April 15, 2011: Diaknap (Students' Day); Tosca at the Opera House

April 15, 2011: This past week's weather has certainly felt like spring (other than the ice storm we had yesterday for a few minutes). All the flowers are in blossom and it's astounding how many cherry trees there are all over Hungary -- forests of white blossoms. Below is a picture of flowers in blossom at the Ujpest Central bus stop.

 Flower beds like this can be seen all over Budapest.


Today was Diaknap or Students' Day at school. This day is devoted to all sorts of programs for the students to participate in school. First on the agenda was the teachers' performance of the Waka Waka. I was the last teacher to run to my spot in the courtyard where we performed the dance and by the time I got there the first several steps of the dance were done. It took me a few seconds to figure out where to begin the dance so that I was coordinated with the other teachers. I eventually made it and noticed my students within feet of me taking my picture performing the dance. I fear what pictures may be posted on Facebook. At any rate, the students seemed to really enjoy what we did and I got thumbs up signs from several students during the rest of the day.


After the Waka Waka, all the classes competed against each other in various sporting competitions. I watched three soccer matches performed primarily by the upperclassmen. The games were 6 vs 6 on the small blacktop soccer field in the school courtyard. 

soccer at Diaknap in Ujpest

The players were fun to watch  -- many of them have outstanding dribbling skills and their touch of the ball was quite phenomenal. Other games being played simultaneously at other venues were basketball, volleyball, fusball (i.e., table hockey), and indoor field hockey. Students also were allowed to bring their pets to school to display. Some girls from a neighboring school also came to perform a dance for the boys to watch.

insert video of girls dancing (Unfortunately, I'm having trouble doing this.)

It was fun to see the school so festive, but I had to leave a bit early since my wife, Ruth's plane was landing at 10:05 a.m. and I had to meet her. (She missed the connecting flight in New York and was rescheduled for arrival today instead of yesterday evening.) I made it to the airport with a little time to spare, met her, and brought her home where she rested until the evening when we went to see the opera at the Budapest Opera House. In looking at my tickets a little more closely I saw that the opera began at 7:00, not 7:30 when most musical productions begin. We quickly got ready and made it to the opera house with just five minutes to spare. 


We saw Tosca by Puccini and it did not disappoint. The music is enchanting with many arias throughout the three acts, all very melodic and memorable. The singers seemed to need a bit of time to warm up (as was true for La Boheme as I recall) and it wasn't until Scarpia appeared that I felt like the singing really crystalized. The sets for the opera were outstanding and the plot was quite dramatic. What's not to like in an opera where all the main characters are killed throughout the performance? On whole, I really enjoyed what I heard.

Budapest Opera House chandelier

Budapest Opera House wooden mosaic

Tomorrow I go to the airport again to meet my kids who will be arriving around noon. It will be great to have the whole family together for the next couple of weeks. I'm quite anxious to show them all the great places there are to visit in Budapest. But next week, the kids will be going to Prague while Ruth and I visit Krakow. We'll be returning to Budapest at the same time so coordination will be easy provided the buses really do keep to their schedule. Much to look forward to...