This week I write you from Budapest, where I sit immersed in Hungarian goulash. There is more Hungarian goulash per square kilometer in Budapest than there are McDonald's hamburgers per square kilometer in the United States. You'll see restaurants full of tourists, all of them eating Hungarian goulash. I soon learned why goulash is so popular among tourists -- it's the only word on the menu we can pronounce. Reading Hungarian makes reading kanji seem easy.
Curious? OK, here's your first lesson in Hungarian. Repeat after me: "Jo napot kivanok." Congratulations! You just said Hello in Hungarian. And your pronunciation wasn't so bad either. Next, let's say goodbye, "Viszontlatasra." Hmm, you need a little practice. Repeat, "Viszontlatasra." Say it again, but this time imagine important-looking diacritical marks on the tops of the letters that surely mean something even though you have no idea what. Ready? "Viszontlatasra." I can't hear you. I still can't hear you. Hey, come back here!
Don't despair, your Hungarian is still better than mine. After five days in Budapest, this is the extent of my Hungarian language acquisition: