The Amazing Agota - Part I

Agota, circa 1991, in the midst of surviving a family trip with us to Arizona - She was the calm amidst the storm!

One of the best friends I have is pictured above (and in every photo in this post). Her name is Agota and we have been friends since college days at BYU. Way back in 1991 I was going on an orchestra tour to Europe, including what were then being called the "new" or "emerging" republics of Hungary and Czechoslovakia. This was my first trip abroad and I did not want to be an "ugly" American. So I logically thought I would just take one of the languages of the countries I would be visiting and take care of my ignorance. This was easier said than done. I showed up at BYU's only Hungarian class at the beginning of the semester ( I think it was in January). Klara was the teacher and I asked her about the class, which she told me was really only for people that actually already knew Hungarian. That sort of left me out! She told me that she had a good friend that had just come to Provo that week and she may be available to teach me Hungarian.

Looking back on it, how funny that I just randomly thought I would pick up Hungarian before heading over there and then speak to everyone as I traveled. Anyway, I did call this friend and it turned out to be Agota and I just adored her and the language! It was so fresh to learn her perspectives on things and to have someone actually care when she taught me each word and cultural idea. I still remember her teaching me some pronunciation of umlauted vowels and saying something like, "As opposed to Americans, we actually move our lips when we speak." That still makes me laugh.

Agota became one of my good friends and we saw a lot of each other. I studied Hungarian with her for about 6 months before heading to Europe. By then I knew enough to actually converse wth an old man on the plan the entire way. He knew one word of English - "Hello." I loved Budapest and felt right at home immediately, largely due to Agota sharing so much of her culture with me, but also because I met Agota's wonderful parents when they came to show me and Ephraim (my brother) the town. I think we definitely saw a unique side of Hungary because of them, and I fell in love with that city!

The two of us at Temple Square after a Mormon Youth Symphony concert .

Agota is a unique person in that she mixes a wry sense of humor with sharp intellect, yet a soft heart and a bit of social conscience. She has a lot of courage and determination. Agota is creative and faces issues a little differently than I do, which I appreciate in our friendship. I get a different point of view, but one that is full of respect for me and my own views. Knowing her has been a significant experience in my life, and continues to be. I never had an older sister, but in a way Agota may have been that to me though we are pretty close in age. And lest I forget, I need to mention that Agota is FUN!!!! Forget the intelligence and lawyerly knowledge - we just have a great time when we are together. We can talk for hours! She was probably the most interesting person that I had truly gotten to know up to that point in my life. While I had a lot of friends, most of them were quite a bit like me in their background and experience. Agota was someone that I knew very well, but she was still slightly mysterious. I kinda liked that! I always felt like there was more to her than I had yet seen - in a good way.

On my birthday when I turned 21.

When I returned from Europe, I continued my lessons with Agota. I have fond memories of both of her apartments at BYU where we held lessons. We hung out besides the lessons, but we always had those on a fairly frequent basis. My family loved Agota, too, and she was always welcome at family events along with Klara. I hope it was nice for them to have a family to hang out with on holidays if they didn't have other places to go being so far from home. Agota always knew a lot of people, and I felt honored with the amount of time that this intriguing person would spend with me.

As the months passed, it was time for me to recieve my mission call. I really hoped I didn't have to go anywhere with rats or scorpions or other scary insects. My hope beyond hope of course was to be called to Hungary. I really had fallen in love with it I tell you! Plus, how awesome to have already learned a nice chunk of the language, especially since it is a very challenging language in many respects. I recall that my family was on a trip to California the week that we expected my mission call to arrive at our home. We stopped in Nevada for dinner and everyone had to say where they thought I would go on my mission. My dad was the only one to say Eastern Europe if I remember correctly. When we got home, my dad collected all the week's mail from the neighbor and we quickly identified the important envelope! So I open it, and lo and behold, I'm called to the Hungary Budapest Mission!!! Wow!! Isnt that amazing?But wait... What's this?? A Special Assignment to Romania?!?!? Oh no, this was not good. I knew that Hungarians and Romanians did not like each other. God had a definite sense of humor on granting me my heart's desire, which a slight twist! Well, I did break the news gently to Agota and she forgave me enough to even loan me a fantastic little leather bag for my stint in Romania. What an awesome friend!

It was hard in the MTC at times to struggle with the Romanian language and then see the Hungarian missionaries and know that they were learning stuff I already knew. I did get to go to the mission home in Budapest for 3 days before heading to Bucharest, so that was awesome. I got approximately 3 hours of proselyting in Hungary in Hungarian. Mostly it was handing out flyers in the freezing cold outside a train station. "Tessek? Tessek?" But hey - that was my dream 3 hours. Don't knock it! I loved seeing Agota's parents when my plane landed there, and again when the mission president had them to dinner. What a sweet, comforting feeling to see familiar faces in such a situation. I loved them and still do.

Agota, Me, and Klara at my missionary farewell.

I think Agota visited her family in Budapest the summer that I was on my mission, and we talked on the phone when she was there - but oddly enough we've never been in Hungary at the same time. She had graduated from BYU by the time I returned home, but I was able to go visit her within a few weeks in Illinois where she was in law school. That was a fun trip and so good to reconnect with her. I recall that this was the first time I ever saw a Wal-Mart. Well, I have to get to bed, but I will continue this fascinating story very soon, my little readers. Hang in there! By the way, to my one faithful reader who may understand this...Szeretlek baratom, Edesseg. Sajnom if it's wrong!