May 20, 2013
The earth is seriously flat…
Packed up the car and left from my sister’s home in Budapest with the dogs to Hortobagy around 6 AM. I felt like a broken airconditioning that leaked out all of its freon and just kept running empty and overheating. I was barely moving as the adrenalin dissipated from my body after the highly charged busy week ended. The drive was about 2 1/2 long, boring somewhat resembling crossing through Iowa and Nebraska perhaps even more flat.
The Dining hall…
I got to the Inn around 9AM. Grabbed some breakfast and hopped on the bus to join my
international group members. We will spend a whole week practicing herding and learning various folk art media, visiting the area and learning about its history.
Riding the bus to the herding site…
We drove to the herding site, got off the bus and there we were; the Puszta (prairie)…flat, barren and empty. The laws of physics get seriously challenged here…The midday mirage destroys the effect of vanishing point, all noise gets absorbed in the air there is no acoustic effect. Speed becomes meaningless as it has no reference point. The body loses its proportions and one becomes hyper aware of every part of it. The Earth is seriously flat, endless, disarming and powerful here.
The day started with some talks, we checked out the nature preserve and wild-life reservation. After
I have to get used to the flatness of the landscape after the Catskill mountains in New York State…
part of “Team Pumi Americanus,” me, Tom and Chris Levy
lunch we have begun practice. The sun was high up and the dogs got tired fast. Fruska was disinterested, Agyag kept flossing and I could not really focus either. Was glad when the day ended. Hope for a better mood tomorrow…