It is with amazement, pride, relief, happiness and sadness that today we celebrate our one year anniversary of living in Budapest! When we arrived here we had a toddler and new baby in tow, could not speak a word of the language, and had 2 fender benders in 2 days. We spent the first several weeks (OK…months) figuring out how to live in a place one-third the size of our previous home (no need for baby monitors!), making a million trips to Ikea, Tesco and Praktiker to outfit our flat, and mapping out various public transportation routes for Kyle to get to and from work. We suffered through 3 weeks without television and 4 weeks without the internet. We slowly learned a new way of living, shopping in 4 different grocery stores: 1 for meat, 1 for fresh produce, 1 for every day items, and still another for specialty foods, seeing the sunrise at 4:00am and set at 9:00pm, walking to parks and playing for hours. It seems like so long ago that that was all new.
I am amazed that one year has come and gone. I am amazed at the friendships we’ve created in such a short amount of time. I am amazed that every one of us has celebrated a birthday here. I am amazed that we have visited so many beautiful places.
I am proud that I can push my shopping cart sideways at Tesco and not run into other people. I am proud that I can drive down cemetery road and not scratch my car. I am proud that Caden can say “Thank You,” “Hello” and “Goodbye” in Hungarian. I am proud of Kyle for all the hours he has put in and the job he has done here thus far. I am proud of our family for making the most of horrible situations while we are so far away from loved ones.
I am relieved that God put people around us here to support us, encourage us and make us laugh through all the craziness. I am relieved that Caden found such wonderful friends and had a great school year. I am relieved that neither of my children was infected with chicken pox, scarlet fever or Hungarian strep throat (but there is always next year…knocking on wood).
I am happy that we survived! I am happy to say we made the right decision to come here. I am happy to have spent such quality time with our small family unit. I am happy that my children are happy! I am happy because one year went so fast.
I am sad because one year went so fast! I am sad to watch friends homes fill with boxes. I am sad to see Caden’s first friends move on to their next homes. I am sad to think I only have one more year to see so many more places! I am sad because Reese won’t remember this.
We have much to reflect on from the last year and many plans to make for the coming year. As I think about how insane I felt this time last year, I realize how far we’ve come. Budapest is now “home,” and I certainly don’t think we ever thought we would say that.
I am amazed that one year has come and gone. I am amazed at the friendships we’ve created in such a short amount of time. I am amazed that every one of us has celebrated a birthday here. I am amazed that we have visited so many beautiful places.
I am proud that I can push my shopping cart sideways at Tesco and not run into other people. I am proud that I can drive down cemetery road and not scratch my car. I am proud that Caden can say “Thank You,” “Hello” and “Goodbye” in Hungarian. I am proud of Kyle for all the hours he has put in and the job he has done here thus far. I am proud of our family for making the most of horrible situations while we are so far away from loved ones.
I am relieved that God put people around us here to support us, encourage us and make us laugh through all the craziness. I am relieved that Caden found such wonderful friends and had a great school year. I am relieved that neither of my children was infected with chicken pox, scarlet fever or Hungarian strep throat (but there is always next year…knocking on wood).
I am happy that we survived! I am happy to say we made the right decision to come here. I am happy to have spent such quality time with our small family unit. I am happy that my children are happy! I am happy because one year went so fast.
I am sad because one year went so fast! I am sad to watch friends homes fill with boxes. I am sad to see Caden’s first friends move on to their next homes. I am sad to think I only have one more year to see so many more places! I am sad because Reese won’t remember this.
We have much to reflect on from the last year and many plans to make for the coming year. As I think about how insane I felt this time last year, I realize how far we’ve come. Budapest is now “home,” and I certainly don’t think we ever thought we would say that.
7 comments:
Congratulations Meredith (and Kyle, Caden and Reese)! What an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience for you guys to share as a family-- you've adjusted so well, and hopefully you'll bring home a little of the European lifestyle when you come back to Texas. We hope you have an equally wonderful (or better) second year :)
Awesome... and cheers to another few!! :)
This entry is just another example of how wonderful you guys are. What troopers and survivors you are. We have much to learn from you. Thanks for sharing your words with us back in the USA! We love you. We miss you every day! We are tremendously proud of The Kyle Liner Family!
Lele
I was just thinking the other day that you guys had been there for a year! Great entry post!
Happy Anniversary! I am still so intrigued and fascinated by your adventure and I love getting to find out what you're experiencing through your blog.
You are learning, seeing, experiencing so much. This time there, the good and not-so-good, just brings out the best in you and reminds me what great people you are.
way to go, liners! we were so lucky to spend your first six months with you! i loved reading this post b/c it brought back so many memories. and, i'll tell you budapest seems like a dream now that we are back in the states. i'm so glad you are enjoying your time there. like you said, it's gone by fast and i'm sure this next year will fly faster. make sure to get to all the fun places you want to see!
i'm sad we aren't there with you. we miss you and budapest a lot.
since matson obviously won't remember his birthplace we have said we will take him back for his 16th or 18th birthday. you should consider the same for your kiddos.
take care, meredith! szia!
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