So...I LOVE MY CLASSES!
My marketing professor is really nice, and he randomly inserts humor whenever I least expect it, which is good because it keeps me awake at 8:30 in the morning. He's Hungarian, so I have to pay close attention to figure out his accent, but it's not difficult. There were only three of us in that class today, all from the main campus (which is what they call Westminster)- Me, Dani, and Laura.
My journalism class is by far going to be my favorite. I've already learned some stuff, and I like how we bring current events into what we learn. The professor is British, and he's really interesting and experienced in journalism.
Lastly, my Organizational Communication class seems like it'll be tough, but I'll learn a lot. The only other person there was a Venezuelan named Alfonso, and he's super cool. We exchanged numbers and are supposed to hang out tomorrow night with Dani.
So, good first day. European film art tomorrow.
Meeting up with Rhaelyn, Caitlin, Casey, and Z in 30 min to explore our neighborhood.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Lost
Dani, Laura, Julie, and I went to the Museum of Fine Arts today, located at Heroes' Square. I was eating my grilled cheese on the way to the bus stop because Dani and I keep forgetting that we have to include transportation time in everything we do. We made it right on time at 2:30 pm (or 14:30, as it is done here).
Being a student in this city has its perks. There seem to be discounts everywhere. The permanent collection of the museum ended up costing half price- 800 HUF, or about $4. There was a special temporary exhibit of Fernando Botero that would've cost extra, but we didn't pay for that. This ended up being a good thing, because we later saw that it was about two rooms and it cost more than the entire permanent collection.
We spent over 2 hours exploring, and it was pretty cool. The majority of the art was based on Chrisitian events, and I'm assuming that's just because of the time period. There was a really cool Egyptian exhibit, which I loved because that's always my favorite at art museums, but this time I felt a bit differently. I initially thought it was super cool. But there were several wooden coffins and one actual mummy, and then I was thinking about how it's an actual person and people are coming and viewing it everyday, so I felt bad that this mummy had been relocated from its actual resting place, especially after all of the effort the ancient Egyptians went through to inter it. But still, the whole experience was great, even though all of the paintings of food and pig carcasses and dead game and stuff were strange, as were the depictions of beheadings, there was enough peaceful and non-violent art to make up for it.
Well, our attempt to go home was an adventure. We took the 75 bus to get there. Assuming that all buses run in a loop, we got back on the 75 to go home. We end up at a stadium, vaguely recognizable from the bus tour, and the bus stops and everyone gets off. Apparently, this is the end of the line. So we get on a nearby tram after carefully studying the map and the sign explaining the tram stops. We end up going the wrong direction, so we get off and get on a tram going the correct way. We get off where we think we can get onto the blue line of the metro, and thankfully, that ended up accurate. It was dark by then so it was kind of worrisome (for me, at least), not knowing where we were. However, it has come to the point where as long as I can find the blue line or find a certain tram, I can get home. We happened to get on the blue line going in the right direction just by chance, and got off at the stop at the train station. This part always gets us, because there are so many ways to exit the subway and no matter what, we always choose the wrong one and have to wander around a bit outside until we reorient ourselves. We end up emerging from the underground inside of the train station, so we walk until we find a door and it just happened to be by a McDonald's that we recognized because we'd used it as a meeting place before. We crossed the street, got on the tram that we know and love, got off at our stop, and walked two blocks to our apartment.
On a side note, I have suceeded in turning garlic blue or green twice now, and it's really really odd. This time, it happened when the butter on the bread I had just put in the pan mixed with the olive oil that was in the pan with the simmering garlic. So somehow, that makes garlic change colors. It looks really unappetizing, too. I'm trying to convince myself that it's supposed to look like that. Otherwise, it looks like fungus and it becomes inedible.
Tomorrow I have class at 8:30, so I need to go to bed early-ish tonight in order to force myself out of bed early enough.
Being a student in this city has its perks. There seem to be discounts everywhere. The permanent collection of the museum ended up costing half price- 800 HUF, or about $4. There was a special temporary exhibit of Fernando Botero that would've cost extra, but we didn't pay for that. This ended up being a good thing, because we later saw that it was about two rooms and it cost more than the entire permanent collection.
We spent over 2 hours exploring, and it was pretty cool. The majority of the art was based on Chrisitian events, and I'm assuming that's just because of the time period. There was a really cool Egyptian exhibit, which I loved because that's always my favorite at art museums, but this time I felt a bit differently. I initially thought it was super cool. But there were several wooden coffins and one actual mummy, and then I was thinking about how it's an actual person and people are coming and viewing it everyday, so I felt bad that this mummy had been relocated from its actual resting place, especially after all of the effort the ancient Egyptians went through to inter it. But still, the whole experience was great, even though all of the paintings of food and pig carcasses and dead game and stuff were strange, as were the depictions of beheadings, there was enough peaceful and non-violent art to make up for it.
Well, our attempt to go home was an adventure. We took the 75 bus to get there. Assuming that all buses run in a loop, we got back on the 75 to go home. We end up at a stadium, vaguely recognizable from the bus tour, and the bus stops and everyone gets off. Apparently, this is the end of the line. So we get on a nearby tram after carefully studying the map and the sign explaining the tram stops. We end up going the wrong direction, so we get off and get on a tram going the correct way. We get off where we think we can get onto the blue line of the metro, and thankfully, that ended up accurate. It was dark by then so it was kind of worrisome (for me, at least), not knowing where we were. However, it has come to the point where as long as I can find the blue line or find a certain tram, I can get home. We happened to get on the blue line going in the right direction just by chance, and got off at the stop at the train station. This part always gets us, because there are so many ways to exit the subway and no matter what, we always choose the wrong one and have to wander around a bit outside until we reorient ourselves. We end up emerging from the underground inside of the train station, so we walk until we find a door and it just happened to be by a McDonald's that we recognized because we'd used it as a meeting place before. We crossed the street, got on the tram that we know and love, got off at our stop, and walked two blocks to our apartment.
On a side note, I have suceeded in turning garlic blue or green twice now, and it's really really odd. This time, it happened when the butter on the bread I had just put in the pan mixed with the olive oil that was in the pan with the simmering garlic. So somehow, that makes garlic change colors. It looks really unappetizing, too. I'm trying to convince myself that it's supposed to look like that. Otherwise, it looks like fungus and it becomes inedible.
Tomorrow I have class at 8:30, so I need to go to bed early-ish tonight in order to force myself out of bed early enough.
Plans!
We're going to an art museum at Heroes' Square in about an hour.
I've been attempting to make a video of week one, and it is taking FOREVER! Uploading the video took about an hour, and now stabilizing the footage is looking to take even longer. Rawr.
My Kindle died. I have been charging my camera and FlipVideo and everything through my computer, because I don't have power converters for everything. It's inconvenient, but not altogether a big deal.
I think I left my Vodaphone charger at the hotel, though. At least, I can't find it anywhere. Perhaps this will motivate me to fully unpack.
I spent the last hour looking up stuff to do over Spring Break. I really want to go to Germany, and Dani and I were toying with the idea of traveling by train at night, sleeping on the train, and stopping places during the day like Prague and Krakow, since we have a week to travel. I'd like 2 or 3 days in Germany, at least, though. If we do decide to go to so many places, a eurail pass seems to be the most cost effective way to make that happen. I've also looked up some hostel costs, and it doesn't look unmanageable. It'll also be worth it, because we'd be going to over half of the places we'd said we wanted to go. I'm really excited.
Still need to do laundry and stuff...it'll happen.
I've been attempting to make a video of week one, and it is taking FOREVER! Uploading the video took about an hour, and now stabilizing the footage is looking to take even longer. Rawr.
My Kindle died. I have been charging my camera and FlipVideo and everything through my computer, because I don't have power converters for everything. It's inconvenient, but not altogether a big deal.
I think I left my Vodaphone charger at the hotel, though. At least, I can't find it anywhere. Perhaps this will motivate me to fully unpack.
I spent the last hour looking up stuff to do over Spring Break. I really want to go to Germany, and Dani and I were toying with the idea of traveling by train at night, sleeping on the train, and stopping places during the day like Prague and Krakow, since we have a week to travel. I'd like 2 or 3 days in Germany, at least, though. If we do decide to go to so many places, a eurail pass seems to be the most cost effective way to make that happen. I've also looked up some hostel costs, and it doesn't look unmanageable. It'll also be worth it, because we'd be going to over half of the places we'd said we wanted to go. I'm really excited.
Still need to do laundry and stuff...it'll happen.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
The end of week one
The bus tour led by a member of the McB faculty on Thursday was awesome. It gave me a good idea of where I was located in the city. We went to Gellert Hill, where we walked around the Citadel, saw amazing views of the city, and visited the Statue of Freedom. Some photos are below, but there's even more on my photo page.
Later, Dani and I went to Kaiser's, which was like a normal grocery store, thank goodness. I bought all sorts of stuff like garlic and carrots and nutella. I've been eating so healthily here. It's going to be horrible when I have to go back to eating at Glar, because I'm getting used to fresh ingredients and cooking for myself.
I went to bed early because I had a headache.
I woke up the next morning feeling really sick, probably from adjusting to a new eating schedule. I also still had a headache. Figuring it was from caffeine withdrawal, I chewed some caffeinated gum I'd ordered from thinkgeek.com when I was back in the states. I was so miserable I almost didn't go to our final orientation activity- a survival Hungarian lesson. I made it, but I can hardly remember anything that was taught. I took notes, thank goodness, and afterward, we looked through stuff previous McDaniel students had left behind and I picked up some beginner level Hungarian CDs, so maybe I can pick up something even though I can't take the class.
I guess I forgot to mention scheduling. I've decided not to take gym classes here, so other than dropping badminton and aerobics, those are the only schedule changes I need to make. The classes I'm left with are European Film Art, Principles of Marketing, Intro to Journalism, and Organizational Communication. Classes start on Monday, and my first one is at 8:30 am. I'm excited, although I don't want to wake up early (I have to allow at least 30 min for the commute).
Well, Friday night, Dani, Laura, Julie, Caitlin, and I went to Beckett's, an Irish pub and restaurant. Julie and I shared a chocolate souffle that was awesome. Although a bit more pricey than other places we've been, it was nice because the people working there spoke English. Weird thing about Hungary is that American music plays everywhere. This restaurant in particular had a strange selection - Kid Rock, Abba, Snow Patrol, Norah Jones, Soft Cell...oh, and Gladiator was playing on the television. Random. Another thing here is that so many people smoke! It's acceptable for people to smoke indoors at most restaurants and bars. I'm getting used to the smell, strangely, but I think it's less intense here in some way. The filters must be better or something. I just know that I no longer start coughing when I walk by someone smoking.
Also while at school Friday morning, we were given suggestions of what to do this weekend. One of these was to go to the central market, which was actually what Dani and I had originally planned. This morning, I woke up at 7 to leave for the market at 8:30. We went with Laura, Julie, and Caitlin. It was spectacular. The building itself is beautiful, as is the view nearby. Inside, there's three floors of shops. Downstairs is fish, mostly. The ground level is fruit and meats and some other things. Upstairs is souvenirs and other Hungarian goods, and also little food shops where you can buy a Hungarian meal. We bought langos, which Laura said is like an elephant ear, which I've never had, so my comparison is funnel cake. It was available with numerous different toppings, from bacon to mexican to cheese to nutella, but Dani and I shared one with powdered sugar. It was awesome. I bought potatoes there as well, with the intention to make french fries.
I got back to the apartment and crashed. I slept for about 2 hours. It's so exhausting having to walk everywhere.
When I woke up, I attempted to make french fries. Epic fail. I ended up with some burned potato chunks, basically, but Dani liked them. I made garlic pasta again. It's kind of my favorite.
Now, I just have a bunch of stuff to do. Make a budget, figure out prices of transportation to nearby countries, explore ideas for Spring Break (Germany!), make a video of week 1, organize my desk, unpack my suitcase, do laundry...good thing it's only Saturday.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
It's snowing :)
It’s been so busy that by the time I have time to myself, I’m exhausted and can only stay awake long enough to skype a few people before collapsing into bed. This is why I’m behind on blogging.
On Monday, we went to the school for some basic orientation information. Dr. Adamson went over ten things we should know about each of the following: Europe, Hungary, and Budapest. It was interesting. They brought sandwiches for lunch, but they weren’t like any sandwiches I’ve ever had before. Not surprisingly, I didn’t like them, but I did at least try. They were open-faced and very elaborate, with the ingredients arranged artistically on top. Luckily, the hotel’s breakfast was enough to keep my appetite mostly at bay, because I’d had mandarin oranges, cucumbers, and bread and butter. We also filled out some paperwork and did other such menial stuff. That night, we all walked as a group and then went on our first metro ride to the Trofea Grill, a Hungarian buffet that is allegedly very good. I wouldn’t know, because it was mostly meat and I might as well be a vegetarian. I ate rice, wonderful mandarin oranges, a fried dough thing, and tried little tidbits of other unidentifiable Hungarian stuff that wasn’t to my liking. On the way back, we stopped at the Millennium Memorial at Heroes' Square, which was absolutely gorgeous at night because it was lit very dramatically.
The next day, we had to be ready to vacate the hotel at 9:45 because we were to be taken to our APARTMENTS! Exciting, I know. The one in which Dani and I live is literally right next to the Danube. I can see the river and Margaret Island from my bedroom window. Dani and I have our own bedrooms and showers, and there’s a living room, kitchen, and bathroom that we share. It’s pretty nice, except for when my bathroom doorknob falls off. And for when we get locked inside because we can’t figure out which of our 8 keys open the 3 locks. Other than that, though, it’s perfect. We were assigned a McDaniel Budapest student as a guide, but he wasn’t familiar with our area so he showed us the main street to know and how to use the trams and where not to go at night and what grocery store chains to go to. He then took us to meet up with his friend, who was with 3 other McDaniel students at their apartment. We went to a restaurant but everybody realized they weren’t hungry, and half the group wanted to go to a bar instead so we went to a bar and for the record, Mom and Dad, I did not drink. I merely sat there and socialized. Told you it was normal for people to hang out in bars. Anyway, we made it back to school at 3 just in time for more paperwork! That took quite a while. Afterward, we figured out how to put money on our phones and learned where an ATM is close to school. Dani and I went with Rhaelyn and Caitlin on the bus back to our apartments, because we live very close to one another and Dani and I hadn’t yet really figured out how to get to and from school, because we were still figuring out the map and our guide didn’t know much about where we lived. The apartment was absolutely freezing, and it turned out the heat was off even though we thought we’d turned it on. It eventually got warmer but I still had to wear a lot off layers. I took a nap while we waited for someone to check out Internet. At 9, nobody had come (we later realized that this was because we’d told Adriana that our Internet had no problems), so we went in search of dinner and basic grocery items. It was awful, or at least, I thought so. We went to an ABC store, which is like a convenience store, and it was so tiny inside and we had trouble figuring out what stuff was because it’s all labeled in Hungarian. After we’d grabbed basics like dish soap and toilet paper and went to pay, we got really confused by the number of digits in Hungarian money. There’s no decimal points or anything to separate the numbers. It looks so daunting when you see four numbers in a row, and we misinterpreted it as if there were five. Of course, after agonizing minutes of struggling with Forints, the cahsier revealed that he knew English, and we finally paid and made our way out. I was so flustered and stressed that I thought I’d overpaid but I didn’t want to pull my wallet out in the middle of the street because I keep hearing so much about pick-pocketing and mugging that I’m adequately paranoid, so we ducked into a McDonald’s to check. Luckily, there’s on right on the corner a couple blocks away from our apartment, and it turned out my financial situation was perfectly fine, and we decided to just give in and eat McDonald’s for dinner because we were cold and super hungry from not having eaten since breakfast. It’s interesting having to order food when you can’t speak the language. You do a lot of pointing and gesturing. It ended up working out alright. When we got back to the apartment, I unpacked most of my stuff and went to bed.
This morning, we had to meet at Blaha something or other…I really don’t remember what it’s called, but it’s a tram stop on the main road, maybe 4 away from the one closest to where Dani and I live. I got up at 6:40 to leave at 7:25. We stopped at a bakery on the way and I got a pastry for breakfast which was good until I got to the chocolately center. It was weird chocolate. They use some kind of cheese in a lot of desserts here, and I think that’s what was in this, because I just didn’t like it. Dani ended up saving it for later. When everyone had gotten to the meeting place around 8, we took the tram into Buda and then took a bus to get to the immigration office, where we turned in everything we needed to get residency permits. It took a while. We have to return within the next 10 days to get some stamps that need to be added or something…I’m not sure, the paper that said what to do was in Hungarian. We also need to return on February 10 to find out whether or not our residence permit request was accepted. Most of us went to Tesco afterward, which is kind of like the biggest grocery store they have plus a walmart. The food part definitely was the focus, but I was able to find some warm winter socks, which was awesome because I’d stupidly only packed one pair and I needed some. I also bought something that seems to be parmesan cheese. Dani and I went with Julie, Gus, and Laura to Subway. The Hungarian Subway is so much cleaner and fresher than an American one. And the meat is real. I didn’t like it. I guess I only like fake meat. :/ Dani and I went back to our apartment to prepare for our first official grocery trip. We walked to the nearest Spar, which was perhaps a 10 minute walk (Note that it’s been snowing for the past 2 days). It’s so tiny compared to what we’re used to. It’s like a mom&pop’s store in size. They do have their own bargain brand, so I managed to get cheaper olive oil and mustard and stuff. I couldn’t find a couple of things I wanted, but I got most of what I needed. Cheese is weird here, too, because it’s real. I’ve tried a couple of kinds – don’t know what they’re called – but I don’t like the texture and softness. I want my processed cheese back. I did buy a chunk of swiss, because it’s at least recognizable, and I also found something packaged that was labeled “Cheddar,” so I got that, too. We’ll see if it’s edible or not. One thing I really like is the fresh bread everywhere. It’s so good, too!! We had trouble finding butter, and while I’m sure they had it, we just didn’t know the Hungarian word for it and therefore ended up with margarine, which is healthier anyway so it’s fine. I got fresh vegetables and mandarin oranges. I’m so obsessed with mandarin oranges right now. They’re amazing. After leaving Spar, we went to a Rossman’s, which is kind of like a CVS. I bought shampoo and stuff there. We ran into some Canadians and chatted with them for a while. Apparently they’ve been to Budapest almost 15 times and still can only say “Igen,” which means “yes,” so I guess I could be at a lower level than I am. Oh, I forgot to mention that we stopped by a shoe/purse store on the way to Spar! Dani bought a purse for the equivalent of $15. There were so many boots and purses that looked awesome and had good prices, but what really caught my eye was a wallet. I had no clue how much it cost and I knew I had more important things to buy so I passed on it, but it’s good to know where to find stuff like that, I guess. My wallet is perfectly fine in the States, but here it’s bulky and obnoxious, so I may discover that I could use something smaller.
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| Dani on the metro. |
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| part of the Millenium monument at Heroes' Square |
The next day, we had to be ready to vacate the hotel at 9:45 because we were to be taken to our APARTMENTS! Exciting, I know. The one in which Dani and I live is literally right next to the Danube. I can see the river and Margaret Island from my bedroom window. Dani and I have our own bedrooms and showers, and there’s a living room, kitchen, and bathroom that we share. It’s pretty nice, except for when my bathroom doorknob falls off. And for when we get locked inside because we can’t figure out which of our 8 keys open the 3 locks. Other than that, though, it’s perfect. We were assigned a McDaniel Budapest student as a guide, but he wasn’t familiar with our area so he showed us the main street to know and how to use the trams and where not to go at night and what grocery store chains to go to. He then took us to meet up with his friend, who was with 3 other McDaniel students at their apartment. We went to a restaurant but everybody realized they weren’t hungry, and half the group wanted to go to a bar instead so we went to a bar and for the record, Mom and Dad, I did not drink. I merely sat there and socialized. Told you it was normal for people to hang out in bars. Anyway, we made it back to school at 3 just in time for more paperwork! That took quite a while. Afterward, we figured out how to put money on our phones and learned where an ATM is close to school. Dani and I went with Rhaelyn and Caitlin on the bus back to our apartments, because we live very close to one another and Dani and I hadn’t yet really figured out how to get to and from school, because we were still figuring out the map and our guide didn’t know much about where we lived. The apartment was absolutely freezing, and it turned out the heat was off even though we thought we’d turned it on. It eventually got warmer but I still had to wear a lot off layers. I took a nap while we waited for someone to check out Internet. At 9, nobody had come (we later realized that this was because we’d told Adriana that our Internet had no problems), so we went in search of dinner and basic grocery items. It was awful, or at least, I thought so. We went to an ABC store, which is like a convenience store, and it was so tiny inside and we had trouble figuring out what stuff was because it’s all labeled in Hungarian. After we’d grabbed basics like dish soap and toilet paper and went to pay, we got really confused by the number of digits in Hungarian money. There’s no decimal points or anything to separate the numbers. It looks so daunting when you see four numbers in a row, and we misinterpreted it as if there were five. Of course, after agonizing minutes of struggling with Forints, the cahsier revealed that he knew English, and we finally paid and made our way out. I was so flustered and stressed that I thought I’d overpaid but I didn’t want to pull my wallet out in the middle of the street because I keep hearing so much about pick-pocketing and mugging that I’m adequately paranoid, so we ducked into a McDonald’s to check. Luckily, there’s on right on the corner a couple blocks away from our apartment, and it turned out my financial situation was perfectly fine, and we decided to just give in and eat McDonald’s for dinner because we were cold and super hungry from not having eaten since breakfast. It’s interesting having to order food when you can’t speak the language. You do a lot of pointing and gesturing. It ended up working out alright. When we got back to the apartment, I unpacked most of my stuff and went to bed. |
| the view from my bedroom window |
Now, we’re chillin in the apartment. Some people are touring each other’s apartments, so we’re just waiting on a call to find out when we need to leave. I have no idea what’s going on tonight, but tomorrow we’re going on a bus tour, which should be fun.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
We made it!
I just made it into the hotel where we're all staying until we get apartments- the Star Panzio. It's comfortable; I like it. I'll post some photos once I unpack my camera.
I suppose that chronologically is a great way to start, so let's begin with this morning. Got up around 9:30, got ready to go to Dulles, and double-checked that I wasn't forgetting anything. Left the house around 1 PM. Arrived at the airport around 3:30 or so (I don't really remember). I'd checked in online, so I thought checking my bags would be relatively quick. However, it turned out that my backpack couldn't count as a personal website, despite what the airline website said, so I ended up having to check my carry-on, carry on my backpack, and pay a fee for a second checked bag. That was frustrating. I had to do some speedy rearranging of stuff between my carry on and my backpack, and I got rather stressed out. I'm kind of thinking that I want to get another suitcase for the return trip, because if I have to pay to check something else, it could at least be a decent size (and I could store my backpack within and thus avoid that debacle again). After that, we found a little travel shop where my parents got me earplugs and a travel pillow, as well as a "soft" and "feminine" body wallet (lol). We kind of just hung out in some chairs until I got antsy doing nothing, and we wandered around the lower level briefly before we said our goodbyes.
I remained mostly composed through the hugs and picture taking and last words. As I got to security, though, the first TSA guy I interacted with was unfortunate enough to deal with teary eyed Hanna, fumbling for her passport. He was really nice, though. I didn't have to go through a bodyscanner. It was painless.
After finding my terminal, I waited for Dani and charged my phone. I texted my family and Charles and when Dani got there, I walked to a pizza place and wolfed down a slice of pepperoni pizza and a piece of garlic bread, saving the other piece of bread for Dani. It turned out the outlet I was using was broken. After figuring that out, I only got about 20 minutes of charging done before the flight boarded.
The airplane was AWESOME!
It was huge, but pillows and blankets were waiting in the seats. There was an individual TV screen on the back of each seat, on which travel info and entertainment were available. I ended up watching the Social Network and Legend of the Guardians, both of which were disappointing. We were given dinner, which I think was probably really good, although since I'm such a picky eater, I couldn't appreciate it. I didn't starve, though. The really nice flight attendants came around with drinks and hot towels and nuts and water and other such things probably on average every hour. There was a cute little girl that sat next to me, and she fell asleep on my headrest at one point. I couldn't sleep at all, though. I couldn't get comfortable enough for that. I attempted to read a bit, but couldn't focus. I played solitaire and other games on the TV screen. Eventually, the flight finally ended about an hour after they had served breakfast and we were in Amsterdam!
While the plane was reaching the terminal, I noticed how similar planes look to whales. It was weird. The Amsterdam airport is pretty cool. On the return trip, I'll actually have some time to explore. I know Emma wants wooden shoes, and I saw some there, so I'll have to get some Euro on my way back. Dani and I raced to our gate for the flight to Budapest, as it was the farthest thing away possible. To our surprise, we ran into two other McDaniel students on the same flight. This flight was much shorter and in a smaller plane. They served us these weird sandwiches I didn't like all that much, but there were these really good cookies! We arrived and helped each other out with our bags. Dani brought so many, zebra print to prevent them from getting lost or stolen, and it was funny because usually I'm the one with way too much stuff. Not this time. We met up with the man that's been sending us emails about McDaniel Budapest stuff, and he took us to the ATM and helped us get on the bus to be taken to the hotel. He was really nice and helpful.
I don't really know what I was expecting, but so much in Hungary is similar to America, like road signs and billboards and stuff. I was expecting huge differences, I guess. Signage was in Hungarian. The center line of the road is white instead of yellow. Traffic lights sometimes are red and yellow simultaneously and I have no idea why. The bus driver unloaded our bags in front of the hotel and with multiple trips we managed to carry everything to the front desk, where we signed in and got our keys.
Now, I'm exhausted, and although I know I should wait until tonight to sleep, the bed is just asking for me to sleep in it. I'm also hungry, so Dani and I will probably go scavenging on the streets of Budapest, searching for a restaurant or convenience store of some sort.
Tonight, everyone is meeting in the lobby at 7 for pizza and some initial orientation information.
I suppose that chronologically is a great way to start, so let's begin with this morning. Got up around 9:30, got ready to go to Dulles, and double-checked that I wasn't forgetting anything. Left the house around 1 PM. Arrived at the airport around 3:30 or so (I don't really remember). I'd checked in online, so I thought checking my bags would be relatively quick. However, it turned out that my backpack couldn't count as a personal website, despite what the airline website said, so I ended up having to check my carry-on, carry on my backpack, and pay a fee for a second checked bag. That was frustrating. I had to do some speedy rearranging of stuff between my carry on and my backpack, and I got rather stressed out. I'm kind of thinking that I want to get another suitcase for the return trip, because if I have to pay to check something else, it could at least be a decent size (and I could store my backpack within and thus avoid that debacle again). After that, we found a little travel shop where my parents got me earplugs and a travel pillow, as well as a "soft" and "feminine" body wallet (lol). We kind of just hung out in some chairs until I got antsy doing nothing, and we wandered around the lower level briefly before we said our goodbyes.
I remained mostly composed through the hugs and picture taking and last words. As I got to security, though, the first TSA guy I interacted with was unfortunate enough to deal with teary eyed Hanna, fumbling for her passport. He was really nice, though. I didn't have to go through a bodyscanner. It was painless.
After finding my terminal, I waited for Dani and charged my phone. I texted my family and Charles and when Dani got there, I walked to a pizza place and wolfed down a slice of pepperoni pizza and a piece of garlic bread, saving the other piece of bread for Dani. It turned out the outlet I was using was broken. After figuring that out, I only got about 20 minutes of charging done before the flight boarded.
The airplane was AWESOME!
It was huge, but pillows and blankets were waiting in the seats. There was an individual TV screen on the back of each seat, on which travel info and entertainment were available. I ended up watching the Social Network and Legend of the Guardians, both of which were disappointing. We were given dinner, which I think was probably really good, although since I'm such a picky eater, I couldn't appreciate it. I didn't starve, though. The really nice flight attendants came around with drinks and hot towels and nuts and water and other such things probably on average every hour. There was a cute little girl that sat next to me, and she fell asleep on my headrest at one point. I couldn't sleep at all, though. I couldn't get comfortable enough for that. I attempted to read a bit, but couldn't focus. I played solitaire and other games on the TV screen. Eventually, the flight finally ended about an hour after they had served breakfast and we were in Amsterdam!
Now, I'm exhausted, and although I know I should wait until tonight to sleep, the bed is just asking for me to sleep in it. I'm also hungry, so Dani and I will probably go scavenging on the streets of Budapest, searching for a restaurant or convenience store of some sort.
Tonight, everyone is meeting in the lobby at 7 for pizza and some initial orientation information.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
the day before
I leave tomorrow for Budapest! My flight departs at 6:30 pm, but I have to leave around 12:30 to get to Dulles early enough.
I need to finish packing tonight, but right now, I'm watching American Idol (ew) with my sister (yay) while she makes me cookies with her Easy Bake Oven (YAY).
This post is really brief, just because I don't really have much exciting to say yet. Check back in a day or two to read about my first days in Europe!
I need to finish packing tonight, but right now, I'm watching American Idol (ew) with my sister (yay) while she makes me cookies with her Easy Bake Oven (YAY).
This post is really brief, just because I don't really have much exciting to say yet. Check back in a day or two to read about my first days in Europe!
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