Eurojournal - 3 August 2006

We went to the Praid salt mines today. That was surreal and very interesting. It is located in a town about 40 km away from the village. People come from everywhere to undergo treatments for respiratory disorders. The rest of us tour the mine by riding in a bus to the mine and visiting the chapel and museum. After we arrived we went down several steps to the bottom. Lit with fluorescent lights the cave was lined with wooden swings, seesaws, trains, slides, picnic tables, you name it. Csaba had mentioned a park inside but this was more than I could imagine. The children were in heaven. Even more surreal was the jumpy house and the internet café, yes, in this cavernous mine with walls of salt. The chapel was very interesting, They do services in Romanian Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Lutheran. The entire time felt surreal.

This morning the children played at the neighbor’s. His grandchildren were there and they have connected with Luna and Liam. Tonight we made attempts to invite them to Luna’s birthday party in Hungarian. I think James was successful. Her party is on Monday. We are working on languages. I heard Luna talking in her sleep in Hungarian the other day. Luna, Liam and Byron are building this extensive sand castle in the yard. It is pretty neat. It has an unfilled moat, bridge and a lot of pillars.

Last night Byron went to an Aikido class in the nearest city about 15km away. He resisted going on Monday but I made him go this time. He loved it and wants to return on Friday. He said the level is about the same as he is and he liked how relaxed the class was. It was much like his class at home.

The puppies are doing great and growing fast. They grew out of their trash cans and now have a bricked in area in the house. We made another area for them outside where they spend most of the days. We introduced a bowl with milk yesterday and they are getting it occasionally. James is trying to train them to go to the bathroom outside by running them out as soon as they wake up. They have been walking which is really cute. And best of all, last night they slept through the night, a whole 8 hours!

I am mentally getting ready to go to France. We leave next week and will stay in Paris for a little less than a month. I will miss the village, the warmth, people and of course James and the pups. James is making plans to come see us for a day or two. That will be my dream date! Byron is getting excited to see the Louvre and insists that we must buy passes and spend at least 3 days there. Liam and Luna want to see the Eiffel Tower and the ferris wheel nearby. I want to see Jim Morrison’s grave and Centre Pompidou. I’m reviewing my French. I know much more than survival French but I forgot the tenses other than present. I will get us around just fine or at least better than I can in Romanian and Hungarian!! I am trying to decide if I will enroll the kids in French classes. After being here and meeting people who are almost always bilingual if not trilingual, I am committed to keeping the children learning languages. At home they can continue with French and Spanish easily. James will continue with Hungarian and can teach the kids. I am pretty committed to learning more Spanish and reviewing my French.