Political Graffiti

Everyone who is currently living in Hungary cannot escape the political propaganda that protrudes from the ground in the form of billboards and decorates old communist style flat blocks with orange, green, and other assorted party colors.

As for the contenders, I haven't been very lucky in figuring out who is on top, who is the jerk, etc...but I got more of a clue yesterday on my way to Solymár, a town just north of Budapest. As I was gazing out my window observing Budapest in its spring splendor, I couldn't help but notice the one billboard on which someone had spray painted a Hitler mustache. Not even 5 minutes later, I saw the same man's billboard with one big white word,“Elèg!”which means "Enough" in Hungarian. As I began coming to certain negative conclusions about this man, I saw yet another sign with a Nazi symbol next to his head. Developing a pattern here? I'll have to do more research.

You may ask...what was I doing in Solymár on a normal Wednesday? Watching my 10N students perform "Cinders" a spoof on Cinderella...a play I had picked out for them. Although the day was extremely long and I was immersed in a deep sea of non-stop Hungarian (to the point of chanting common phrases that I had heard that day over and over again...sometimes not knowing what I was saying....like a linguistically exhausted parrot) it was worth seeing my favorite class get all glammed up for their hilarious performance. Prince Charming, (Istvàn) had the best snotty English accent. When complimented, he said that he had studied the Prince's demeanor and voice from Shrek. The results of that day: 10N from Szerencs placed 8th among 23 schools!

Highlights of the play included:

1) The King and Queen (Szabolcs and Katalin) entering the stage to the theme from Star Wars.

2) Prince Charming entering the stage to Ricky Martin.

3) Cinderella (Brigi) wearing a huge cast on her foot because she tripped down the stairs at school two days before...so the glass slipper really couldn't fit her. But luckily, the spoof version of this performance does not go with the classic tale...in 10N's version, the glass slipper fits Granny and Cinderella goes off with the servant, Buttons.

4) Last of all...I'm so impressed that these kids spent hours memorizing several lines for this play and it was all in ENGLISH! I still don't know how they do it...