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.

Dani on the metro.

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. 

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

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. 

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.