A small pleasure working at the resthome.

The other week I found out from the son of one resthome resident, that she grew up in Hungary and speaks Hungarian.

I had no idea, so the next time I saw that resident, I told her that I heard she speaks Hungarian.

"Yes," she was like, "It is my native language."

So, I told her that my grandparents spoke Hungarian, and I told her (in Hungarian!), "Good evening, my dear!".

She seemed pleased, and she said I spoke Hungarian so clearly.

I really can't speak it, but I do know a few standard phrases like that, so I'll have to be sure to use them with her when I see her.

The one resident who speaks that is very wonderful.  Dementia can cause people to lose executive functions in the brain and that includes the ability to check behavioral impulses, and what's interesting with her is that she genuinely loves many people, and in the middle of social occasions a lot of times she'll go and tell people, "I love you," or, "I'm glad that you're my friend."

I can't remember who told me this, but they said that she was always a very warm and caring person, and it's great that that's carried through to her social interactions now.

Mostly, that loss of executive functioning causes people to be mean or blow up over small things, or to behave inappropriately sexually when they see someone attractive.

Instead, with her, it's like she's warm, and just radiates love to everyone, and quite genuinely, too.