Mariapocs, the village that believes it is a city at heart!

Summer has ended, something that is well known around here with everyone already dressing up in their winter jackets and complaining about how cold it is, even though it is still around 10 degrees. It was another rainy weekend and so Saturday was a wash out, literally, of my plans for the Medaeval fair in Nyirbator. I did still go out there because there was nothing happening in Mariapocs, making the 3 km hike to the bus stop in the rain. After getting to Nyirbator and realizing that I had gotten off at the wrong roundabout, I had to wait for Marci to meet me at the bus stop. After meeting up with him and his friend Istvan, we headed back to the house to get out of the rain and dry off for a little while. After eating some Guylas, pancakes and some very serious games of fekete peter, we headed back out in the rain to see if there was anything set up for the fair. There was nothing much so we continued on to get some ice cream. Returning back to the house, Marci and Istvan had to start getting ready to go back to school in Nyiregyhaza. When they were leaving, Judit, Ili's daughter, and her boyfriend from Csenger showed up. We stayed at the house playing with Goliath for the next few hours until it was once again time for people to go back to the city for the night.

Sunday was a much more exciting day. The sun did come out for a short while in the morning so it showed hope that there would be no rain and that the festival would be happening in the afternoon. Just before 2 pm I headed out to the area in front of the church where there were 25 tents set up. The towns around Mariapocs came together in order to celebrate the end of summer, or at least that is what it appeared that they were doing. After a school band opened the ceremony, there was a choir followed by five different groups of baton twirlers. I think they must really love their batons! There was also some traditional Hungarian dances, and near the end a somewhat traditional Irish dance. Near the end were more bands, but these were for a younger crowd. The first did some cover songs, that of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Franz Ferdinand, Blink 182 and others I could not identify, but the crowd of all ages seemed to be enjoying themselves. Later on was another couple singers who sang most in Hungarian, but mized it up by singing solo, duets and quartets. By the end, the last band was well know to many of the people in the crowd. It was amazing to see the reception they had. After watching them for a few minutes I understood why everyone loved them. It really made Mariapocs feel like back home sitting at the Molson Amphitheatre watching people perform with all the energy that was around...


After the performance, there was a wonderful display of fireworks that was amazing. I have to say that I am so happy that I chose to some to Mariapocs because I feel like I am part of something, so here are my reasons why I love Mariapocs:

1. I am treated like everyone's daughter, being shown everything for the first time with everyone wanting to help me no matter what the problem. I feel like I have been adopted by a family of 2200.

2. I have been told that even though I have a mailbox, I will most likely get my mail at school because everyone in the village knows I work there and they dont want my mail to get wet outside.

3. I learned that I will be having pilgrimages in my town until mid-November, although the one on September 7th was the largest, so I get to see different groups visiting and experiencing the weeping Mary.

4. Even though it is only 2200, it can really feel like it is like home with all the energy from everyone, especially on festival days.

5. I live right in the middle of town, so I have a 1 minute walk to school, two churches, the bank, the doctor, the dentist, the sweet shop and my two grocery stores. I can say I live downtown!