Yesterday we went to the famous Budapest zoo. In general I'm not a huge fan of zoos; the animal-lover in me erupts in the form of extreme grumpiness. However, I did enjoy my experience. The newest addition to the park is a baby rhino, the first ever born as a result of articifial insemination. Unfortunately the baby rhino wasn't out, but we saw lots of other animals. While it's definitely not necessary to go to Hungary to see zoo animals, it was a very inexpensive and relaxing way to spend an afternoon. I haven't had too much time to just unwind, and so watching Sting Rays swim in circles for 15 minutes was a fantastic stress reliever. However, we went into the Crocodile House and spotted the main attraction, but we had doubts as to whether or not he was real or merely a realistic statue. We stared at him for a good five mintes until finally he blinked. It occurred to me later that when adequate entertainment includes waiting for a Crocodile to blink, it might be time to evaluate my recreational activities.
School starts on Monday morning, and I think it will be really nice to get back into a normal life. While I've been having the time of my life, it's time to get onto a normal schedule and become really part of this city rather than a permenent tourist. I'm nervous for the math, but I think we'll all keep each other going.
I went rock climbing today. This is my second time going. It's not a beginner gym at all, but I'm doing my best. It's actually a very satisfying work out. While I do a lot of walking, the food here is so rich it's nice to find a healthy activity that I enjoy. My friend is amazing at climbing. He looks like spider man on the wall and can climb upside down and back and forth. It's insane. I make it a few feet off the ground at a time before I give up in a flood of giggles.
That's about the extent of my news at the moment. Good bye!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Everything is beautiful at the ballet
Last night we went to the Hungarian Opera House to see the ballet version of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Like I said, we got the $2.00 tickets, so I expected a horrible performance. However, it was absolutely fantastic. I've been to many ballets, but I've never enjoyed one as much as this. The tickets were inexpensive because we had a very restricted view of the stage. If you sat all the way back, it was impossible to see anything. However, I was the obnoxious girl who leaned over the people in front of me to see the entire show. We had to walk up 6 flights of stairs to get to our seats, and we walked in to find our places when a lady came screaming after us in Hungarian. It turns out we're required to check our coats which was 120 forints. Even if we're doing something as innocent as forgetting to check our coats, it sounds like we're breaking the most important law when being yelled at in Hungarian. It's an intimidating language.
The Opera house is BEAUTIFUL. It's like the Minnesota Orpheum on steroids. After the ballet a friend and I watched the movie version of The Phantom of the Opera, and it was really neat to see the rendition of the Paris Opera House compared with the Budapest Opera House.
A Midsummer Night's Dream really lends itself to ballet. The music was beautifully scored and the dancing...... wow. The flexibility and control of the dancers were unbelivable. Some of the pointe work was beyond belief and the connections between the dancers were much more believable than any American troupe I've seen. Even the corps was believable as a group.
Earlier today we went to a contemporary museum. One of my friends described it as bazaar, and I can think of no better word for it. It was about four dollars to get in because we were students, however I was not prepared for the inside. It was mostly looped movies that were really strange and candid photos that looked like the people fell out of the 1980's. However, it was worth it to walk into the museum because of the first exhibit. It was a HUGE square of ribbons hanging from the ceiling. I'd say it was at least 15 by 15 feet, maybe more, and the ribbons are so dense that when you walk into them, you can't see in front of your face. They're all different colors and it's unbelievably fun to wander through the ribbons getting lost and running into people.
Again, check out my pictures. I haven't added any new ones since yesterday, but the ones I did add are fun.
The Opera house is BEAUTIFUL. It's like the Minnesota Orpheum on steroids. After the ballet a friend and I watched the movie version of The Phantom of the Opera, and it was really neat to see the rendition of the Paris Opera House compared with the Budapest Opera House.
A Midsummer Night's Dream really lends itself to ballet. The music was beautifully scored and the dancing...... wow. The flexibility and control of the dancers were unbelivable. Some of the pointe work was beyond belief and the connections between the dancers were much more believable than any American troupe I've seen. Even the corps was believable as a group.
Earlier today we went to a contemporary museum. One of my friends described it as bazaar, and I can think of no better word for it. It was about four dollars to get in because we were students, however I was not prepared for the inside. It was mostly looped movies that were really strange and candid photos that looked like the people fell out of the 1980's. However, it was worth it to walk into the museum because of the first exhibit. It was a HUGE square of ribbons hanging from the ceiling. I'd say it was at least 15 by 15 feet, maybe more, and the ribbons are so dense that when you walk into them, you can't see in front of your face. They're all different colors and it's unbelievably fun to wander through the ribbons getting lost and running into people.
Again, check out my pictures. I haven't added any new ones since yesterday, but the ones I did add are fun.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
A day in Buda
Budapest is actually three cities. There is Buda, Óbuda, and Pest. Óbuda means "Old Buda" and is pretty undistiguishable from Buda. However, Pest is on the other side of the Danube river and is much more metropolitan. Buda is the home of the castle district and most of the sprawling monuments, whereas Pest is the shopping center and much busier. I live in Pest, and almost everything is located near my apartment. Thus, I have only ever crossed the river once into Buda. Today, we decided to go exploring in the hills, and it was very fun! To get to Buda you must cross one of 9 bridges. We used the Erzebet bridge because A) it was convenient, B) Erzebet is Hungarian for Elizabeth, and so I feel a sense of ownership to it. We hiked to the top of the hill that overlooks the Danube. It was a long walk! It snowed this morning so everything was slippery, thus it made for an adventure. What I love about this city are the things you stumble across. The random statues are really fun to climb around on. I put a bunch of pictures up of some boys being silly with the statues. It was a chilly day, but very worth it, especially when we got to the castle. We went under a tunnel of some sort and I was amused by a sign that said "Beware of crumbling". We came back across the Great Chain Bridge, and I took a picture from the middle of the Danube. It's really surreal to find myself walking on the bridges I looked up on Google Earth a year ago.
Tonight we're going to the Opera House to see a ballet of Midsummer's Night Dream. We got the $2 tickets, so I'm not expecting too much. However, the Opera is a fantastic building. The gift shop is a ballet dancer's haven.
Last night I went into a shop in which no one spoke a word of English. I managed to ask, "how much is this?" and they understood me!! It was a triumph of the first degree!
Yesterday I went rock climbing at a really cool gym. I'm very sore today, but it was a lot of fun. It was a full-body work out, for sure.
Check out my pictures! Hopefully I'll add more when my friends and I share them!
Tonight we're going to the Opera House to see a ballet of Midsummer's Night Dream. We got the $2 tickets, so I'm not expecting too much. However, the Opera is a fantastic building. The gift shop is a ballet dancer's haven.
Last night I went into a shop in which no one spoke a word of English. I managed to ask, "how much is this?" and they understood me!! It was a triumph of the first degree!
Yesterday I went rock climbing at a really cool gym. I'm very sore today, but it was a lot of fun. It was a full-body work out, for sure.
Check out my pictures! Hopefully I'll add more when my friends and I share them!
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Minnesooootah
I have never been so self conscious of the way I speak. I get asked to say words like "bag" because apparently I have a Minnesotan accent. Since there are kids from all over the country it's interesting to hear linguistic differences. However, the Minnesotan accent is easy to mimick. It's all good though; I've been told it's cute.
Yesterday I went shopping with Anne. It was really nice! The shops here are, as always, amazing! However, the only downside was the metro experience. The entire city transportation system is based on the honor system. However, occasionally there will be ticket checkers to validate that you bought a pass. For once we had actually purchased passes, but what we didn't know was that we had to use another ticket when we switched lines. The mall we went to required a switch from the blue line to the orange line, and of course, when we ascended the escalator, there were ticket checkers. We handed them our validated passes, but then they started chattering in Hungarian and pushing us to the side. When they finally figured out we were not Hungarian they switched to English and informed us of the rules. It really wasn't a big deal, though. They just make you buy a 3 day pass for the Metro. It's pretty inexpensive, and as long as we have the pass, we're taking advantage of the metro. I've ridden the metro before without tickets and never been checked, but go figure, the one time that we actually get tickets, we still get fined. Boooo.
I tried the Hungarian National Drink the other day. It's a form of brandy distilled from Apricots. It's served as half shots because it's so very strong. However, it's really really good. One just needs to be careful.
I've only really spoken of the merits of this country. However, the one thing I'm not so fond of is the smoke. Non-Smoking Sections don't really exist, and almost all Hungarians chain smoke. It's not so overwhelming if you're out for a nice dinner, but in a bar situation it is painful. Health issues aside, you come out of bars smelling simply awful; your hair and clothes smell of it, and while it's not a huge deal to wash one's hair, clothes dryers are not generally available in Hungary so everything must drip dry.
Regardless, I still absolutely adore this country. I love my roommates, I love the food (of course), I love the people, and I love the styles of the clothes. I bought some new clothes that are really nice, but my favorite thing I bought are my fingerless gloves. In America there would be no way I could pull off that type of look. In Europe you stick out like a sore thumb in hooded sweatshirts and jeans; everyone dresses up all the time! The phrase "Eurotrash" has new meaning, although I've taken to calling it "Euroclass" because it's so much classier than American clothes.
I'm drinking a chocolate flavored black tea right now. It's GOOD!
The girls and I made spaghetti the other day. It was our first cooking experience in Hungary. While spaghetti isn't really difficult, I can see where making more complicated meals would be hard because the directions are not in anything resembling English.
One of my favorite things about the people of this country are their greetings. They say, "Halló" for Hello, and "Sia" for Goodbye. They are pronounced as "hello" and "see ya". However, these greetings are interchangeable in the manner of aloha. Often I'll walk into a shop and be met with "Sia!" or I'll leave and they'll shout after me, "Halló!". It's really cute.
My Hungarian is getting better. I negotiated the open market this afternoon with almost no English necessary. I know the number system and foods, as well as the bare necessities like, "excuse me/ sorry" and "Thank you." All together, bartering for fruit and veggies without English made me feel fantastic.
Happy Wednesday!
Yesterday I went shopping with Anne. It was really nice! The shops here are, as always, amazing! However, the only downside was the metro experience. The entire city transportation system is based on the honor system. However, occasionally there will be ticket checkers to validate that you bought a pass. For once we had actually purchased passes, but what we didn't know was that we had to use another ticket when we switched lines. The mall we went to required a switch from the blue line to the orange line, and of course, when we ascended the escalator, there were ticket checkers. We handed them our validated passes, but then they started chattering in Hungarian and pushing us to the side. When they finally figured out we were not Hungarian they switched to English and informed us of the rules. It really wasn't a big deal, though. They just make you buy a 3 day pass for the Metro. It's pretty inexpensive, and as long as we have the pass, we're taking advantage of the metro. I've ridden the metro before without tickets and never been checked, but go figure, the one time that we actually get tickets, we still get fined. Boooo.
I tried the Hungarian National Drink the other day. It's a form of brandy distilled from Apricots. It's served as half shots because it's so very strong. However, it's really really good. One just needs to be careful.
I've only really spoken of the merits of this country. However, the one thing I'm not so fond of is the smoke. Non-Smoking Sections don't really exist, and almost all Hungarians chain smoke. It's not so overwhelming if you're out for a nice dinner, but in a bar situation it is painful. Health issues aside, you come out of bars smelling simply awful; your hair and clothes smell of it, and while it's not a huge deal to wash one's hair, clothes dryers are not generally available in Hungary so everything must drip dry.
Regardless, I still absolutely adore this country. I love my roommates, I love the food (of course), I love the people, and I love the styles of the clothes. I bought some new clothes that are really nice, but my favorite thing I bought are my fingerless gloves. In America there would be no way I could pull off that type of look. In Europe you stick out like a sore thumb in hooded sweatshirts and jeans; everyone dresses up all the time! The phrase "Eurotrash" has new meaning, although I've taken to calling it "Euroclass" because it's so much classier than American clothes.
I'm drinking a chocolate flavored black tea right now. It's GOOD!
The girls and I made spaghetti the other day. It was our first cooking experience in Hungary. While spaghetti isn't really difficult, I can see where making more complicated meals would be hard because the directions are not in anything resembling English.
One of my favorite things about the people of this country are their greetings. They say, "Halló" for Hello, and "Sia" for Goodbye. They are pronounced as "hello" and "see ya". However, these greetings are interchangeable in the manner of aloha. Often I'll walk into a shop and be met with "Sia!" or I'll leave and they'll shout after me, "Halló!". It's really cute.
My Hungarian is getting better. I negotiated the open market this afternoon with almost no English necessary. I know the number system and foods, as well as the bare necessities like, "excuse me/ sorry" and "Thank you." All together, bartering for fruit and veggies without English made me feel fantastic.
Happy Wednesday!
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Hot Springs and Metro!
I made two huge accomplishments today! First I went to tbe hot springs with my friend Mark, and second I found my way around the city (using the Metro, even!) all by myself! We had class today even thought it was Saturday. Since we had a short week this week, they wanted to make up for some of the lost time, but we got our earlier than we would normally. My friend Mark and I went in search of the spas after class. The one we went to is in the huge city park. THe park is fantastic! There are little street vendors and a zoo (with carved elephants guarding the door), plus tons of other things that my senses couldn't deal with. The hot springs are AMAZING. The buidling they're in isn't really clearly marked, but it was pretty easy to find. There is English on most of the signs since we went to the most touristy one, so it wasn't confusing at all. It was like stepping into the guidebook. We frequented the outdoor pools since the air was absolutely perfect for being half in the water, half out. We watched old men play chess and betted on the winner. My dude lost, so now I owe Mark 50 forints (that's about a quarter). There's this ring in the farthest pool that is rather like a hot tub. It's in the exact middle of the pool, and every so often bubbles start coming out the bench you're sitting on so it's like sitting on a vent. It was a bit surprising at first, but once we figured out that it was supposed to be like that we had fun with it. The whole experience initially cost 2200 forints, but since we were there for less than three hours we got 500 forints back.
On the way back we passed an ice rink. It's HUGE and they play loud music and show music videos. It looks phenomenal. We found a little restaurant and both got pasta. Mine was covered in cheese and it was in a besil and garlic sauce. The whole thing was 900 forints and I couldn't even finish it all. When things start slowing down it'll be nice to prepare my own meals. Maybe then I could eat something that's halfway healthy.
The public transporation is great! I just did it by myself today. The inside of the metro and the trams is gross, but they're really efficient, and I didn't get lost!!!
Tomorrow we have a three hour tour of the city. It should be interesting. I can't wait to see the Danube again. It's really hypnotic.
We're going to one of the oldest clubs in Budapest tonight. It's supposed to be just super.
That's about all. Happy January!
On the way back we passed an ice rink. It's HUGE and they play loud music and show music videos. It looks phenomenal. We found a little restaurant and both got pasta. Mine was covered in cheese and it was in a besil and garlic sauce. The whole thing was 900 forints and I couldn't even finish it all. When things start slowing down it'll be nice to prepare my own meals. Maybe then I could eat something that's halfway healthy.
The public transporation is great! I just did it by myself today. The inside of the metro and the trams is gross, but they're really efficient, and I didn't get lost!!!
Tomorrow we have a three hour tour of the city. It should be interesting. I can't wait to see the Danube again. It's really hypnotic.
We're going to one of the oldest clubs in Budapest tonight. It's supposed to be just super.
That's about all. Happy January!
Friday, January 19, 2007
Tea Haz
I'm in love with this city. I doubt I'll ever leave. Right now I'm in a fantastic tea house called "Tea Haz". It's pronounced "Teaah Hooohz. I'm waiting on my carmel black tea I'm splitting with a friend of mine. Yesterday we tried to find a classical concert that we knew was free. However, the street listed as the address was one block long, and that street was under construction. So, we just got a tour of the city. However, earlier in the day we had a REAL tour of the city. We went to the indoor market. We only had 45 minutes, and we had to eat lunch, so I didn't get to explore as much as I'd like. There is NOTHING healthy here. I discovered this when we ate deep fat fried bread with sour cream and cheese spread on the top. Don't get me wrong, it was AMAZING. Not good for you.... We mostly explored the main area. It's all fruit stands and meat stands. I can't tell the difference between all of them, but I guess there's haggling going on. Check out my pictures and look at it! I can't stress enough how much I love the people. Everyone is SO NICE and we all hang out! I'm taking Hungarian right now. It's an incredibly difficult language. I know the basics now. But that's it. I can get around the city alright, but I'm not having deep theological conversations with any Hungarians any time soon. Once again, I'm letting another friend use my computer, and I have been hogging my computer. Send me an e-mail at elangows@gac.edu if you'd like me to answer any questions.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
I'm here!!!
I've been in Budapest! I've been here for the past three days. They have been some hectic days! I don't have a ton of time to go on and on right now, but I"ll summarize as best as I can. The airplane was very uneventful, but I can say that when we arrived in Budapest, it was extremely exciting! We were met by a group of smiling people holding signs that said "BSM". We took a huge van to our apartment, because both of my roommates arrived at almost the same time as me. Our apartment is GREAT! Definitely the best in the program. We have a piano and 20 foot ceilings. One of the rooms has two smalls beds, but it has a loft in it, the other bedroom (which is mine) has a wall sized window and a huge bed. It's so nice! I live with two girls named Anne and Kristen, and they are both amazing! We have a lot of fun exploring the city together.
Today was the first day of our language course. Before today, we were completely on our own. We struggled through the city and definitely became stronger people in the process. There is no English on the streets here. Not in the signs, or the labels of goods, and all the currency is Forints. Most people speak English, but usually not very well. I'm already picking up a strong vocabulary of Hungarian just by immersion. The language course was really helpful today. We learned that different sounds in Hungarian are either "light" or "dark", and that designates the ending of words and numbers. I love that terminology. I often think of sounds as such, and for it to be explicitly named light and dark is really cool.
The people here are SO FUN! We've been hanging out a lot, and everyone is really nice and open. We go out to meals all the time because none of us feel up to bartering at the markets quite yet. The food here is phenomenal and rich, but it's countered with the amount of walking you must do. The public transit is nice, but we're right in the middle of the city, so we don't really need to use it.
I'm in an internet cafe right now (which is an amazing place) but I promised my friend he could use my computer, and I've definitely been hogging it for about half an hour while he has been patiently waiting, so I'm going to bring this to a close. I'll write more later, and stay in touch! I'm sorry about typos, I"ll correct them later. Lots of love!
Today was the first day of our language course. Before today, we were completely on our own. We struggled through the city and definitely became stronger people in the process. There is no English on the streets here. Not in the signs, or the labels of goods, and all the currency is Forints. Most people speak English, but usually not very well. I'm already picking up a strong vocabulary of Hungarian just by immersion. The language course was really helpful today. We learned that different sounds in Hungarian are either "light" or "dark", and that designates the ending of words and numbers. I love that terminology. I often think of sounds as such, and for it to be explicitly named light and dark is really cool.
The people here are SO FUN! We've been hanging out a lot, and everyone is really nice and open. We go out to meals all the time because none of us feel up to bartering at the markets quite yet. The food here is phenomenal and rich, but it's countered with the amount of walking you must do. The public transit is nice, but we're right in the middle of the city, so we don't really need to use it.
I'm in an internet cafe right now (which is an amazing place) but I promised my friend he could use my computer, and I've definitely been hogging it for about half an hour while he has been patiently waiting, so I'm going to bring this to a close. I'll write more later, and stay in touch! I'm sorry about typos, I"ll correct them later. Lots of love!
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