AMERICAN HUNGARIAN FOUNDATION : DIGITALIZING THEIR ARCHIVES : NEEDS DONATIONS FOR THE PROJECT COLLECT CONSERVE CELEBRATE!

AMERICAN HUNGARIAN FOUNDATION ORG Located in New Jersey

Since the 1950's and recognizing that the North Eastern United States has had a great number of Hungarian heritage persons, the American Hungarian Foundation is digitizing their archives and needs your help.

TARD VILLAGE : THE EPICENTER OF TRADITIONAL MATYO EMBRODERIE

This article is about the economic conditions in Borson-Abauj-Zemplen County in Hungary and the way women, especially elder women, are turning to their traditional artistry to improve their incomes.

RADIO FREE EUROPE : TARD VILLAGE MATYO EMBRODERIE

Excerpts: The practice of Matyo embroidery is through to have started around 200 years ago and has since been passed down through the generations.  The women living in Tard mastered their skills, embroidering the distinctive flowers and leaves, by watching their mothers, who had learned it from their own mothers.

According to local mythology, the technique was born when the devil kidnapped a man and asked for the most colorful flowers as a ransom.  In the dead of winter, in order to get her husband back, his young bride presented the devil with a set of richly embroidered flowers.

According to local mythology, the technique was born when the devil kidnapped a man and asked for the most colorful flowers as a ransom. In the dead of winter, in order to get her husband back, his young bride presented the devil with a set of richly embroidered flowers.

***

Like many towns and villages in Hungary's northeast, Tard has been in decline since the wider regional collapse of heavy industry and mining after the fall of communism.  Across Hungary, some 1.9 million people -- 12 percent of the population - now live in poverty.  According to 2019 statistics, 15 percent of people over the age of 65 lived in deprivation.

LOVE ME ANYWAY

 

OUR DRY SENSE OF HUMOR PROVES WE ARE TOO PESSIMISTIC TO SEE THE HUMOR IN THINGS : HUNGARIAN HUNGARIAN- AMERICAN STEREOTYPE

                                                    

HUNGARIANS are PESSIMISTIC and ALWAYS COMPLAINING.....?  Apparently we are only light-hearted when we dance.   Otherwise, we can bring anyone down.  That is, unless we unveil our DRY sense of humor.

OK, I've been accused of having a dry sense of humor, so dry it's imperceivable. On the other hand I've been known to laugh at my own jokes before I get to the punchline but I tell a jokes only once every few years and then it's usually the same old ones.  So I must not be insufferable...

What's wrong with looking at the dark side?  Well, to answer this we must be aware that we're in a hyper-positive culture in which every superlative is used to exaggerate importance, effort, as well as size.  Must we use so many adjectives?  Stunk and White would not be proud of our overuse of the English language in this way.  We should let words stand alone, allowing them the originally intended impact as is.

What about in Hungarian?

Do  you 'feel' this?

Let me know!

C 2023  Magyar American BlogSpot

WHAT ARE "AMERICAN SPACES" IN HUNGARY? THE EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES PROVIDES LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR HUNGARIANS

AMERICAN SPACES : UNITED STATE EMBASSY IN HUNGARY : EDUCATION 

• Educational advising for those who want to study in the U.S.,
• Workshops on a range of topics from career skills to English language learning,
• Classes and clubs introducing new technologies, 21st century digital skills, and academic resources,
• Films, discussions, and lectures on entrepreneurship, leadership, current events, international affairs, and much more.

VERONIKA SCHANDL'S ESSAY "A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME" FOCUSES ON CONTEMPORARY HUNGARIAN SHAKESPEARE THEATRICAL ADAPTATIONS

THEATRON : AN ESSAY ON SHAKESPEARE THEATER IN HUNGARY 

This is quite the literary essay!

Veronika Schandl (Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest): “A rose by any other name”. Contemporary Hungarian Shakespeare Adaptations on Stage and in Cyberspace

HUNGRY

 

DONATING TO A FOOD BANK? : THE BEHIND THE SCENES REALITY : HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS AND MY PERSONAL BELIEFS ABOUT GIVING!

Having volunteered to sort and bag food for distribution, I'm aware that at some locations what is in the bag is pretty much the same every month.  Much depends on your location.  You may be eligible for food from a regional food bank - governmental - or from other locations, and there are some which have an agenda. Also if you are a senior, check with your local senior centers, you may be eligible for special distributions.

Please be aware of the following:

No food distribution needs your social security number. Even churches have been asking for this and I believe there is a potential for compromising your social security number - which has become a citizen ID number - for crime and privacy invasion. Most food banks do not put their volunteers through background checks. Churches are not social service with governmental ties. The only people who can or should be asking for your social security number is the social services of the United States or the state, and that is usually done in person at an intake. Seriously question and refuse any other church, non-profit, or other entity asking for your social security number. Never ever give it out over the phone.

If at all possible go to food banks that have a "no questions asked" policy.

Some churches are using giving out food, a Christian action, to pray over people in an attempt to convert them to their own beliefs.  I personally find this offensive.  If someone wants Christian credit for giving to humanity, let them have that credit with God, but some people are so hungry and poor that they go to a different food distribution every day or every week and are prayed over by many different faiths over that week. Implied also is that they would not need this food if they were not bad, or doing something wrong and that poverty is punishment.  If find this to be even more offensive.

The places I volunteered at had a no questions asked policy.

Being human and hungry is enough.

If you have never been to a food bank or food distribution in the United States, let me also tell you the following.

1) Food Banks and Distributions are often under special rules from the Health Department so that no one who eats that food gets ill. Food such as meats, fish, and produce is supposed to be picked up and distributed quickly -within hours - to eliminate the possibility that it may be spoiled or contaminated. They are taking a tax deduction in many cases. It is a win for them because they also do not have to throw the food out. However, the volunteer staff often does not have the time to inspect the dates on the food. I've seen spoiled meats and vegetables donated that were sorted and thrown out.  I've seen mold on bread. 

I've also been in a situation where I was the only person who showed up and had to do the work of several people to get bags loaded. 

You should inspect whatever you just got. 

Food distribution volunteers are supposed to be washing their hands, covering their noses and mouths with masks, and wearing gloves for sorting and bagging - but I can tell you that they are often not. Wash your own hands and wash fruits and vegetables, even if it looks like they have come from the store in a pack.

Sometimes volunteers with bare hands will remove bad fruits or veggies from a pack and repack.

2) Expiration dates are usually "sell by" dates. If something is past that date, the store will donate it, and it is still good, but it depends on what it is.  A spoiled part of an apple or onion can be cut off and can be seen but may not make it into a bag. Since I have a zero tolerance for food waste, I sometimes took these home knowing how to deal with them but in both cases some of the damaged or partly spoiled produce made it into compost.

Most canned goods are safe to eat for a few months or longer after the date on the can, but may loose some quality. Canned beans that have sat for a time can become gassy.  Be concerned about meat and seafood.  It should be cooked right away.

3) Although most food rescue groups are picking up from donating stores and distributing quickly, there are also "for profit" businesses that are acting as middlemen.  Some of them are moving food from one county to another and just the transportation time makes the distribution time a question.

4) For those who do not have a kitchen or cold storage, many food banks have what is commonly thought of as "homeless bags" and if this is you, ask for that consideration.  You may get salads that have been pre-packaged and have cooked meats in them. These need to be eaten right away.  If you open one and take a bite and the flavor of the meat is questionable, the whole thing needs to be thrown away.

DONATING TO FOOD BANKS?  CONSIDER NUTRITION

Years ago I met a man at my local library who was living in a van.  I got to know home better and he told me he was going to a local church for a food bag, but also mostly ate what was sold at the 7/11 store near the library.  What did he get in the food bag, month after month?  A can of apple sauce, a jar of peanut butter, lots of bread. He ate so much of these that he had an aversion to these items.  Peanut butter is thought to be a high protein option. Sadly there is a question about the oils used and how long they are unspoiled.

If a store has a commitment to giving food to food banks, besides what they are throwing out and getting a tax deduction for, they will throw the items that cost them the least - corn, carrots, bread, pasta... All of these items are high in sugars and carbs and can not only put weight on a person but move them towards diabetic sugar. 

Some people go through their cabinets and pull items they have not used that are nearing the expiration date. Others donate money or go shopping and then donate.

I strongly urge you to go shopping and donate because some of the places that are taking money donations go out and get the same corn, carrots, bread, pasta.

We're supposed to be keeping people alive and healthy.

Things that are rare and very much needed include:

Olive oil.

Tomato paste in cans.

Fresh (not green skinned or showing sprouts) potato.

Fresh celery.  Time permitting a stalk can be separated.

Fresh cabbage.

Fresh herbs (If you have a home garden, check to see if the food distribution can accept these. Some will take tree fruits as well.)

Brown rice.  (There seems to be a lot of white rice, which does have some nutrition but generally is inferior to brown and can put weight on.)  

Meat : Although the canned is more expensive per ounce than fresh meat, this may be a welcome option. Consider having ground turkey or meat packaged in one quarter pound packages.  (Call ahead to be sure that the delivery of these packets will be about an hour before distribution. The store is going to label them with the day's date.

What will be distributed but in general is not helpful:

Some church groups and boys and girls clubs make sandwiches and donate them. Often these are peanut butter sandwiches. One time someone was giving out bologna sandwiches that each had one cut olive in the middle.  They meant well.

Consider making fresh salads instead.

The problem is that there is a question about sanitation again. If you are determined to make any sandwiches of any kind, or salads, or any other food, your volunteers should be washed, gloved, and masked, and be wearing hair nets.  These probably should be give to a homeless outreach rather than a food bank.  

Donations are always sought and always appreciated. 

C 2024 Magyar-American  BlogSpot

ALL CREATURES GREAT and SMALL