the end

DONE! What a semester... learned alot about Hungary, about myslef, and about life. So glad I had this experience, and I am so looking forward to going home. This will be my last post until after Christmas, so I hope everyone has a great holiday, and if I don't see you "merry christmas and happy new year!"

Boldog Uj Eves!

ketto

2 papers, 2 finals, 2 days...

then packing and saying goodbye to this wonderful city.

Home on the 24th.

Hungarian word

Karacsony "christmas"

the countdown begins

Well, multiple countodowns happening over here...

9 days till I go home

5 finals

2 papers

Life is obviously a little crazy at the moment, and I know I said I'd post about Rome, but I dont think thats really going to happen, so I might as well own up to that now. Suffice it to say that it was a fabulous trip, I got lots of great souvenirs and pictures, and I can't wait to go back to Italy at some point. Right now I'm just trying to wrap up the end of the semester as best I can; stressed over finals, sad to be leaving, excited to be going home. Basically sums up the general mood for everyone over here.

Hungarian word...
hoo-ha "wow"

Don't know if thats how you spell that.

roma, mi amore

Ok, just got back from my birthday weekend adventure in Rome, and I cannot say enough about how amazing that city is. Absolutely the best time I have had, the girls had to drag me back on the plane. Had a really fun birthday and this weekend just put it over the top. I can't write much now, but I will definitely revisit the subjct in my next post. Lots to do, only 2 weeks left! Here is my best picture from the trip:

yay for the Eternal City at Christmas time!

hungarian word:

teszta "pasta"

Simba was not my friend

Having a fabulous weekend hanging around Budapest. Went to Szentendre yesterday with Arnab, its a small village about 45 mins outside of Budapest. Absolutely adorable, it snowed most of the time which was lovely. Bought some Christmas presents, had a great lunch,
wandered around the village, and admired the Danube.
We spent the train ride quizzing each other on Harry Potter trivia. Yes, I'm a huge dork, but guess what, he beat me. Yep, someone may actually know more obscure and random facts about HP than I do. Hard to believe.
After getting back from Szentendre we headed over to Buda to see the Palace and Fisherman's Bastion at night. It was fairytale like; Cinderella never had it as good as those Hungarian fishermen.
Today we went to the Budapest Zoo; I had rather low expectations, especially considering
the weather. Well, I was absolutely wrong, those Hungarian animals are anything but wimps. It was amazing, I saw more animals out and playing than I've seen in my entire life of zoo trips. And that's saying something. However, I was sorely disappointed with the lack of meerkats. But, the sheer proximity of the animals made up for that; for the most part, all that separated us from the animals was a piece of Plexiglas. (not the camels though, totally could touch them) I totally got swatted at (through Plexi) by a baby lion, apparently I looked like lunch.
Also, good news on the paper writing front, I've consolidated my work by simply writing one paper and turning it in twice. I think of it as spending my time wisely.
About to head over to Marxim, my favorite socialist pizza place.

Just 23 days till I get home, and 4 till my 21st birthday...

Here's my Zoo album: http://claremont.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058603&l=2c048&id=13306486

Hungarian work of the day:
pingvinek "penguins"

citrus and tea... I must be sick

Fighting a cold over here, but in true mommy style I am eating tangerines, drinking tea, and sitting in the sun coming in from my window. Its nice to see the sun, since it was snowing a bit yesterday. (again, California here I come) Also, although a wee bit early, I have picked my new years resolution: I am going to perfect Grammy's Cabbage Roll recipe, because honest to god, they are the best. (and that 5 lbs is staying where it is anyway) I feel that I am now an authority on the subject since I have eaten stuffed cabbage in every restaurant that offers them since arriving in Hungary; and have come to the not-so-shocking conclusion that no one can stuff a cabbage like Grammy. I'll let everyone know when that happens...give me about 5-10 years. Seriously though, everyone is so big on the Guylas, its all hype, stuffed cabbage is by far superior, if its done right, aka Grammy style.
On a rather unscrupolous sidenote, does any6one have a paper about the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and/or the Rise of Democracy in East Germany that they would like to give me as "reasearch"? I"m almost joking. Very hard to find motivation to write papers when I know that I have such a limited amount of time left in Budapest. Well, back to the vitamin C and sunshine...

Word:
toltott kaposta "stuffed cabbage"

loving shakespeare

Decided it was time for me to attempt to absorb some culture while in such a fabulous city, and went to the opera last night! It was, in a word, spectacular. The Hungarian National Opera House is gorgeous, and the opera, Otello, was amazing. I’m rather pleased that my first opera was in Hungary, especially since I’ll never get such great seats for so cheap ever again. Here’s a picture of the chandelier; reminded me of the Phantom of the Opera.

Phrase:
Nagyon szep! "very beautiful"

Also, here are the links to my new albums!

Random- http://claremont.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2056250&l=e9434&id=13306486

Dad's visit- http://claremont.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057115&l=577b0&id=13306486

Erin's visit- http://claremont.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057853&l=ac575&id=13306486

3 months gone...

Although my first not spent at home, Thanksgving was great. Dinner at the Marriot was amazing, and it was really nice spending the evening with my friends. We all sat around sipping mulled wine and catching up on each others amazing adventures around Europe. We had a few professors there and I got to here about how they used to skate on the Balaton when they were young. I really enjoyed that, especially because I am so accustomed to having close relationships with my professors at Scripps. Most of us love Attila, our history prof, he went to Transylvania with us, and when you spend 20+ hours on a bus with our group, you get close, however I doubt my other professors even know my name.
Unfortunately, now I have to think about the looming paper deadlines and upcoming finals. I have two papers due on my birthday, which is rather irritating, however once I turn them in I am free to celebrate and jet off to Rome, so that will be fabulous. I have just 31 days left in Budapest, a statistic that excites and saddens me at the same time. I have truly come to love this city and the people in my program far more than I ever could have anticipated. I know I'll be back someday, but it will be a long time, and much will have changed. However, I am terribly excited to get home and be truly warm again. I am becoming accustomed to the cold, which is rather frightening, I stepped outside today and actually uttered the phrase, "Oh what a great day, its so warm!" Its 50 degrees outside... who am I? I'm sure its been good for me to experience the joys of many, many, many layers, but I am looking forward to a sunny socal christmas. Hope everyone had a good holiday.

Hungarian word or the day:
hideg "cold" meleg "hot"

the cousins do praha

Ok, it has been ages, but life has been so busy lately, my apologies. It was fabulous having Erin here; showing her around, dragging her to my classes, we had a ball.

We had a great time in Prague; definitely saw all the highlights. Ali’s friends gave us the grand tour at light speed (about 4 hours) on Saturday and then Erin and I spent Sunday doing what we do best, wandering, eating, and shopping! Having Erin here reminded me just how weird and crazy Hungary and Hungarian is. There are definitely some funny stories and cultural learning anecdotes.
We went on quite the quest to find Grammy’s old apartment building; we trekked around Buda for a few hours in the rain, but we did find Grammy’s Uncles old building, so that totally counts for something.

We saw a beautiful piano concert that my professor gave me tickets to…that is after she quizzed Erin on her non-existent Hungarian. Erin was a good sport, and actually did quite well; she learned turtleneck “gabor” and not a turtleneck “nem gabor.” Went to Morrison’s and almost died from smoke inhalation… anyone who thinks the fires were bad, spend a few hours in a Budapest bar, we literally quarantines our clothes afterwards. Hit up all the major sights, my fav restaurants with all their quirky themes, and of course the baths! I had such a great time, it makes me miss everyone for thanksgiving, but the program is having a dinner at the Marriott hotel, so that will be nice; I’ll be doing thanksgiving with my pseudo family. (Man are we a crazy bunch) Also, the sun has been out for the past two days! It makes me so happy, amazing what about a month without real sunshine does to you. (I am such a Californian it’s embarrassing.)

Hungarian word of the day
Pulyka “turkey”

Erin is here! We are going to frolick around Budapest and then Prague for the next week!

flurries...

Its snowing in Budapest!

Hungarian word of the day:

ho "snow"

Paprika, Mozart, and Papa... what a week

Well, Dad just touched down in LA. It was a blast having him here, and getting to show him around the city. I got to take him to my favorite restaurants, Darkness, Marxim, and Paprika! And show him all the amazing things that make me love Budapest so much.
We had a great time in Vienna; the hotel was gorgeous, as expected, and in the best possible location. We saw some amazing sights, although we almost missed our train because of the idiot ticket guy…literally handwriting our ticket and taking his sweet time. Yes, one would think that there would be a computer system for such things, but alas, one would be mistaken.
We had Wiener schnitzel, and ironically some of the best goulash our first night. We decided to get tickets for the performance of Mozart’s requiem in St Stephen’s Cathedral. It was stunningly beautiful, although even with at least a thousand people in the church; it was still about 50 degrees. Absolutely worth it though, the most spectacular thing I’ve ever seen.
We visited Schonbrun Palace, but decided not to go inside because “We don’t do lines.” Great choice actually, we wandered around the grounds and got some amazing pictures, which I will post as soon as Dad emails them to me. Vienna was gorgeous; so clean and beautiful, I kept expecting Mickey to jump out from around the corner, because it really looks like a something Disney would have built. Which really makes me ponder why in the world anyone would go to Euro Disney…? Anyway, I will expound more stories later, now I have to get to my fabulous art history class.
Also, I just managed to make some rather yummy fried potatoes, so I’m quite proud of myself right now.

Hungarian word of the day:

Burgonya or Krumpli “potato”

halloween in the land of the magyars

Midterm insanity is finally over. Its not that they were exceptionally difficult, it was simply the combination of not having to use my brain since May, and the fact that this feels like pretend school that culminated into making this a horrific week. A four-day weekend is ahead of me, and Dad should be landing in Budapest in 13 short hours. He had a slight (24-hour) delay in lovely JKF, but not to worry, we will make up for the lost time. I will be dragging his jetlagged butt all over Budapest tomorrow, and then we are off to Vienna for 3 days! I am so excited—Becs, as it is called here—is supposed to be the loveliest city, and we are staying in such a posh hotel that I know it will be glorious!
On a side note, everyone should watch this movie from my Film and History class: Sunshine by Szabo Istvan. Ralph Finnes stars and it is wonderful. Let me know what you think!

Hungarian word of the day:
Erdekes “interesting”

Less Study, More Abroad

Studying, or the lack there of for my midterms. Two and a paper down, three to go. All back to back to back. Basically its going to be miserable; send some love.

Photo Albums!

Here are the links to my photo albums for everyone who's not on facebook!

My first week-
http://claremont.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051398&l=a2316&id=13306486

Week 2, Western Hungary, and Danube Bend-
http://claremont.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2052755&l=53a4e&id=13306486

Northern Hungary-
http://claremont.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2054204&l=26542&id=13306486

Transylvania-
http://claremont.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2054902&l=7e04e&id=13306486

Pecs-
http://claremont.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2055120&l=d383b&id=13306486

Enjoy!

Big Mac with a side of Riot Gear

Last night Ali and I decided to have a date McCafe. Yes, I actually have stooped low enough to go to a McDonalds, albeit, the classiest one you will ever see. We had hoped that there might actually be “real” food there; alas, it was the classic menu. Still, it made for an entertaining diversion after attempting to study all day. After our lovely “meal”, we left to find a sea of sirens and flashing lights. We hoped on the tram back to Ali’s place, and immediately turned on the TV to see what was happening. Of course it was all in Hungarian, but we managed to figure out there was rioting and protesting. Then, we realized that the hundred or so police in riot gear were about a block away from the apartment. Called our RD, Elizabeth, who basically said not to worry, just do not leave the apartment. Right, not worried, just about 100 police a block away and angry protesters…we’re not worrying at all. Needless to say the girls were not about to let me leave the apartment, and I crashed there. Really, it was somewhat exciting, although I’m interested to see how crazy things get tonight. Today is the official anniversary of the 1956 Revolution. (Hungarians ousted the communists, and then the Soviets brought in tanks and crushed the revolution.) Not to worry though, I am safe in my apartment on the outskirts of the city, studying and trying to write my paper. Makes my life seem pretty dull. Oh well.

Hungarian phrase of the day:
hetfo, kedd, szerda, csutortok, pentek, szombat, vasarnap
"days of the week"

szeretlek magyorozsag

So it’s a 5 day weekend, and basically everyone in the program is currently traipsing around Europe; instead of following suit—and considering we have midterms coming up for the next two weeks—Ali and I decided that we felt like doing a day trip instead.
Ali has a friend, Courtney, here and we are having a ball showing her around the
city. Its fun to show it off and I still can’t quite get over how much I love it here. It’s nice, and a little peculiar to be in such a foreign place and feel so much at home.
Yesterday we went to Pécs,which is in southern Hungary. Had a lovely time, only downside was Ali losing her student ID and metro pass, but at least they are easily
replaceable. After catching the 6:30 am train out of Budapest, we caught someZzzzz ’s during the 3-hour ride. Got to Pecs, hopped off the train, and without a guidebook, or map still managed to find the mainsquare in a matter of 10 minutes.
First off, we decided that coffee and food were not something that could wait, so we promptly popped into the nearest pastry shop. Ali and I had the largest coffees we have seen since arriving in Europe, and the three of us each decided we had to order the most amazing looking desserts…for breakfast. We like to think we make good choices; after all, when will we ever get the chance to try them again? (They were as amazing as they looked by the way.)
Afterwards we saw a mosque that the Turks built during their occupation of Hungary, which after they were driven out, was converted into a catholic church. However, the architecture and much of the originaldécor is still in use. It was a strange feeling seeing all of the classic architecture of the Turks resplendent with crucifixes.
Afterwards we saw the basilica, and an early Christian mausoleum. The basilica was beautiful, and had the most amazing front gate. The early Christian mausoleum was cool; it’s really quite amazing how colorful they were after all of the centuries.
We then met up with Tila and Garret who had spent the night in town. We all went to a quirky restaurant—they played some very random American music and had bowls of
peanuts on the tables—but we had a great lunch nonetheless. Then we all grabbed some ice cream from a little shop Garret had found the previous day, and then all caught the train home. I can’t say train is my favorite form of travel, but that could be because I spent about 6 hours round trip, and it’s just not that exciting, or fast. Still, very glad that we decided to go see Pecs.
Today I’ve done almost nothing productive; been attempting to write a paper for my Art History class for hours, although I think my mental block is simply because I despise that class. I really should have known better… I mean, in all seriousness, I get bored at the Getty in about an hour, how did I ever think that I could take an art history class? In addition, no one cares about Hungarian art. I mean really, can you name even one Hungarian artist? Didn’t think so. Therefore, there is zero information; type in “Hungarian art” and wikipedia has nothing… Anyway, I’m going to the baths this afternoon with Ali and Courtney, and then out to dinner, and probably to Morrison’s, so itought to be a nice evening.
It’s getting pretty cold here, and I get a bit sad every time I think of how beautiful it is in California right now. Then again, it’s still rather novel having to put on so many layers. I’m sure the fun in that will wear off pretty quickly though. Another side note, Val is looking at colleges this weekend… still can’t believe she’s a senior, makes me feel pretty darn old. Anyway, must grab the bikini and get going. At least I can pretend I’m in Cali,right?

Hungarian word of the day:
születésnap "birthday"
As in, Happy 20th születésnap Stephie!

Four Days in Transylvania, and Not a Single Bite to Show For It.

My apologies, I know its been ages since I have posted. It has
been an incredibly busy week, and I just haven’t had the time to
actually sit and organize my thoughts.
First, let me start with a huge compliment to the boys, Vin in particular, who hosted a dinner party for us last week. It was wonderful; Vin made a spectacular
spread, homemade bread and gnocchi, as well as great pasta. It was lovely, and put our previous dinner party to shame. We are still trying to recover from the humiliation and piece together our broken pride as future homemakers and housewives. After the lovely dinner, we bade goodbye to the boys, whom we would see in 6 short hours, as our bus was due to depart Hero Square at 6:30am. Again, a painful hour, made all the more difficult to face knowing we had an eight-hour bus ride, complete with bathroom stops every 45 mins. For some reason, our group seems to be composed solely of the tiny-bladdered.

Well, after what seemed like forever we finally reached Transylvania!
Spooky? Scary? Vampires? Sadly, I do not think I saw a single bat. However, it was certainly cold and rainy; worth noting were the 2 hours we spent at a Romanian market, in the pouring rain. As well as the terrifying walk back to the bus, on the side of a road, being splashed by the passing semis… it was awful, but funny to think back on now.

Giving a play by play of the 4 day trip would bore you to tears, as it did to us for a good part of the time. However, this excursion did what none of the others had, and that was to give us a view into the lives of the people who inhabit the region. We were primarily in the Kalotaszeg region, a mainly Hungarian area known for its textiles and woodwork. For all of you who aren’t up on your 20th century world history, after WWI with the Treaty of Trianon, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was broken into multiple different regions, because that is what happens when you lose a war. The Hungarian are still a bit bitter about the entire affair because they lost about 2/3 of their previous territory, including Transylvania. Basically making Hungary a
country surrounded by Hungarians. Very convenient.

So, back to the excursion, it was quite an experience. For everyone who knows me well,I will summarize it in 3 words: no indoor plumbing. Yes… I used an outhouse, for four days, while it was practically snowing. Now,aren’t you all proud of me? After getting over the initial shock, I actually came to adore the host family I was staying with. There was Rex, the dog who was chained to the outhouse, we had some good times together. Then of course, my favorite was Norbert, the pig. We asked his name and our host family laughed, meaning of course, that we don’t name dinner. So we, in horror, named him Norbert. Moreover, there were some chickens, which I managed to wake up at 3am trying to find the outhouse, and they started cock-a-doodle-dooing. Can we please stop and picture me, at 3am, -3° C, trying to get to the outhouse, waking up the rooster, and being scared out of my mind by the dog? Good, I’m glad you’ve all had a laugh now.
As for our actual family, Ebi and Istvan, they were the sweetest people, and we desperately wanted to bring Ebi back home with us so she could cook us food forever. I’m am not kidding when I say I gained 5lbs in 4 days from eating her food. It was
delicious; I couldn’t help but eat 3 servings. The last night we were there it was Istvan ’s birthday, and we all celebrated, singing Happy Birthday, drinking beer that he bought for us from the local bar, and eating more than I thought possible. Let me also add that they did not speak a work of English. Therefore, communication was limited but hilarious. There were 5 of us in the house, and between our terrible Hungarian, and sign language, we managed to almost have conversations. We saw a ton of traditional Hungarian costumes, the most detailed, beautiful embroidery, too many churches to mention, and ate plates and plates of great food. It was certainly not what I expected the trip to be like, but it was wonderful nonetheless.

And on a hilarious note… Stephen Colbert finally announced his intention to run for President of the United States. Finally, a candidate I get behind.

Hungarian phrase of the day:
Nagyon finnom! “Very delicious”

Wine from a Siphon? Enya? We must be in Northern Hungary.

Another of my culinary escapades; the girls and I had a dinner party last week! Ali and I managed to create a pasta dish and salad, Steph made garlic toast using an oven that we all have yet to decipher, and the boys brought wine and some fabulous desserts! I would say it went well; we managed to keep up the façade of being mature adults for about 5 minutes, and it was certainly entertaining. There will be a repeat performance, with some role reversal this week: The guys are cooking, and we are bringing the wine and desert! Vin apparently knows how to cook, so it should be quite tasty, although you never really know with this group.
This weekend we went on our third excursion, this time to Northern Hungary. I really appreciate that the program takes us on these trips. Although I enjoyed Western Hungary more, we still saw some very interesting sights, and I know I experienced things that I would never have done myself. This time we had to meet at Hero Square at 6:45, but luckily, this time I had the foresight to bring a pillow. Annoyingly, we had a completely incompetent bus driver and drove for probably 45mins more than necessary. Even Elizabeth, our very patient director, was showing signs of possible violence. But, we finally reach our destination, Aggtelek National Park, a system of astoundingly beautiful caves that run for about 20 kilometers. We got a guided tour through the cave and previewed a choreographed light show to Enya in one of the larger caverns, it was priceless. Also it’s a constant 10°, so we were pretty darn chilly after our hour underground.
We then went to see the Lipizzaner horses, which have a long history in Hungary. They were absolutely beautiful, however after about 5 minutes I had to get out of the stable before I my asthma really kicked in and I couldn’t walk back to the bus. I did manage to pick out my favorite though, Pluto XXXII.
After the quick Lipizzaner stop, we finally made out way to the final destination, Eger. Home to Hungary’s wine region, we unloaded from the bus, and then walked into the Valley of Beautiful women; where all of wine the cellars are found. Our group walked into the first and cutest cellar we found, taking over three tables and immediately having a wonderful time. The old lady running the cellar was incredibly sweet, although I’m sure it made her night when about 20 American kids all walked into her cellar. We tried a variety of wines, and best of all, most of us got a drink out of a wine siphon. This pretty much includes wrapping a cloth around your neck, tilting your head back, and having the wonderful old lady shoot a large gulp of wine directly down your throat. It was great! Then we all had a nice dinner in the restaurant down the road, had another glass of wine, and called it a night. The next day we trekked around Eger, saw the cathedral, camera obscura, and the fortress.
After leaving Eger, we made two stops on the way home. The first was a rather somber visit to the communist death camp, which most people never even knew existed at the time and even now it isn’t well known. Afterwards we had a much cheerier stop at the highest point in Hungary! Very impressive at 1014 meters! (Basically 3000 ft) It was a beautiful view, and a reminder than Hungary is basically a flat country.
We got home—home being Budapest—and a few of us decided that we needed to finish our night the proper Hungarian way, at the first annual Palinka and Sausage festival! Held at the royal palace, we overlooked the lights of Pest, the Danube, chain bridge, parliament, and St Stephens basilica. All sights everyone should see once in their life. Budapest is an impressive city, made all the more beautiful by the lights at night. It was a nice ending to the day, tons of Palinka and Sausage, how could it have been anything but amazing?

Bor “wine” Sör “beer” Viz “water” Uditö “soda”

karamel fagylalt = heaven

First let me say that I’m terribly sorry for being a lazy blogger. Somehow, I just was not very motivated to write this week. I seemed to be oscillating between being completely in love with Budapest and being a grumpy American and defiantly wearing my sweatshirt outside. I suppose I’m at the cusp of the honeymoon phase. Also, nothing especially exciting happened this week.
I had the best ice cream cone of my life, however, which is certainly worth noting, and anyone who visits me is going to have one too. This place makes the waffle cones in front of you…mmm heaven.
Well, I suppose it was inevitable, but classes and school are starting to feel like a real schedule. I had to buy some books and readers this week, and nothing made me crankier than having to pay full price. How I have been spoilt by Amazon. Actually, I’m enjoying classes now, they’ve become predictable, and although it still throws me for a loop that the locations change. For instance, my political problems of transition class meets in C Building 208 on Monday and then the main academic building in 3002 on Wednesday. Any guesses on how often the Americans are 5 minutes late? Also, as a side note, something so entertaining to the expats here… the floor numbering beings at zero. So if you live on the third floor, it’s really the American fourth floor. This does tend to cause confusion because half the time we are converting it in our heads and have to clarify if we’re talking about “Hungarian floors” or “us floors”.

So I never actually wrote about our trip to the Danube Bend. For everyone who is confused as to what that even means, it is just a bit north of Budapest where the Danube makes almost a complete right-angled turn. The towns most well known are Viszegrad and Esztergom. There we saw the Esztergom Cathedral, which is the seat of the Catholic Church in Hungary. It was incredibly grand. Afterwards we traveled across the Maria Valeria Bridge, into Slovakia, for a traditional lunch of cheese dumpling and beer! It was very cool to just pop across the border for a quick lunch! Probably the best part of the trip was that as we disembarked from the train from Budapest, Elizabeth, our Director, spotted a tcsoo-tcsoo train (that would be pronounced choo-choo) Basically a Disneyland-esque tram that she managed to secure for our ride to the cathedral, and then across the bridge into Slovakia. Please take a moment to imagine a group of 20 American kids on a little train, crossing the border between Hungary and Slovakia. You really can’t buy memories like that.

So I’ve been an expat for officially one month! I’m still so glad I decided to come, and actually am quite sad when I think of only having three left! I’ll update much more this coming week, cross my heart.

Egy, ketto, harom, negy, ot, hat, het, nyolc, kilenc, tiz
“one through ten”

“You’re wearing lederhosen. Don’t judge me.”

So we had to be on the bus by 7 am, I’m sure you can imagine that none of us were exactly pleased, but to top it off, it was freezing. I don’t mean slightly chilly, I mean I legitimately put on my shirt that I had for the next day, was wearing my jacket, and scarf, and even put on my second pair of socks! It was that cold for the entire 2 hour bus ride; needless to say I was a bit cranky when we finally arrived at Pannonhalma.
The site of the Roman city of Panonia, also the first abbey in Hungary, founded in the 11th century by King Saint Stephen… yes they actually call him that. So amazing, they had remnants of the roman fortifications, as well as parts of the walls from the 11th, 14, and 17th century. Incredibly beautiful, and a fantastic vista…almost made me want to convert, but not quite. It’s still a monastery and there is a boarding school run by the monks.
We then piled back on the bus to a drive to Vescprem. The 20 of us on a large tour bus was by far one of the funniest rides I’ve taken (including every bus trip with the swim team). It could have been because we were given all of 15 minutes to grab lunch for ourselves at a local market…so of course we all bought beer. The director was mildly amused. We finally got to “the Queen’s city” which was very beautiful and all go immediately to a pastry shop where I tried my first mignon. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Basically a small cube of chocolate, mousse, cake, and tons of sugar; it certainly kept me going. We climbed to the top of the city’s fire tower where there was a spectacular view of the area, and then after that we toured the Bishops Palace. Unbelievable, the entire building was filled with gifts from the monarchs of Europe, and we were given a tour by the sweetest old lady, with our Director, Elizabeth, translating the whole time. The little old lady took quite a liking to our group and even let us into the Bishop’s private chapel. Probably the best part though were the booties we had to wear over our shoes…nothing turns 20 year olds into 5 year olds faster than the ability to slide a good 10 feet across marble.
We then made our way to the town we would spend the night in, Nagyvazson. This was probably my favorite location, exactly what you would picture if someone asked you to describe your ideal European village. After unloading from the bus we followed Elizabeth to the top of a heavily wooded hill. At the top was the most beautiful place I have ever been, this includes Yosemite and the BVI. The ruins of a 15th century monastery sat in a small wooded clearing, beyond which was a field of wildflowers, with the sun setting in the background. I don’t have an extensive enough vocabulary to describe the setting to do it justice. Suffice to say that using your imagination would be far more accurate.
We then got up bright and early once again to enjoy a lovely Hungarian breakfast; then we were off to the Herend Porcelain factory! We got a tour, and were able to watch the porcelain in varying stages, the forming, detailing, and even painting. It was so great. Not to worry everyone, I’ve picked out a set for my wedding. We then got to try our hand at making porcelain roses! So, I now have a Herend porcelain rose, made by moi.
Afterwards we rode in our wonderful bus down to Lake Balaton. Adorable village and freezing water. Spent a while hoofing it around the peninsula, and then piled back on the bus for the drive to Budapest. Somehow by this time, the novelty of the bus had worn off and I was ready to kill someone. Although the ride was certainly made more entertaining by Vin, who regaled with tales of his afternoon at the lake; which he spent getting drunk by himself. The title of this particular blog comes from him; apparently he was getting some looks from a German guy while sitting on a bench boozing with his bottle of wine…. Oh Vin.
Of course we finally got back to the city, no incident reports, and made it back to my apartment. Ali and I decided to try the little Chinese food place at my metro stop. Basically, we pointed, they piled the meat and veggies over rice, and we took it back to heat up. We sit down, famished, and begin to eat. I take about two bites of rice before Ali realizes she is unsure of the type of meat that we got… I take on look and about die. LIVER. No, not kidding. So, I had my first Chinese takeout in Hungary, and had liver. Appropriate, no? I ate it, wasn’t half bad, although it hardly qualified as Chinese. Poor Ali ate her rice and veggies. (I ate her liver leftovers of course.) So, in conclusion, we are off to the Danube bend tomorrow! I am terribly excited, so will leave you with a Hungarian phrase to add to your repertoire

Hol van a WC? “Where’s the restroom?”

Oh... so the hose goes in the tub?

So when I’m not at school or my apartment, I tend be hanging out with the girls (Ali and Steph) at their apartment, which is mercifully above Morrison’s 2. It is the most amazing club. There are multiple dance areas, bars, and karaoke’s. Its built like a labyrinth, and has become the group hangout because its literally in the basement of the girl’s building. Actually, it is on the Lonely Planet guidebook’s list of clubs to visit while in Budapest, so you can see that I’m not really exaggerating about it. It is rather convenient, and at this point the bouncers know us, which is also a bit embarrassing really.
There are two excursions this weekend that I’m getting very excited for! We are going to Western Hungary, and the Danube Bend, both of which are supposed to be beautiful and rustic. Good thing I’ve had my rabies shots right? I’m sure it will come in handy. I’ll take lots of pictures, don’t worry about that.
Laundry! Wow, what an experience. First, the washing machine is probably older that I am, its very industrial looking. In addition, there is a hose, that if you forget to put in the tub (like I did) causes quite a mess. So I ended up mopping most of the apartment this morning… oh well at least I do not have class until one on Tuesdays. Then of course, there is the dryer. Wait, no. There isn’t! Ha-ha, I have a drying rack! Do you have any idea how long it takes jeans to dry? I sure didn’t, and then washed all 3 pairs, because I’m a genius like that. Can we all see how this is going? In reality, I’m doing pretty well with the whole living on my own thing, drying my clothes, cooking sub par cuisine… I guess its all part of the growing up experience, just most people don’t have to tackle a foreign country at the same time. Actually, it’s mostly humorous, and I’m just taking it in stride. Last night I even made myself a Chicken Noodle Helper a la Hungarian style, which by that I mean it had sour cream and paprika sauce, mostly because that’s all I had. It was reasonably good really. Also I spent my evening watching the Colbert report… Almost like being at home. It is actually my best source of news, sad isn’t it?

Hungarian phrase of the day:
Köszönöm, minden rendben van. “Thank you, everything is fine”

So my attempt at cooking went well, fully edible. Although, sadly a bit bland. However, I think the next real cooking adventure will be for a dinner party with the girls. They have the poshest apartment; in one of the nicest districts… hopefully it will be lovely.

I officially finished my first week of classes on Thursday! It was a rather harsh ending with a rather difficult Hungarian quiz, however Alli and I promptly remedied that by going the market to celebrate with langos and sur. (Langos is the delightful fried dough they cover in sour cream and cheese) Nothing endears a culture to me more than when it is perfectly acceptable to drink at the market, on a Thursday in the middle of the day.

Therefore, after beginning our weekend at three in the afternoon, we decided it was time for our Tesco Adventure. We hoped on Tram 2 and rode it all the way until the end where we found… Tesco! the European version of Wal-Mart. It was a rather good time, bought some very random things, nutella, folders, Palinka (more on that later), and finally a day planner! Everyone at home has no idea just how lucky, and apparently organized obsessed we are. I have spent the last 2 weeks searching around the city for a day planner, schedule, agenda, call it what you will, but it does not exist in Hungary. I finally found a semi acceptable version at Tesco, which overjoyed me. Seeing as I am usually pretty uptight about my school supplies, I am sure you can imagine the nights sweats the lack of planner has been giving me. Also, we bought a type of candy bar, if you will, called Pöttyös. Basically, it is sweet cottage cheese compressed into a cylinder, covered in chocolate. Very, very good. It is apparently a Hungarian favorite, and I am quite a fan of it myself.

So, back to Palinka. It is a Hungarian alcohol, second in fame only to Unicum. Have not given Unicum a go yet, it smells foul, so I am in no rush. However, we were told that we “absolutely must try Barack Palinka, it is peachy goodness.” Right. Well, bought some, I’m not actually that impressed with the peachy goodness. Its somewhere between vodka and peach schnapps, and really I think Id prefer either more than Palinka. But, always have to try new things right?

So, two things that I love about Hungary so far: Kefir, and the dogs.
Kefir is a kind of dairy product somewhere between buttermilk and plain yogurt. I love it, most people aren’t big fans, but Hungarians swear that you’ll live a long life if you drink it. It has become my breakfast staple. Also, the number of remarkably well trained dogs walking around Budapest, sans leash is amazing. Apparently Hungarian are huge dog lovers—the bigger the better—and take them along everywhere. Even the metro. Which is pretty surprising to get on the metro and there’s a bear of a dog sitting there, but its really wonderful seeing them everywhere.

Hungarian Phrase of the day:
Megsimogathatom “may I pet your dog”

My History Profs name is Atilla...

So, I’m slowly freezing to death as I write this. Yes, ha-ha, the Southern Californian went Eastern Europe…very funny. I am currently wearing long underwear, sweats, a t-shirt, long-sleeved shirt, sweater, and two pairs of socks. I have to say, this is a tad ridiculous, especially considering that it is still September.
I had a beautiful Sunday; Alli, Steph, Korina and I decided to go to the Szechenyi baths. They are in City Park—where I will be ice-skating come winter—right next to Hero Square. Again, just Google it. It is still very odd bustling around the city with monuments all around going about everyday life. It just impresses on me the difference of living in a big city in Europe and living in LA. It makes states like ours seem almost cute, like little kids. California was founded in 1850, Hungary celebrated 1000 years of statehood in 1896, do the math. By the way, I’m taking A History of Hungary, not going to be quite as Easy as US History I’ve surmised, just a tad more to cover. By the way, do you know how many times Hungary has been occupied? Its really almost ridiculous.
Classes started today, seems like they will be good. A little different from Scripps obviously, but these profs know that we are mostly American and do their best to adapt to our teaching styles. As Karyn so perfectly put it, “The post-secondary education system here makes the US system look like the hippie-babysitter system.”
Anyway, nothing terribly exciting, I have a slight cold, but I can sleep a ton tomorrow because I only have Hungarian class. I think tomorrow I will tackle the market again, I will attempt to make soup. Yes, everyone can have a nice laugh at the idea of me cooking.

Hungarian phrase: Viszlat! “Bye”

IKEA hotdog binge

So today we went to IKEA…what an adventure that was. We knew there was an IKEA, we just didn’t know where. So what do we do? Google it. Of course we had no idea where we were or the metro lines were in relation to it. After a serious map reading session, we found it and trekked across the city. We then had to tackle the store…in Hungarian. But first, we had to eat… 250 forint for a hot dog and drink (amazing). Then we tackled the store. I bought some rather inane stuff, trashcan, pillow, push pins…etc. Then we had to wait in line for like an hour, so after that we decided we needed some more hot dogs.
3 hotdogs, 2 soda, 1 ice cream = 550 forint
Stuff for my room = 3, 800 forint
Spending 4 hours in the Budapest IKEA, priceless.

Hungarian phrase of the day:
Rossz viccs! "bad joke"

“And they lived happily until they died.”

Our first lesson on Hungarian culture was quite an experience. Apparently, unlike the US, the fairytales end on quite an abrupt, but realistic note. I suppose 50 years of communism will take some of the optimism out of you. Fun fact: Hungary hasn’t won or been on the winning side of a war in 500 years.
On a more cheerful note, .5 l of beer is about 2 dollars, so at least there is always alcohol, right? Actually, the only thing Hungarians love almost as much as their food is their drink. All they do here is find an excuse to eat, drink, and unfortunately for my lungs, smoke.
Having moved into my apartment, which by the way, requires 4 keys to actually get into, I really feel quite independent. I even managed to get across the city to class with enough time to spare to buy a cigas (chocolate pastry) and kave (coffee) for about $1.15. How I love exchange rates.
My university, Corvinus, is right next to the Central Market Hall in Budapest. It is a largest open air market in Budapest. Just Google it under Budapest market. There really is nothing quite like doing your shopping at a market like this, or even just buying a pastry.
Back to apartment though, it is so very tiny, and at the present rather cold. Budapest is going through an unnaturally cold snap for September, and because it is central heating, it doesn’t generally come on till October. But, it has internet access (thank god), and I have my own small room. My flat mate is a Hungarian student, very sweet, and completely fluent in English. I’m hoping I can improve my Hungarian rapidly living with her, but I suppose we will see. The apartment is about 30 minutes by metro (subway) from the university, and about 40 from most of the other Americans apartments, however the transportation here is so easy that I don’t foresee any problem.
I’m really very surprised at the end of Week 1 how quickly the transition has been. I have a very good feel for the city and how to get around, and my Hungarian is getting to the point of being able to handle basic everyday situations. I start classes on Monday, and will probably be volunteering one day a week at the NATO Language School here in Budapest. All I really will have to do is have conversations with officers trying to improve their English, sounds amazing, no? I’m looking forward to having a more concrete schedule, I will be taking: Hungarian History, Hungarian Language, 19th and 20th Century Hungarian Art, Film and History, and Eastern Europe in Transition. I think they sound interesting, and basically is nothing I would be able to take at Scripps. Anyway, Budapest is starting to feel like home, which is nice.

And, I will leave you with my new addition to the blog, Hungarian phrase of the day:
Beszelek kicsit magyarul. (I speak a little Hungarian)

Arrival!

Ok, so I’m here, safe and sound. I don’t have internet access so this is a compilation of my adventures so far, I will just keep adding to this until I can post.
No one should ever let me get on a flight longer than 6 hours. Nap, have a snack, read, watch a movie, read some more…we must be there, right? No… we are over Milwaukee, nowhere near Amsterdam. The women I sat next to were Dutch, no English, although from a crude form of sign language I understood that they were in LA because the daughter was the head of her fan club for The Young and the Restless. No, I’m not kidding. They slept for 11 hours. Basically the flight was incredibly painful, except for the highlight of being served an “after dinner drink” that was quite nice. I could have used about 4. When I finally arrived in Budapest, the airline had lost mine, and about 30 of the other 35 passengers luggage. Needless to say, I was NOT happy. They however located it, and I did not have to resort to violence. I arrived at the dorm at about 7, it was incredibly ugly, very soviet, I finally lug my stuff upstairs to find a room about 2/3 the size of my single last year, which I am sharing. The hall was deserted, I was starving, my phone would not work, and I found out you must provide your own toilette paper. That was about when I broke down. But, I sucked it up, decided resist the urge to throw my phone out the 6th floor window, and after messing with it for about 15 minutes, voila! It worked. Ok, then dealt with food and toilette paper. Walked 3 blocks to the market, (market is generous) , and bought….bread, salami, and toilette paper... welcome to Hungary. The rest of the Americans came back, everyone seems super nice, and my roommate is very sweet. The city, from what little I’ve seen is beautiful, and I’m in a much better mood this morning. The only real issue we have encountered so far is the lack of shower curtains…it’s a coed floor, so needless to say, we’re working on that.
This trip is, if nothing else, quite an adventure. I don’t have any internet so to speak of therefore I am updating my blog when I can and trying to be cheerful about my Facebook withdrawal. I miss everyone a ton, but so far it still feels very vacation-like. We toured the city yesterday, it is so beautiful, saw Hero Square, Castle Hill, the main highlights and of course quite a few bridges. We also went to a club last night, they played “grease lighting” it was the highlight of my evening. Today we are doing a “scavenger hunt” across the city, but I think most of my team has hangovers, so it’s going to be a rather interesting experience.
Today one of the girls and I got ourselves intentionally lost and found our way around the eniter city! It was so fun, the city is just so different from anything I've ever seen, I'm certainly not disapointed. I'll update soon.

So I packed today. Wow, thank god for my mom, she sat on my bed basically the entire day trying to keep me from absolutely losing my mind. I fit my entire life into two suitcases... I can't even imagine what it would be like to do this every semester. I have a new found respect for all of my friends who don't live as impssibly close to school as I do.

leaving...

So this is my pre-departure blog, I'm trying to get the hang of it, and right now I'm still pretty stressed about packing, but the excitement is definitely starting to build... i just really hope i catch on to Hungarian quickly, otherwise its going to be quite a semester. I plan to update this at least once a week, kind of a general, yes, I'm alive, don't worry, etc kind of thing.