Sunday, December 14, 2008
Saying Goodbye to Budapest, the end of the Semester
Well, I am in a tricky spot right now. It is Dec. 14 and tomorrow I will be leaving Budapest to return home. I have tried to catch you all up what I have been doing while I have been here, but still have come short. My previous entries are not nearly as in depth as my others, but I guess, if you want to know more, just ask me when I am back. I also cannot recall entirely what happened at the end of November. On the 27th we did have a Thanksgiving Dinner and even invited some Hungarian friends over to celebrate with us. It turned out pretty good for being in a different country. I made the green bean casserole and other people pitched in to make things also. We had corn, pumpkin pie, a great apple dish, some turkey breast, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, wine, palinka, and stuffing. It was a good turn out. The beginning of December was fun and crazy at the same time. I visited the Museum of Fine Arts with my art history class one last time. Claire and I ventured to Salzburg, Austria from Wednesday until Saturday. While we were there we went on a Sound of Music tour, because it was filmed here, went to the fortress, saw where Mozart was born and where he lived later in life, saw some Hapsburg palaces, went to many Christmas markets, had some more traditional Austrian food, and saw a St. Nicholas day parade willed with St. Nicholas and these scary creatures called krampusse. That parade was one of the scariest things I have experienced. If you would like to hear more about it, feel free to ask me, it is a story told much better in person than through words anyways. : ) So our exams were on the Monday following our trip so on our way there and back (six hours each way) we were studying, I was focusing only on art history. Sunday was filled with more studying along with extra credit work for art history, and some work on my take-home poli-sci final exam. Monday was a tough day. I had my Holocaust lit exam at 10 which was a paper and some brief questioning on the readings we have done through the semester. At 6 I had my art history exam which went better than thought mainly because the final section where we have to analyze a painting was the same painting that I had chosen to analyze for my extra credit paper. And then my take-home exam for poli-sci was due by 11:30pm that night. It was a relief to get all 3 of my exams with over with on the same day, but it was a little stressful at the same time, but I shouldn’t complain, I could have bee taking exams at Calvin-that would have been much worse. On Tuesday we had our closing dinner at a restaurant and after that a small group of us and Mar and Cor went to a bar for beer towers. The towers were basically transportable taps. It was here that I tried my first honey ginger beer. Wednesday there was a Christmas/farewell party for us at Karoli Gaspar College and I got my Holocaust lit exam back from my professor. It was also our final dinner at our prof’s house and the day I got my art history exam back because my art history prof stopped by for dinner. After dinner a large group of us including Mar and Cor went to a bar where I and others tried some Absinthe. Let me just tell you, it is not hallucinogenic anymore but it makes your pupils look funny-one gets dilated and the other does not. It is really cool to see the servers prep the drink too. It involves sugar and fire, so how could that not be cool. I also learned that Absinthe comes in many different types and colors. Now I didn’t get a full shot, I just tried some of other people’s, but I can tell you, it tastes like black licorice, at least the traditional version does. Therefore it wasn’t my favorite, but I am glad I tried it. The drink I actually got at this bar was called a Virgin Lady: it was a virgin drink with pineapple juice, cream, black currant juice, and something else. It was much tastier than the absinthe. Haha Well, as for the rest of my time here in Budapest, I have been to the Christmas market multiple times, I have walked up Gellert Hill, ridden on some fun slides, hung out with some people in our group, walked across the Chain Bridge again, been to Central market again, visited the Great Synagogue (the largest in the world), saw a famous statue called the Little Princess, visited some shops again, and have tried to enjoy my last few days here as much as possible. I have taken lots of pictures while I have been here and have some stories to tell you all when I get home. I have tried to take in every experience, good and bad, while I have been here. I have learned a lot about Hungary and even some more things about myself. I have enjoyed my time here in Hungary very much and am very grateful that I was given the opportunity to study here for a semester. I have met some interesting people and have made some more friends. I have gotten to travel to a lot of great places that I would not have thought to go to and have gotten to experience a side of Europe that has been through a lot of challenges. Overall, I have had a great time and have mixed opinions on coming home. My time here has flown by and it is hard to believe that in 7 hours I will be on my way to the airport to come home again. While I have enjoyed my time here, I am also looking forward to coming home to see you all again and to tell you and show you pictures of my great expedition. I never thought I would ever go on a semester abroad, but I am so glad that I did. So, in other words, thanks for supporting my decision to study abroad for a semester, thanks for reading my blog, and I will see you soon!
Late November
November 17-23. Monday and Tuesday were pretty normal. Holocaust Lit at 10, Culture class at 1, and Art History at 6 and then Poli-Sci at 6:30 respectively. Wednesday was dinner at Cor and Mar’s as usual except this week we had tacos and a guest! Our guest was Szabolcs, who was a friend of Robbie, a tour guide on 2 previous group trips. It was nice getting to know a little about him because Thursday through Sunday he joined half of our group as we ventured to Croatia with Robbie and Janos. Only half of our group went on this trip because the other half, including Corwin and Marilyn, went the previous week. So, 9 of us ventured to Croatia where we experienced lots of new things. While we were there we planted trees, watched the musical movie Hair-which I am a big fan of, visited a museum to learn about the Turks invasion in Hungary, saw slideshows of the regions we were visiting, played with Hungarian/Croatian kids, saw monuments and churches, saw a trashed Hungarian museum, learned about mine fields, learned about Yugoslavia and the war of the 90s, ate the traditional fish soup of the region, ate chicken gizzards, ate a venison soup, and drank and talked with some local Hungarian-Croatians. It was a very busy 4 days, but it was also one of the best trips I have been on.
Brief week description involving Vienna
November 10-16. Monday I had my normal classes except we went to Central European University to hear a lecture by one of the professors there. It was interesting to see another college in Budapest, even though we have seen 3 already, but we did find out that this one was more Americanized than the ones we attend. Tuesday for culture class we went to a Philharmonic Orchestra Concert at the Opera house. It was pretty cool to listen to and to see all of the instruments. If I can recall correctly I believe they played some Mozart and Beethoven and someone else that I forget at the moment. Then Bree, Stephanie, and I left for Vienna the next day where we stayed until Friday. We took a train to get there and it took about 3 hours. When we got there we checked into our really cool hostel and then walked around the city at night to scope out what we wanted to do over the next few days. While we were there we saw some Hapsburg palaces, some great art by Gustav Klimt and others, checked out some cool shops, ate some good food-traditional Austrian food and other types, saw some traditional Austrian clothing, took a tour of the Opera House, and saw where Mozart lived when he was in Vienna. We probably did other things, but I cannot recall them at the moment. Saturday and Sunday were spent catching up on homework and resting up from our busy week.
Mid November
Let me try to catch you all up on the week of November 3-9. Monday was class as usual, but Tuesday was Election Day in the States. Ladies and Gentlemen, I got to vote in my first Presidential election, while overseas. It was great; I request my Absentee Ballot while here and then mailed it in. I thought about turning it in to the U.S. Embassy here, but in the end, I chickened out and just mailed it. It was too intimidating for me, and yes, I realize that sounds a little ridiculous, but it is the truth. Well, anyways, on election day my professor and his wife had a party at their place from 12 am to 3 am. This is of course due to the time difference. Well, we didn’t really find out any results, but it was fun none the less and I learned more about the US election process because my professor is a Political Science prof. Wednesday, it was back to my prof’s house for our group dinners, Thursday wasn’t particularly interesting, and then it was Friday. My friend Breanna and I went to the Budapest Zoo! It was so cool and actually very large with a lot of animals. They had it set up like most zoos grouping animals from specific regions of the world together and even had a Hungarian farm setting with wild Hungarian dogs! After the zoo we went to a restaurant across the street called Robinsons for a late lunch. The restaurant was particularly cool because it was in city park and it floats in the pond there! It was really cool and in a very relaxing and enjoyable setting. After that we went to Gloria jeans for some coffee and then called it a day. Saturday, Bree and I hung out again and went to the Museum of Fine Arts. I had been there once before but did not get to check out the whole museum because it was a class trip for my art history class. So this time I got to check out an Egyptian exhibit and a Ferdinand Hodler exhibit. It was pretty cool, but the museum was so large that it was a bit of art overload, even for me. Then on Sunday our group was invited over to a family’s house for dinner. This was an American family that recently moved to Budapest because of the father’s job in the military; he is a fighter pilot. They have 2 girls, twins, who go to Calvin College, and in fact one of them was in my computer class and the other one lived on my floor freshman year, so I actually knew them a bit. Well, they had had us over earlier in the semester when their daughters were there, but they asked us over again, so we went and had chili for dinner. It was pretty cool to learn more about the family and all of their travels, and the chili was great as well.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
My trip to the Ukraine, which expanded my brain
Now time to catch you up on the week of Oct. 27th. Monday was relatively boring, and Tuesday I got to register for my classes for interim and spring semester at 8 am our time (which was 2 am at home). I got all the classes I wanted, and later found out that my old roomie, Solita, is going to be in the same interim as me! How cool is that?! We didn’t even really plan it. Later that day I had my poli-sci mid-term. It went relatively well, for being the first poli-sci exam I had ever taken.
I’ll fast forward to Thursday now and tell you about my class trip to the Ukraine. We went as a group with our prof and his wife with the same tour guides that took us to Romania, so…we got to ride in the awesome VW vans again! This time one of the guides drove some students and the rest of us took a train to a city in Hungary closer to the Ukraine border to meet up with the other guides. We all managed to get there; some more stressed than others, and then boarded our vans to see some sights. This time the other guide, David, had returned from Canada to accompany us, so a student didn’t have to drive. We then set off to see a church where the famous Transylvanian prince Rakotzi was buried. (That may be the incorrect spelling; Hungarian names are so difficult for me to spell!). Then we drove through the Tokaj wine region to get to the restaurant where we were having lunch. Lunch was started with a warm fruit soup that was not particularly my favorite, and we found out later that is should have technically been served cold, which would have maybe made it a little better. We had other things for lunch too, but none as strange as the fruit soup. After eating, we went back to the wine region for wine tasting. We had to go under the ground into a special wine storage place that used to belong to a Transylvanian prince. Mold was located all over the walls and was used in the special processing of the wine. We got to try 3 different types of wine, a dry white, a semi-sweet rose, and a sweet red. In my opinion the dry white was the best, but everyone had differing opinions on their favorite. We then went next door to a museum on a Christian college and also visited its library. It was a decent museum, but nothing too exciting.
Then it was off to the place where we were staying for the night to check in and drop off our stuff. I stayed in a very large room with 8 other girls that was so cold! We tried to turn the heater up before we left again so the room would warm up, but came back to find that it hadn’t. Then it was off to the restaurant again for dinner. After dinner we came back and watched some homemade movies on the Ukraine that were made by the company our tour guides worked for. They were very informative and also a bit of a preview to what we would be seeing the next day, which was helpful. Then, because we were all so tired, we went to bed that night at 9pm! Because the room was so cold, many of us slept in sweatshirts and I even slept in my gloves.
The next day (Halloween) we awoke, packed everything up, and headed for the Ukraine border. (I got another stamp in my passport!) Our first stop was to visit a gypsy church congregation, one that we had seen in the videos from the night before. We got to see some a church service and then walked around the gypsy compound. This tour of gypsy village was so indescribable. It was a bind blowing experience! There were just dirt and mud roads through the village with houses upon houses in very bad decay; some didn’t even have much of a roof. There was junk and trash everywhere that was meant to be burned for warmth. There were many random dogs and a few cats roaming around the village and every now and again you might see a horse, but that was rare. There were random water pumps around where the people could get clean water, but many of them were broken because the kids would just hang on them, or they were just left running, so big mud pits surrounded the pumps.
There were tons of kids that came out to walk around with us, many held our hands and tried to talk with us. We did the best we could with what little Hungarian we knew, usually we just asked what their ages and names were. Many of these gypsy kids looked similar in their physical appearance, dark skin, dark eyes, dark hair, but there were some slight variations. These kids were very friendly, but the poor things didn’t have very much clothing. Many were walking around with out shoes, and there was tons of broken glass and sharp metal objects in the roads. Some of the toddlers didn’t have pants on, and many of the children had dyed red hair. This was super strange to all of us, but one of our guides, Robbie, told us that it is their way to feel a part of the modern world, a way for them to look like the celebrities.
As we walked through the village, we got some friendly smiles and some disapproving glares. Some adults came up and begged us for money, but we were told not to give them anything, or we would get swarmed. We were also told not to take pictures by our guide David, because it only makes the gypsies feel that much more awkward. I mean they already had some tourist group traipsing through their village, then for us to go and take pictures would just be too much of an invasion of their privacy. After we walked through their village a bit we were told to go back to the church area and many students began playing with the children. Here we took some pictures of the kids, and had some fun with them. It was truly unbelievable the conditions that these people were living in and an experience that I will never forget.
After our visit, we headed to our lodging to drop off our things. We stayed in a newly constructed retirement home that was not yet open for permanent residents. It was such a nice place! There were only 2 people to a room and we had actual beds. The place was heated and best of all, our room had a door! This is something I thoroughly enjoyed, because like I have said previously, my room in Budapest lacks a door. We ate dinner here and got to visit the local grocery store, which was fun. I got to see lots of the Ukrainian alphabet, which is similar to Russian because it uses lots of weird symbols. (I forget the correct term for which this writing is called.) After dinner we watched more homemade movies and saw the old town square of the town we were staying in. Then it was off to bed.
The next day, after breakfast, we headed off to a cemetery to see the locals celebrating All Saint’s Day. We saw some graves of military personnel and regular people. There were so many fresh-cut flowers and candles being put out in various patterns and designs by the living for their lost loved ones. Many of the sites were being swept and various plants were being pruned to make the graves look better. We saw various types of headstones; some had pictures, some just words. It was cool to see, but I felt pretty awkward being there because we had no real purpose in being there. It felt like we were disrespecting the traditions of the locals, by parading through the cemetery of their lost loved ones, but luckily we didn’t stay there long, so I didn’t have to feel too uncomfortable.
We drove back to the square where we went the night before and saw it in the daylight and visited a crappy market that just sold everyday and pre-packaged goods. Nothing too exciting again, but afterwards we went to have lunch with the pastor from the gypsy church, his wife, and some girls our age from another church community. The pastor is not a gypsy, but preaches to the gypsy community along with another Ukrainian one. They were so nice to us all, and served us goulash soup for lunch. Goulash is a dish that I have come to really enjoy while on this semester. They also shared some of their homemade palinka, which I tried only a sip of. Oh m gosh was it strong! It was flavorless, but tasted like acetone and burned from the minute it touched your lips. My sip made my lips, gums, tongue, and throat burn for a few minutes after sipping it. It was crazy strong; the strongest I have ever had! But, it was pretty funny just watching people take sips of it to see their reactions. Haha. After our meal we headed to a Ukrainian children’s hospital to visit some abandoned children, most of which were gypsies. This was another moment I will never forget. There were maybe 7 babies there ranging from about 6months old to 3 years old. The 3 year old, a girl, we learned was brought in recently after having been badly beaten by her father. She was so small and did not seem developmentally to be a 3 year old, yet she was so smiley. The others also had various problems, developmentally and superficially, like cross eyes, skin conditions, etc. It was so sad to see that these little babies were unwanted and we learned that they would most likely have to remain in the hospital for some time until the government declared them to be orphans. Then they would get sent to an orphanage to live and maybe get a chance to be adopted. It was interesting to see the students interact with the babies, and I even saw our professor hold one. I was resistant at first to hold one, but eventually did and formed a tie with a baby boy that had the name Bogart. I liked to think of him as Humphrey, for Humphrey Bogart. He was an older baby, with some obvious developmental problems. He had crossed eyes, jerky body movements, and an uneven breathing pattern that was very raspy sounding. He was so cute though! We played peak-a-boo and other games until I had to leave him. It was sad to know that he would probably have a life full of governmental institutions and no real parents to love and care for him.
After our touching baby experience, we returned to the retirement center for dinner and a group game followed by a showing of the famous Hungarian cult classic movie, the Witness. It was a great film about the ridiculousness of communism portrayed through the events of a common man’s life. I would definitely recommend seeing it, if you can find it anywhere.
Sunday was our last day of travel, so we got ready and departed the retirement home to go to a traditional Ukrainian church service. We didn’t stay for the whole thing, as they were serving communion, so instead we drove to another gypsy village near by to see a church which bears a bell that was funded by a previous Calvin group that came to Hungary. While there we were greeted by more gypsy children, which were more diverse in appearance than the last group we saw. Some of the children had dark skin and hair with light eyes; others had light skin, hair, and eyes. It was surprising to see. After a sufficient time of playing, we departed and headed off to see a castle on a hill and then paid a visit to an elderly woman that makes embroideries and rugs from old pieces of clothing. She was maybe in her early to mid 80s and had many options of rugs and embroideries for us to buy. Unfortunately, I was one of the last to get in to buy anything, so a lot of stuff was already picked over, but I did end up with a nice embroidery. We then left to head back to Hungary and some of us had to again take the train back to Budapest; I was one of these people. There was some confusion on train schedules so we ended up having to take the slow train back, which took 6 hours, but we eventually made it back.
It was great getting to visit the Ukraine. I saw so many things and learned so much more about the gypsies. I guess I had a general idea of their living conditions, but never imagined them to be a poor as they actually were. It was nice to get to visit with an organization that was actually doing something about the gypsy’s living conditions, but we learned that there is so much more that needs to be done. They are lacking so much in political and social recognition. I had a truly eye opening trip.
I’ll fast forward to Thursday now and tell you about my class trip to the Ukraine. We went as a group with our prof and his wife with the same tour guides that took us to Romania, so…we got to ride in the awesome VW vans again! This time one of the guides drove some students and the rest of us took a train to a city in Hungary closer to the Ukraine border to meet up with the other guides. We all managed to get there; some more stressed than others, and then boarded our vans to see some sights. This time the other guide, David, had returned from Canada to accompany us, so a student didn’t have to drive. We then set off to see a church where the famous Transylvanian prince Rakotzi was buried. (That may be the incorrect spelling; Hungarian names are so difficult for me to spell!). Then we drove through the Tokaj wine region to get to the restaurant where we were having lunch. Lunch was started with a warm fruit soup that was not particularly my favorite, and we found out later that is should have technically been served cold, which would have maybe made it a little better. We had other things for lunch too, but none as strange as the fruit soup. After eating, we went back to the wine region for wine tasting. We had to go under the ground into a special wine storage place that used to belong to a Transylvanian prince. Mold was located all over the walls and was used in the special processing of the wine. We got to try 3 different types of wine, a dry white, a semi-sweet rose, and a sweet red. In my opinion the dry white was the best, but everyone had differing opinions on their favorite. We then went next door to a museum on a Christian college and also visited its library. It was a decent museum, but nothing too exciting.
Then it was off to the place where we were staying for the night to check in and drop off our stuff. I stayed in a very large room with 8 other girls that was so cold! We tried to turn the heater up before we left again so the room would warm up, but came back to find that it hadn’t. Then it was off to the restaurant again for dinner. After dinner we came back and watched some homemade movies on the Ukraine that were made by the company our tour guides worked for. They were very informative and also a bit of a preview to what we would be seeing the next day, which was helpful. Then, because we were all so tired, we went to bed that night at 9pm! Because the room was so cold, many of us slept in sweatshirts and I even slept in my gloves.
The next day (Halloween) we awoke, packed everything up, and headed for the Ukraine border. (I got another stamp in my passport!) Our first stop was to visit a gypsy church congregation, one that we had seen in the videos from the night before. We got to see some a church service and then walked around the gypsy compound. This tour of gypsy village was so indescribable. It was a bind blowing experience! There were just dirt and mud roads through the village with houses upon houses in very bad decay; some didn’t even have much of a roof. There was junk and trash everywhere that was meant to be burned for warmth. There were many random dogs and a few cats roaming around the village and every now and again you might see a horse, but that was rare. There were random water pumps around where the people could get clean water, but many of them were broken because the kids would just hang on them, or they were just left running, so big mud pits surrounded the pumps.
There were tons of kids that came out to walk around with us, many held our hands and tried to talk with us. We did the best we could with what little Hungarian we knew, usually we just asked what their ages and names were. Many of these gypsy kids looked similar in their physical appearance, dark skin, dark eyes, dark hair, but there were some slight variations. These kids were very friendly, but the poor things didn’t have very much clothing. Many were walking around with out shoes, and there was tons of broken glass and sharp metal objects in the roads. Some of the toddlers didn’t have pants on, and many of the children had dyed red hair. This was super strange to all of us, but one of our guides, Robbie, told us that it is their way to feel a part of the modern world, a way for them to look like the celebrities.
As we walked through the village, we got some friendly smiles and some disapproving glares. Some adults came up and begged us for money, but we were told not to give them anything, or we would get swarmed. We were also told not to take pictures by our guide David, because it only makes the gypsies feel that much more awkward. I mean they already had some tourist group traipsing through their village, then for us to go and take pictures would just be too much of an invasion of their privacy. After we walked through their village a bit we were told to go back to the church area and many students began playing with the children. Here we took some pictures of the kids, and had some fun with them. It was truly unbelievable the conditions that these people were living in and an experience that I will never forget.
After our visit, we headed to our lodging to drop off our things. We stayed in a newly constructed retirement home that was not yet open for permanent residents. It was such a nice place! There were only 2 people to a room and we had actual beds. The place was heated and best of all, our room had a door! This is something I thoroughly enjoyed, because like I have said previously, my room in Budapest lacks a door. We ate dinner here and got to visit the local grocery store, which was fun. I got to see lots of the Ukrainian alphabet, which is similar to Russian because it uses lots of weird symbols. (I forget the correct term for which this writing is called.) After dinner we watched more homemade movies and saw the old town square of the town we were staying in. Then it was off to bed.
The next day, after breakfast, we headed off to a cemetery to see the locals celebrating All Saint’s Day. We saw some graves of military personnel and regular people. There were so many fresh-cut flowers and candles being put out in various patterns and designs by the living for their lost loved ones. Many of the sites were being swept and various plants were being pruned to make the graves look better. We saw various types of headstones; some had pictures, some just words. It was cool to see, but I felt pretty awkward being there because we had no real purpose in being there. It felt like we were disrespecting the traditions of the locals, by parading through the cemetery of their lost loved ones, but luckily we didn’t stay there long, so I didn’t have to feel too uncomfortable.
We drove back to the square where we went the night before and saw it in the daylight and visited a crappy market that just sold everyday and pre-packaged goods. Nothing too exciting again, but afterwards we went to have lunch with the pastor from the gypsy church, his wife, and some girls our age from another church community. The pastor is not a gypsy, but preaches to the gypsy community along with another Ukrainian one. They were so nice to us all, and served us goulash soup for lunch. Goulash is a dish that I have come to really enjoy while on this semester. They also shared some of their homemade palinka, which I tried only a sip of. Oh m gosh was it strong! It was flavorless, but tasted like acetone and burned from the minute it touched your lips. My sip made my lips, gums, tongue, and throat burn for a few minutes after sipping it. It was crazy strong; the strongest I have ever had! But, it was pretty funny just watching people take sips of it to see their reactions. Haha. After our meal we headed to a Ukrainian children’s hospital to visit some abandoned children, most of which were gypsies. This was another moment I will never forget. There were maybe 7 babies there ranging from about 6months old to 3 years old. The 3 year old, a girl, we learned was brought in recently after having been badly beaten by her father. She was so small and did not seem developmentally to be a 3 year old, yet she was so smiley. The others also had various problems, developmentally and superficially, like cross eyes, skin conditions, etc. It was so sad to see that these little babies were unwanted and we learned that they would most likely have to remain in the hospital for some time until the government declared them to be orphans. Then they would get sent to an orphanage to live and maybe get a chance to be adopted. It was interesting to see the students interact with the babies, and I even saw our professor hold one. I was resistant at first to hold one, but eventually did and formed a tie with a baby boy that had the name Bogart. I liked to think of him as Humphrey, for Humphrey Bogart. He was an older baby, with some obvious developmental problems. He had crossed eyes, jerky body movements, and an uneven breathing pattern that was very raspy sounding. He was so cute though! We played peak-a-boo and other games until I had to leave him. It was sad to know that he would probably have a life full of governmental institutions and no real parents to love and care for him.
After our touching baby experience, we returned to the retirement center for dinner and a group game followed by a showing of the famous Hungarian cult classic movie, the Witness. It was a great film about the ridiculousness of communism portrayed through the events of a common man’s life. I would definitely recommend seeing it, if you can find it anywhere.
Sunday was our last day of travel, so we got ready and departed the retirement home to go to a traditional Ukrainian church service. We didn’t stay for the whole thing, as they were serving communion, so instead we drove to another gypsy village near by to see a church which bears a bell that was funded by a previous Calvin group that came to Hungary. While there we were greeted by more gypsy children, which were more diverse in appearance than the last group we saw. Some of the children had dark skin and hair with light eyes; others had light skin, hair, and eyes. It was surprising to see. After a sufficient time of playing, we departed and headed off to see a castle on a hill and then paid a visit to an elderly woman that makes embroideries and rugs from old pieces of clothing. She was maybe in her early to mid 80s and had many options of rugs and embroideries for us to buy. Unfortunately, I was one of the last to get in to buy anything, so a lot of stuff was already picked over, but I did end up with a nice embroidery. We then left to head back to Hungary and some of us had to again take the train back to Budapest; I was one of these people. There was some confusion on train schedules so we ended up having to take the slow train back, which took 6 hours, but we eventually made it back.
It was great getting to visit the Ukraine. I saw so many things and learned so much more about the gypsies. I guess I had a general idea of their living conditions, but never imagined them to be a poor as they actually were. It was nice to get to visit with an organization that was actually doing something about the gypsy’s living conditions, but we learned that there is so much more that needs to be done. They are lacking so much in political and social recognition. I had a truly eye opening trip.
Monday, November 17, 2008
An eventful time
So, this is now time to catch up on the week of Oct. 13th until the 26th. This first week, all of our classes taught by our Calvin prof. were cancelled because he ventured back to America for some meeting, so it was just the students and his wife, Marilyn, in Budapest. My art history class was also cancelled, so I only had my Holocaust Lit class. It was pretty great. Many students went on extended vacations, so the apartment was pretty empty as well. At one point, it was just me and my friend Catherine that were left in the dorm and this lasted for a few days. I didn’t travel anywhere on this extended break because I was expecting a visitor, my last roomie from Calvin, Solita was coming to visit me on Thursday!
On Wednesday nights, my prof. and his wife usually have dinners for the students, usually a soup and some bread. Well, because Corwin, my prof., was away, along with many other students, just Catherine, Marylin, and I had soup together. It was very nice and I got to know them both a little better during this time. Plus, because of the small group, we got more special food. We had some great corn chowder, cheesy bread rolls, and even dessert! Marilyn went all out and we even got to take some leftovers home, but I never got to eat them, but that’s ok.
Then, on Thursday, Solita arrived to visit me for 10 days! She is doing a semester abroad program in Romania, so since we were in such close proximity and she had a big break, she decided to come spend her time with me in Budapest. J Our first few days together were rather uneventful. I took her to see some sights like our big grocery store, Auchan, but most of the time was spent doing homework, going to class, or studying for my art history exam, which was on the 20th. On the 22nd, Solita and I had a pretty busy day. Solita and I, along with another girl on the trip, went to the big central market for a bit and then we went to a pretty well known Mexican restaurant called Iguana for lunch. It was decent, probably the best Mexican food they have in Hungary, but Solita and I had made chicken tacos a few nights before and we decided that ours were much better. It was nice to go though. Afterwards, my friend Bree split and Solita and I ventured off to City Park for a bit and also to the Szechenyi baths. It was a pretty interesting experience filled with warm, supposedly healing waters, many old men in speedos, and a super hot sauna. The sauna was so warm that when you released a breath, the air coming out of your body was colder than the air going into it. It created a weird internal feeling that was indescribable. The baths were pretty nice though. There were 3 different pools, one was very warm the middle one was like a swimming pool and relatively similar in temperature, and the last was in between temperatures. We entered the very warm one first, unaware of the difference in temperatures and left the pool having difficulty moving due to feeling super heavy. Then we entered the middle and coldest pool. Brrr. So we quickly left and went to the final pool where there was a fun whirlpool. It was definitely a European, cultural experience.
After the baths, we decided on a whim to go see if we could get opera tickets, even though we were not dressed to attend an opera, were tired, and were still a little soggy from the baths. We ended up getting tickets, but because they were the cheap seats and on the upper level of the opera it wasn’t as bad not to be dressed up. We saw the play Tosca, which at the time was not very exciting, since neither of us had heard of it, but since seeing it, it has come up in discussions often, so I am glad I have gotten to see it. It is a tragic love story, between an artist and a woman and some political figure. I believe it was in Italian, but there was a translation screen that translated the lyrics into Hungarian. Too bad I couldn’t understand that much either! Haha. It was interesting to see though, and the Opera house was beautiful!
On Thursday, we traveled to Prague by train. This was a quickly planned, spur of the moment trip, but I really wanted to see Prague and I don’t think Solita minded getting out of my apartment for a while. The train trip took around 6 and a half to 7 hours to get there, and it left at 5:30 in the morning! We had to get up and get ready so early; even public transportation wasn’t running yet, so we had to take a taxi to get to the train station. I hadn’t gotten to bed until about 3 in the morning before we left, so I mainly slept my way to Prague. Solita had gotten a little more sleep than me, but she slept on the train too. When we arrived, we hopped on some public transportation and checked into our hostel, dropped off our stuff, and went out t o see the town. We walked around the Old Town Square, saw a famous astrological clock, went into a Mucha Museum which was pretty cool (he is the artist that designed some cigarette wrappers, I forget for whih company) and I got some Starbucks coffee to help keep myself awake. (Yes, they had Starbucks!!) It was pretty chilly in Prague, but I luckily brought a few layers to help keep me warm, since I was stubborn and didn’t bring my winter coat.
We saw a little grocery store called IHOG: International House Of Groceries, which had a lot of American brand treats like stove top stuffing, candy bars, apple jacks cereal, etc. I thought about buying something, but the stuff was so expensive, I decided I could go a little longer without having a special American treat since I have made it this long. Next door was a cool restaurant called Red, Hot, & Blues that featured more American cuisine and a performance nightly or either rock, jazz, or blues. This is where we had dinner, and I think there are some of these restaurants in America as well. I had a great chili that was so spicy, Solita had some tortilla soup, and we both got to watch a guy play some blues on the piano and his harmonica. It was a pretty nice way to start our trip. We both agreed over dinner that Prague felt so Western in comparison to Hungary and Romania, which we later heard a differing opinion that made us chuckle. After dinner, we were whipped, so we headed to bed at 9 pm! I know, I know, you can’t believe it, but it’s true. We were both out like lights as soon as our heads hit our pillows. I only woke a bit when 2 more people checked into our 8 person room, but fell back asleep right away.
When we woke in the morning, so did 2 of our other roomies and so we talked a bit with them. They were American students studying abroad in Spain and were very friendly. After that we got our breakfast and hit the sights. We saw some of the Jewish district, saw something Christmas being filmed, saw the river and the bridges, saw some of the castle from a far, and visited some shops. Then Solita and I had some lunch at a place called Bohemian Bagel. It was nice to have a bagel again and the food was pretty affordable, it tasted good, and we got free refills!!!!! Then we ventured around some more, saw a Hare Krishna parade that reminded me of George Harrison and the movie Across the Universe, and ran into a Calvin Alum. (We were both wearing Calvin sweatshirts and I got a picture with him, what are the chances?!) We got to see the once Lenin wall, now Lennon wall which is filled with Beatles lyrics, images of John Lennon, and other peace images. Many people have signed the wall, and I found a few Ohioans that signed the wall and drew a Brutus, so naturally I signed my name near them and of course took many pictures. It was so cool and right up my alley! : )
Afterwards I got to do something that I had hoped I would get to do, but didn’t know if would actually happen or not….I got to meet up with my friend Colleen!!!!! She is studying this semester in Luxemburg and made the long trip to the Czech Republic with a friend. We met up in the evening and went to an Irish pub to talk and have a drink. There I tried my first hot wine, which was pretty good, but odd because it also had orange slices and raisins in it. I got to introduce Colleen to my old roomie Solita and she introduced me to her friend Ryan. It was a pretty great time, even though it didn’t last too long. We got to catch up a bit on each other’s semester and all the places we have travelled too. I even got to hear Colleen’s impression of Prague. This is where you can tell that I have been in Eastern Europe more and she has been in Western Europe more, because she said they could tell instantly after crossing the border from Germany into the Czech Republic that they were in Eastern Europe. This floored Solita and me because we had already remarked how Western Prague was. I mean, it even had some Starbucks stores! You can’t find any of those past Vienna. Haha. Well, it was great to get to see Colleen again, but unfortunately we couldn’t hang out too long, for Solita and I had tickets to a black light show. So, we said our good-byes for now and exchanged excitement over seeing each other when we get back to the states.
So, Solita and I headed off to see our black light show called Cats, but quickly learned it was more about the cats of Prague rather than the Broadway musical. It was so funny to watch because it combined people in cat costumes, hand puppets of cats, poorly translated and heavily accented English music that was lip sung, and of course black lights. It was great to see just for fun, but I probably wouldn’t want to watch it again. Solita and I were the only ones laughing during the show, which was awkward, but great nonetheless. After the show we headed back to the hostel and went to bed.
The next day was our day to leave. We got ready, checked out of the hostel and went to spend our last bit of time in Prague by hanging out at the Starbucks drinking coffee and playing cards. It was a great way to kill some time. In total I went to Starbucks like 4 times on our trip, 2 times for caffeine and 2 times to warm up with a hot chocolate. It was so nice to have a reminder of home so close by! We got on the train and made the voyage back to Budapest. I did some homework and Solita read and listened to her ipod. At one point a guy from Turkey came over and started talking to Solita and I about traveling and colleges. It was interesting to listen to, but very distracting when I was trying to do homework, oh well. It got done.
Then we arrived in Budapest and made our way back to my dorm. After living off of lots of peanut butter for some meals, we fixed some French toast for ourselves and watched a movie that night. It was our last night together in Budapest, for the next day was Sunday the 26th and Solita had to leave, unfortunately. That night, daylight savings time occurred, which was so weird, because I always thought Daylight Savings Time occurred the same day it does in America, but I was obviously incorrect in that thinking. Luckily I had heard about this change for Solita’s travel sake. On Sunday we woke up, had a brunch together, and then Solita started packing. She left in the afternoon to head to Cluj Romania and I resumed my normal life in Budapest. It was great to have a friendly, familiar face around for a while, especially because we were both getting a little homesick. I had a great time bumming around with Solita and was blown away that I got to see Colleen too! A two for one kind of deal! What more could a girl ask for? : )
On Wednesday nights, my prof. and his wife usually have dinners for the students, usually a soup and some bread. Well, because Corwin, my prof., was away, along with many other students, just Catherine, Marylin, and I had soup together. It was very nice and I got to know them both a little better during this time. Plus, because of the small group, we got more special food. We had some great corn chowder, cheesy bread rolls, and even dessert! Marilyn went all out and we even got to take some leftovers home, but I never got to eat them, but that’s ok.
Then, on Thursday, Solita arrived to visit me for 10 days! She is doing a semester abroad program in Romania, so since we were in such close proximity and she had a big break, she decided to come spend her time with me in Budapest. J Our first few days together were rather uneventful. I took her to see some sights like our big grocery store, Auchan, but most of the time was spent doing homework, going to class, or studying for my art history exam, which was on the 20th. On the 22nd, Solita and I had a pretty busy day. Solita and I, along with another girl on the trip, went to the big central market for a bit and then we went to a pretty well known Mexican restaurant called Iguana for lunch. It was decent, probably the best Mexican food they have in Hungary, but Solita and I had made chicken tacos a few nights before and we decided that ours were much better. It was nice to go though. Afterwards, my friend Bree split and Solita and I ventured off to City Park for a bit and also to the Szechenyi baths. It was a pretty interesting experience filled with warm, supposedly healing waters, many old men in speedos, and a super hot sauna. The sauna was so warm that when you released a breath, the air coming out of your body was colder than the air going into it. It created a weird internal feeling that was indescribable. The baths were pretty nice though. There were 3 different pools, one was very warm the middle one was like a swimming pool and relatively similar in temperature, and the last was in between temperatures. We entered the very warm one first, unaware of the difference in temperatures and left the pool having difficulty moving due to feeling super heavy. Then we entered the middle and coldest pool. Brrr. So we quickly left and went to the final pool where there was a fun whirlpool. It was definitely a European, cultural experience.
After the baths, we decided on a whim to go see if we could get opera tickets, even though we were not dressed to attend an opera, were tired, and were still a little soggy from the baths. We ended up getting tickets, but because they were the cheap seats and on the upper level of the opera it wasn’t as bad not to be dressed up. We saw the play Tosca, which at the time was not very exciting, since neither of us had heard of it, but since seeing it, it has come up in discussions often, so I am glad I have gotten to see it. It is a tragic love story, between an artist and a woman and some political figure. I believe it was in Italian, but there was a translation screen that translated the lyrics into Hungarian. Too bad I couldn’t understand that much either! Haha. It was interesting to see though, and the Opera house was beautiful!
On Thursday, we traveled to Prague by train. This was a quickly planned, spur of the moment trip, but I really wanted to see Prague and I don’t think Solita minded getting out of my apartment for a while. The train trip took around 6 and a half to 7 hours to get there, and it left at 5:30 in the morning! We had to get up and get ready so early; even public transportation wasn’t running yet, so we had to take a taxi to get to the train station. I hadn’t gotten to bed until about 3 in the morning before we left, so I mainly slept my way to Prague. Solita had gotten a little more sleep than me, but she slept on the train too. When we arrived, we hopped on some public transportation and checked into our hostel, dropped off our stuff, and went out t o see the town. We walked around the Old Town Square, saw a famous astrological clock, went into a Mucha Museum which was pretty cool (he is the artist that designed some cigarette wrappers, I forget for whih company) and I got some Starbucks coffee to help keep myself awake. (Yes, they had Starbucks!!) It was pretty chilly in Prague, but I luckily brought a few layers to help keep me warm, since I was stubborn and didn’t bring my winter coat.
We saw a little grocery store called IHOG: International House Of Groceries, which had a lot of American brand treats like stove top stuffing, candy bars, apple jacks cereal, etc. I thought about buying something, but the stuff was so expensive, I decided I could go a little longer without having a special American treat since I have made it this long. Next door was a cool restaurant called Red, Hot, & Blues that featured more American cuisine and a performance nightly or either rock, jazz, or blues. This is where we had dinner, and I think there are some of these restaurants in America as well. I had a great chili that was so spicy, Solita had some tortilla soup, and we both got to watch a guy play some blues on the piano and his harmonica. It was a pretty nice way to start our trip. We both agreed over dinner that Prague felt so Western in comparison to Hungary and Romania, which we later heard a differing opinion that made us chuckle. After dinner, we were whipped, so we headed to bed at 9 pm! I know, I know, you can’t believe it, but it’s true. We were both out like lights as soon as our heads hit our pillows. I only woke a bit when 2 more people checked into our 8 person room, but fell back asleep right away.
When we woke in the morning, so did 2 of our other roomies and so we talked a bit with them. They were American students studying abroad in Spain and were very friendly. After that we got our breakfast and hit the sights. We saw some of the Jewish district, saw something Christmas being filmed, saw the river and the bridges, saw some of the castle from a far, and visited some shops. Then Solita and I had some lunch at a place called Bohemian Bagel. It was nice to have a bagel again and the food was pretty affordable, it tasted good, and we got free refills!!!!! Then we ventured around some more, saw a Hare Krishna parade that reminded me of George Harrison and the movie Across the Universe, and ran into a Calvin Alum. (We were both wearing Calvin sweatshirts and I got a picture with him, what are the chances?!) We got to see the once Lenin wall, now Lennon wall which is filled with Beatles lyrics, images of John Lennon, and other peace images. Many people have signed the wall, and I found a few Ohioans that signed the wall and drew a Brutus, so naturally I signed my name near them and of course took many pictures. It was so cool and right up my alley! : )
Afterwards I got to do something that I had hoped I would get to do, but didn’t know if would actually happen or not….I got to meet up with my friend Colleen!!!!! She is studying this semester in Luxemburg and made the long trip to the Czech Republic with a friend. We met up in the evening and went to an Irish pub to talk and have a drink. There I tried my first hot wine, which was pretty good, but odd because it also had orange slices and raisins in it. I got to introduce Colleen to my old roomie Solita and she introduced me to her friend Ryan. It was a pretty great time, even though it didn’t last too long. We got to catch up a bit on each other’s semester and all the places we have travelled too. I even got to hear Colleen’s impression of Prague. This is where you can tell that I have been in Eastern Europe more and she has been in Western Europe more, because she said they could tell instantly after crossing the border from Germany into the Czech Republic that they were in Eastern Europe. This floored Solita and me because we had already remarked how Western Prague was. I mean, it even had some Starbucks stores! You can’t find any of those past Vienna. Haha. Well, it was great to get to see Colleen again, but unfortunately we couldn’t hang out too long, for Solita and I had tickets to a black light show. So, we said our good-byes for now and exchanged excitement over seeing each other when we get back to the states.
So, Solita and I headed off to see our black light show called Cats, but quickly learned it was more about the cats of Prague rather than the Broadway musical. It was so funny to watch because it combined people in cat costumes, hand puppets of cats, poorly translated and heavily accented English music that was lip sung, and of course black lights. It was great to see just for fun, but I probably wouldn’t want to watch it again. Solita and I were the only ones laughing during the show, which was awkward, but great nonetheless. After the show we headed back to the hostel and went to bed.
The next day was our day to leave. We got ready, checked out of the hostel and went to spend our last bit of time in Prague by hanging out at the Starbucks drinking coffee and playing cards. It was a great way to kill some time. In total I went to Starbucks like 4 times on our trip, 2 times for caffeine and 2 times to warm up with a hot chocolate. It was so nice to have a reminder of home so close by! We got on the train and made the voyage back to Budapest. I did some homework and Solita read and listened to her ipod. At one point a guy from Turkey came over and started talking to Solita and I about traveling and colleges. It was interesting to listen to, but very distracting when I was trying to do homework, oh well. It got done.
Then we arrived in Budapest and made our way back to my dorm. After living off of lots of peanut butter for some meals, we fixed some French toast for ourselves and watched a movie that night. It was our last night together in Budapest, for the next day was Sunday the 26th and Solita had to leave, unfortunately. That night, daylight savings time occurred, which was so weird, because I always thought Daylight Savings Time occurred the same day it does in America, but I was obviously incorrect in that thinking. Luckily I had heard about this change for Solita’s travel sake. On Sunday we woke up, had a brunch together, and then Solita started packing. She left in the afternoon to head to Cluj Romania and I resumed my normal life in Budapest. It was great to have a friendly, familiar face around for a while, especially because we were both getting a little homesick. I had a great time bumming around with Solita and was blown away that I got to see Colleen too! A two for one kind of deal! What more could a girl ask for? : )
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Off to the land of the Dancing Queen where the Winner Takes It All with Money, Money, Money
So, I am going to try to be better at keeping up with this blog. Sorry for leaving you all hanging! Let me try to catch you all up on what I have been up to for the past few weeks.
So, October 9-12 two girls and I took a trip to Stockholm, Sweden. We got into the airport pretty late in the evening only to find that we were still a little over an hour away from the city itself, so we had to take a bus from the airport to the city. After getting into the city we had to take a taxi to get to our hostel for the night, which didn’t take too long, but with these sudden, unexpected expenses, we weren’t too thrilled that night. Not to mention, by the time we reached our hostel, it was around 1:00 am. Yawn!
So, we make it to our hostel, which was actually a boat, which sounds cooler in theory than it was in actuality. We were in a small room with 12 other people in bunk beds. The room had steep stairs to get in and out of it and the bathroom and shower room were located at the top of these stairs as well. It was pretty crammed. Luckily we were only in this hostel for one night.
The next day, we woke up early, went to a coffee house for breakfast, and then made our plans for the day. We decided to go to a music museum that had student discounts on tickets and it proved to be a great decision. They had many musical instruments from countries around the world, many of which you could actually play! They had information on these instruments and also sound clips and recordings of people professionally playing these instruments. It was such a fun place to visit! They had some musical exhibitions also and one of them was for ABBA! In case you didn’t know, ABBA is from Sweden, but they don’t really have much stuff about them there. The ABBA museum is yet to open (2009).
After the museum it was late lunch time, so what better way is there to get to know Sweden than to go to T.G.I. Fridays?! Haha. I know, it was pretty ridiculous of us to eat at an American restaurant, but we were hungry, it was there, and it wasn’t too pricey considering the other restaurants. We all ordered our meals- chicken fingers, a quesadilla, and a sandwich- and the best thing we all got…..free refills! This is something that is non-existent in Eastern Europe, so you bet we took advantage of it. In the end, our meal came to a total of about 80 U.S. Dollars, just for lunch! Let me just tell you now, things in Sweden are not that cheap.
Well, after getting some energy back we walked around the city, talked to a strange man who claimed to be from the states (but he obviously wasn’t for reasons I won’t explain), and checked into our other hostel, which was so nice, it was more like a hotel! This time just the three of us had a room to ourselves. After checking in, we headed back out to take pictures of the city by night, bought some snacks at one of the million 7-Eleven’s in Stockholm (seriously, they are on every corner!), and then watched TV in our hostel. Don’t worry, we realized how ridiculous it was for us to just hangout in our hostel at night while we were in Stockholm, but let me just tell you how nice it was to watch TV in English again. It was like a breath of fresh air, even though we were watching South Park, still, it was refreshing.
The next day we got up early, walked to a special store to pick up something special for someone, and then had lunch at a fast food place called MAX. It was pretty similar to a Mc Donald’s but better and cheaper! It was much cheaper than our meal at Friday’s, so that was nice. After a recharge to our batteries, we headed off to see Old Town. There we just looked at the pretty buildings, went in a few shops, and passed some time people gazing before having to catch our bus to take us back to the airport.
Overall, the weather was on the cooler side, low to mid 50s with some cool winds. Like I said earlier, things were pretty pricey there, not only because it was Western Europe, but also because it was in the Scandinavian region. I had a nice time traveling with just a small group as opposed to our large group excursions. I also enjoyed seeing all of the waterways and beautiful people. People in Sweden dress so nicely and many of them speak English!! It was great to get out of Hungary for a few days, even if it was expensive. It was worth it and a great trip overall.
So, October 9-12 two girls and I took a trip to Stockholm, Sweden. We got into the airport pretty late in the evening only to find that we were still a little over an hour away from the city itself, so we had to take a bus from the airport to the city. After getting into the city we had to take a taxi to get to our hostel for the night, which didn’t take too long, but with these sudden, unexpected expenses, we weren’t too thrilled that night. Not to mention, by the time we reached our hostel, it was around 1:00 am. Yawn!
So, we make it to our hostel, which was actually a boat, which sounds cooler in theory than it was in actuality. We were in a small room with 12 other people in bunk beds. The room had steep stairs to get in and out of it and the bathroom and shower room were located at the top of these stairs as well. It was pretty crammed. Luckily we were only in this hostel for one night.
The next day, we woke up early, went to a coffee house for breakfast, and then made our plans for the day. We decided to go to a music museum that had student discounts on tickets and it proved to be a great decision. They had many musical instruments from countries around the world, many of which you could actually play! They had information on these instruments and also sound clips and recordings of people professionally playing these instruments. It was such a fun place to visit! They had some musical exhibitions also and one of them was for ABBA! In case you didn’t know, ABBA is from Sweden, but they don’t really have much stuff about them there. The ABBA museum is yet to open (2009).
After the museum it was late lunch time, so what better way is there to get to know Sweden than to go to T.G.I. Fridays?! Haha. I know, it was pretty ridiculous of us to eat at an American restaurant, but we were hungry, it was there, and it wasn’t too pricey considering the other restaurants. We all ordered our meals- chicken fingers, a quesadilla, and a sandwich- and the best thing we all got…..free refills! This is something that is non-existent in Eastern Europe, so you bet we took advantage of it. In the end, our meal came to a total of about 80 U.S. Dollars, just for lunch! Let me just tell you now, things in Sweden are not that cheap.
Well, after getting some energy back we walked around the city, talked to a strange man who claimed to be from the states (but he obviously wasn’t for reasons I won’t explain), and checked into our other hostel, which was so nice, it was more like a hotel! This time just the three of us had a room to ourselves. After checking in, we headed back out to take pictures of the city by night, bought some snacks at one of the million 7-Eleven’s in Stockholm (seriously, they are on every corner!), and then watched TV in our hostel. Don’t worry, we realized how ridiculous it was for us to just hangout in our hostel at night while we were in Stockholm, but let me just tell you how nice it was to watch TV in English again. It was like a breath of fresh air, even though we were watching South Park, still, it was refreshing.
The next day we got up early, walked to a special store to pick up something special for someone, and then had lunch at a fast food place called MAX. It was pretty similar to a Mc Donald’s but better and cheaper! It was much cheaper than our meal at Friday’s, so that was nice. After a recharge to our batteries, we headed off to see Old Town. There we just looked at the pretty buildings, went in a few shops, and passed some time people gazing before having to catch our bus to take us back to the airport.
Overall, the weather was on the cooler side, low to mid 50s with some cool winds. Like I said earlier, things were pretty pricey there, not only because it was Western Europe, but also because it was in the Scandinavian region. I had a nice time traveling with just a small group as opposed to our large group excursions. I also enjoyed seeing all of the waterways and beautiful people. People in Sweden dress so nicely and many of them speak English!! It was great to get out of Hungary for a few days, even if it was expensive. It was worth it and a great trip overall.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Group Trip to Krakow, Poland
I am sorry for the delay on the blog update; I hope you all will forgive me. Let me tell you about my visit to Krakow, Poland. So, we left Oct. 2nd at 6:30 in the morning (yawn!) and got back late Oct. 5th. Our group was traveling together in one bus this time, one smaller than your average Greyhound bus, but still big none the less. We had a driver that didn’t speak much English which proved to be pretty difficult for our professor at times since neither of them actually knew where we were going. In other words, good thing the bus wasn’t too big, because we did many U-turns. Haha.
We drove through Hungary and made a pit-stop in Slovakia to visit a big castle which sat high atop a stony peak. It was a pretty castle, but it had had some renovations done to it to make it more tourist friendly, which took away from its natural beauty. We had a guided tour of the place, but it was done in the Slovakian language, so none of us could understand what was going on, except we did learn that the castle was the sight of the filming of the film Nosferatu (a German movie about a Dracula like character). We trekked up and down the castle, and it was cool for a while, but we all reached a point when we just wanted to be done. So then it was off to Poland.
That night we made it to Poland, had dinner together, checked into our hostel, and called it a night. Our hostel, we found out, was actually a dormitory for college students, but it used certain rooms as guest rooms for travelers. The next day we went on a guided tour of Krakow, this time in English, in drizzly and cool weather. The weather was a bit of a let down, but the historic city of Krakow was not. It was so beautiful to see to various markets, churches, the castle, and places where Pope John Paul II lived for periods of his life. Yep, Pope John Paul II is everywhere in Krakow! We saw where he lived as Bishop and Cardinal of Krakow, and we even saw where he went to college. It was the same college that Copernicus went to for some time (he was the man who made the revelation that the planets revolve around the sun). After our tour, some girls and I went off to souvenir shop, of course, and then we headed to the old Jewish district. While we were there I wanted to go to Schindler’s factory, the factory where the actual Schindler worked and helped to save Jews from going to the concentration camps, like in the film Schindler’s list, but alas we were all wet and tired and it was just a little too far to go, so I didn’t make it there.
The next day was one I could not have prepared for, no matter how much I tried. It was the day where we visited the concentration camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Upon arrival, Auschwitz is chaotic with all the tourists walking, talking, and waiting around for tour guides. Our professor’s wife said this chaos could be intended to convey the chaos of the arrivals of the Jews to the camp. The buildings there were made of brick and had many floors. Inside those buildings there were exhibits of things left at the camps after the Nazi’s deserted near the end of WWII. We saw a case of glasses, suitcases, pots and pans, and shoes of both children and adults. Probably the most horrifying case contained the hair of the Jews of only blond or brunette color. Our guide told us this hair was collected after the people were killed in the gas chambers and was then used to make textiles that were sold to German families. He also said that some families could still own these products; that is something that really freaked me out.
Auschwitz was once a Polish soldier base before the Germans took it over and made it a concentration camp; this explains it “beauty” in comparison with Birkenau. Birkenau was more of what I was expecting in a concentration camp. It had some brick buildings and some wood buildings which were the sleeping quarters for the Jews and other minorities. The place was pretty desolate, and just like Auschwitz, was surrounded with barbed wire and guard stations. While Auschwitz had the entrance gate that said “work makes you free”, Birkenau had a large watch tower complex with an entrance path for the train tracks that led directly to the heart of the camp, near the crematoriums. While Birkenau was more what I expected, it was so much larger than I would have ever thought. From the watch tower, it seemed to go on forever. On foot, it was a 15 minute walk from the front of the camp to the back. We saw the crematoriums and went inside the living quarters. Because the weather was cool and misty, and the sky was clouded over, it was easy to get in the depressed mindset of those in the camps. The cold weather seemed to creep into our bones that much easier and we were all appreciative to be heading back to the warm bus. I know I left the camps that day wet, cold, and mentally exhausted. That evening my spirits were rejuvenated by a nap, a warm shower, and a Jewish meal.
On a lighter note, our last day in Krakow was spent exploring an old salt mine. We saw the various chambers created by the miners, learned about different mining techniques, and saw some beautiful sculptures carved by some of the miners in their free time. The sculptures were crafted so skillfully, they could have been done by a professional artist. There were elf sculptures, biblical scene reliefs of Jesus’ life, and a sculpture of Pope John Paul II. The mine contained 3 chapels for the miners, some of which are still in use today, one of which looks more like a big banquet hall instead of a chapel. After our visit to the salt mines, we headed toward the Slovakian border to a little ski town for lunch and a photo opportunity. The weather of course was beautiful, since it was the day we were leaving, but it made for a nice day of travel. We saw big hills and snow-capped mountains, color-changing trees and evergreens. After a long time on the road, we made it back to the dorms late in the evening and went to bed. It was a great trip, filled with new experiences above and below the ground. It was physically and mentally exhausting, but a great learning experience overall. I learned new disturbing facts about the Holocaust and those involved, and saw another place in Europe where the people smile and can speak English relatively well. It was a great trip.
We drove through Hungary and made a pit-stop in Slovakia to visit a big castle which sat high atop a stony peak. It was a pretty castle, but it had had some renovations done to it to make it more tourist friendly, which took away from its natural beauty. We had a guided tour of the place, but it was done in the Slovakian language, so none of us could understand what was going on, except we did learn that the castle was the sight of the filming of the film Nosferatu (a German movie about a Dracula like character). We trekked up and down the castle, and it was cool for a while, but we all reached a point when we just wanted to be done. So then it was off to Poland.
That night we made it to Poland, had dinner together, checked into our hostel, and called it a night. Our hostel, we found out, was actually a dormitory for college students, but it used certain rooms as guest rooms for travelers. The next day we went on a guided tour of Krakow, this time in English, in drizzly and cool weather. The weather was a bit of a let down, but the historic city of Krakow was not. It was so beautiful to see to various markets, churches, the castle, and places where Pope John Paul II lived for periods of his life. Yep, Pope John Paul II is everywhere in Krakow! We saw where he lived as Bishop and Cardinal of Krakow, and we even saw where he went to college. It was the same college that Copernicus went to for some time (he was the man who made the revelation that the planets revolve around the sun). After our tour, some girls and I went off to souvenir shop, of course, and then we headed to the old Jewish district. While we were there I wanted to go to Schindler’s factory, the factory where the actual Schindler worked and helped to save Jews from going to the concentration camps, like in the film Schindler’s list, but alas we were all wet and tired and it was just a little too far to go, so I didn’t make it there.
The next day was one I could not have prepared for, no matter how much I tried. It was the day where we visited the concentration camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Upon arrival, Auschwitz is chaotic with all the tourists walking, talking, and waiting around for tour guides. Our professor’s wife said this chaos could be intended to convey the chaos of the arrivals of the Jews to the camp. The buildings there were made of brick and had many floors. Inside those buildings there were exhibits of things left at the camps after the Nazi’s deserted near the end of WWII. We saw a case of glasses, suitcases, pots and pans, and shoes of both children and adults. Probably the most horrifying case contained the hair of the Jews of only blond or brunette color. Our guide told us this hair was collected after the people were killed in the gas chambers and was then used to make textiles that were sold to German families. He also said that some families could still own these products; that is something that really freaked me out.
Auschwitz was once a Polish soldier base before the Germans took it over and made it a concentration camp; this explains it “beauty” in comparison with Birkenau. Birkenau was more of what I was expecting in a concentration camp. It had some brick buildings and some wood buildings which were the sleeping quarters for the Jews and other minorities. The place was pretty desolate, and just like Auschwitz, was surrounded with barbed wire and guard stations. While Auschwitz had the entrance gate that said “work makes you free”, Birkenau had a large watch tower complex with an entrance path for the train tracks that led directly to the heart of the camp, near the crematoriums. While Birkenau was more what I expected, it was so much larger than I would have ever thought. From the watch tower, it seemed to go on forever. On foot, it was a 15 minute walk from the front of the camp to the back. We saw the crematoriums and went inside the living quarters. Because the weather was cool and misty, and the sky was clouded over, it was easy to get in the depressed mindset of those in the camps. The cold weather seemed to creep into our bones that much easier and we were all appreciative to be heading back to the warm bus. I know I left the camps that day wet, cold, and mentally exhausted. That evening my spirits were rejuvenated by a nap, a warm shower, and a Jewish meal.
On a lighter note, our last day in Krakow was spent exploring an old salt mine. We saw the various chambers created by the miners, learned about different mining techniques, and saw some beautiful sculptures carved by some of the miners in their free time. The sculptures were crafted so skillfully, they could have been done by a professional artist. There were elf sculptures, biblical scene reliefs of Jesus’ life, and a sculpture of Pope John Paul II. The mine contained 3 chapels for the miners, some of which are still in use today, one of which looks more like a big banquet hall instead of a chapel. After our visit to the salt mines, we headed toward the Slovakian border to a little ski town for lunch and a photo opportunity. The weather of course was beautiful, since it was the day we were leaving, but it made for a nice day of travel. We saw big hills and snow-capped mountains, color-changing trees and evergreens. After a long time on the road, we made it back to the dorms late in the evening and went to bed. It was a great trip, filled with new experiences above and below the ground. It was physically and mentally exhausting, but a great learning experience overall. I learned new disturbing facts about the Holocaust and those involved, and saw another place in Europe where the people smile and can speak English relatively well. It was a great trip.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Dracula's Playground
So, last week, our group ventured to Romania for 4 days to explore the countryside and to visit churches of different denominations. We went with a guide from a reformed demonination church group, I can't remember the organization's name, but our guide's name was Janos. (He will be leading 2 more of our trips, to Ukraine and Croatia.) We headed out at 7 in the morning in 3 really cool old fashion vans, 2 were Volkswagen vans from the 70s and the other was some van from the 80s or 90s, not nearly as cool in body style, but it was a bright mustard yellow, so that made up for it. The two VW vans were driven by Janos and Robert,who is another member of the organization. The yellow van was driven by Jordan, a Calvin student! Talk about an experience! haha. I made sure to sit myself in one of the VW vans, not because I didn't trust the Calvin student's driving, I just really wanted to ride in a VW van. : )
So we headed out through the crowded city of Budapest and onto the green and mountainous lands of Romania. We went through the border and all got a Hungary stamp and Romania stamp in our passports. After a while we stopped for lunch in a nice restaurant and then continued in our journey to visit our first church. The church was located in a very small village, and was up on a hill that felt very nice to climb after sitting in a van for a few hours. The church was basically a fortress created to prevent invaders from overtaking it. It had a brick wall which encircled it for protection and the interior of the church was quite quaint. Many embroidered textiles covered the front of the pulpit, the balcony, and some of the pews. It was very beautiful. (As we continued to visit other churches throughout our trip, we came to realize that many of the Hungarian reformed churches bear similar decorations. ) The pastor of the church told us about the church in Hungarian and our guide Janos translated for us. He said many of the embrodieries were from the communion classes.
After that, we headed off to another church and to meet our host families for the night. After a long day of travel, it was nice to be headed to an actual bed. I was placed with 3 other senior girls, whom I also travelled with in the van. Our host's name was Piri, I believe, and her husband was Yosef. As for the spelling of these names, I am really not sure. She was a cake decorator and had prepared us a large dinner including a goulash soup, a breaded chicken, pasta salad, stuffed cabbage rolls, and a cherry coffee cake. To drink, we even got to sample some of her and her husband's homemade cherry palinka. Palinka is usually taken as a shot, but our host family just sipped it with us was we cheered, "Egeszsegere!", Hungarian for "to your health". Unfortuanlely, one of the students in our group didn't watch to see how our hosts drank the palinka, so she just threw it back. We all thought it was so funny that we burst out laughing and our hosts had to leave to room to get their laughs out with out making the girl feel awkward. haha. It was pretty funny. Not to mention, palinka is around 40% alcohol and burns as it goes down your throat.
So after dinner, we were pretty tired and headed to bed around 9:30pm only to wake up around 6:45am for breakfast before heading out again. We walked back to the church to meet up with the rest of our group, took a picture with out host, thanked her, and were off again. We headed to another village to see more churches and then to a hostel near a castle. That night, after our group had dinner together, we played some games with our guides and our professor and his wife, who also came along on the trip. (Our prof. and his wife rode in the same van as me and talked to Robert a lot, so I got to hear some interesting stories and facts about Romania, particularly the Transylvania area where we were traveling.)
The next day we explored the castle a bit and a Saxon church inside the church walls, but this didn't last long because a celebration was occuring there. It was a celebration to bring the Saxons of Romania together with the Saxons of Germany, so I got to hear some people speaking German, which was a nice change, since I can understand bits and pieces. Then we headed of to yet another church and then on to a bigger city in Romania, that is the birthplace of Vlad "the Impaler" Dracul, a.k.a. Dracula! We got to explore the city a little and see the building that claims to be Dracula's birthplace, which is now a restaurant. (Not a bad way to make use of the tourism!) The bummer about our trip to Romania was, we didn't stop to see Dracula's Castle, which I hear is also a restaurant.
After our exploration and more sight seeing , we headed to the place where would bunk down for the night and had dinner in a really cool but really cold refurbished barn, dining room. Again it was a meal much like our host family's only the palinka was much stronger and supposedly plum flavor. Not a fan! The only upside to Palinka is the warm feeling it gives you after you drink it. And boy, can it burn. After this meal it was off to bed again and the next day we were to return to Budapest.
This tip was filled with many churches, about 9 or 10, many of different denominations. We saw Reformed churches, Catholic Churches, Saxon churches, an Armenian church, and we drove by some various Orthodox churches as well. The main purpose of our trip was to visit the land of Transylvania, which used to be a part of Hungary until after WWII, in order to learn about the various minorities that live there, such as the Roma (gypsies), the Armenians, the Saxons, and even the Hungarians, and to learn about the various types of religion that are in the Transylvania area. We learned about Transylvania's history and its connection to Hungary while getting to experience the land and the people first hand.
Overall, the weather in Transylvania was overcast and cool, and at times rainy or foggy, but the scenery was beautiful. It reminded me of West Virginia with its mountains and valleys and its trees. I really enjoyed every minute of the trip and it just so happened that we got to ride in one of the coolest vans ever made, even though I would have preferred it to be a VW van from the late 60s. Minor details! haha So I hope that gives you some more idea of what Transylvania was like!
So we headed out through the crowded city of Budapest and onto the green and mountainous lands of Romania. We went through the border and all got a Hungary stamp and Romania stamp in our passports. After a while we stopped for lunch in a nice restaurant and then continued in our journey to visit our first church. The church was located in a very small village, and was up on a hill that felt very nice to climb after sitting in a van for a few hours. The church was basically a fortress created to prevent invaders from overtaking it. It had a brick wall which encircled it for protection and the interior of the church was quite quaint. Many embroidered textiles covered the front of the pulpit, the balcony, and some of the pews. It was very beautiful. (As we continued to visit other churches throughout our trip, we came to realize that many of the Hungarian reformed churches bear similar decorations. ) The pastor of the church told us about the church in Hungarian and our guide Janos translated for us. He said many of the embrodieries were from the communion classes.
After that, we headed off to another church and to meet our host families for the night. After a long day of travel, it was nice to be headed to an actual bed. I was placed with 3 other senior girls, whom I also travelled with in the van. Our host's name was Piri, I believe, and her husband was Yosef. As for the spelling of these names, I am really not sure. She was a cake decorator and had prepared us a large dinner including a goulash soup, a breaded chicken, pasta salad, stuffed cabbage rolls, and a cherry coffee cake. To drink, we even got to sample some of her and her husband's homemade cherry palinka. Palinka is usually taken as a shot, but our host family just sipped it with us was we cheered, "Egeszsegere!", Hungarian for "to your health". Unfortuanlely, one of the students in our group didn't watch to see how our hosts drank the palinka, so she just threw it back. We all thought it was so funny that we burst out laughing and our hosts had to leave to room to get their laughs out with out making the girl feel awkward. haha. It was pretty funny. Not to mention, palinka is around 40% alcohol and burns as it goes down your throat.
So after dinner, we were pretty tired and headed to bed around 9:30pm only to wake up around 6:45am for breakfast before heading out again. We walked back to the church to meet up with the rest of our group, took a picture with out host, thanked her, and were off again. We headed to another village to see more churches and then to a hostel near a castle. That night, after our group had dinner together, we played some games with our guides and our professor and his wife, who also came along on the trip. (Our prof. and his wife rode in the same van as me and talked to Robert a lot, so I got to hear some interesting stories and facts about Romania, particularly the Transylvania area where we were traveling.)
The next day we explored the castle a bit and a Saxon church inside the church walls, but this didn't last long because a celebration was occuring there. It was a celebration to bring the Saxons of Romania together with the Saxons of Germany, so I got to hear some people speaking German, which was a nice change, since I can understand bits and pieces. Then we headed of to yet another church and then on to a bigger city in Romania, that is the birthplace of Vlad "the Impaler" Dracul, a.k.a. Dracula! We got to explore the city a little and see the building that claims to be Dracula's birthplace, which is now a restaurant. (Not a bad way to make use of the tourism!) The bummer about our trip to Romania was, we didn't stop to see Dracula's Castle, which I hear is also a restaurant.
After our exploration and more sight seeing , we headed to the place where would bunk down for the night and had dinner in a really cool but really cold refurbished barn, dining room. Again it was a meal much like our host family's only the palinka was much stronger and supposedly plum flavor. Not a fan! The only upside to Palinka is the warm feeling it gives you after you drink it. And boy, can it burn. After this meal it was off to bed again and the next day we were to return to Budapest.
This tip was filled with many churches, about 9 or 10, many of different denominations. We saw Reformed churches, Catholic Churches, Saxon churches, an Armenian church, and we drove by some various Orthodox churches as well. The main purpose of our trip was to visit the land of Transylvania, which used to be a part of Hungary until after WWII, in order to learn about the various minorities that live there, such as the Roma (gypsies), the Armenians, the Saxons, and even the Hungarians, and to learn about the various types of religion that are in the Transylvania area. We learned about Transylvania's history and its connection to Hungary while getting to experience the land and the people first hand.
Overall, the weather in Transylvania was overcast and cool, and at times rainy or foggy, but the scenery was beautiful. It reminded me of West Virginia with its mountains and valleys and its trees. I really enjoyed every minute of the trip and it just so happened that we got to ride in one of the coolest vans ever made, even though I would have preferred it to be a VW van from the late 60s. Minor details! haha So I hope that gives you some more idea of what Transylvania was like!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Getting Aquainted
In this post I thought I would describe the dorm I am living in a little, and some other helpful information.
I am living in a college dormitory with the 19 other students on the semester abroad, 3 of which are guys and the rest are girls. All of the students are from Calvin college except for one, a girl, who is from Dordt College in Iowa. We are all in one hall specifically for Calvin students located on the ground level of the dorm. There are 2 rooms that hold 4 girls each and these grils share a community kitchen, shower area, and restroom. Then there is a room for the 3 guys that has a kitchen, and bathroom inside it. At the end of the hall is an apartment type dorm that holds the remainding 8 girls, it is also where I live. This room has a kitchen, eating area, 3 bedrooms, a shower area, 2 separate toilets, and a living room area that is commonly used as the computer room because it is one of the only 2 places to get internet in our hall. I am in a 2 person room just off of the living room area, but unfortunatly my room doesn't have a door, so my roomie and i rigged up some sheets as a way to give us some privacy. While it doesn't cut out much light or sound, it helps in privacy. Our hall has 2 washing machines, for us all to share, but one wasn't working for a while, in fact, I don't know if it even works now. We don't have any dryers, so we have to let things air dry, which is pretty interesting. Many of my clothes are stiff or wrinkled and my towels are scratchy, but it is a small price to pay for an experience like this.
Our dorm also houses many Hungarian college students on the upper levels, but we usually do not have much contact with them, as we are pretty secluded from them, and they are not allowed in our hall unless invited. We do share our hall with a little old Hungarian woman, though. She doesn't speak any english, but overall seems to be pretty friendly.
Now for a little about my classes. I am taking 5 classes while I am in Budapest. Two classes are taught by my Calvin professor, professor Corwin Smidt. The classes are Politics of Hungary, and Culture of Central and Eastern Europe. I am taking an art history class with a hungarian professor, but it is not through a university. This class focuses on the Italian Renaissance. I am only taking one class through a Hungarian University at Karoli Gaspar. It is a literature class focusing on the Holocaust and people's reactions to it through literature. My final class was Survival Hungarian, but it has recently ended. That class was taught by a Hungarian professor too, but like the art history class, it was not taught through a university. All of my classes fall on Monday or Tuesday, which is so nice!
For my culture class, we are required to visit specific places as a group. These places include not only museums, and/or performances, but also different countries! We recently went to Romania (my next post will focus on this trip), and we are traveling to Poland, Ukraine, and Croatia. We can also travel to places of our own choosing too while we are here. Some girls and I have already booked a trip to Stockholm, Sweden!
Well that's it for now, let me know if you want more info on other things here. Missing you all!
I am living in a college dormitory with the 19 other students on the semester abroad, 3 of which are guys and the rest are girls. All of the students are from Calvin college except for one, a girl, who is from Dordt College in Iowa. We are all in one hall specifically for Calvin students located on the ground level of the dorm. There are 2 rooms that hold 4 girls each and these grils share a community kitchen, shower area, and restroom. Then there is a room for the 3 guys that has a kitchen, and bathroom inside it. At the end of the hall is an apartment type dorm that holds the remainding 8 girls, it is also where I live. This room has a kitchen, eating area, 3 bedrooms, a shower area, 2 separate toilets, and a living room area that is commonly used as the computer room because it is one of the only 2 places to get internet in our hall. I am in a 2 person room just off of the living room area, but unfortunatly my room doesn't have a door, so my roomie and i rigged up some sheets as a way to give us some privacy. While it doesn't cut out much light or sound, it helps in privacy. Our hall has 2 washing machines, for us all to share, but one wasn't working for a while, in fact, I don't know if it even works now. We don't have any dryers, so we have to let things air dry, which is pretty interesting. Many of my clothes are stiff or wrinkled and my towels are scratchy, but it is a small price to pay for an experience like this.
Our dorm also houses many Hungarian college students on the upper levels, but we usually do not have much contact with them, as we are pretty secluded from them, and they are not allowed in our hall unless invited. We do share our hall with a little old Hungarian woman, though. She doesn't speak any english, but overall seems to be pretty friendly.
Now for a little about my classes. I am taking 5 classes while I am in Budapest. Two classes are taught by my Calvin professor, professor Corwin Smidt. The classes are Politics of Hungary, and Culture of Central and Eastern Europe. I am taking an art history class with a hungarian professor, but it is not through a university. This class focuses on the Italian Renaissance. I am only taking one class through a Hungarian University at Karoli Gaspar. It is a literature class focusing on the Holocaust and people's reactions to it through literature. My final class was Survival Hungarian, but it has recently ended. That class was taught by a Hungarian professor too, but like the art history class, it was not taught through a university. All of my classes fall on Monday or Tuesday, which is so nice!
For my culture class, we are required to visit specific places as a group. These places include not only museums, and/or performances, but also different countries! We recently went to Romania (my next post will focus on this trip), and we are traveling to Poland, Ukraine, and Croatia. We can also travel to places of our own choosing too while we are here. Some girls and I have already booked a trip to Stockholm, Sweden!
Well that's it for now, let me know if you want more info on other things here. Missing you all!
Magyarorszag
So, I recently decided to start up a blog to keep my friends and family members better informed as to what I have been doing while away for the semester. I hope that by blogging I can update everyone at the same time to reduce forgetting what I have and haven't told people. Feel free to keep sending me e-mails to ask me questions about things, though. For starters, I will just set the mood of Budapest, so here it goes...
At first glance, Budapest is a largely populated city filled with many down trodden buildings, relatively melancholy people, and tons of dogs, both on and off leashes, walking the city with their owners. Having been here for a few weeks now, I am beginning to see more of the beauty of Budapest. Many of the buildings, though covered in graffiti, have eloquent decorative touches above the ground level, such as stone reliefs or interesting balconies of stone or colored glass. The view of the Chain bridge is spectacular in day or night, along with the view of the Danube River with Buda on one side and Pest on the other. There are quaint areas located within the crowded city, such as parks or monuments, where one can sit and forget about the dirty streets of the city by looking at the beautiful flowers or statues and enjoy a grassy area. Much of Hungary reminds me of Cleveland. And there is actually a large Hungarian population located there, which we briefly discussed in one of my classes.
The people here are much different than in America. Many people on the streets and in transit through public transportation do not smile and usually ignore one another. There is a different view on personal space here, especially noted when riding public transportation. Many people cram into trams, buses, and metros in order to get where they are going quickly, and as a result, they tend to ignore other people’s personal bubbles and work their way into every available fraction of space. On a good note, Hungarians are quick to give up their seats to the elderly, pregnant women, and mothers. On the other hand, there are not many people willing to speak English in order to assist a tourist; they prefer to speak Hungarian, a language which they pride themselves on. Hungarians are not very helpful in assisting foreigners. I have frequently been stared at, mocked, and laughed at. This is not true for all Hungarians, but a generalization. I have met nice natives in my stay here.
We haven’t had many group excursions at this point, just a few to college orientations, museums, and a place to get residency permits. At the college orientations, we have become aware that we are guests studying in Hungary. Our group, along with many other students of the world, is here for an experience, to learn about a country that most other countries do not pay much attention. At museums we have learned some background history of Hungary from its beginning, through the world wars, and its communist rule. We have begun to grasp why the people here are so somber and why Hungary has the highest suicide rate in Europe. The trip to get residency permits was an experience I would sooner forget. It was a trip full of paperwork, back and forth translating, extra fees, aggravation, and finally/most importantly, approval to reside in Hungary!
Overall, my first few weeks in Hungary have been a rollercoaster ride of emotions. I have had many ups and many downs as I have begun to adjust to my new surroundings. While I miss my native America, I am thrilled to be able to experience a new country and eagerly wait to see what will unfold before me.
At first glance, Budapest is a largely populated city filled with many down trodden buildings, relatively melancholy people, and tons of dogs, both on and off leashes, walking the city with their owners. Having been here for a few weeks now, I am beginning to see more of the beauty of Budapest. Many of the buildings, though covered in graffiti, have eloquent decorative touches above the ground level, such as stone reliefs or interesting balconies of stone or colored glass. The view of the Chain bridge is spectacular in day or night, along with the view of the Danube River with Buda on one side and Pest on the other. There are quaint areas located within the crowded city, such as parks or monuments, where one can sit and forget about the dirty streets of the city by looking at the beautiful flowers or statues and enjoy a grassy area. Much of Hungary reminds me of Cleveland. And there is actually a large Hungarian population located there, which we briefly discussed in one of my classes.
The people here are much different than in America. Many people on the streets and in transit through public transportation do not smile and usually ignore one another. There is a different view on personal space here, especially noted when riding public transportation. Many people cram into trams, buses, and metros in order to get where they are going quickly, and as a result, they tend to ignore other people’s personal bubbles and work their way into every available fraction of space. On a good note, Hungarians are quick to give up their seats to the elderly, pregnant women, and mothers. On the other hand, there are not many people willing to speak English in order to assist a tourist; they prefer to speak Hungarian, a language which they pride themselves on. Hungarians are not very helpful in assisting foreigners. I have frequently been stared at, mocked, and laughed at. This is not true for all Hungarians, but a generalization. I have met nice natives in my stay here.
We haven’t had many group excursions at this point, just a few to college orientations, museums, and a place to get residency permits. At the college orientations, we have become aware that we are guests studying in Hungary. Our group, along with many other students of the world, is here for an experience, to learn about a country that most other countries do not pay much attention. At museums we have learned some background history of Hungary from its beginning, through the world wars, and its communist rule. We have begun to grasp why the people here are so somber and why Hungary has the highest suicide rate in Europe. The trip to get residency permits was an experience I would sooner forget. It was a trip full of paperwork, back and forth translating, extra fees, aggravation, and finally/most importantly, approval to reside in Hungary!
Overall, my first few weeks in Hungary have been a rollercoaster ride of emotions. I have had many ups and many downs as I have begun to adjust to my new surroundings. While I miss my native America, I am thrilled to be able to experience a new country and eagerly wait to see what will unfold before me.
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