My Experience of Hódmezővásárhely

The campsite of Hódmezővásárhely is held in a small town in the north plains of Hungary. It consisted of a courtyard and a big house and other buildings. We all stayed in the big house. The British team stayed in the attic or top floor. It was comfortable there when all the windows open and doors were open. The courtyard consisted of space to play games like basketball (which many Hungarian people enjoyed) and mostly where we ate our meals. There was also a grassy area and some trees and plants.



Travelling to camp was relatively easy. I could book my fights in a few moments online and I would always travel with other people from the British team. Before and after camp we would stay in Budapest and have some time to relax and enjoy the city. At the time we arrived Budapest was the just about the hottest place in the world with temperatures of over 40 centigrade (it was an achievement just to be there). From there me met the rest of the team and travelled for a few hours to the camp in an air-conditioned train. The others knew where they were going so it worked out well. We arrived at camp on Saturday afternoon and on Sunday morning we went to church. In the evening we met our class.



I shared the teaching of English and the Bible with another member of the British team, who was a very good teacher because he had a lot of experience and a great sense of humour. One time he even brushed his teeth in the middle of an English lesson! We also had a translator. We were teaching the beginners class, which was very difficult because they were very young children and so lessons had to be a lot of fun and well organised otherwise they would go off task and lose interest. They were, however, a very well behaved and pleasant class to work with.
The English classes would often consist of games and activities and were intended to be interactive. Each day there was a different theme, for example, the first lesson was basically an ‘icebreaker' in order to get to know our class and on the 4th day it was about the Scottish and Hungarian cultures.

In the Bible studies we would often do a drama and play a game. These times were useful for helping us to find out what the children in our class believed in and pointing them to the truth. I felt that they could have been better organised but even the studies we had together were very beneficial to the children. Certainly, on my part I should have done more preparation before camp. At camp there was time to prepare but the heat tired me out. Also, it was important to spend some time with the campers.

There would be English classes and Bible studies in the mornings and after lunch. In the afternoons there would be free time for optional activities like going on a treasure hunt and swimming. These were a good opportunity to get to know the campers and learn some Hungarian. It was also a good time to rest because it was very hot.

Every morning and evening there were worship times. I very much enjoyed leading the praise, and learnt that it was best when the campers sung songs they knew and liked and a good mix of songs in Hungarian and in English. In hindsight it may have been a good idea for everyone to stand to sing rather that sit.

Hamish

December 2007

(photos DB)