Sitting in the Washington Dulles airport... (thank you free wi-fi for saving me from 7hrs of boredom)
I can hear eighteen Hungarian kindergartners together slowly say "how do you feeeeel?"
I respond, "I'm sad", rubbing my eyes to drive the word home. "Sad."
Don't get me wrong; it's nice to be home (except why is everyone talking so loudly?) and there are things I have to be here to do. But I had seven amazing people with whom I built close friendships stay out until (literally) all hours and then take me to the airport before 7 in the morning, carrying all my stuff... and I miss them. I wish I were with them and my other friends, tucked away SLEEPING (oh how I wish I were sleeping) in my bed on the outskirts of Pest, a few hours away from waking up in one of the best cities in Europe with time to myself to work, learn, and explore. I love the US of course, but part of me longs to be in Hungary, where life seems slower and the people are so friendly and warm, where red-roofed buildings dot the countryside beneath blueish rolling hills. I wasn't finished piecing together basic Hungarian phrases, exploring the ruin bars and clubs that own the night, or learning from the people surrounding me. I especially was not ready to leave behind the people I had grown close to, who mean so much to me.
Budapest will forever be, for me, that magical, beautiful place that would have been just a city without the people I shared my time with there. I couldn't have stumbled into a better place or met better people. I was truly fortunate to be there for three months and experience the challenges of the language next to the warmth of the people who speak it, enjoy not only the unique sites of Budapest but also the common experiences of daily life there. I will miss the Duna, the 4/6 tram, 200-forint coins, even lángos (well... maybe not for a few years). I'll miss the kids I taught and the places I lived.
Someday maybe I'll be back, but until then - szia, Budapest and sziasztok friends! It isn't forever.
Puszi! With love, forever-
Emily
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Event Update in Pictures
I am so sad to be leaving Budapest tomorrow! Due to time constraints (it is, after all, my last day in this amazing city and with some of my favorite people anywhere), I'm just going to show you what I've been up to with pictures. See you soon America!
Vienna, Austria
We spent a weekend in Vienna :) Such a beautiful but expensive city. My favorite things were Viennese coffee and the Gustav Klimt exhibition at Belvedere Palace - which is probably one of my top 5 museum experiences ever. So fun, and so close (three hours by bus!) I'm so fortunate to get to travel, both inside and outside of Hungary.
Lake Balaton, Hungary
It was only a matter of time before I made it out to see Harry Potter... and I wanted a picture to go with my St. Petersburg picture of the Harry Potter poster from there. It was pretty good, I have to say (and listening to the English dialogue was a treat.) 
Kiwi made me a chocolate cake (and Lili made me a vanilla cake with pineapple!!) This one says
"21st HBM <3 Kiwi"
(translated) Happy Birthday Em love Kiwi
Vienna, Austria
We spent a weekend in Vienna :) Such a beautiful but expensive city. My favorite things were Viennese coffee and the Gustav Klimt exhibition at Belvedere Palace - which is probably one of my top 5 museum experiences ever. So fun, and so close (three hours by bus!) I'm so fortunate to get to travel, both inside and outside of Hungary.Lake Balaton, Hungary
Fun at the lake with some of my favorite people 
Harry (notably not Garry) Potter - in English with Hungarian subtitles
It was only a matter of time before I made it out to see Harry Potter... and I wanted a picture to go with my St. Petersburg picture of the Harry Potter poster from there. It was pretty good, I have to say (and listening to the English dialogue was a treat.) Celebrating 21 Years (haha) - aka the best birthday ever
Kiwi made me a chocolate cake (and Lili made me a vanilla cake with pineapple!!) This one says
"21st HBM <3 Kiwi"
(translated) Happy Birthday Em love Kiwi
Victor (Nigeria), Lili (Bulgaria), me, and Laszlo (Hungary)
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Love-Hate Relationship - Working at the kindergarten
Tomorrow is my last day at Babaház Óvoda, so yesterday I got all sentimental and started reflecting on my past ten weeks there.
It was so hard at first - I remember the first several weeks I spent most of my time inside the kindergarten in some sort of survival mode and most of my time outside of it dreading the next work day. The kids intimidated me with their potential for (what seemed like) destruction considering my linguistic inability to control them. I didn't know their names, and then I couldn't say their names (thank you Hungarian language.) Lesson plans stressed me out - how do you teach a language without using language? It was frustrating for me and I'm sure it was frustrating for them. I wasn't even sure how to play without scaring them off talking English at them. Even my supervisor stressed me out because I was so worried she was going to notice how much I was struggling. It was the hate-part of our relationship and I wanted to go home.
Then it got easier...
I asked if I could teach the kids upstairs with a Hungarian teacher nearby for disciplinary purposes, instead of downstairs alone in the basement room (where, famously now for anyone I've talked to, one boy literally punched another and I was like WHAT??!). A brilliant move. I had a mold for lesson plans (song - lesson - game, usually Duck Duck Goose but they love it - and when all else failed, coloring until my time was up).
...but I still didn't like it
Honestly I lived for weekends and Tuesday/Thursday mornings for a lot of my time at the kindergarten. Even once my job didn't terrify me, it still stressed me out and I didn't enjoy it. The good news is now I know similar jobs are not my calling. I loved Budapest and my time here so I saw work, in a large part, as a means to that end.
But those kids :)
Then we warmed up to each other. The youngest ones (three year-olds) still forget sometimes and talk to me in Hungarian, which only adds to their already ridiculous cuteness. The older ones I love because they were at a level to answer my questions during the lesson and also talk to me in English throughout the day. Nothing warmed my heart more than when I heard them using English, even English I only used with them but never taught them. Zolan even translated for one of the Hungarian teachers outside when she couldn't think of how to say something to me in English... so cute. Recently they have started teaching me Hungarian! They'll grab my hand and point at stuff and say the word until I repeat it, but at a steady pace of 80 words a day I can tell you improvement is slow. I remember colors, numbers, and one of my favorite little boys taught me the Hungarian version of Rain, Rain, Go Away. You should see their faces when I say simple things in Hungarian like ("I don't know" and "tomorrow"). Their eyes pop out of their heads a little.
To close, the past two weeks have been absolutely enjoyable. We smile and laugh, play, and learn from each other. Few things make me happier than when I arrive and they run up and hug me, or when all of them (at different but slightly overlapping intervals) said "Happy Birthday!", or when they try so hard with English or color pictures for me. I love it when they love the lesson or the craft (we made magic wands like the good fairy in Little Bunny Foo Foo and it was such a hit). They LOVE "I'm a Little Teapot" and "Baby Shark" and sing them all through the day. When my job is a success like that, I feel so happy to have been here and have had this experience. I will miss these kids and never forget them.
It was so hard at first - I remember the first several weeks I spent most of my time inside the kindergarten in some sort of survival mode and most of my time outside of it dreading the next work day. The kids intimidated me with their potential for (what seemed like) destruction considering my linguistic inability to control them. I didn't know their names, and then I couldn't say their names (thank you Hungarian language.) Lesson plans stressed me out - how do you teach a language without using language? It was frustrating for me and I'm sure it was frustrating for them. I wasn't even sure how to play without scaring them off talking English at them. Even my supervisor stressed me out because I was so worried she was going to notice how much I was struggling. It was the hate-part of our relationship and I wanted to go home.
Then it got easier...
I asked if I could teach the kids upstairs with a Hungarian teacher nearby for disciplinary purposes, instead of downstairs alone in the basement room (where, famously now for anyone I've talked to, one boy literally punched another and I was like WHAT??!). A brilliant move. I had a mold for lesson plans (song - lesson - game, usually Duck Duck Goose but they love it - and when all else failed, coloring until my time was up).
...but I still didn't like it
Honestly I lived for weekends and Tuesday/Thursday mornings for a lot of my time at the kindergarten. Even once my job didn't terrify me, it still stressed me out and I didn't enjoy it. The good news is now I know similar jobs are not my calling. I loved Budapest and my time here so I saw work, in a large part, as a means to that end. But those kids :)
Then we warmed up to each other. The youngest ones (three year-olds) still forget sometimes and talk to me in Hungarian, which only adds to their already ridiculous cuteness. The older ones I love because they were at a level to answer my questions during the lesson and also talk to me in English throughout the day. Nothing warmed my heart more than when I heard them using English, even English I only used with them but never taught them. Zolan even translated for one of the Hungarian teachers outside when she couldn't think of how to say something to me in English... so cute. Recently they have started teaching me Hungarian! They'll grab my hand and point at stuff and say the word until I repeat it, but at a steady pace of 80 words a day I can tell you improvement is slow. I remember colors, numbers, and one of my favorite little boys taught me the Hungarian version of Rain, Rain, Go Away. You should see their faces when I say simple things in Hungarian like ("I don't know" and "tomorrow"). Their eyes pop out of their heads a little.
To close, the past two weeks have been absolutely enjoyable. We smile and laugh, play, and learn from each other. Few things make me happier than when I arrive and they run up and hug me, or when all of them (at different but slightly overlapping intervals) said "Happy Birthday!", or when they try so hard with English or color pictures for me. I love it when they love the lesson or the craft (we made magic wands like the good fairy in Little Bunny Foo Foo and it was such a hit). They LOVE "I'm a Little Teapot" and "Baby Shark" and sing them all through the day. When my job is a success like that, I feel so happy to have been here and have had this experience. I will miss these kids and never forget them.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
They are called Hungarians!
When Italian Nobel Laureate Enrico Fermi was asked if he believed in extraterrestrials, he replied, "They are already here...they are called Hungarians!"
Many Hungarians I have talked to, even just once or twice, seem to genuinely want to get to know me and hear about life in the US and, of course, what I think about Hungary. This has included friends who work at the hotels, teachers in the kindergarten, and of course AIESECers. Especially given I'm only here for a short time, I really appreciate the effort.
Tuesday morning on the metro I wasn't paying attention to what stop the train had arrived at and I couldn't see the name outside the window, so at the very last minute I started squirming trying to view the station name somewhere. A man across from me noticed and immediately told me where we were (Deák Ferenc) and looked very concerned as he asked if that was my stop (I'm assuming) and some other stuff in Hungarian. He kept smiling at me afterwards too.
That's something else that is refreshing - the language thing. I try really, really hard (oftentimes fruitlessly) to say basic things in Hungarian or at the very least ask for English in Hungarian. If possible, on some occasions (shout out to the Tesco Vodafone guy and the Tesco Posta guy) the Hungarians I'm talking to seem to be trying even harder to communicate with me in near-perfect English. And, in great contrast to my experiences in Russia and also, to a less severe degree other parts of Europe the reaction to the realization that I don't in fact speak Hungarian is not a look of disbelief or annoyance but often a kind smile. It is so nice.
When a friend from UNC visited Budapest from Prague, one of the first things she pointed out was how kind people here were and what a contrast it was from people in Prague. It isn't just me, I promise! Anyway I really love it here, and the kindness of Hungarians is one of the main things I'm going to miss.
love from Pest,
Em
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Romkocsmák and Pálinka - and another event update since I don't have time for anything else!
1. Ruin Bars - "Romkocsmák"
Unique to Budapest - these are alternative bars in the courtyards and rooms of abandoned warehouses or residential buildings. They are "ad-hoc" places, often in condemned buildings waiting to be leveled.
ANYWAY after reading about them and hearing about them, this weekend I hit two up with friends. We celebrated Canada Day with Canadians in Bar Instant on Friday, and on Saturday we ended a trail of good times at Szimpla Kert (now pretty much my favorite place).
Szimpla Kert is very eclectic and thrown-together... with seats including a cushioned half of a bathtub and a bench covered with an egg crate (also normal chairs around tables and some nice couches). Lamps, cars, old films playing in the outdoor courtyard... a friend told me the decorations change but I don't see how anyone could pick up on that. I met an AIESEC friend from UNC (Katie Leung!) here last night!
Bar Instant is unique... its themed as an "enchanted forest" and apparently the DJs base their song choices on alignment of stars and the emotions of the crowd.
2. Paprika - Still the best restaurant I've been to in Budapest
Bryan and I went here in December on a lark (or rather on a great guidebook hint); apparently everyone has heard of it and it's one of the top Hungarian restaurants (plus oh-so-charming with country village decor). We went on Saturday to take Antony's friend from home! I talked Kiwi (Antony) into sharing the 2-person house specialty "Paprika Plate"...
PAPRIKA PLATE:
Gypsy pork + Goose + Ewe cheese-stuffed turkey + Beef of some sort + A final meat I forgot
More meat than I've eaten over the span of two months. Yes I ate all of it! (Except the quarter-pound of food I gave away to some of the fourteen people at our table.) It was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My favorite surprisingly was the goose leg. I now love goose.
3. Pálinka - Traditional Hungarian fruit brandy - very, very strong
In the video a few posts ago, the girl takes a shot of clear liquid and winces a little as it goes down... that was pálinka. It comes in all different flavors: apricot (which I tried), sour cherry, grape, blackberry, elderberry, peach, sometimes with honey... anyway for a strong shot, it's nice. Way better than the strong and disgusting Unicum, a bitter Hungarian herbal liqueur, which I also (unfortunately) tried.
4. Szechenyi Baths
It's the largest of the baths in Budapest - 15 pools including three large outdoor ones; also some of the hottest and deepest in Hungary, apparently. We were there for four hours - there was so much to see and we kept pool hopping (hot-cold-hot-lazy river pool-medicinal-small-large-hot).
Anyway it was fun and I was glad to see it! The weather was chilly and rainy which actually was perfect for lazily bathing in hot water pools all day. Oddly we ran into a New Yorker we had met in Szimpla the night before... so a very popular bath.
I can't believe I only have 2.5 weeks left! It's gone by so fast. We are going to Vienna this weekend (3hrs by bus - so close!), and then I will have 10 work days and 5 weekend days left in this amazing country. I'm aiming for a few good blog posts before leaving on Jul 24... we'll see.
Thanks for reading. Happy (belated) Independence Day everyone!
Puszi!
Em
Unique to Budapest - these are alternative bars in the courtyards and rooms of abandoned warehouses or residential buildings. They are "ad-hoc" places, often in condemned buildings waiting to be leveled.
ANYWAY after reading about them and hearing about them, this weekend I hit two up with friends. We celebrated Canada Day with Canadians in Bar Instant on Friday, and on Saturday we ended a trail of good times at Szimpla Kert (now pretty much my favorite place).
Szimpla Kert is very eclectic and thrown-together... with seats including a cushioned half of a bathtub and a bench covered with an egg crate (also normal chairs around tables and some nice couches). Lamps, cars, old films playing in the outdoor courtyard... a friend told me the decorations change but I don't see how anyone could pick up on that. I met an AIESEC friend from UNC (Katie Leung!) here last night!Bar Instant is unique... its themed as an "enchanted forest" and apparently the DJs base their song choices on alignment of stars and the emotions of the crowd.
2. Paprika - Still the best restaurant I've been to in Budapest
Bryan and I went here in December on a lark (or rather on a great guidebook hint); apparently everyone has heard of it and it's one of the top Hungarian restaurants (plus oh-so-charming with country village decor). We went on Saturday to take Antony's friend from home! I talked Kiwi (Antony) into sharing the 2-person house specialty "Paprika Plate"...
PAPRIKA PLATE:
Gypsy pork + Goose + Ewe cheese-stuffed turkey + Beef of some sort + A final meat I forgot
More meat than I've eaten over the span of two months. Yes I ate all of it! (Except the quarter-pound of food I gave away to some of the fourteen people at our table.) It was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My favorite surprisingly was the goose leg. I now love goose.
3. Pálinka - Traditional Hungarian fruit brandy - very, very strong
In the video a few posts ago, the girl takes a shot of clear liquid and winces a little as it goes down... that was pálinka. It comes in all different flavors: apricot (which I tried), sour cherry, grape, blackberry, elderberry, peach, sometimes with honey... anyway for a strong shot, it's nice. Way better than the strong and disgusting Unicum, a bitter Hungarian herbal liqueur, which I also (unfortunately) tried.
4. Szechenyi Baths
Anyway it was fun and I was glad to see it! The weather was chilly and rainy which actually was perfect for lazily bathing in hot water pools all day. Oddly we ran into a New Yorker we had met in Szimpla the night before... so a very popular bath.
I can't believe I only have 2.5 weeks left! It's gone by so fast. We are going to Vienna this weekend (3hrs by bus - so close!), and then I will have 10 work days and 5 weekend days left in this amazing country. I'm aiming for a few good blog posts before leaving on Jul 24... we'll see.
Thanks for reading. Happy (belated) Independence Day everyone!
Puszi!
Em
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Notable Events from the Past Fortnight
1. Ruin Church: ZSÁMBÉK, Hungary (Djahm-bayk)
Celts and Romans once populated the city.
The church was built in 1220, destroyed in 1241 during the Mongolian invasion, rebuilt, and destroyed a final time in 1763 by an earthquake.
Today it is one of Hungary's largest architectural ruins. Interestingly it is still holy and sanctified so you can marry on the church grounds!
2. Wine Festival: PÁTY, Hungary (Pahte)
On our way through the countryside (to the festival surrounding several private wine cellars in the hills in Paty), all 15 of us were invited into the small, open-air home of the most hospitable man I've ever met. He literally would not take no for an answer to anything and gave us all heaping portions of forest soup, meat and potatoes, homemade red wine, white wine -who wants more wine? you must have more wine!- even though his family was joined by several other Hungarian families already. We sat at his table and accepted his hospitality. It was so neat. I love the countryside and I love Hungarians. Then we went into the wine cellar of a friend of a friend----------->
3. Aquincum - Ruins of the Roman City
Aquincum was the capital of the Roman province of Pannonia. It's in the north of Buda and was excavated in the 19th century. Many streets and foundations remain so it was very neat to explore!
4. Pálvölgyi and Szemlöhegyi Caves
We took a trip to two caves in the Buda Hills, which turned out to be an excellent plan B on a rainy Sunday (even though both tours were in Hungarian.)
Interestingly after 20 years lacking in cave experiences, I had 3 cave experiences in 7 days!
5. TÁNCHÁZ at Kobuci Kert
Well that about does it for notable events from the past two weeks! I am finally caught up. A nice short blog on my job or thoughts about Hungary will be coming soon hopefully; however I have to move hostels (this one will be renovated during July) so that means even less time to write in the next few days. Hope everyone is doing well at home!!!
Celts and Romans once populated the city.
The church was built in 1220, destroyed in 1241 during the Mongolian invasion, rebuilt, and destroyed a final time in 1763 by an earthquake.
Today it is one of Hungary's largest architectural ruins. Interestingly it is still holy and sanctified so you can marry on the church grounds!
2. Wine Festival: PÁTY, Hungary (Pahte)
On our way through the countryside (to the festival surrounding several private wine cellars in the hills in Paty), all 15 of us were invited into the small, open-air home of the most hospitable man I've ever met. He literally would not take no for an answer to anything and gave us all heaping portions of forest soup, meat and potatoes, homemade red wine, white wine -who wants more wine? you must have more wine!- even though his family was joined by several other Hungarian families already. We sat at his table and accepted his hospitality. It was so neat. I love the countryside and I love Hungarians. Then we went into the wine cellar of a friend of a friend----------->
3. Aquincum - Ruins of the Roman City
Aquincum was the capital of the Roman province of Pannonia. It's in the north of Buda and was excavated in the 19th century. Many streets and foundations remain so it was very neat to explore!
4. Pálvölgyi and Szemlöhegyi Caves
We took a trip to two caves in the Buda Hills, which turned out to be an excellent plan B on a rainy Sunday (even though both tours were in Hungarian.)
Interestingly after 20 years lacking in cave experiences, I had 3 cave experiences in 7 days!
5. TÁNCHÁZ at Kobuci Kert
What could be better than minced sausage sandwiches with Soproni beer, live Hungarian folk music, and traditional circle and line dances?
I planned this event and was so worried it was going to be lame, but everyone really, really enjoyed it! The dances were so fun, it was packed, and the energy behind the music was something else. So fun!
6. MUZEUMOK (Night of Museums!)
One night a year in Budapest you can pay the entrance fee of one museum and go to nearly all of them for free between 6pm and 2:30am!
It was so fun! Some stalls surrounding different museums sell Hungarian spiral cakes, cherry beer, crafts; there are stage performances (like flame throwers); and the streets are packed with something like 400,000 people visiting museums and the festival parts.
We went to: the Hungarian National Museum; a concert at the Liszt Memorial Museum; the House of Terror; up in the tower of Varosliget Castle; around the stalls at the Agricultural Museum; and to the Hungarian House of Photography. :) :)
7. Gellért Hotel Baths
Built in 1918, they are the best known and most luxurious baths in Budapest (and there are a lot of thermal baths).
Think mosaics, fountains, marble sculptures - plus warm, sweet-smelling water, a gorgeous patio, a nice outdoor pool with artificial waves on the hour... we stayed there for over 3 :)
Well that about does it for notable events from the past two weeks! I am finally caught up. A nice short blog on my job or thoughts about Hungary will be coming soon hopefully; however I have to move hostels (this one will be renovated during July) so that means even less time to write in the next few days. Hope everyone is doing well at home!!!
Sziasztok! Puszi!
Em
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Video about HUNGARY :D
HUNGARY: World of Potentials
Cute video (I promise it's more interesting than it looks!) about Hungary! And now I'm obsessed with the song played during it - it is a modern version of a Hungarian folk song. Anyway, enjoy!
-Em
Some thoughts:
Hungary in general seems very under-rated, at least from my American view. Budapest especially equals and possibly surpasses other major cultural/historical/tourist Central European cities like Prague and Vienna, yet so many people have barely even heard the name. Hungary, apparently, has gifted the world with a slew of inventions (were you surprised with any? I know I was). Anyway I think this video is part of a campaign to revamp Hungary's image (or, in my opinion, get foreigners up to speed). I hope it happens.
The song title translates as "Fly, bird, fly" and the band, Balkan Fanatik, has won awards for world music and for preserving Hungarian folk songs.
Cute video (I promise it's more interesting than it looks!) about Hungary! And now I'm obsessed with the song played during it - it is a modern version of a Hungarian folk song. Anyway, enjoy!
-Em
Some thoughts:
Hungary in general seems very under-rated, at least from my American view. Budapest especially equals and possibly surpasses other major cultural/historical/tourist Central European cities like Prague and Vienna, yet so many people have barely even heard the name. Hungary, apparently, has gifted the world with a slew of inventions (were you surprised with any? I know I was). Anyway I think this video is part of a campaign to revamp Hungary's image (or, in my opinion, get foreigners up to speed). I hope it happens.
The song title translates as "Fly, bird, fly" and the band, Balkan Fanatik, has won awards for world music and for preserving Hungarian folk songs.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Loving My Time Here in Budapest!
Again I'm sorry for sparse updates! Still delightfully busy, but also the Internet at my accommodation was down for four days. I like to think I would have posted before now if I'd had less Internet trouble, but who knows.
Krakow, POLAND - Saturday, June 11 - Monday, June 13
In Hungary, the Monday following Pentecost Sunday is a national holiday, hooray! So for the long weekend, a group of 10 of us decided to road trip (in tiny European cars!) north (some number of kilometers which escapes me, surprise) to Krakow. To the amazement of me and my fellow North Americans, we picked up and drove to another country (passing through a third country) in roughly the time it takes me to drive from Jacksonville to Chapel Hill - and only that long because we took it slowly!
We drove through mountains in Slovakia, which are very pretty, and had to use Euros to buy window passes just to be on the highway. Every time we passed a castle, Sandra (Canadian), Kevin, and I would flip out, taking pictures out of our windows, and the Europeans would just laugh at us. And all of us jammed to some 90s Backstreet Boys song on the radio while driving through a Slovak village. The holiday would have been worth it even for the road trip alone, I think!
SAT: First thing I did in Poland was say "dzien dobry" (good day, which I remembered!) to the cutest little Polish girl in a shop. Moved into our large flat in Kasimierz district :); ate zapiekanki (half a baguette, layer with mushrooms, cheese, fried onions, meat, etc, toasted); free walking tour of the district (the Jewish quarter); drinks in main square (they put flavor shots like ginger and raspberry in beer there!); dinner at a Hungarian restaurant (I know... but our Polish friend said it was her favorite restaurant in Poland), think potato pancakes with goulash; and out in Kasimierz!
SUN: Hiked with a friend up a hill for some great views of the city; explored a rock quarry; visited Massolit Books (English bookstore opened by an American grad student... I've been to the second store in Budapest and loved the large one in Krakow); for dinner, Milk Bar Polish restaurant (they didn't even speak English, thank goodness for our Polish friend Joanna); listened to a benefit concert in the square. Went to a neat bar called Alchemie - to go from room to room you have to open and step through a wardrobe, very Narnia-esque :)
MON: National Park to the north - we picnicked with a feast of Polish breakfast foods (my obsession with Central European cottage cheese continues); saw castle ruins; ate ice cream (we always squeeze in ice cream); and hiked up for a tour of a cave where a Polish king hid from Czech armies for 6 weeks before coming out to regain his throne! Possibly my first cave experience ever. Anyway went back to Krakow for more zapiekanki and didn't leave the city until 10pm... so we got back around 5am which was crazy. It's kind of thrilling to be two countries from work at 10pm before a workday.
Hope it wasn't too long! Here are some pictures:
bye for now!
em
Krakow, POLAND - Saturday, June 11 - Monday, June 13
We drove through mountains in Slovakia, which are very pretty, and had to use Euros to buy window passes just to be on the highway. Every time we passed a castle, Sandra (Canadian), Kevin, and I would flip out, taking pictures out of our windows, and the Europeans would just laugh at us. And all of us jammed to some 90s Backstreet Boys song on the radio while driving through a Slovak village. The holiday would have been worth it even for the road trip alone, I think!
SAT: First thing I did in Poland was say "dzien dobry" (good day, which I remembered!) to the cutest little Polish girl in a shop. Moved into our large flat in Kasimierz district :); ate zapiekanki (half a baguette, layer with mushrooms, cheese, fried onions, meat, etc, toasted); free walking tour of the district (the Jewish quarter); drinks in main square (they put flavor shots like ginger and raspberry in beer there!); dinner at a Hungarian restaurant (I know... but our Polish friend said it was her favorite restaurant in Poland), think potato pancakes with goulash; and out in Kasimierz!
SUN: Hiked with a friend up a hill for some great views of the city; explored a rock quarry; visited Massolit Books (English bookstore opened by an American grad student... I've been to the second store in Budapest and loved the large one in Krakow); for dinner, Milk Bar Polish restaurant (they didn't even speak English, thank goodness for our Polish friend Joanna); listened to a benefit concert in the square. Went to a neat bar called Alchemie - to go from room to room you have to open and step through a wardrobe, very Narnia-esque :)
MON: National Park to the north - we picnicked with a feast of Polish breakfast foods (my obsession with Central European cottage cheese continues); saw castle ruins; ate ice cream (we always squeeze in ice cream); and hiked up for a tour of a cave where a Polish king hid from Czech armies for 6 weeks before coming out to regain his throne! Possibly my first cave experience ever. Anyway went back to Krakow for more zapiekanki and didn't leave the city until 10pm... so we got back around 5am which was crazy. It's kind of thrilling to be two countries from work at 10pm before a workday.
Hope it wasn't too long! Here are some pictures:
 |
| Kevin, Joanna (Asia), and Sandra sleeping in the back seat |
 |
| Macier, our walking tour guide |
 |
| Main Square, Old Town at night |
em
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Still Alive!
Happily I have had too much going on to keep up with blogging, but I still apologize. I am still here, still working, and still failing miserably at speaking Hungarian! Brief update on the past (wow) sixteen days:
1. Some nightlife, some potluck
Now this will sound silly, but having some good friends has been the best. From listening to a live Hungarian band to trying New Zealand food at Antony's apartment to celebrating an ex-pat magazine's fifth birthday with free cake... getting out in the city at night has been an adventure.
We had an international potluck dinner! Kevin (from Arizona) and I wanted to make apple pie - amusingly it wasn't until I starting looking around Tesco for ingredients that it struck me that I didn't know flour/cinnamon/shortening/etc in Hungarian, so I spent forever walking down every aisle peering at ingredients trying not to buy baking powder instead of flour, for example. I couldn't find anything important, so we made bacon bbq burgers with cheddar cheese (which I found!- me to the skeptical woman behind the cheese counter: "cheddar. ched-dar. *pointing*). Unfortunately we overcooked the burgers but they still tasted like heaven/home when smothered with the bacon/cheese/barbeque-sauce combo.
Anyway my favorite thing was Hilmi's Kurdish fried vegetable things, yum. From Spain we had bread with olive oil and tomatoes; from Hungary pasta with paprika and chilled cherry soup; from New Zealand some sugary, poof-y fruit dessert - I'm forgetting some, but I know the Romanians brought wine and the Canadian brought cake.
2. 05/29: MISKOLC, Hungary (Mee-shh-colts)
3hr train through Hungarian countryside - ate a lot of paprika chips and played a hundred games of Mafia
Arrived in a sleepy town with some closed shops, rode a city bus for quite some time - skeptical...
BAM we found the awesome Castle of Diósgyőr up against some beautiful hills:
We also went to a lake and the (apparently) tallest waterfall in Hungary, which was actually not that tall. But still very cool!
The coolest thing we did in Miskolc (technically Miskolc-Tapolca) was swim in these thermal waters in a cave. It was actually a network of tunnels - different rooms, a lazy river, some waterfalls... an outdoor pool part. It was so cool! Here's a picture I took from Google ----------->
So Miskolc was fun! If nothing else, it was really awesome to scavenge outside of Budapest with some really cool friends all day. And other parts of Hungary are really beautiful too.
2. Last weekend: VISÉGRAD, Hungary (Vee-shay-grad)
This time a boat ride down the Danube! I was in heaven. Unbelievable views of Buda and Pest and some sun - such a good way to spend a few hours. There was another castle here - a more important one because Viségrad used to be the "royal seat" of Hungary, until the 15th century. The majority of the day, however, we spent hiking up the steepest, muddiest, worst non-mountain ever on the hottest day since I got to Hungary. Really, check this hill out:
The tower you see is Solomon Tower, which is only a quarter of the way to the top. If you squint you can almost see the castle, which is on the very top of the hill. And you can't even see the bottom of the hill. It was ridiculous. Awesome views from the top though!
1. Some nightlife, some potluck
Now this will sound silly, but having some good friends has been the best. From listening to a live Hungarian band to trying New Zealand food at Antony's apartment to celebrating an ex-pat magazine's fifth birthday with free cake... getting out in the city at night has been an adventure.
Anyway my favorite thing was Hilmi's Kurdish fried vegetable things, yum. From Spain we had bread with olive oil and tomatoes; from Hungary pasta with paprika and chilled cherry soup; from New Zealand some sugary, poof-y fruit dessert - I'm forgetting some, but I know the Romanians brought wine and the Canadian brought cake.
2. 05/29: MISKOLC, Hungary (Mee-shh-colts)
3hr train through Hungarian countryside - ate a lot of paprika chips and played a hundred games of Mafia
Arrived in a sleepy town with some closed shops, rode a city bus for quite some time - skeptical...
BAM we found the awesome Castle of Diósgyőr up against some beautiful hills:
We also went to a lake and the (apparently) tallest waterfall in Hungary, which was actually not that tall. But still very cool!
The coolest thing we did in Miskolc (technically Miskolc-Tapolca) was swim in these thermal waters in a cave. It was actually a network of tunnels - different rooms, a lazy river, some waterfalls... an outdoor pool part. It was so cool! Here's a picture I took from Google ----------->So Miskolc was fun! If nothing else, it was really awesome to scavenge outside of Budapest with some really cool friends all day. And other parts of Hungary are really beautiful too.
2. Last weekend: VISÉGRAD, Hungary (Vee-shay-grad)
The tower you see is Solomon Tower, which is only a quarter of the way to the top. If you squint you can almost see the castle, which is on the very top of the hill. And you can't even see the bottom of the hill. It was ridiculous. Awesome views from the top though!
We also rode bobsleds ("luges"?) on this track somewhere around the castle. That was fun too.
Funny story: on the way up the track, before getting to the drop, my luge started getting rather close to Ralph the Brazilian guy's in front of me.
Ralph (nervously pointing to sign): Keep twenty meters back!
Me (just before the collision): I'm an American - I don't know what that means!!
Anyway Ralph helpfully put a conversion calculator on my Facebook wall.
Thanks, Ralph.
So much for being brief! I will save stories from Babahaz Ovoda, progress in my first Ugric-group language, and thoughts on life in Hungary for another post. Thanks for reading so many words, and I hope everyone is doing well at home!!
love
Emily
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Weekend, Weekend
One word: hiking.
Saturday: with David, a Hungarian I actually met in St. Petersburg last fall! My roommate and I met David and his friend Feri, and we climbed Gellert Hill. I learned how to say a lot of really simple things in really poor Hungarian, so that was really good. I also buffed up my children's songs repertoire. We reached the Liberty Statue that is at the top of the hill in my Buda picture a few posts ago. A good climb for sure.
Sunday: with several AIESECers (AIESEC: the international student organization I found the internship through); we climbed a hill in Látóhegy and took a cog-wheel train for some reason. It was awesome because I met several really interesting people from all over the world, and it is so nice to have friends in the city!!! I learned a lot about flightless birds in New Zealand and getting to Bulgaria by car... and met a girl who has no brothers/sisters because of China's one child policy (which, of course, I've read so much about but it's different to meet someone it has actually affected!) Anyway everyone knows English really well and I got a lot of questions answered about the city and everything. After this weekend, I am so happy to be here!!! Too much fun :)
Sziasztok ('bye!)
-Emily
Saturday: with David, a Hungarian I actually met in St. Petersburg last fall! My roommate and I met David and his friend Feri, and we climbed Gellert Hill. I learned how to say a lot of really simple things in really poor Hungarian, so that was really good. I also buffed up my children's songs repertoire. We reached the Liberty Statue that is at the top of the hill in my Buda picture a few posts ago. A good climb for sure.
Sunday: with several AIESECers (AIESEC: the international student organization I found the internship through); we climbed a hill in Látóhegy and took a cog-wheel train for some reason. It was awesome because I met several really interesting people from all over the world, and it is so nice to have friends in the city!!! I learned a lot about flightless birds in New Zealand and getting to Bulgaria by car... and met a girl who has no brothers/sisters because of China's one child policy (which, of course, I've read so much about but it's different to meet someone it has actually affected!) Anyway everyone knows English really well and I got a lot of questions answered about the city and everything. After this weekend, I am so happy to be here!!! Too much fun :)
Sziasztok ('bye!)
-Emily
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Random Thoughts from This Week
1. I found a shorter path to work! I stumbled on a map of my district in the kindergarten office (hooray, since none of my maps have the district on it at all!) and, of course, attempted to memorize it. Instead of turning right outside my hostel and taking an electric bus, a tram, and a trolley bus, I realized I could simply turn left outside my hostel, walk for seven or eight minutes, and take the trolley bus, two stops farther. It's wonderful. So much faster, although the tram was kind of fun.
2. I gave a man directions! Naturally it was lucky he asked me in English, about one of the two roads I'm familiar with, but still - I gave a man directions! I also had to stifle the desire to ask him if we could talk and be English friends because he seemed to be in a great hurry. It's okay, buddy. I hope you found your address.
3. A Hungarian band played in our basement! No one tells me anything, so today I walked downstairs to find three old men with a double bass, a viola, and a violin playing live Hungarian music. The singer was leading the kids in the cutest folk dances. It was so great! What a classy establishment. Apparently the group comes every two weeks (but this was the last time for the year) and the kids love it. It was awesome.
4. Hungarian cuisine: bread and paprika. So in Russia I loved the mushrooms. In Hungary, they have delicious bread, of which I am eating way too much. Also today for lunch we had chicken paprika soup... so much paprika... so good! Two sides to every coin, though. Yesterday for lunch we had a green soup that made me feel like I was drinking pesto. But man, that bread...
5. Update on Hungarian language progress: I swear the vowels sound different every time I hear them, even with some of the kids' names (poor kids). Hungarian speakers apparently are much better at hearing crazy vowels than non-native speakers, specifically me. I have been working diligently on saying my room number correctly and on "I don't speak Hungarian", which is unfortunately and perhaps ironically very difficult to say. I can say yes, no, okay, key, thank you, and I can (almost) count to five. And finally, courtesy of working at a kindergarten, I can sing a song about a ball. Haha.
Goodnight, America!
Emily
2. I gave a man directions! Naturally it was lucky he asked me in English, about one of the two roads I'm familiar with, but still - I gave a man directions! I also had to stifle the desire to ask him if we could talk and be English friends because he seemed to be in a great hurry. It's okay, buddy. I hope you found your address.
3. A Hungarian band played in our basement! No one tells me anything, so today I walked downstairs to find three old men with a double bass, a viola, and a violin playing live Hungarian music. The singer was leading the kids in the cutest folk dances. It was so great! What a classy establishment. Apparently the group comes every two weeks (but this was the last time for the year) and the kids love it. It was awesome.
4. Hungarian cuisine: bread and paprika. So in Russia I loved the mushrooms. In Hungary, they have delicious bread, of which I am eating way too much. Also today for lunch we had chicken paprika soup... so much paprika... so good! Two sides to every coin, though. Yesterday for lunch we had a green soup that made me feel like I was drinking pesto. But man, that bread...
5. Update on Hungarian language progress: I swear the vowels sound different every time I hear them, even with some of the kids' names (poor kids). Hungarian speakers apparently are much better at hearing crazy vowels than non-native speakers, specifically me. I have been working diligently on saying my room number correctly and on "I don't speak Hungarian", which is unfortunately and perhaps ironically very difficult to say. I can say yes, no, okay, key, thank you, and I can (almost) count to five. And finally, courtesy of working at a kindergarten, I can sing a song about a ball. Haha.
Goodnight, America!
Emily
Bad Day
1.Hungarian, not California
Yeah I know I've been raving about the public transportation here, and it really is as great as it sounds. Not great: getting stopped coming out of the metro to have my pass checked, being asked for ID, and getting told that my ID is invalid and I am getting ticketed and fined. Except the man did not put it that nicely. He pointed at my UNC ID and said "Not Hungarian. California." (Me: Carolina). "Must be Hungarian. Not California." (Me: Carolina). I tried to explain that I hadn't known and that the ticket lady sold me the transport pass using this ID, darn it! "6000 forints," he said. I wouldn't do it again, I really didn't know, this isn't fair... some working up of the tear ducts, a frantic call to my student contact here as he wrote me an orange ticket... "6000 forints or trouble". Awesome, so I gave him the 6000 which was literally every forint in my wallet. Oddly he gave me back the pass (???) so I used it to get home after the opera. It could have been worse - the fine comes out to be about $30 so that isn't breaking the bank anyway. But I'm not going to say it didn't ruin my day, and I haven't been on the metro since.
2. Please insert PIN
So the up side to this is that I don't know anyone so no one ever calls me. The down side was any help I could get was inevitably going to be in a language I didn't understand. I took the PIN card out (after some panicking) so I could still set my alarm and get up for work. Marieke (the greatest) told me lots of non-US SIM cards come with a PIN set on it and lock up everytime you turn it off, like I did in the opera. It was a matter of finding the envelope it came in. After moving some furniture I found the envelope and all was set to right. It was a panic at the time, though.
3. No microwave = no hot dinner for Emily
Side note: nothing is ever fully what it seems abroad. I have been calling my landlord, not so affectionately, my "crazy landlord" since he takes up my key everytime I leave the building and threatened to check my room weekly for cleanliness, etc. Sunday night was no exception. The kitchen had a sign on it, saying it was forbidden to enter because some 'foreigners' had left it a mess. Well I had just sat through a 3.5hr opera and was starving, so I entered and found the microwave had been taken away. So what did I do? I put the soup and pasta I had back in the fridge and ate a donut and some pretzels for dinner. A reasonable end to a pretty rough day.
The side note part is that my landlord is actually nice. He takes my key because there's only one for the room and, as of yesterday, I have a roommate, so whoever arrives back to the hostel first can pick up the key downstairs. And the other day when I picked it up, he smiled at my (sad) attempt to say the room number in Hungarian (although I'm very good at saying 'key' since it is close to the Russian) and taught me how to say 324. He had to say it more than once, I'll admit.... horrible language and its horrible vowels. Anyway I could really use a microwave.
Briefly, Sunday was a challenge. Adjusting to living alone in a country where I don't speak the language and a city where I don't know anyone was hard enough, so piling on the unfortunate experiences only added more strain. Fortunately I survived to tell the tale and am in a much better place today. These are probably the times I learn the most about coping with stuff. Anyway I guess if studying/working abroad were easy, everyone would do it.
More later!
Emily
Yeah I know I've been raving about the public transportation here, and it really is as great as it sounds. Not great: getting stopped coming out of the metro to have my pass checked, being asked for ID, and getting told that my ID is invalid and I am getting ticketed and fined. Except the man did not put it that nicely. He pointed at my UNC ID and said "Not Hungarian. California." (Me: Carolina). "Must be Hungarian. Not California." (Me: Carolina). I tried to explain that I hadn't known and that the ticket lady sold me the transport pass using this ID, darn it! "6000 forints," he said. I wouldn't do it again, I really didn't know, this isn't fair... some working up of the tear ducts, a frantic call to my student contact here as he wrote me an orange ticket... "6000 forints or trouble". Awesome, so I gave him the 6000 which was literally every forint in my wallet. Oddly he gave me back the pass (???) so I used it to get home after the opera. It could have been worse - the fine comes out to be about $30 so that isn't breaking the bank anyway. But I'm not going to say it didn't ruin my day, and I haven't been on the metro since.
2. Please insert PIN
So the up side to this is that I don't know anyone so no one ever calls me. The down side was any help I could get was inevitably going to be in a language I didn't understand. I took the PIN card out (after some panicking) so I could still set my alarm and get up for work. Marieke (the greatest) told me lots of non-US SIM cards come with a PIN set on it and lock up everytime you turn it off, like I did in the opera. It was a matter of finding the envelope it came in. After moving some furniture I found the envelope and all was set to right. It was a panic at the time, though.
3. No microwave = no hot dinner for Emily
Side note: nothing is ever fully what it seems abroad. I have been calling my landlord, not so affectionately, my "crazy landlord" since he takes up my key everytime I leave the building and threatened to check my room weekly for cleanliness, etc. Sunday night was no exception. The kitchen had a sign on it, saying it was forbidden to enter because some 'foreigners' had left it a mess. Well I had just sat through a 3.5hr opera and was starving, so I entered and found the microwave had been taken away. So what did I do? I put the soup and pasta I had back in the fridge and ate a donut and some pretzels for dinner. A reasonable end to a pretty rough day.
The side note part is that my landlord is actually nice. He takes my key because there's only one for the room and, as of yesterday, I have a roommate, so whoever arrives back to the hostel first can pick up the key downstairs. And the other day when I picked it up, he smiled at my (sad) attempt to say the room number in Hungarian (although I'm very good at saying 'key' since it is close to the Russian) and taught me how to say 324. He had to say it more than once, I'll admit.... horrible language and its horrible vowels. Anyway I could really use a microwave.
Briefly, Sunday was a challenge. Adjusting to living alone in a country where I don't speak the language and a city where I don't know anyone was hard enough, so piling on the unfortunate experiences only added more strain. Fortunately I survived to tell the tale and am in a much better place today. These are probably the times I learn the most about coping with stuff. Anyway I guess if studying/working abroad were easy, everyone would do it.
More later!
Emily
Good Weekend
I wandered around City Park and the Castle, ate a spicy kolbasz sausage (the pronunciation of which I completely slaughtered when ordering), and cozied up near the river to write in my journal. The reverse bus stop was found by experimentation (basically I rode going the wrong direction until we starting passing the same numbered buses going in the right direction, got off and crossed the street to catch them.) I'm telling you, the buses come all the time. It's so great.
Sunday I went to the Hungarian National Museum (history, everything I never knew about Hungary); took a wonderful detour after failing to find an Internet cafe, that left me with wonderful pictures and a full impression of the beauty of the city; and saw the opera Otello that evening. Before you ask, yes the opera was sung in Italian and the subtitles were in Hungarian.
My original thoughts: 1. The guidebook says go to the Opera House, so I'll go to the Opera House; 2. I know Othello pretty well; 3. It's only $3, come on.
Reality: 1. No action. The entire second act was Othello singing with Desdemona, without moving at all; the entire third act was Iago singing (evil) to Othello in one place. The music was pretty, but otherwise I watched them stand there. 2. Three and a half hours. THREE AND A HALF HOURS. At least there were three intermissions and the refreshments were delightfully (as always) inexpensive. 3. No point three. I really did enjoy it!
Hungarian State Opera House (remind anyone else of the Phantom of the Opera??) View from my seat :) 
Sunday, May 15, 2011
A few pictures from my first week!
Buda 
Where I work... Where I live
Vajdahunyad Castle (in the daytime)
Colorful patterned roofs, from the Secessionist Art Movement
Heroes Square (Hősök tere)Five days in Hungary and...
1. BUSI 403 (aka Operations Management) has forever ruined flying for me.
Not that flying was ever that great to begin with, and JFK has its problems anyway, but I did not ask for the added stress of hearing my professor's voice in my head while waiting in a 300-person security line an hour before my flight. "THIS IS A CAPACITY ISSUE!" I kept yelling inside my head. As if in response, a woman came down the queue, which trailed between check-in counters to the end of the terminal lobby, checking passports. Helpful? No, because the most time is consumed getting checked by security personnel. "ADDING RESOURCES TO A NON-BOTTLENECK WILL NOT INCREASE SYSTEM CAPACITY!!"
2. Everyone else must know a shortcut to Terminal A in the Frankfurt airport.
Last time I thought I just accidentally went the long way (I mean, what airport funnels passengers through an elevator and three flights of stairs/another elevator to reach its busiest terminal?) but this time I very carefully followed signage and went the exact same strange route. What's more bizarre is there are never more than six or seven people going the same way... yet my next flight had familiar faces and it seems no one else nearly misses their plane or even rushes for that matter! I only made it because some nice golf-cart-driving airport guy noticed me hustling and drove me to my gate, commenting that I was one of the last for that flight. Everyone else was already on the plane. Hence the shortcut idea.
3. It's a really good thing I got an unlimited public transport pass.
Here's how I learned my commute to Babaház: Get on the bus outside Tesco, get off when you see the ice cream hut. Get on the yellow tram, get off when you see McDonald's. Get on the 77 bus, get off when you see the fruit stand. I thought it'd be a good idea to try out before my first day, so I took the bus outside Tesco, got off when I saw ice cream, took the tram to McDonald's, took the 77, and got off at a fruit stand. The wrong fruit stand, because I walked to where the kindergarten should be and it wasn't there.
No problem - I got back on the 77 and went one more stop. Got off. No kindergarten.
Problem - I got back on the 77 and rode and rode until I saw another fruit stand. I had just started to text my university student contact to ask for the address - not that where I live is on any of my maps of Budapest but it seemed relevant to ask. Anyway I got off and found the kindergarten. Hooray! This wouldn't be the last time I've had to try, try again to find my way on the public transport.
4. That being said, it really is excellent public transportation.
During peak times in the day, the buses and trams come every ten minutes or less. They really do. The metro (the oldest in Europe!) also comes really frequently and can get you almost anywhere. There are bus lines and tram lines and electric bus wires everywhere; it's a very intricate and saturated system. The buses stop at every stop, which is really helpful when you don't know where you're getting off until you're there. Interestingly they don't check tickets or passes on the buses out where I live; you just get on and are supposed to have one. I asked one of the other teachers how often they got on and checked and she said never!
5. Hungarian prices are unbelievable.
I went to see Otello at the Opera House tonight for less than $3. That is notably 1/3 of the price I paid for my McDonald's hamburger meal on Thursday, which included the spicy dijon mustard they put on it for some ridiculous reason.
(Yes I do continue to measure how much I'm paying against what I paid for my hamburger last Thursday!)
When I stop at the Tesco next door to my hostel for bottled water and bread and snacks, I rarely pay more than $4. Strudel and (albeit really bad) coffee at the metro yesterday? $1.50. Most museum prices, which I have to pay in full because I'm not the right kind of English, are around $7.
...Although, it's amazing how quickly one can adapt and get persnickety about these things. My landlord is charging me 1500ft for Internet use. "Hmph! The nerve!" I remember thinking. That's the upper end of the most frequent prices seen for everyday goods and some menu items, and it amounts to around 8 US dollars. For $5 I could have gotten a much better seat at the opera (and then I would have had an unobstructed view of the Hungarian subtitles, not helpful) but why pay $5 when you can pay $3? I also get mad when the museum women won't give me a student discount off the $7 entrance fee since I'm not from the EU. What can I say, it's a tough city here.
Not that flying was ever that great to begin with, and JFK has its problems anyway, but I did not ask for the added stress of hearing my professor's voice in my head while waiting in a 300-person security line an hour before my flight. "THIS IS A CAPACITY ISSUE!" I kept yelling inside my head. As if in response, a woman came down the queue, which trailed between check-in counters to the end of the terminal lobby, checking passports. Helpful? No, because the most time is consumed getting checked by security personnel. "ADDING RESOURCES TO A NON-BOTTLENECK WILL NOT INCREASE SYSTEM CAPACITY!!"
2. Everyone else must know a shortcut to Terminal A in the Frankfurt airport.
Last time I thought I just accidentally went the long way (I mean, what airport funnels passengers through an elevator and three flights of stairs/another elevator to reach its busiest terminal?) but this time I very carefully followed signage and went the exact same strange route. What's more bizarre is there are never more than six or seven people going the same way... yet my next flight had familiar faces and it seems no one else nearly misses their plane or even rushes for that matter! I only made it because some nice golf-cart-driving airport guy noticed me hustling and drove me to my gate, commenting that I was one of the last for that flight. Everyone else was already on the plane. Hence the shortcut idea.
3. It's a really good thing I got an unlimited public transport pass.
Here's how I learned my commute to Babaház: Get on the bus outside Tesco, get off when you see the ice cream hut. Get on the yellow tram, get off when you see McDonald's. Get on the 77 bus, get off when you see the fruit stand. I thought it'd be a good idea to try out before my first day, so I took the bus outside Tesco, got off when I saw ice cream, took the tram to McDonald's, took the 77, and got off at a fruit stand. The wrong fruit stand, because I walked to where the kindergarten should be and it wasn't there.
No problem - I got back on the 77 and went one more stop. Got off. No kindergarten.
Problem - I got back on the 77 and rode and rode until I saw another fruit stand. I had just started to text my university student contact to ask for the address - not that where I live is on any of my maps of Budapest but it seemed relevant to ask. Anyway I got off and found the kindergarten. Hooray! This wouldn't be the last time I've had to try, try again to find my way on the public transport.
4. That being said, it really is excellent public transportation.
During peak times in the day, the buses and trams come every ten minutes or less. They really do. The metro (the oldest in Europe!) also comes really frequently and can get you almost anywhere. There are bus lines and tram lines and electric bus wires everywhere; it's a very intricate and saturated system. The buses stop at every stop, which is really helpful when you don't know where you're getting off until you're there. Interestingly they don't check tickets or passes on the buses out where I live; you just get on and are supposed to have one. I asked one of the other teachers how often they got on and checked and she said never!
5. Hungarian prices are unbelievable.
I went to see Otello at the Opera House tonight for less than $3. That is notably 1/3 of the price I paid for my McDonald's hamburger meal on Thursday, which included the spicy dijon mustard they put on it for some ridiculous reason.
(Yes I do continue to measure how much I'm paying against what I paid for my hamburger last Thursday!)
When I stop at the Tesco next door to my hostel for bottled water and bread and snacks, I rarely pay more than $4. Strudel and (albeit really bad) coffee at the metro yesterday? $1.50. Most museum prices, which I have to pay in full because I'm not the right kind of English, are around $7.
...Although, it's amazing how quickly one can adapt and get persnickety about these things. My landlord is charging me 1500ft for Internet use. "Hmph! The nerve!" I remember thinking. That's the upper end of the most frequent prices seen for everyday goods and some menu items, and it amounts to around 8 US dollars. For $5 I could have gotten a much better seat at the opera (and then I would have had an unobstructed view of the Hungarian subtitles, not helpful) but why pay $5 when you can pay $3? I also get mad when the museum women won't give me a student discount off the $7 entrance fee since I'm not from the EU. What can I say, it's a tough city here.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Nem beszélek magyarul - I don't speak Hungarian
People generally ask me, when I tell them I'm spending the summer in Budapest (teaching English even), if I speak Hungarian.
I don't. It never crossed my mind to learn Hungarian.
Here is everything I know about Hungarian:
1. It is in the Ugric language group
(along with other winners like Finnish, Estonian, Mari, and Udmurt. small group.)
2. It is not Indo-European
(like English, Spanish, German, Russian, etc... uh even Hindi and Urdu are Indo-European)
 |
| Me, in Budapest |
3. It has ties to Elvish
(awesome)
Fortunately for my odds of surviving the summer, I know more about Budapest than I do Hungarian because after I studied in St. Petersburg last year, Bryan and I spent something like 36 hours in Budapest. It really made an impression - it's beautiful (on the Danube), cheap, and the people are the friendliest of anywhere I traveled. Fun fact: Buda and Pest were two cities (on opposite banks) which were united in 1873. Here is some of my, albeit limited, knowledge about one of Eastern Europe's most up-and-coming cities:
 |
| ~$50. Very cheap. |
 |
| Hidden bakery in the castle district |
Oldest Crown Jewels in Europe,
housed in the most beautiful parliament building in Europe
(note red-domed building in background).
(note red-domed building in background).
Sounding out beginning Hungarian phrases is actually painful (my advice- stick to Indo-European). Liv Tyler sounded so much better tackling the unique inflection and coordinating suffixes of a Finno-Ugric-inspired language. Sigh.
I really should study for exams.
T minus 14 days until departure!
Jó éjszakát (Goodnight) <------ don't ask me to say this. too soon.
:) emily
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