Jayne Lawless: November 2012

My head is exploding with things to say as so much seems to be going on so I may go back to one of my favourite blogging tools...the list!

But, before the list I have to report immediately a major shift in my personal psyche. I'd say around a week ago or more - I'm losing track of time and days - this is a good sign with me - anyway, I felt this change. It was like I suddenly stopped watching life here and became part of it. I stopped being an observer of other peoples lives. I realised this when I stopped looking in my diary to see who or what was coming up that filled portions of the day. I stopped watching other people do their 'everyday' and started doing my own. This is hard to explain, but I suppose I stopped being 'aware' of myself...and as soon as that happened the work started. The fun really started with new friends Silvia and Zuzi and I happily became all ravelled up in my new Sturovo life. Such as...

- weekends at The Green Pub

- a first trip to a local outdoor pool where you sit outside in hot water in the night time and don't freeze to death, I want one.

- trips to Billa

- trips to Kaleidoskop Has

- trips to Tesco in Esztergom and paint shops with Bogi

- Bogi and her husband actually thinking I would eat a chickens stomach

- trips to Lidl

- trips to the other Billa, the one near Lidl, not the one in town

- Liverpool matches in the pub

- trips to more various places looking for face paint

- halloween zumba class

- halloween Rick Astley mask

- school visits to the studio and great ideas

- long talks about writing letters to Rick Astley

- long walks along the Danube

- tons of cardboard from Joseph's factory

- making a massive pencil with some lead, bamboo sticks and masking tape

- making a massive drawing all over the walls in the 'middle room' of the Bridge Guard residence, (obviously I'll be leaving the residence as I found it afterwards...)

- making cardboard sections for the drawing and loving with all my heart having a studio where I live that is warm and bright and looks out onto trees

- glueing cardboard together with some kind of corn glue that doesn't stink which is grand

- being told on many occasions that I don't speak 'proper' English

- realising I have a mailbox outside the residence

- discovering Budapest and falling in love with place

- meeting Hanneke, Santa's wife and curator of the Bridge Guard in their amazing apartment in Budapest

Have I mentioned Budapest yet???

My Aunty and Uncle (the one's you met in the last blog) had said that I'd love Budapest and everyone I know who's been loved it (well apart from one friend, there's always one!) But I wasn't expecting to absolutely love it! My initial reaction getting out at Nyugati train station was that it reminded me of Manhattan, anyone that knows me knows what a soft spot I have for that place, for those that don't, I lived there when I was a youth for awhile and this is probably the highest compliment I can pay Budapest. The wide avenues, some with trees and big old mansions, the unique shops, tons of bars, tons of people, tons of colour, tons of cafe's, tons of restaurants, a sex street; you know you're in a big city when there's one of those! It's vibrant but not in an overpowering way, it's dynamic and big and exciting but not too loud or overwhelming. There's an architectural wonder at every turn, I felt excited walking around, I felt stimulated and I felt like it was one of those places that no matter how many times you visited you'd always discover something new.

So it's safe to say I will return to Budapest!

OK, that's enough talking here's some pictures...