A Wonderful Day in the Neighborhood

Oh what a day! Today started out as a usual Wednesday, hump day. When I woke up this morning I immediately began to prepare myself to just endure today. I made a pact with myself to crack down and study for my first probability midterm on Friday. Probability is proving more difficult than I expected. I can already see an infinite number of possibilities to use probability in science, so I'm sticking with it, but there are problems that, if not approached in just the right way, can be hell. All my anxiety about probability was soon forgotten the moment class ended this morning, however.

My culture class was canceled this afternoon, so after probability I was headed back to my flat with the idea of using my unexpected free time in a constructive and efficient manner. As I walked down the stairs I saw a couple of friends milling in the hallway and stopped to say hi. My casual greeting turned into a quick conversation that ended with an invite to one of my friend's flats to arrange buying tickets to different shows at the Opera House. With the night's cultural endeavors to look forward to, I continued down the stairs. Upon reaching the security desk I decided to check, as I had for the past five days, if the package my parents had sent had arrived yet. It had!!! I was handed a box with my name on it, in what I recognized as my mother's handwriting. Needless to say, I hurried out of school and off to the metro to get home to find out what treasures lay inside the box in my hands.

It is absolutely ridiculous how excited I was at the sight of dish towels and coffee filters. As soon I got back to my flat I immediately opened up my long awaited package. To my delight a treasure trove of mundane items lay before me. The aforementioned dish towels (which only my mother would think to send) and coffee filters were only the beginning. My box also contained spices I had requested, office supplies, a book that had been left behind, a few movies, delicious peanut butter pretzel bites and caramel corn, and last, but not least, jack-o-lantern lights to hang in my room. To the average Joe these items wouldn't seem cause for celebration. In fact, many people might think they'd fallen from grace if they received post-its and coffee filters, but to me these items were invaluable.

I have yet to find the equivalent of a Target here. The all-in-one, one-stop shop doesn't exist here. There are different stores for everything. Where in Target you have to venture into another aisle to find stationary, here you have to go to a paper store a few blocks down. The same is true for groceries, electronics, household items, clothes, etc. To this day I still haven't seen a coffee filter. I know the coffee maker in my flat needs them, so they must exist, but where they are hiding I will never know. I have been reduced to using toilet paper and paper towels as make shift filters for the past month.

I couldn't contain my elation, so I decided to put it to good use and strapped on my shoes for a run. In the time it had taken me to open my package and change, a light sprinkling had begun to descend from the overcast sky. For days the clouds have been threatening to drain their accumulations. I didn't mind, though. I would rather run in the rain than with the too hot sun scorching overhead. It felt great to take to the road in such a good mood. I wasn't even discouraged by the cramp that suddenly made its presence known through the nerve endings in my abdomen. I set my resolve and ignored the steadily sharpening pain, resolute that it would not slow my foot falls. Eventually, the pain faded and I fell into an easy rhythm, free to let my mind wander.

When I finished my run, I cracked down and studied for a couple hours before heading over to John and Franky's for dinner with the gang. In the midst of studying my phone rang. I checked the number, but didn't recognize it. Fearing that I was about to be assaulted by Hungarian that I wouldn't be able to understand, I tentatively answered. It was the apple store down the street calling to tell me my replacement battery for my computer had arrived!! When I ordered the battery, the sales man told me it would take four or five days to get here. That was two and a half weeks ago. I'm thrilled to finally have a battery that lasts more than twenty minutes without rudely, and without warning, shutting off.

I wasn't able to stay long at dinner because I was off to arrange cultural excursions, but it was a great dinner. After not hanging out with the gang much in the past couple of days, it was nice to see them. The icing on the cake of today happened over at Jenny's. I was signed up to go to a Philharmonic Orchestra concert in mid October, a Ballet in mid November, and an opera at the end of November. And, all for a whopping grand total of 2,000 HUF (equivalent to a little more than $10). I can't wait! After all the logistics were taken care of in terms of shows playing at the Opera House, talking turned to traveling. Everyone at Jenny's was just as fired up to go traveling as I am. It turns out some of them are planning to go to Madrid in November, and they don't mind me tagging along. That's as much of an invite as I need. Looks like I'm headed to Spain! Hola España! I've never been so excited to speak Spanish. I automatically start thinking in Spanish when I'm in my Hungarian class. I'll think of something I'd like to say in Hungarian, and Spanish quickly rises to fill the void that is my knowledge of Hungarian. I can't wait to actually be able to communicate in a foreign language.

I also got into a conversation with one of the guys there about making a trip to Krakow and Auschwitz. Not to mention, people are already starting to think about a trip to Istanbul, and I'm headed to Prague next weekend. Budapest is only the staging area. The whole of Europe is open to me, and I plan on making the most of it!

Nagycsarnok

Yesterday my Hungarian language class took a trip to Nagycsarnok (Great Market Hall). It's this huge building with three levels full of vendors selling everything from fruits, veggies, famous Hungarian stuffed cabbage and lángos, anything pickeled you could ever desire, meats and cheeses, to Chinese spices. It was absolutely incredible. I likened it to the Farmer's Market (it's much more of an international market) that I have near home, but Nagycsarnok (nawdg-char-knock) was so much more!

When you walk in you are faced with the large central aisle. It's wide and well lit with many impressive meat and cheese counters near the front. As you walk down it there are many aisles that lead off to the smaller left and right aisles. A little tip my language teacher shared with us is that the left side is considered the Eastern European side. Things might not be as well displayed and look as impressive, but prices are cheaper. The more American right side is lined with more impressive displays that my teacher likened to window shopping that attract the wandering and clueless customer. Be aware, you'll pay more for this. Further down the central aisle are some fruit vendors (there are vastly more on the side aisles) and then, my personal favorite, the free range chicken and poultry counter. I was very impressed that they sell free range chickens.

Near the fruit stands you pass stairwells on either side of the central aisle. These lead upstairs to an entirely different category of vendors. Upstairs you can find clothes, typical tourist souvenirs, and some "fast food" counters. Our teacher directed us towards a lángos (long-oh-sh) stand. Lángos is a typical Hungarian food that consists of fried dough in a large, flat round (similar to a kind of light, fried pancake) and is topped with a variety of toppings from cheese and sour cream to jelly or nutella. I decided to try the kind with sour cream and cheese (my teacher recommended it). It was very good. I'm anxious to try one with a sweeter topping.

After getting our lángos we headed down to the basement where they have a regular grocery store and a Chinese market. The Chinese market was amazing. They had an entire wall of spices and some American items such as crunchy peanut butter! The peanut butter was even in a plastic jar. Everywhere else I can only get peanut butter and nutella in glass jars. I was also able to find Arborio rice for a recipe my mom sent me. Down in the basement you can find a variety of pickled things in jars as well as lots of different types of fresh seafood and fish.

After showing us the different parts of the market, my teacher dismissed us and let us shop for ourselves. I was lucky I had a friend of mine with me who took the Hungarian language program that was offered. She had a much larger vocabulary than I do and had already been to the market before. We scoured the cheaper left side in search of fruits and veggies. I ended up with some great tomatoes, beans, apples, bananas, and green onions. I managed to communicate (with some help from Jenny) to the vendors what I wanted. I would either pathetically attempt to pronounce the word on the sign by the item and indicate both verbally and with my fingers how many of that item I wanted or just pick it up and hand it to them to weigh. In some instances the vendors seemed to have just as much trouble understanding me as I them. A friendly reminder: they use the metric system in Europe, so brush up on your grams, decagrams, and kilos.

After about 2 1/2 hours of being in the market (I could have spent hours more just wandering around and looking at everything) I headed back home on the tram/metro with my book bag bursting with fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and cheeses. As soon as I figure out how to light my gas oven I'm going to cook like a mad woman!

24 hours in Szeged

I'm going to apologize in advance for the length of this post. I know before I even write it that it's going to be a long one. So, for those of you who find the length of my posts daunting, I'm sorry.

This weekend I went to Szeged (pronounced Seged; an "s" followed by a "z" has the traditional sound of a single "s" in English, whereas in Hungarian a single "s" is pronounced "sh"). The purpose of going to Szeged was to hear a lecture given on a topic in geometry by a professor at the university there. About 34 of the people in BSM went, but most of us didn't go for the lecture; we went to see a different city. Szeged turned out to be quite an experience! It's amazing how much can happen in a 24 hour time span. What follows is a chronicle of my trip to Szeged.

The trip started out a little hectically because the train left at 1:53pm, which should have left me plenty of time to get to the train because I was done with classes at noon, except for the fact that I was group leader. At the time I agreed to take on the position as group leader all it entitled was to deliver a couple pieces of paper to the right people, but it turned into so much more! One of the pieces of paper I was responsible for was the list of everyone coming on the trip and their information for the hostel. That list was also Anna's, our student coordinator, way of keeping track of who had picked up their train tickets. By the time I was done with my classes, not everyone had picked up their tickets, so I had to race back to my flat grab my stuff, and then rush back to school to pick up the sheet, and race to the train station (which is one stop in the opposite direction of school from my flat). I was weaving through people and power walking like never before, but I made it and we all got on the train and made it to Szeged without any problems.

Upon our arrival to Szeged, we were met at the train station by two guys who attend the university there. They took us to the university where we immediately attended the lecture. It was poor planning to have us attend a lecture immediately after riding a train for the past two and a half hours. Half of our group fell asleep. I stayed awake, but the lecturer did not hold my attention the entire time. My mind wandered away from geometry and differentiation. After the lecture our guides walked us to our hostel where the problems began. Our guides served as translators since the people at the hostel didn't really speak English. A word to the wise, never go to a hostel with a large group of people! The big problem at the hostel was that they wanted the entire group to pay together and not individually. Trying to coordinate and organize payment for 34 people was an enormous production that left me yelling out instructions and being asked ridiculous questions that I couldn't possibly know the answer to. Another girl and I managed to set up a sort of payment counter in the lobby of the hostel. We sat behind a table and began making a list of everyone as they came up to put their share of money into the collective. The biggest problem was that we all had large denominations of money and most people needed change. We managed however to get everyone to pay and give out the right change. Then after standing by the office with ninety something thousand forints in my hands for another twenty minutes, I was finally able to pay for our rooms.

The entire production took over an hour and a half, when it should have taken only ten or twenty minutes. Needless to say after that ordeal I could use a drink, which I was offered by many people who appreciated me taking charge and handling everything. Once I finished the business end of things, I had absolutely no time to settle in at the hostel because the gang was hungry and very very cranky! I had enough time to go to the bathroom before we immediately left in search of food. After failing to locate the place we were looking for and enduring extreme crabbiness from other members of the group, I finally spotted a low key pizza joint that we quickly hurried into. After some food, the average mood increased exponentially.

Getting food, however, was only one objective completed. The next on our list was alcohol. God forbid people live without alcohol, so off we went in search of a pub or bar. Let me just take this opportunity to say that navigating in a group is the least efficient activity ever! Invariably you get people saying they know where they are going, and then after walking around for fifteen minutes they finally admit that they really have no idea. That happened several times that night, so we ended up walking in circles forever. I didn't mind the walk though. It was a nice night and I enjoyed just seeing the city. What I didn't enjoy was the crankiness that had returned to certain members of the group. I found myself in a beautiful Hungarian town wishing I had never come.

On our search for a bar called Number 1 Pub, we found a place that was recommended to us called Blues Café. We eagerly went in and saw that it was fairly empty, so there was plenty of room for us. A waitress came up to us when we entered and we communicated to her that we wanted a place for six. She then responed, "Sorry, everything is reserved." That response caused us to look around once more at the practically empty establishment in total confusion, but we had no choice but to turn around and walk back out to the street. As expected, that turn of events didn't improve the attitude of the group.

We continued wandering around in circles and after much more time, we finally found the No. 1 Pub. As it turns out, we had walked right past it already and hadn't even noticed it. Go figure. Excited to have finally found the pub we had been looking for, we clambered down the stairs. A similar scene presented itself to us as in the Blues Café. A waiter approached us and we again expressed want of a table for six. We got the same answer as in the other bar, "Sorry, we're all reserved." Who knew you had to make reservations for a bar? We angrily left and continued our nightly roaming. At this point I was ready to find my way back to the hostel by myself just to escape the foul moods of the people I was with.

In desperate want of a good beer, I was dragged to a place called Non-Stop Dairy that had a cow for a mascot and apparently served dairy products. This odd place had an outside concession stand sort of set up that served cheap beer in plastic cups and was surrounded by a bunch of picnic tables. I found it hilarious how much it reminded me of Wisconsin: cows and cheap beer. After the dairy place, we found a café with tables outside near a square we had walked through several times that night in our misguided wanderings, and sat down to have something to drink that was far more complicated than just filling a cup with beer from the tap. Because of my organizational efforts I didn't have to pay for my drinks, which definitely made my evening a little better.

After drinks at the street side café, we ended up running into some other BSMers and decided to go to a club called Genius. That is finally where things turned around. They had a deal on gin and tonics, and one of the guys in the program bought me one. They also had a dance floor, which is where we spent most of our time. Originally, we all had some inhibitions about letting loose and dancing, but after seeing some of the guys look completely ridiculous while getting their groove on, I left my self consciousness behind and let the beat take me. It was a blast! We danced to Michael Jackson, Grease, Shakira, techno, and much more. I even did the cha-cha with one of the guys. I don't think I've ever danced like that in my life (at least not in the presence of others).

Eventually, we had all danced as much as we could, and realized it was time to call it a night. We headed back to the hostel where I got up the nerve to take a shower. Originally, I was just going to wait until we got back to Budapest the next day to shower because the co-ed bathroom didn't have shower curtains, so in taking a shower you were exposed for all to see. I am not the sort of person who is comfortable in such situations, but I also don't like to be sweaty. I hadn't intended on dancing, so my non-showering plan was sufficient in the beginning. After getting sweaty on the dance floor I really wanted to shower. So, as soon as I got back I jumped in the shower and managed to just be wrapping the sheet I was using for a towel around myself as Franky walked in to take his shower. Whew, that was a close one! I have never before had a shower that gave me such a carefree feeling, thinking back on it makes me smile.

The rest of the night was not noteworthy. The next morning we woke up, and Claire, Silviya, and I went to a coffee/pastry shop next door to get some coffee while the guys were still sleeping. I successfully ordered a cup of coffee completely in Hungarian!! I didn't say anything particularly complicated, but I also didn't use a single word of English. The guys still weren't up when we got back, so we went off in search, on my suggestion, of a better bakery that we had come across the night before. We easily found it in the daylight, and I proceeded to get one of my favorite things that I've tried here thus far, sajtos pogásca (shy-toash pogawcha). The translation is something like cheesy poofs, but I consider them more of a cheese biscuit/scone. They are wonderful!

In the next couple of hours we met up with the guys and then went exploring. I wasn't very taken with Szeged the previous night, but in the daylight I really began to like it. I might go back again before the semester is over to explore more. I was only able to see Dóm Church, the country's second largest synagogue, the Deutch Palace, and Heroes Gate. Some of the members of the gang wanted to get back to Budapest as soon as possible, so we left on an earlier train than I would have liked. All in all, despite the, what seemed like endless, wandering and grumpy company, I enjoyed my trip to Szeged. If anyone travels to Budapest I recommend taking a trip to Szeged. It can easily be visited as a day trip, though plan on taking a train early in the morning, and then return late in the evening.

For those of you who persevered through this very long account, thank you. Stay tuned for the next installment of Coffee Potting in Budapest!

Thoughts Here and There

I'm a local. When did that happen? It happened so subtly. I walk the same familiar routes as if it were old habit, barely noticing my surroundings. Once, I scrutinized every detail to burn it into my memory so I could recognize it on my return trip, but now I tread swiftly past lost in thought. In the metro I no longer pay attention to the stops. I let myself fall into the fictional world of the book I hold in my hands, only vaguely aware of the number of starts and stops. I no longer feel as if everyone around me can see me for what I am, a foreigner. I blend in with a mask of indifference, only betrayed by the ease with which I read the foreign words on every page. I step off the train without doubt and without a hasty glance at the name displayed on the wall. I easily and assuredly glide through the stations and up the escalators, letting my legs carry me while my mind is left to wander. Once out of the metro I impatiently dodge slower commuters and silently curse foreigners with their large luggage and unsure steps. I blow past the all too familiar stores lining the street and, where I once tread timidly, hesitantly, I now daringly cross the street challenging the oncoming car to hit me. Finally, as if it only took an instant, I am in front of the same large doors. As on every other day, I place my hand on the handle, give it a little push, and walk in, leaving everything else behind me to be repeated in reverse.

Prologue

Today, I had my second Hungarian Art and Culture class. For homework we were assigned to read several poems written by famous "Hungarian" poets. One of them was very remarkable and I feel would be a good addition to this blog. The poem is called "Prologue" and expresses the end to romantic ideals as the result of war (in this case, the 1848 Revolution).

Prologue
By Mihály Vörösmarty

I wrote this when the sky was still serene.
When blossoming boughs beautified the earth.
When mankind laboured like the humble ants,
When spirit soared, and hands were hard at work,
The thoughtful mind alive, the heart in hopes,
When peace could dry her tired brow at last,
Presenting that most glorious reward,
The happiness of man, her noble aim.
All nature celebrated, everything
Benign or beautiful, came out to feast.

Delight and hope were trembling in the air,
Expectant of the grand inauguration,
Addressing all the world in lofty phrases
In tones to suit a better, new creation.
We heard the word. Its sound reverberated
On high and in the deep. For but a moment
The mighty universe had ceased rotating.
Then all fell silent, lull before the storm.
The tempest broke, its blood-congealing hands
Were lobbing human skulls into the sky,
Its feet were wading deep in human hearts,
And life was wilting in its baneful breath.
The torchlight of the spirit died away,
And on the fading forehead of the sky
A lightning etched the otherwordly lines
Of hostile gods in black, bloodthirsty temper.
The tempest blasted, bellowed like a madman,
A rabid monster raging at the world,
And where it went, along the bloody way
The curses of a butchered populace
Are rising from the steaming hecatombs
And devastation rests her weary head
On grey incinerated city ruins.
It's winter now and death and snow and stillness,
The earth turned white;
Not hair by hair as happy people do,
It lost its colour all at once, like God,
Who on the sixth day, crowning his creation,
Gave life to man, the godly-beastly mongrel,
And shattered by the grim monstrosity
His sorrow turned Him white and very old.

When spring, the makeup-mistress comes again,
The aged earth may take a periwig
And find a frilly frock of daffodils.
The ice may thaw out on her glassy eyes,
Her perfume-scented, painted-on complexion
Pretending youth and faking happiness;
Ask then the aging, wrinkled prostitute
What has she done to her unhappy sons?

[Peter Zollman]

To Go or Take Away?

After spending almost the entire day by myself, I got a call from Claire this evening asking if I wanted to hang out and explore Budapest a little at night. I of course accepted the invite. A little while later, the entire gang showed up at my apartment and we proceeded to take to the street. We ended up near Parliament where we began to look for a Mexican restaurant that Franky had looked up. We finally found the restaurant, called Iguana, on Zoltán Útca, and happily traipsed in. I officially ordered my first alcoholic drink (it's weird being legal before I'm supposed to be legal), a frozen strawberry margarita, and settled in for light, good-natured banter.

The evening was wonderful. We all sat back and enjoyed each others' company. It was lovely to eat something familiar (you can't go wrong with good chicken nachos, and these were very good). The only little hiccup in the evening was a misunderstanding with the waitress. My plate of nachos was huge, so I knew I wouldn't be able to finish them. I only managed to get through half of them, but I looked forward to taking them home and eating them the next day. I love left-overs. When the waitress came to clear the table I asked her if I could get my nachos to go. She responded a little confused "You want them take away?", to which I replied yes. When I was in New Zealand I found that they don't say "to go", they say "take away", so I assumed it must be the same here. I happily let the waitress take my plate with the assumption that we were on the same page. Wrong! She didn't bring my nachos back. An entire meal thrown away, what a terrible thing. So a word of caution, make sure your waitress knows what you mean by "to go." Mine apparently just thought I wanted the food removed from the table.

My disappointment was somewhat lessened by dessert. I decided to get the Juarez Ice Cream which was vanilla ice cream rolled in cinnamon and cocoa. It was absolutely delicious! I highly recommend it.

Well I suppose I should go to bed. I actually have class tomorrow, so it might be a good idea to be alert. Goodnight!

St. István Basilika

I'm sorry to be posting so much. I had planned on trying to put up a new post every few days, but I keep having little adventures and I want to make a note of them. Also, for future BSMers my discoveries might be useful, though there's nothing like wandering around on your own and making a fantastic discovery.

Anyway, this morning I got up way too early. I don't know why I felt compelled to get up so early because I don't have class on Mondays. I was so tired when I got up that I practically inhaled half a pot of coffee hoping that the caffeine would kick in instantaneously. It took an absurdly long amount of time to have the measliest effect.

I hit the street to check out an Apple store I found yesterday to get a new battery for my computer. It can last all of 15 min before it just shuts off if it's not plugged in. It's rather obnoxious considering that there are no outlets in the hallways at school, so I can't make use of the WiFi. I got to the store at around 9:30am, but it didn't open until 10am, so I retraced my steps and hunkered down with my good friend, caffeine, at Costa.

It turned out that the Apple store didn't have the battery I needed, so I had to put in an order. I should hopefully get it in a few days. It's frustrating that I can't order things online because many sites that I usually buy things online from don't have international shipping (i.e. Apple.com) But, since it took me all of 3 minutes to ask for the type of battery I needed and put in an order, I had a little time to kill before heading to school to sign some paper work for my residence permit. I decided to wander across the street and check out St. István Basilka. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to get in. The front door is actually on the opposite side to the side that faces the street.

I can't even describe how absolutely gorgeous it was inside. I tried to take some pictures, but I know full well that they won't come close to doing the interior justice. When I walked in my jaw dropped. The basilica has huge vaulted ceilings with an even larger central dome all covered with fantastic paintings trimmed in gold. The ceilings are supported by large marble pillars donned with gold light fixtures, and the side walls are interspersed with wonderful stained glass depicting many different saints. It was truly awe-inspiring to stand there and look up at the magnificence all around me and realize that humans had created this. The thought that human beings are capable of creating something that transcends mere beauty is mind boggling.

After leaving the basilica I headed for it's opposite in every way, the metro. I was still under its spell as I absent mindedly swerved between people. I swear if I had heard even a single soft note of music drift through the air I would have been moved to tears. That's one of my favorite aspects of Europe, their churches. Stepping into artistic feats like St. István Basilika make me wish I had religious conviction to possibly better understand how something can have such unparalleled beauty and a life altering impact on me.

To truly understand what I'm talking about you have to see it for yourself.

Down to Business: My Reasons for Being in Budapest

In my previous long-winded posts, I have neglected to discuss the reason I came to Budapest in the first place, school. In this post I will attempt to correct this, though I make no promises because I have a tendency to go off on tangents.

I would first like to start out by explaining my motives for choosing this program in comparison to those of my new classmates. When I began investigating the abroad programs Ripon had to offer I circled many different programs simply if their location sounded interesting. After circling way too many abroad programs, after all I can only be one place at any given time, I decided to narrow the field to those programs that would help me in one of my majors. I finally narrowed it down to Budapest for Math or St. Andrews, Scotland for Biology. Without too much investigation I rashly decided on Budapest with the rationale that Budapest is more exotic and there is less of a chance that I will visit later in life. Scotland is closer and is an English speaking country, not to mention the country of my ancestors, so I'll get there at some point.

So, my main motivations for coming to Budapest were cultural, not scholastic. When I began meeting people in my program I was absolutely floored by their excitement about math. Don't get me wrong, I love math, but not like many of my classmates. I remember one of my classmates being upset about the task of deciding between two classes because he wasn't able to take both. I definitely have not had that problem. It helps that I have taken the bare minimum of classes to be able to participate in this program, so I simply don't have the exposure to take a lot of the courses. For future BSMers who have similar motivations and exposure (or lack there of), don't fear! You are not alone. I have found a number of people who approach this program similarly to how I approach it.

This experience has assured me that I am a biologist at heart and that is where my future lies. My approach to my class schedule here is focusing on applied mathematics. I have taken theoretical math courses, and while they are interesting and are the most mind-bending classes I have ever taken, I'm just not that into theoretical math, at least not the theoretical math that I will never use. Theory relating to probability or statistics will prove far more useful in my chosen career path than the theory behind topological spaces. With all that in mind I decided to take Probability, Combinatorics, and Bioinformatics (it has bio in the name, so I just couldn't help myself).

Another consideration behind my class choices was giving myself a break. At Ripon I am busy every second of everyday, and usually don't have enough time to get everything done, despite nights with very few hours of sleep. I didn't want to be in class or studying all the time here. I wanted free time to explore my surroundings. You are only a college student in a foreign city once. Thus, I stuck to more introductory level courses and left the advanced courses to others, who would undoubtedly get much more enjoyment out of them than I would.

Like I mentioned before, I am not here just for math. I am here to learn all I can about a culture that has, until recently, been under my radar. To satisfy my curiosity in all things culture I have decided to take Introductory Hungarian (if nothing else I will learn a few useful phrases and how to somewhat pronounce words) and Hungarian Art and Culture. The latter is the course that I am most excited about. We've only had one class so far, but it is simply fascinating. In just one short meeting my eyes have been thrown open to the history that saturates everything from street signs to green spaces to people walking on the street. Words that were once a mystery of strangely arranged vowels and consonants are now taking shape into the historical figure they represent. I love it! I may be completely and utterly devoted to science and math, but I am also a closet history lover. The Hungarian language course is also allowing me to delve into the source of Hungary's pride and struggles, it's language. Hungarian (magyar) is the essence of the true Hungarian identity, a concept that has plagued the people of this country for hundreds of years. Magyar (pronounced mawdyar, but with a VERY soft d) is unlike any other language on earth. Because of its uniqueness, magyar is a source of pride and definition for the people of Hungary (Magyarorzag), but also alienates them from the rest of the world. In keeping true to my nerdish tendencies, I can't wait to do my reading homework for Hungarian Art and Culture.

Well that's probably enough for now. I'm off to go explore Budapest at night! Szia!

Discovery

Tonight I had a lovely evening sitting at the Costa Coffee café on the corner of Andrassy Útca (pronounced ootsa) and Bajzsy Zsilinszky Útca. I remember seeing the café on the way from the airport, but I had absolutely no idea where I was. I stumbled upon it again when walking my drunken friend back from the Rooftop Bar at 2:30am. It is right across the street from St. István Basilika and has outside tables that you can sit at and marvel at the basilica, or you can go inside and enjoy some softly playing American music (I hear it everywhere!). I opted for the latter because it was getting a bit chilly as the sun went down. Also, I was after a prized luxury here, WiFi. Most of the cafés have it, but it's not such an easy thing to obtain in our flats because of the amount of time we are here. Usually internet service is yearly, so finding internet for only three or four months is difficult.

It was lovely to sit and download photos onto facebook, so my friends and family can see what I've been up to, and open up skype and chat with my mom. The other nice thing about Costa Coffee, which I must admit is more of a Starbucks place than quaint café, is that you can get a significant amount of coffee. At the a fore mentioned quaint cafés, you can get very good coffee, but they are only about half the size of a tall at Starbucks. I love coffee way too much to be satisfied with such a little amount of coffee, especially if it's good. But as with anything, the larger sized coffee at Costa was priced higher, so you pay for what you get. The other nice aspect of Costa is that, like at Starbucks, you order at the counter. It's a terrible pain to get your check at restaurants here. It's the European way to sit and have long meals at restaurants. That doesn't sit well with my impatient American ways. When I'm done eating I want the check. I went to the café next to my flat for a quick cup of coffee, and ended up sitting there for an hour because the waitress never brought me my check. I finally asked her if I was supposed to pay at the counter. I think I might have offended her, but I felt a bit foolish sitting there trying to make it as obvious as possible that I was done and ready to leave. Anyway, I digress.

The WiFi was not the only mentionable aspect of my visit to Costa. The trip itself is remarkable, or at least it is to me. The entire time I've been here I've been fighting with myself to be courageous and adventurous and go off and do things on my own. While I like my alone time, I'm not one to go off and do things in public by myself. I've never been to a movie by myself and I absolutely detest eating in a restaurant/dining hall by myself. I still haven't grown out of my adolescent self consciousness. After I saw Costa the other night I really wanted to go and have a nice cup of coffee while using their WiFi instead of my prepaid mobile wireless stick. So, after being productive this afternoon and making some headway with my homework, I did it. I was independent and it was wonderful and exhilarating. I'm sure those of you reading this who are accustomed to such acts of independence are not impressed, but I am very pleased with my progress towards being comfortable in my own skin.

Other than my very timid grocery shopping experience the first night and tonight's outing to Costa, running has been my only independent undertaking. As my friends and family are well aware, I am addicted to running. My legs were practically screaming at me for not running for three days while I was travelling and getting my bearings here. My running route is spectacular. I run west along my street, Bank Útca, all the way to the Danube (when it meets the river the street has changed to Széchenyi Útca, after the great political reformer István Széchenyi). Then I run along the river and past the Parliament building where I hook up with a bike path that goes along the river on the other side of the Parliament building. Every time I run past the Parliament building and see the groups of tourists oggling up at the gorgeous architecture of Budapest's most famous landmark, I can't help but feel amazed. I am not a tourist. I live here! The first few times I ran, I just followed the bike path until it curved away from the river and turned around and came back. One day, however, I was curious about the island in the middle of the river where, from my path on the Pest side, I could see many runners, so I took a chance and crossed the bridge to the island. I sure am glad I did!

Margit-sziget (Margaret) Island was named after the daughter of King Béla IV, who lived in a convent on the island as the result of her father's vow that if the Hungarians were victorious against the Mongols he would dedicate Margaret to religion. The island is in the middle of the Danube and was declared a public garden in 1908. This island is like nothing I've ever seen before, and certainly puts American parks to shame! There is a running track made of track rubber that runs around the entire island, which made my day when I discovered it. Upon discovery I immediately hopped on the track and allowed it to lead me to whatever the island had to hold. From the track I saw very nice benches that lined the path where one could sit back and look across the Danube to Pest, a petting zoo (I almost fell off the track when I saw the petting zoo. I wasn't expecting anything like that), the ruins of the Dominican Convent where St. Margaret stayed, a Grand Hotel, numerous restaurants, a kayak rental shop, a huge pool complex complete with water slides and a high dive, an official Nike race clock, green spaces, gardens, a large fountain that shoots water to the rhythm of classical music playing over the loud speakers, clay tennis courts, and a soccer stadium. There is also a lovely outdoor theater. I recommend anyone visiting Budapest to take a stroll through the island. It's gorgeous, and it's inner paths are shaded by towering trees providing a nice escape from a hot day.

I actually had an interesting experience this morning during my run on the island. My run started like every one before it and when I got to the island, I hopped on the path as usual. Shortly after rounding the tip of the island a huge group of runners flooded the track around me from an inner path. I saw many people wearing the same shirt, so my immediate thought was that I had inadvertantly wound up in the midst of a road race. It wasn't like any other road race I'd ever seen. More people than not seemed to struggle with running and many just walked. Also, many people had backpacks and there were even a couple bikers trying to navigate the sea of bodies. Despite my confusion, I proceeded to dodge people left and right in an attempt to keep going at my pace. The other strange thing about this "race" was there was no finish line. Soon after we rounded the southern tip people filtered off the path and back toward the soccer stadium where, from the looks of it, the race organization center was located. Oh well, just another odd encounter while out running. I seem to have some pretty weird experiences when I run, and I'm sure this won't be the last.

Well it's getting late, so I suppose I should fold the mountain of clean laundry that has taken over my bed and then go to sleep. Though I don't have class on Mondays (or Thursdays), so I could stay up as late as I want. I certainly am not in Ripon anymore. I don't know what I'm going to do with all the free time I have here without classes all day everyday, three jobs, and softball. Oh I know, I'm actually going to have a life!

A Less Than Smooth Transition

Originally I did not intend to write a blog about my semester abroad in Budapest, but for the past couple of days I have been reading a blog written by a student who participated in BSM in 2007, and it's great. I sit down and think I'll read one of her posts, and the next thing I know I've read four or five. Also, through out the day I'm usually struck by thoughts about the various aspects of this adventure I have begun in a faraway land and want to record them. So, if nothing else this blog will serve as a reminder in years to come of my thoughts, opinions, and emotions while on this voyage to achieve, not only a higher level of knowledge, but also a greater sense of self. It also will provide an account for those I have left behind as to where I have disappeared off to and what I am doing.

With that said, I suppose I should begin at the beginning (I've already been in Budapest for eleven days, so I have some catching up to do). After many of hours of traveling I finally arrived in Budapest on September 3, 2009. The overriding emotions when I arrived were exhaustion, intimidation, and anxiety. On the final leg of my journey from Frankfurt, Germany to Budapest I was so tired I couldn't even keep my eyes open. I felt like I had been drugged, and struggled to pay attention enough to know what was going on. I was relieved to finally land and enter the airport, but feelings of relief were soon replaced by anxiety. Would my luggage be waiting for me on the carousel? Would the person meeting me be there waiting? Would I be able to handle everything? But, despite my worries, everything went smoothly in the airport and I met the person sent by Anna, our student coordinator, and made it to my flat without problems. After running through the logistics of my flat with my landlady, I was left to myself (my roommate didn't arrive until the following day) to settle in to the place that would be my home for the next four months.

My flat is wonderful! It is in a fantastic location. I am within minutes of some of the most famous sites of Budapest including the spectacular Parliament building, the Danube River, St. István Basilika (St. Stephen Basilica), the Museum of Ethnography, the Opera House, and so much more. I am also very close to the Arany János metro station (the means by which I get to school), a 24 hr. grocery store, and a spectacular boulevard lined with designer shops and posh cafés.

It has taken me these last eleven days to determine just how close I am to all of these things. When I first arrived, the feelings of loneliness, disorientation, and vulnerability were crippling. The first night I was here, I managed to work up enough courage to cross the square and buy a few groceries, but that was as far as I was willing to wander. This is honestly the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I knew the first few days would be tough, but my expectations were much too low. Although the adjustment required to make Budapest my home (at least temporarily) was very similar to what I experience when I started college, the emotions themselves were magnified ten fold. Budapest is far more intimidating than Ripon, Wisconsin. A wrong turn could leave me stranded in dark streets walled with graffiti marked buildings and no means of communication. Hungarian is a very difficult, strange language that is not similar to any other language in Europe, and alienates natives and foreigners alike. Natives have no means of communicating with the outside world and foreigners are hopelessly lost if trying to communicate with natives.

My most immediate concern here was making a friend who could be my refuge, a person who would be an island of comfort and familiarity in a sea of off-putting unfamiliarity. My roommate, Daisy, arrived the second day I was in Budapest, and while she is very nice and we get along well, we are also very different. I didn't feel the immediate spark of refuge in her. She is also one of eight people who are from Carleton College, so she has a friend of hers here in Budapest. We met up with Daisy's friend, Ernest, and his roommate Cory on my third day here. After somewhat awkward introductions and common formalities, I found what I was looking for! I found in Cory someone who needed me as much as I needed him. Someone very much out of his comfort zone in a mysterious city with all new people and wary of wandering around on his own. Through Cory, who also goes to Carleton, I have since met his friend Claire, her roommate Sylvia, and John and Franky. We have formed a nice little group in the past week and a half, which has supressed my feelings of loneliness, if not destroyed them altogether. We get along very well and have a lot of fun together.

In fact it is thanks to them that I came up with the name of this blog. Coffee Pot is a game I was introduced to in which a person thinks of a verb while the other people ask them questions about it to figure out what the verb is. When asking or answering questions, the verb is replaced with coffee pot. For example, someone might ask, "can you coffee pot inside?" or "does coffee potting require special tools?". Since coffee potting can be any number of verbs, I thought it would be an appropriate title.

While I still have a lot of things to recount, I am going to take a break for now and turn my attention to the homework I have neglected all weekend. A detailed account of my first few days of classes and of some adventures I've already had here will follow shortly. Stay tuned!