HearSay

My story is one of rediscovering something I have always taken for granted. Like most children in my country, I grew up on Hungarian folktales and historical legends; that knowledge is so deep that many times I don't even realize foreigners are not familiar with the pictures in my head. They don't know how to deal with the multiple-headed dragons (seven, nine, twelve and rising); they have no idea how to stop the spinning castle (and I doubt that the authentic method is quite P.C.); and they were never told that the skinny horse has to be fed with red hot embers and alcohol (no kidding!). In the same time when I traveled from Hungary to the States, I had to travel across my own stories all over again.

Of course a wannabe storyteller is always more interested in exotic stories than the ones she already knows. Ever since I learned to read I chewed my way through libraries of world folklore, from East to West and back again. And then I came here, and everyone went "oooh" and "aaah" over things I've never considered particularly exotic.

So now when I share Hungarian stories with my audience, I not only teach them about my homeland, but I also learn new things every time; the old childhood tales come alive as something new and shiny and fun to play with. American people laugh or gasp at odd places in the story ("Now what's so funny?"); and then I stop, and make a mental note, "Come back here later," and next time I will know when to expect a laugh. This is how we learn from each other.

And now, on to the adventures.

It started with the National Storytelling Festival in October. I was just getting used to the whole New World experience back then - which can be illustrated by the fact that I took the bus down to Tennessee (ÒIt can't be that far away, it's the same country, right? Wrong!). And it was absolutely worth it. Three days of pure bliss, and the long anticipated, "Yesss, this is what I came here for."

After that, school was on the roll, and before I knew it, Tellabration! hit, and I was standing on a stage, telling Hungarian stories. (And. It. Was. Just. Cool.)

I hibernated myself for the winter break (with tons of food and half of the library's 398.2 collection), and prepared for the baptism by fire: my first workshop presentation ever. The Timpanogos Storytelling Conference in Utah. (Yes, Utah. And yes, this time I knew it was far away and took the plane.) And oh, was that wonderful, with a lot to learn and a lot to see and a lot to tell, and I couldn't decide which part I enjoyed more.

So baptized by fire, I went right on to share it with the New England storytellers at Nashua at the 2008 Sharing the Fire Storytelling Conference. It felt like going home: returning to our little world outside mundane time, getting tackled by enthusiastic storytellers whom I already know ("Csenge, wheeeee!") and being introduced to new ones who immediately accepted me as "the little redhead sister in the colorful stockings." (I'm seriously going to make that my trademark.)

There were more stories and more adventures in those three days than I could possibly cram into the 300 words left for me here, so I'll cram the highlight of my presentation into two words for you: Brother Blue. (Oh, yeah! Always fun to have living legends walk into your workshop. I'm learning to pluck the guitar chords and in walks Jimmy Hendrix. Breathe, girl, breathe.) I told my stories and I had the time of my life. Colorful sparks everywhere.

I'm getting seriously addicted to being everyone's "little Hungarian sister," by the way. I have met so many nice and friendly people in such a short time - and they are not "only" nice and friendly, but they are all storytellers and story-lovers, people who share my passion for tales and legends and myths, and I just can't get enough of that.

What else?

Well, when I'm not on the road of storytelling, I'm learning about it (actually I'm eating, drinking and breathing it 24/7). I'm doing an Independent Study on storytelling traditions (would be such a waste not to go through the college library collection while I can, even though I need the capabilities of a whirlwind to do so in just a couple of months). I just received a research fellowship for the summer which provides me ten extra weeks to stay in the States as well as a very good official excuse to spend all my time absorbing some more storytelling (hunting down tellers, attending events, that kind of hard, scientific, anthropological research). My research project is titled "Storylines Across the Globe: The Role of Modern Storytelling in Forming Global Communities." I figured that is something I can tell a lot about. I wouldn't be here without the help of all my friends across the globe.

And I'm writing an article for a storytelling newsletter right now (see?).

So, here I am, and the year is still far from being over (yay!). The Northlands conference is coming up next (I can't wait! And yes, I'm taking the plane again; I checked Wisconsin on the map), and then the St. Louis Festival and more tellers and more tales and more adventures and . . . just. . . wow!