Every journey has characters, and this is an important one. Meet Misi. Of course, this is only a nickname, which every good Hungarian has. Györfi Mihály (surname, then given name) is the pastor of the Filidelfia Lutheran Church in Nyirtelek, and is also my site supervisor for the year. Most people attach the suffix "bacsi" to his name which is a sign of respect.
breakfast before church with Misi and his grandson
His mind is a steal trap and he can recall stories from his own past for any given scenario. One of these stories is of a young Misi and his sister and parents biking 12km each way to the thermal bath near their house every Sunday afternoon. Bath houses are still extremely popular in Hungary and are a regular part of many people's exercise routine. So for a few hours last Sunday our crew went to a large bath house with hot mineral water and Misi told stories about life under Communism. I also heard great stories about how a nice girl helped him tie his shoe when he was in kindergarten, and he married her 18 years later.
Misi's daughter, Judit, tells me that after 25 years of knowing him she's still astounded by the new stories she hears. I'm trying to get the most out of one year of his stories, and maybe make some new stories along the way.
the stearn look is just a fascade - Misi guiding us through the streets of Piran, Slovenia
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