August 20 - Engagement party

Speeches

András With all the love of my heart I greet everybody who has come here today, a day which is so important to me and Sharon. At first I would like to set forth the program. Following the opening speech when I ask for the hand of my partner for life, I'm going to pass the word to Sharon and she will make a short speech. After this my father would like to say a few words to the relatives and friends who have assembled here. Following my father's speech, we welcome any remarks from anybody who feels like having something to say. As Sharon is going to speak English, my cousin, Szilvi will interpret my words and also those of Sharon.

Similarly to so many people my childhood is full of important memories which are effective up to the present. Due to the careful maternal love everything was given that a little child could wish for and I did not care about the world. Then came school years, in the primary school I had to realize the importance of reading, writing and counting. During this period the dominant feeling in me was the loneliness of us, that is, Hungarian people.

In the secondary school I found out that knowledge is very important, everything is based on knowledge even our society. I also realized that work is not a shame, because it ennobles the worker. Unfortunately, during these years I had to suffer the most serious loss that one could. I lost my mother. I managed to recover from this crisis due to my positive mentality and get into the college at Kecskemét by hard work. Here I experienced how essential it is to have qualification. But I had a serious problem, the lack of knowing foreign languages. Unfortunately this lack of knowledge remained without remedy at that time.

After the college I went to work for a company where I gained even more experience. I really learnt to see my options and I saw my destiny written in the destiny of my elder colleagues. They did not speak languages just like me, they had qualifications just like me and I saw my destiny written in advance. The Hungarian Army put an end to the trip in Kaposvár. As a soldier I had time to think over once more what was waiting for me if I did not learn languages. Unfortunately, there were not many opportunities to learn languages and get to know the world in this way. Soon afterwards an opportunity came about ideal for gaining practical experience in languages. I took it immediately.

I could get acquainted with a lot of people by the aid of my job, people whom I couldn't get to know otherwise. My knowledge of languages also increased nicely. My German was quite fluent, but I wasn't good at other ones. Although, all the successful businessmen whom I met, spoke two, three or even four languages. I drew a quick conclusion. If I want to be successful, I also have to speak two, three or four languages. Then, one day, a young couple arrived at the pension searching for a room for three people. They were very nice and said that they would like to accommodate their relatives for two weeks.

Then came the big day? The relatives arrived and I received the lady at the reception with whom I was on the same wavelength already from the first moment and had long conversations. But then, unfortunately, our common language was a kind of mixture of German, English and Italian. But we understood each other. In the pension we went through a lot of events that will remain memorable for a long time. We talked every night, but I didn't manage to make Sharon like BAK beer. However, I learnt the name of a drink that always makes me smile ? this is Malibu. It gives a good feeling to hear this word, especially with an American accent. Then we learnt what "szivacs" was on the monitor of the computer. In the games of cards I helped her and her aunt to win and so many adventures were enough to make us love each other. The two weeks she spent here were enough to make the farewell painful. Then came the period of thinking: she is American, I'm Hungarian and there are thousands of kilometers between the two of us. So I didn't cherish too much hope. But already in the first afternoon rang my telephone and the miracle started. From day to day I learnt more and more English and we sent more and more emails. Then she announced that she would come to see me in May. The miracle went on? We understood each other better and better and both of us knew in secret that the other one was the one for all the life. She gave me a call from the plane, because she missed me so much and this was the situation with me too. I was looking forward to see her again; the emails and sms came and went, then arrived the middle of July. We did what both of us wanted so much. For me Sharon bears such qualities that ensure my future and they tell that she is the one for the rest of my life. I would like to express my thanks to my parents and acquaintances who have supported me throughout my career up till now and have given important advices. I promise that I'll give back everything that I got just as a tree returns fruit for provision. I'd also love to offer my thanks to Sharon's parents and relatives for bringing her up in honesty and I know that she is going to return every good she received, because that's the order of life. And I say thank you for all your wonderful qualities. What we can promise for the future? First of all we would like to invite everybody for the wedding in America. I can promise that if I have the possibility of traveling in and out without difficulty, we will come back and give an account of our experiences. We can promise that we will take our opportunities and live in happiness that we build up by common work in the future. And now I'd like to propose to Sharon and ask her to be my fiancée. Mine When I was younger and thinking about marriage, my friends and I wrote a list of what we thought would be the "perfect man". My list had the following: 1. Kind 2. Funny 3. Smart 4. Caring 5. Someone I could share everything with 6. Someone I could communicate with, sometimes without words, just by eye contact or body language. 7. And of course good looks would be a plus. As time went by, I had given up trying to find a person that had all of the qualities I was looking for. I started to believe that my "perfect man" did not exist. Last March, my brother called me and said that he was getting married here in Hungary and that I should fly here to see the wedding. So I came to Hungary and stayed at the Kanguru Panzió. The first time I saw András at the Panzió, I knew there was something special about him. The more time we spent together, I realized that he was kind, patient, caring and fun. We had a good time doing even basic things like learning a little Hungarian like the months of the year and days of the week. We played games of dominoes so I would have to say the numbers from 0 to 9. He made learning Hungarian fun. I went home and told my family that although I did like András, it was crazy. He lived here in Hungary, I lived in America. But I found the more I tried to forget him, the more I couldn't. We started writing emails, SMS messages on our mobile phones and the occasional telephone call. It was difficult because we didn't speak the same language. How many times can you say "Malibu" and "Szivacs" without getting bored? I never got bored. I was just happy hearing his voice. We talked about a second trip to Hungary. This time I would spend the time with him. I knew that I had to come to work out my feelings. So I came back to Hungary. Although I had been studying Hungarian and he studied English, it had only been 1 month. Somehow we managed to talk to each other. We used anything we could find to help get our thoughts across to the other, dictionaries, acting and drawing pictures. I realized how funny and smart he was. I also found that even though it was difficult to tell him about myself through language, there was nothing I couldn't tell him. Unfortunately my visit was over much to quickly. András and his father drove me to the airport. When I said good-bye, I looked at him one last time and turned and ran. I cried the entire way to Germany and most of the way to America. I knew that I had left my heart in Hungary. At home, I talked with my friends and family about the trip and what I thought my future held. I thought about it everyday. András and I talked about another trip to Hungary. I knew that I had to come back. It wasn't a choice for me. It hurt too much to be apart from him which made me think again about that original list of my "perfect man" and realized I had met him. András, you are everything on my list. That is why I couldn't forget you after the first visit and why I had given you my heart after the second visit. There is nothing I want more in life than to be your wife. I love you.