The Hungarian Holiday Edition
Örülök, hogy úgy döntött, hogy lefordítja ezt a mondatot.
For most people I imagine December sounds like Mariah Carey or an assortment of other holiday music. While I’ve indulged in the Christmas Classics playlist of Spotify a bit, most of this month has been spent listening to Hungarian rock music.
I should explain. I’m in my work’s reading season so I’m spending all of my workday reading on my computer. Because I need to concentrate on what I’m reading, I try to avoid music with lyrics so I won’t be tempted to sing along and get distracted. Lofi House and Bossa Nova are my usual go-to’s but I’ve strayed this year. Hungarian rock music is what December 2023 sounds like to me.
It’s not very surprising, though. My fascination with Hungary and its culture turned 20 years old this year. It all started in 2003, when my sister rented the movie Chicago from Hollywood Video.
I remember watching the movie with my mom and sister in our living room and being completely transfixed. This was the greatest movie I had ever seen and I asked my dad to buy me the DVD of it soon after.
It’s embarrassing to think about how many hours were spent dancing in front of the living room TV to this movie (can you believe my parents were surprised when I came out?). I had all the songs and dialogue memorized for all of the songs. The only lyrics I could not get down were the lines spoken in Hungarian during “Cell Block Tango.”
The Hungarian inmate is still my favorite character in the movie. Falsely accused for the murder of her husband but unable to advocate for herself? TRAGIC! The first woman executed in the state of Illinois?! ICONIC!
To really put it into perspective, whenever I’m getting ready for an important occasion (i.e. I have to wear a suit) I pretend to be her as she prepares for her famous Hungarian disappearing act. I apply my Cerave moisturizer with the same style and elegance as she puts on her setting powder.
That’s when the first seed of Hungarian appreciation was planted. The plant would begin to grow in college when I met Michele.
She and Sarasa (hi Sachan!) lived down the hall from me in the dorms and I spent a majority of my freshman year sitting in a lawn chair in their room. I was fascinated by all of the Hungarian history and culture Michele shared with me.
In 2015, while sitting in traffic I heard the song Budapest on the radio. My mind began to wander and I thought, “it would be so cool to visit Budapest one day.” And then I realized, what was stopping me?
I called Michele when I got to work and booked a round trip flight within the hour.
I love Hungary for a lot of reasons. First and foremost, it’s home to Michele and she is home to me. I got the phrase “treasure chest person” from her. Deep down in our hearts, we both have a treasure chest of people who will always be with us. She is a permanent resident in mine. She continues to inspire me with her creativity and kindness, and I am so happy our love has persisted across continents and timezones.
Another reason I love Hungary is because of what it represents to me. Traveling to Hungary alone in 2015 was such an empowering experience. It was the first time I left the continent and I was doing it all alone without a plan. I stayed with Michele for a few days before setting off to Austria and the Czech Republic alone. Hungary was my entry point to the rest of the world.
As I reflect on the past year I keep going back to how wonderful my trip to the UK was. It was my first time abroad with Collin and it opened up a new part of the world for both us. I’m excited to see what 2024 will bring and what places I’ll discover.
Until then, I will be listening to Carson Coma and dreaming of lángos.
December Book Reviews I
Teacher of the Year: 5 stars
What I liked about this book: To be blunt, the sex scenes. That’s why I picked up the book in the first place. The TikTok algorithm fed me a book influencer who specializes in gay romance, specifically male and male (M/M). He said this book was very “spicy” and WOW he was not kidding. It is a very cheesy book, but I just let myself enjoy it. It was a wonderful book to read after last month’s books, which were great but downer.
Who I’d recommend this book to: anyone who wants to read some steamy M/M scenes; anyone who needs to know that Kindergarten teachers can be horny, too.
Medium of the book: Kindle version purchased from Amazon. I try to avoid giving my money to the beast as much as I can but sometimes I fall prey to the siren song of cheap e-books.
Judging a book by its cover: Meh. I wouldn’t have picked this book up if I saw it in a bookstore by cover alone.
Mistletoe & Mishigas: 4.5 stars
What I liked about this book: I loved Teacher of the Year so much I immediately got the next in the “Teachers in Love” series. This was almost as good. I just didn’t connect to the characters as much as I did the ones in Teacher of the Year. I still liked it. Some of the Drag Race references were a bit much sometimes, though I know it was intentional.
Who I’d recommend this book to: anyone who wants to read some steamy M/M scenes; anyone who needs to know that First Grade teachers can be horny, too.
Medium of the book: Kindle version through a Kindle Unlimited trial
Judging a book by its cover: Same as the previous book. Not my cup of tea.
My favorite people’s favorite things.
I love the Celebrity Shopping lists on The Strategist. Last month I bought Gavin Rossdale’s salt and Leslie Odom Jr’s chocolate.
Of course I had to have Michele be this newsletter’s person. Without further ado, Micheles’ favorite things as told by her…
Hello there! This is Michele, coming at you from snowy Budapest, Hungary, with a list of favorite things. When I asked Albi what my prompt was, he told me “Think of it as the accessories that would come with the Michele Barbie” so on that note…
Accessory 1: a bright green balaclava: One of the impulsive decisions I made during quarantine in an effort to feel in control of my life was to give myself bangs. It has since become an important part of my identity. Pre-bangs Michele was a fan of a good funky colored beanie, but I realized they didn’t work for me anymore. The bangs would get flattened and I would sweat under the beanie on the moving sardine can that is Budapest public transportation. Enter some TikTok video about how Scandinavian girls dress for winter! This girl puts on this balaclava bonnet hat thing and it’s like one of those eureka, angels singing moments. I ordered a bright green one immediately. It’s perfect.I know I learned it from the Scandi girls, but somehow I feel like I look more Eastern European in it, like the cutest little Hungarian peasant grandma on the planet.
Accessory 2: ScrawlerBox: This is a monthly subscription box of art supplies. It includes paper, some kind of different art medium, a piece of candy, and a little inspiration from a featured artist. It’s fun to receive and getting new supplies helps a little with my anxiety surrounding art creation. I realized recently that it didn’t fit my Hungarian elementary school teacher budget and sadly had to cancel it. Somehow, to my surprise, it still arrived the following month and it turned out my boyfriend had decided to reinstate my subscription for me. I promptly melted into a little love puddle.
Accessory 3: a book: I grew up in a house where you always had to be doing something my mother considered productive (i.e.cleaning, learning German, doing Hooked on Phonics, or studying). Luckily, one of the approved activities was reading and as a kid I was happy to constantly have my face buried in a book. Some of my best memories were going to the Redwood City public library (a superior library) and getting a pile of books. I would spend an entire weekend sitting in my godfather Barry’s giant armchair, gobbling up book after book. As an adult with a life, jobs and smartphones, this hobby got put on the back burner. Albi is the one who inspired me to start reading again. I joined a book club and recently wrote myself a long TBR list. Now I can be found on public transportation, once again gobbling up book after book. A little piece of my inner child has been restored, and I’m proud to report that I’ve read 14 books since August! Some recent favorites are Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, True Biz, Big Swiss, and Yellowface.
Accessory 4: Michele Barbie’s Dreamhouse filled with treasures: I’ve been living in Budapest in the flat my dad grew up in since 2016. I’ve been slowly but surely renovating it to make it my own, which has been a long, expensive, and exhausting process. I’ve renovated the bathroom, moved the kitchen to a different room, renovated the electrical system, and repainted and redesigned every room now. My boyfriend and I took a lot of the work on ourselves and our literal blood, sweat, and tears have gone into it. Most of the big work was finished this autumn and I’m so happy to be surrounded by this beautiful home that we’ve made just for ourselves.
I also love the treasures that live in our home, like the backsplash tiles we chose for our sink, the funky kitchen rags, and the jars and tins inherited from my grandmothers. I hang my keys on a gift from a sister in Chile, and I listen to records I bought in vintage record shops throughout Europe on the record player my father brought back from Germany in his twenties. My walls are decorated with art made by my mother, my late godfather, and my friends. My home is my haven and I love sharing it with my boyfriend and taking any opportunity to welcome my loved ones.
Accessory 5: a blue Ykra backpack: I think a Michele Barbie would be incomplete without a backpack, which is the only accessory I always have on me. I have a couple small ones, but the one I have been carrying to work everyday for years is a basic blue backpack made by the brand Ykra. Ykra is a Hungarian indie bag company that makes canvas bags inspired by sailing culture on Lake Balaton, the biggest lake in Hungary. I have a few things made by them, and they’ve been so durable and dependable for years. And they’re cute!
Accessory 6: a pair of scissors: I love a good pair of scissors. A friend of mine is a collage artist and we recently started doing collage workshops for kids together. It’s such a relaxing art medium and it lets out my creativity in a quick and easy way. Just snip and paste and make something new out of other existing images. It’s a very low pressure art medium, with big impressive results. The kids are also so talented. I am in awe at how uninhibited they are in their art. They just cut and paste, and don’t have a lot of the anxiety that adults get about making things perfect.. Collaging is the new fav hobby and I recommend it for any stressed out readers.
Accessory 7: Claw clips: A childhood dream that I finally fulfilled is having long hair and being able to accessorize it. I grew up having a mushroom cut, but I always longed for hair like the Disney princesses or my long haired friend. It especially hurt that I couldn’t partake in the 90s and early 2000s trend of the claw clip. I was a very angry and jealous little mushroom. But they’re back and I have long hair now so I can indulge! I have them in all kinds of different colors and shapes, I even have this dog shaped one that I bought at my favorite shop in Budapest, called Ludovika.
Accessory 8: Honey-colored Kitchenaid: A KitchenAid stand mixer feels like one of those really adult purchases, or the kind of thing you get when you have finally found a home. My honey-colored KitchenAid was a birthday gift from my boyfriend and it is the pride and joy of my kitchen. She is beauty, she is grace, I love her dearly. I’ve always loved cooking and baking, but during COVID I got into baking more seriously. The KitchenAid has been a sidekick in many projects and experiments, most of which are attempts at fulfilling nostalgic cravings. For example, you can’t buy English muffins or bagels here anywhere so I learned to make them myself. A recipe that I’ve made since my childhood, which the stand mixer has greatly improved, is my family’s gingerbread recipe that I make every year around the holidays. Part of the recipe is pouring a bunch of hot honey into a bowl and gradually adding flour little by little; a backbreaking and sticky process to do alone. The first time I made gingerbread with the KitchenAid it was so smooth, it was like a dream.
Accessory 9: Swimsuit and slippers: Michele Barbie would definitely have an extra outfit consisting of a swimsuit and a pair of honey rust colored Allbirds Sugar Sliders. (I don’t know if you’ve noticed a pattern, but all my favorite things are “honey” colored. My living room paint is honey mustard and my boyfriend and I call each other honey.) I was born into a sauna and thermal water obsessed family. I’ve been swimming since I was a baby and worked as a swim teacher and lifeguard. Being in the water is healing, comforting, and a must for me. Budapest is full of historic thermal baths (My favorite, Rudas, was built in the 16th century!) and I try to go as often as I can. For a long time I wore a pair of flip flops that my parents stole from the Russian Banya in San Francisco that were perfect, but I lost them (karma). I was looking for a new pair of slippers when I got a marketing email from Allbirds and saw these slides that were cute and honey colored. They are so comfy and they are adjustable for my freakishly wide feet. Shoe shopping is usually a difficult process that ends in tears, but this one was so easy. I love when things are easy.
Accessory 10: a basket full of market veggies and other goodies: The parents of one of my students have a company called medencebag, where they make bags out of used vinyls from festivals and big advertisements. One of my Christmas presents last year was a basket from their company and I use it every Saturday at the organic farmers’ market in Budapest. Farmers’ markets have been a long time passion of mine. Wherever I travel I must go to a market. The food I buy at my farmers’ market is unbeatable. I buy this delicious buffalo telemea cheese that is so to die for. I think I could just eat that for the rest of my life. There is this thing called orda in Hungarian, that I guess can be compared most closely to ricotta. I’m obsessed. This market is one of the only places where I can buy cilantro in Budapest, but only if I get there early enough. There’s a lady who sells fresh apple juice that will never be as good as the one sold at the Davis Farmers’ Market, but comes close. And when my basket is full of tasty things, I get on a bus surrounded by a cloud of fresh cilantro smell, and it’s the best way to start a weekend.
Accessory 11: flair pens: When I was a kid I used to want to be a teacher just because I loved the pens that my teachers graded tests with. It was always the same pen, a monochromatic felt tip marker with a white cross on the tip of the cap and a thin metal clip. It looked so nice to hold and made the perfect pen marks. I remember just staring at the pens, being so jealous that teachers get to use them. This isn’t a good basis on which to choose your career but somehow here I am. I now teach English and art at an elementary school in Budapest and I have my own sixth grade class. When I was last in California, I went to a Target and ended up in the stationery section. I bought a multicolored pack of Papermate Flair Medium Point Felt Tip Pens and, oh my god, they are so much more satisfying than mini-me could have ever imagined. I have on occasion lent one to a colleague, and every single time they returned it commenting on how nice they are. My students are always trying to steal them from me as well but I don’t let them get their grubby little hands on them because I haven’t seen them in any shops here in Budapest. As much as I don’t like grading, these pens make teacher tasks so much more enjoyable. Honestly, sometimes they are the highlight of my day.
Hungarian Gingerbread Recipe
As a holiday treat, please enjoy Michele’s gingerbread recipe. In her words, the recipe is “old and Hungarian,” which means you know it will be good!
Cookie Ingredients
300 g flour
0.1 g powdered sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 egg
1 tablespoon margarine
100 mL honey
cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, ginger (to taste)
Lightly buttered baking sheet.
Icing Ingredients
1 egg white
0.1 g powdered sugar
A small amount of corn starch
Set the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix sugar, baking soda, and spices with 150g of flour. Once mixed, add the egg, margarine, and honey. Mix with your hands. As you mix with your hands, slowly add in the remaining flour until it becomes a dough you can knead and handle.
Shape the cookies into desired shape by hand or with a cookie cutter.
Place the cookies on the lightly buttered baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove them from the sheet as soon as they get out of the oven.
While the cookies cool, prepare the icing. Beat the egg white until it peaks (you can turn it upside down and it doesn’t fall). Gradually mix in the sugar and pinches of corn starch.
