Earl on Heves

(Reprinted with permission)

As we approached Heves (hev-ish) on the 2+ hour bus ride, the roads became worse and the countryside became bleaker. Lights in the country were nearly non-existent and while we passed small patches of wooded areas, the late winter landscape became a windswept barren. But our experience in Heves was a wonderfully warm one.

First stop -- Jeremy’s apartment. It was not the Communist era drab apartment building we expected, but a relatively cute flat on a residential street. True the apartment resident can access all appliances in the kitchen without moving, but, hey, that can only cut down on cleaning time. In fact Jeremy is the proud holder of The Best Decorated Apartment awarded by fellow American CETP teachers. (Cut-up colorful bedsheets helped create this special ambiance.)

Second stop was just across the street—the city owned apartment where Carol and I stayed on our Heves visit compete with a very inviting circular sitting room and for the exorbitant rate of 2000 forints per night ($10). We came to call it “The Royal Apartment.”Third stop was the only restaurant in a town of 10,000.

While it looked like a place where one could have a wonderful meal, we were its only guests late Monday evening and no food was being served. Oh well, a good place to have a drink.The next morning, we found our way to Eotvos Joszef Kozepikola, the Heves middle/high school where Jeremy teaches 212 English students and 55 German language students. A daunting task with limited Hungarian and no student textbooks.

But our visit was refreshing. As we entered Jeremy’s classroom, all students rose and warmly said, “Good morning.” We immediately felt like special guests. We enjoyed conversation with students and they helped us learn some fundamentals of their language (a very difficult one). We played “Who Wants to be a Millionaire" with wonderfully spirited sophomore students. But first they enthusiastically sang their favorite Beatles song “Hello, Goodbye” followed by an old Kellogg’s “Good Morning, Good Morning.” We were impressed with students who were polite, friendly, and eager to make us welcome. Later as we sat in Herr Director's office visiting with Agi, the Headmaster, and Etelka, the Hungarian English teacher, we felt like dignitaries.

It is clear that Heves is a poor community with limited employment opportunity. Their “mall” was a Wednesday morning open-air market complete with produce, hardware, footwear, and clothes. It was amazing how hard people had to work to set up displays of nice clothing in a parking area that was oozing with snowmelt and mud. We saw many people but we didn't observe many transactions. Milk was sold in recycled liter soda bottles. I wondered if this was a traveling market that moved each day to a different city. We take so much for granted in America. Later we also saw beautiful hand-woven linens that took weeks to complete. Each stitch was a work of love.

While the resource gap is large between Fondy High School and Eotvos Joszef Kozepikola, there are still many commonalities. Kids are kids just like here. Teachers are hardworking just like here. And at both schools there exists a friendly, inviting atmosphere (not visible at all schools).

Jeremy’s adventure has its challenges. We are impressed with his creative ability to make things work. His acceptance of challenge, his commitment to young people, and his personal style are all admirable.

That evening we had a wonderful wine-tasting tour of a winery with Etelka as our interpreter and guide. (She is Rick Steves’ guide for all of Hungary!) Each wine we sampled tasted better than the previous. Istvan and his wife warmly shared their passion for winemaking as we talked for hours. (Of course, it didn't hurt that we drove away with a trunkful of their award-winning wine while leaving behind a handful of forints. All seven bottles stuffed in our baggage made it home safely! What were we thinking?) The personal tour with Etelka was truly special. It was a golden moment for us. Once again, we truly felt like royalty. Despite comparative poverty, the people of Heves were very generous to us. It was a highlight of our odyssey.We felt like royal parents.