Budapest Living

Living in Budapest

I wanted to write a more personal blog about some of the very unique experiences I have had here in the city. I've been able to share a lot of my photographs and stories from outside of the city (and there will be more to come!). As my life in Hungary has become more routine, I would like to take some time to note the differences, so that I don't take this experience for granted.

A beautiful mural near my flat.

1. The Roommates



I was so lucky to find a wonderful group of girls to live with this semester. After ignorantly wiring a deposit to a landlord I had never met, and agreeing to live with students only based on their Facebook profile pictures, this semester could have turned out to be a disaster. I guess someone was looking out for me!

I live with three Italian International Law student, a young Russian who works for a travel agency in Hungary, and a Spanish math student. I don't want to place anyone into a box, or stereotype because each one of these lovely ladies are strong, beautiful and courageous enough to move to a new city. That being said, I do want to give you guys a snapshot of what it is like to live with these girls.

The Italians are very dramatic. Maybe I am reinforcing a stereotype, but its true, and I love it. Caterina, Carla and Elena are so much fun to be around, and they make every trip to the supermarket an adventure. They don't participate in the kind of drama that usually includes gossip or hurting each other's feelings. Their drama is born more out of the need to communicate in a foreign tongue. Although their English is understandable and getting better everyday, in order to convey important or emotional responses, they rely on body language, voice inflection and over-the-top charades. I am a fan! It shows me that they really care about keeping the house together and about each other. Also, they have introduced me to the Moka pot, which I am convinced is the best way to make coffee in existence today. I have been trying to gain their sense of style, and their ability to throw random things into a pan with some pasta and come out with a five star Italian dish. They also place a lot of importance on pop culture and media. I often come home to see a few of them watching an Italian soap opera, or hear them singing loud American pop songs in the shower.

From left to right: Caterina, Carla and Elena 
Blanca is a student from Spain, and she brought a lot of Spanish culture with her to Budapest! The most difficult thing to get used to was her schedule. When we would agree to go out and run errands "in the afternoon" I was ready to leave around 1:30pm, but to her that meas about 6pm! She usually eats dinner around 11pm, and relaxes in the middle of the say. I have been eating dinner much later here, to spend more time with both her and the others. We now know to communicate our exact time schedule, instead of using such ambiguous terms! Blanca is also an inspiration because she is an excellent, hardworking student. The culture of students here is a lot more relaxed than back at Mines, except for Blanca. When she studies for a long time, she says she is "pringada" which means unlucky, but I know that luck has nothing to do with it! She has brought a few other Spanish expressions with her as well. For example, when she needs to shop for groceries, she might say: "I will go to the grocery store yes or yes".This comes from the saying in Spanish "Si o si" which describes something that is necessary. She also has brought nick-names with her! From what I understand, nicknames are very common between close friends in Spain. For example, she told me her friends at home call her Blanc-ees. She began calling me Morgins!! I have also tried to speak with her with my few words of Spanish, but her accent is very thick because she is from the very south of Spain, To her, all Z's and C's make a th sound. I have a hard time speaking in what she believes is the "correct" Spanish. She has a really hard time when we went to Austria though! You should have heard her pronounce schnitzel.




I have loved living with these girls, they are always good for a laugh, or to order pizza and talk for hours at the kitchen table. I cannot believe how lucky I am!

2. Errands
I don't bat an eye anymore at the public transportation here, and it has never let me down! I feel at ease traveling around the city, and even out to the airport with no problem. Walking and exploring the city without a car has been a real blessing, because I can always get lost and wander into a cafe, bookshop or stop for a kebab. It is getting quite a bit warmer here, aI nd its starting to get almost oppressively hot on the trams and the buses, so I'm hoping the air conditioning kicks in pretty soon!

I had a small hiccup with a lovely "kontrol" officer on the tram who decided to make up her own ticket rules. I think that they decided to pick on me not only because I was foreign but because I was American. She tried to tell me that my International Student ID Card (ISIC) was invalid because I bought it in the US. This didn't make any sense at all, but after arguing for a good half an hour I decided to just accept the ticket and pay the fine. The good news is that for students, the fee is only seven dollars! I was really pleasantly surprised. It also goes to show that sometimes it is just easier to deal some bureaucracy instead of trying to fight it so much.  

3. School
My classes are quite small, mostly because they are in English and there are only so many English speakers. They are often shoved in small libraries or conference rooms outside of professors offices. For the most part my classes have been very easy, aside from my inorganic chemistry class. In this lecture I think there was a large miscommunication between me and the professor about what would be offered on the test. The good news is that there is a university policy that requires professors to offer retakes on all exams!! I wish this policy could follow my back to Golden!!

Also I have been fortunate enough to be a tour guide for some friends in the past few weeks!! We've been enjoying some of the sights in Budapest!!




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