Lots of thanks from Hungary this Thanksgiving

My first Thanksgiving away from the States turned out to be incredible! All that was missing was the people I love back home. Monday I got snow, Wednesday and Thursday I made hand turkeys with all the kids at school, and Thursday night I had an amazing Thanksgiving meal with an abundance of people! We not only had Americans from my program, but we were fortunate enough to be able to share Thanksgiving with a few really amazing Hungarians. We ate, drank, and had great conversation and laughed A LOT. Because Thanksgiving is really about keeping things in mind that we cherish and are well, thankful for...I thought I'd make a list of some of the "little things" I have come to enjoy and be oh, so thankful for here in Hungary...

1. Getting a million hugs before the hour of 8AM every day.
2. Those rare times where I arrive at the bus stop right as the correct bus rolls up.
3. Waking up without an alarm
4. Hide and seek in the hallway...and getting awkward glances from other teachers as they walk by and see me (a fellow professional colleague) crouching behind benches with laughing children.
5. Hearing kids yell "Hanna!!" with immense excitement when they see I've come to pick them up for English class.
6. The smiles I get from the toothless, non-English speaking man who sells fruit and veggies outside of the grocery store by my flat.
7. The sound of the ring on my computer when someone calls me on Skype.
8. The way Hungarians often pronounce their English v's as w's...so words like village, university, and very come out as willage, uniwersity, and wery. But hey, I can pronounce about 3 Hungarian words altogether, so I can't give them too much of a hard time.
9. Seeing packages and cards on my table at work when the mail comes.
10. Talking and laughing with my favorite Hungarian friend, Gergo about the meanings of different words like "fluffy", and "squishy", and expressions like "drooling" over the opposite sex and "watching out for bed bugs"
11. Getting coffee that comes with a little cookie on the plate with your coffee!
12. The little jingles on the metros and trams when they reach their destination.

I hope they brighten your day like they often do mine!