Ugrás a fő tartalomra

Józsi, my unexpected teacher



I'm sitting on the train. I'm going to some fancy art exhibition at Szentendre.
A messy guy puts a porcelain angel and a postcard depicting Székesfehérvár on the windowsill above the bin and moves on without saying a word. I take out my headphones and stop the music. I prepare a coin because I know what this is about.
He comes back and holds out his hand. I give him the money readily but I add that he can keep the knick-knacks. He smiles, sits down next to me and starts talking.
He tells me honestly about his checkered life, his past and present, and his words seem so true and real that I start to feel sorry for him. He is very cheerful and this is exactly why I feel less and less comfortable.

I ask if people give some money to him? He shrugs embarrassed, not so much. I say all right, I'll go with you for one round. I'm good at marketing, I will easily collect a bunch of money for this guy, I think. We hardly walk two meters, the porter says to our little team "Stop that please, right?" I talk ourselves out of it. I say come Józsi, 'cause that's his name, let's go to the other direction. Humiliating looks, rude answers, to be regarded as nonexistent, it is all disappointing and humiliating. Though I am well dressed, handsome, communicative and intelligent. But now I feel like a piece of shit among the grass and I'd rather sit back and put in my earphones, listen to music and forget the humiliation forever.

Foreigners are a bit kinder to us, but they don't understand what this poor thing is talking about. Luckily, I have paper and pen. I write big letters on the paper and I know that it will dismantle language barriers at least. Though I don't know that would help this morose crowd understand what Józsi would like and why. Józsi is happy, he almost jumps out of his green coat that is three sizes bigger than him.

He says this is the best day of his life and I am his best friend. We arrive to the station. I must hurry because I'm waited for. We say goodby. He asks for my phone number but I don't give it to him. I shake his hand and wish him good luck. He is sad and so am I. Next time I think of Józsi, I'm sitting on the bus and I have two thoughts running in my mind. When have I last learnt that much about life for one euro? I should have invited him for a gyros before he starts his next shift, he might be hungry now.

The blog entry was written by the students of Kepes György Special College at the Roma Heroes workshop of Independent Theatre.

Címkék:

Megjegyzések

Megjegyzés küldése

Népszerű bejegyzések ezen a blogon

We Are Unstoppable

What does family, parents and siblings mean to us? What do we do for our family members and what does the family do for us? How can we help each other in life? My story is about my younger brother, I consider him a hero in my life. Gábor is a simple man with a huge heart who is very honest and enduring. His endurance in work makes him a real hero. He works 16 hours five days a week as a cook; he gets up every morning and goes to work because that’s his job. He was 18 when he got a great opportunity to work abroad as a chef, naturally making much more money than here, at home. Had he accepted it, his life would have changed radically, but he didn’t want to leave me and our mom alone. It is just the three of us and we would never leave each other. He has superhuman strength. He moved in with Mom who had to be cared for because of her health, but we never felt that is a burden; we are one and everyone does their bit without complaint – Gábor works, Mom takes care of the household, I s
Megjegyzés küldése
További információk

The Perfect Grandma

We all need role models, heroes in our life whose acts and qualities serve as examples. Sometimes it takes time to realize that real heroes are all around us. Find your own hero! Oh, my darling granny. She loved us, her family, she did whatever she could for us. She was a vibrant ball of energy. She rushed from one grandchild to the other whole day long. She helped with household chores, made jam, cooked our favorite granny-cakes like no one else. She often told us about our badass grandpa and she kept loving, loving and loving. Words cannot express what she means to me even today. No doubt she had a huge impact both on my mother and me. We got the love and solidarity of the family from her. She lived her life with sacrifices and an everlasting smile on her face, she lived for us and for our happiness. We learned only after her death that besides everyday care, she had a secret that she never told anyone. A stray paper found after her death revealed this secret. My grandm
Megjegyzés küldése
További információk

She, who chose school instead of marriage

What can a young girl growing up in a Romanian Zlatar community do, if she does not want to marry at the age of 13? What if she wants to continue her studies, against the will of her family? Roxana comes up with various unusual ideas to achieve her goal. I n her play  Del Duma – She Speaks,  Mihaela Dragan presents the complex topic of early marriage that determines the life of several Roma women in Romania even today. The artistic director of Giulipen theatre does not want to judge, she merely passes on the stories of women who have different views on early marriage. Interview with Mihaela Dragan  >>>
Megjegyzés küldése
További információk