

I have an elderly neighbor who I saw only rarely when I was living here in the spring. On chilly days of rain, he would get his daily walk…

It’s a National Holiday in Budapest, a Commemoration of the incredible 1956 Revolution. This has always captured my imagination, and I…

I went to an art exhibition with my dear friend here. I listened to the presentations, tried to read the signage, but mostly I enjoyed…

I’m ordering my food in Hungarian. I’m also apparently picking dishes with very long names, and I’m giving the waiters a hint by putting…

I think it’s time to tell the story of the Turkish cops. This was one of the strangest things that happened to me this summer. It’s not…

I must admit that I didn’t do much speaking today, though I tried listening to other people. I could only catch a few words. I couldn’t…

She was out for an afternoon stroll. She was a bit dressed up — a skirt, her hair done, shoes with sensible heels, but still unsensible…

I moved to Vienna, Austria about 11 years ago because I loved a few of their novelists. I have also adored Hungarian novelists. So much of…