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”
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
“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?”
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?”
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
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”
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”
Saturday, September 15, 2007
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”
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”
Monday, September 10, 2007
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”
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”
Saturday, September 8, 2007
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"
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"
Thursday, September 6, 2007
“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)
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)
Sunday, September 2, 2007
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.
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.
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