Who Am I

Hi, my name is Ildiko.  I was named after my aunt who was probably named after a family member.  My name is very common in Hungary where both my parents were born.  The name dates back to Attila the Hun who married Ildiko and died on his wedding night.  Here is the link to the whole story.

http://asianhistory.about.com/od/profilesofasianleaders/p/AttilaProf.htm

I was born in Canada because my parents had to escape from Hungary during the war.  The Nazi's were on their way to arrest my grandfather who was a minister and preached against the invasion.  My grandfather (who could speak seven languages) was threatened many times to stop but he continued to write and speak out against them.  One night a friend told him that the Nazi's were on their way to finally silence him so he packed up his family (my mother was the oldest child) with whatever they could carry (as well as several layers of clothing) and escaped.  The adventure of their escape and final immigration to Canada is quite a story and one that a family member plans to write about soon.  My father was 15 when the Russians pulled into Budapest.  He was born on the pest side.  He ran out of his house with his best friend in anger against the Russian tank at the end of the street.  The Russians shot at them.  His best friend was shot in the throat and died.  My father ran and escaped.  The bullet holes are still in the house where he grew up  walls to this day.  My father has his own story of escape and immigration to Canada (very exciting but lengthy).  They met and married (another long story).  All but one of my siblings were born in Canada.  I am still Canadian (Resident Alien) but I consider myself (and my allegiance) an American.

My family moved to America when I was in first grade.  We moved to Roseville when I was 12 and have lived here ever since.  This is my home.  My parents decided to teach us English instead of Hungarian because  my older  sister was bullied in school.  They said that we could always pick up the language later but we never did.  We were brought up with several Hungarian traditions.  One of the traditions was the way we celebrate Christmas.  Santa Claus comes on Dec 6th.  We put out our shoes and he fills them with small toys, candies and mandarin oranges.  The Angels bring us gifts on Christmas to celebrate the birth of Christ.  Our family holds our Hungarian ancestry very dear and we believe we have traced back our lineage to the Habsburg Monarchy.   We eat the food, display the artifacts, talk about and wear the title proudly.

I am the mother of a 16 year old boy.  Being a mom has been the best and most important part of my life.  I started studying child development before he was born.  When I found out I was pregnant, I decided the best thing I could do was to take the time to raise him.  I read and watched everything I could find on child development.  He was my classroom.  I worked part-time and lived modestly as a single parent so I could be around to see the wonderful way he learned and developed.  My son's paternal grandparents helped out when I worked so he was always with family.  I love that his life was enriched by their love and guidance (he is also the only grandchild so he is the center of attention).  I wanted to instill in him a love of self so he would have the self confidence, self esteem and self worth needed to become a valuable member of our society. 

My dream was to travel the world living and experiencing different countries and cultures.  I almost realized that dream with my dear friend and partner but he died of cancer right after retiring.  Then Russell came along and I could not imagine doing anything else but being a mom.  I am one of seven children so I really hadn't intended on having any children.  I saw the struggles my parents went through to provide for us (especially with limited education) so I didn't realize the joy children can bring into your life. 

I love classical music and reading.  I have to limit myself on the reading because I will read all day long.  I raised my son on classical music and use it in the baby room where I work.  Until last week, I was working at two preschools owned by one person.  One of the schools has  been purchased and I chose to stay with the new owner.  I am excited because she understands the importance of developmentally appropriate practices.  I am the cook and substitute teacher.  I want to implement a healthier lunch menu as well as establish a garden.  The new owner plans on expanding so I hope to have my own classroom in the future when I finish all my classes. 

Our student base has been changing lately.  The new students are coming from other countries (Columbia, India) and English is their second language.  Several of our existing students are white European coming from different countries with English as their second language.  As teachers we have discussed the differences in the way the parents raise their children and how that affects the way the child interacts with us and their peers.  Growing up I learned to assimilate into the status quo and my culture was only brought up as a curiosity.  I am looking forward to learning the tools to celebrate, recognize, appreciate the diverse cultures of these children.  I am excited to bring this new knowledge to the classroom.  The timing with the new owner and all that I will learn in this class is like "fishing my wish" (I use this term from the game "Go Fish" whenever something fortuitous happens to me).