Vivien

My daily routine is a bit different now that I’m working freelance, but when I was working regularly at the newspaper, I would start the day by getting up at about half past seven, have a shower, brush my teeth, put in my contact lenses and try to listen to the radio at eight o’clock, because they have fifteen minutes of news in English which was useful for my work. If there were any news stories I was interested in, I would quickly jot down the information and then follow it up at work. Then I would go to work, and maybe get a cake or something on the way, if I hadn’t had time for breakfast, or buy some fruit from a little stall on the street. Quite often I walked to work, which only took about twenty minutes. It was a good way to wake up, and I’d buy a newspaper on the way so I could read about what was happening in this country, as it used to be my task to write about the political comings and goings.

When I got to work, I was usually one of the first people there, which was quite nice because it meant I could make a cup of tea – being English, of course, I drink tea all the time. Next I’d read the paper, and then I’d start working on certain tasks that I’d have to do every week for the newspaper, like writing some short news briefs or going through the papers to find any interesting, juicy stories. The things they liked were murders, bank robberies and things like that.

Then I usually had a few interviews to do, and afterwards I’d write them up on the computer, and at some point, I’d go out for lunch. I liked to just go out to the market and get some vegetables. I used to be a vegetarian in England, but it’s not quite so easy here. Well, it’s not only that it’s not easy, I actually quite liked meat, in Hungary I had an excuse, to try all of the different types of meat produce. Still, I don’t eat meat every day and I very rarely cook it, so I like to buy lots of vegetables. So, I would buy peppers and tomatoes and some bread rolls and things, and then have a cold lunch. In the afternoon, it would be more of the same, writing up, or maybe working on some longer story or interview.

Now that I work freelance, I tend to work at home a lot, or to go out and do interviews and then come home and type them up.

It’s difficult calling newspapers in England, ‘cause you have to call them in the mornings, and so it’s very expensive. Also, I find it quite difficult dealing with people on the phone. If they don’t know who you are, they just hear a name and a voice on the other end of the line, and you have to be really pushy to sell your story to them. So, the business side of journalism is quite difficult, and it’s not something that I particularly enjoy.

I used to come home at about seven. I stayed quite late at work, and then did some shopping on the way back to get some food for the evening, and when I got back, I’d start cooking. My flatmate would cook maybe once a week, but I actually enjoy cooking. I find it really relaxing. After thinking all day, it’s nice to just chop up vegetables and think of something really mindless, and not have to concentrate too hard. I make a lot of Indian food, I suppose. My parents used to cook lot of Indian meals with spices, so I bought lots of spices in London. Some of them are quite difficult to get here. My flatmate likes pasta and Italian food, so I cook that sometimes. I also cook a lot of vegetable dishes.

After dinner, I usually watch television. I usually watch the news in English and Hungarian. Quite often on weekdays I’m too tired to go out, but, if I do, maybe I go to the cinema with my flatmate or friends, or I go out to dine at other people’s houses. Where I go also depends on how much money I have. Sometimes I go out to a restaurant or go for a pizza.

Now we’ve got all these channels on the TV, it’s quite tempting to just stay in and watch something on TV. I brought a guitar with me from England and sometimes I play that, which is quite a good way of relaxing.

I don’t read as many books as I used to, say, when I was at university. This is probably because I have to read all day, reading newspapers, and I get a bit fed up with reading. So, unfortunately, I don’t read that much. I’ve bought lots of Hungarian literature though, and I keep telling myself that one day I’m going to read it all. However, when I come home from work, I’m usually so exhausted that I just sit there, stare at the television and drink cups of tea all evening and go to bed maybe about midnight.

Vivien

There are stereotypical responsibilities of the husband, the wife, and the children in a family. They say that the wife’s responsibilities are, basically, to do everything, as far as I can see… to make the beds in the morning, cook the breakfast, and then when the children go to school and the husband goes to work, to start washing the clothes, then tidy up the kitchen, do the washing up, clean the kitchen, go shopping and buy the food for the week, and then put out the washing. If she has a garden, she can hang the washing out on a washing-line – and then tidy up the living room, do the hoovering (the vacuum cleaning), and tidy the children’s bedrooms, although I think it should be the children’s responsibility, really, to keep their own bedrooms tidy.