![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
Also, I will post my final pictures soon.
And man, do I miss Budapest. :-)
- Location:West Chester, OH
- Mood:indescribable
- Music:"If You're Missing (Come On Home)" by Bethany Joy Lenz
I have 8 days left in Budapest. So here are 8 things I would rather be doing than studying:
1. Hike to the top of Gellert Hill (I still haven't done that...)
2. See the House of Terror.
3. Ride one of those crazy bikes on Margit Island.
4. Watch the West Wing with Becky and Anna. (I'm about halfway through the first season...)
5. Read more of "The Road."]
6. Throw a frisbee around.
7. Go shopping. :-)
8. Spend time with friends.
- Location:College International
- Mood:
morose - Music:"Never Ending Math Equation" by Modest Mouse
Today: study algebra.
Sunday: study combo.
Monday: Take combo final and study algebra.
Tuesday: Take algebra finals and study number theory.
Wednesday: Take number theory final. Party like it's 1999.
Thursday: End-of-semester banquet and goodbyes.
Friday: Head to Bratislava with Anna.
Saturday: Jump to Prague and meet up with a couple of other cool kids.
Sunday: Come home.
Monday: Pack and take last pictures.
Tuesday: Home.
I can't believe it...
- Location:California Coffee Company
- Mood:
listless - Music:"Come Home" by OneRepublic
I decided to be productive Friday, so I went around the city to buy Hungarian math textbooks (for my boss this summer), and gifts for family. For some reason, my timing with the public transportation failed miserably, so I ended up walking around Budapest most of the morning. But, I accomplished all I had planned for the morning. I met Nicole after she was done with class, and we went to the National Gallery, an art museum with Hungarian works. We chose to do our culture project on art, so we went both for school and pleasure. I really enjoyed looking at the paintings, and I was yelled at at least 4 times for attempting to take pictures (but I still got about 15 good ones!). We stayed in the Castle District until 7ish and was able to go to a really old confectionary called Ruszwurm, known as one of the best confectionaries in Budapest. I attest that the sweets there were delicious. Full from the sugar, we went back to Nicoles and watched a couple of episodes of Grey's Anatomy (I haven't seen much of the current season) before making dinner. It was nice to relax a little bit before the last week crunch time really set in.
Over the weekend, Nicole and I went to Landshut, Germany. She has distant family there, so she wanted to see the town again and invited me to come along. We left around 1 pm on Saturday and got to Landshut by 10:30 ish (a 7 hour trip to Munich and then a 1 hour trip to Landshut). We got to the hostel pretty easily and had no problem checking in. Our room was supposed to be shared, but since the hostel wasn't busy, we had a 4 person room to ourselves. We stayed in the hostel for the night and we were ready to see the small town on Sunday.
Landshut is pretty tiny with only one main touristy road, so we had the chance to just wander around for most of the day. The weather was nice, so we ate all 3 meals outside in cafes or biergartens. There wasn't too much to see, so Nicole and I sat for awhile talking during meals and we really weren't rushed. In the afternoon, we went into the large church in the middle of the town and then went to see the castle overlooking the town. I wanted to see the inside of the castle, so we took a tour that was in German. Thankfully, they gave us a pamphlet in English that pointed out all the important rooms and features. For dinner, we went to a biergarten on the "island" in the middle of the "river" (they were both pretty small). I got true German bratwurst, potato salad, and a pretzel, all of which were amazing. We saw the sun set, and then went back to the hostel since there wasn't much to do at night. In the hostel, we found the tv room, and after channel surfing, we settled on Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark in German. It was cool to just hang out and relax for the evening.
We got up super early Monday to catch the train back to Munich and then back to Budapest. Both rides went very smoothly except for a 45 minute delay at the very end of the trip (maybe some mechanical malfunction?). It did give Nicole and I a chance to attempt homework for the week, and we did get back to Budapest by 6 pm. I got dinner and did some laundry before meeting Nicole to work on our culture presentation. Then I went back and crashed mainly from traveling all day.
Yesterday was a pretty crazy day. I had class until 10, and then I pretty much worked on homework all day and night. I took a break for lunch with Nicole and then a break to call home, but the rest of the time was spent working on my number theory extra credit assignment, algebra homework, and culture presentation. I think I stayed up the latest I ever had on a school night here (although not breaking my record from Wittenberg = 4 am), and happened to sleep through my alarm this morning. Thankfully, I got up before class started, so I rushed around in order to get to class on time.
I just keep telling myself that I have 3 more classes left and 3 more finals and then I'm finished. But along with being done, means that I have to say goodbye to close friends, people I am really going to miss at home. So, the end of the semester is pretty bittersweet (as it always is). Yet the countdown still goes on...
- Location:College International
- Mood:
stressed - Music:"Keep Singing" by MercyMe
Anyway, here are the updates:
Last Thursday, a group of 13 of us woke up super early to catch a 6 am train to Croatia. We arrived in Zagreb around noon and then got to the bus station to catch a bus to Plitvice Lakes National Park, one of the most beautiful parks in the world. We got into the park area around 5 and went to the two hostels we were staying at for the night before meeting in the middle to get some dinner. The park is located on a main road, and because Croatia itself isn't that old yet, the area around the park isn't that developed yet. So, the only transportation between the two hostels (15 km apart) were the cross-country buses that we took from Zagreb. I had read beforehand that the buses come at very random times and sometimes are super early or late, but I didn't expect the experiences we had. I stayed in a 5 person apartment for the night, while the other 8 were in a house with 4 double rooms. We ended up finding a restaurant about a 3 km walk from the 8 person house, so the 5 of us got on a bus around 6 pm to eat dinner. The next bus didn't come until midnight, so we spent some time in the restaurant before waiting about an hour at the actual bus stop. The night sky was beautiful and pretty clear, so I enjoyed looking at the stars,. When midnight rolled around, we saw many buses pass by the stop, but none of them slowed down to our flailing arms and yelling. Eventually the bus that should have stopped at midnight slowed down, put on its turn signal to pull off onto the side of the road and then sped right back up again past us. We were pretty much dumbfounded at how a bus could not pick up passengers, and now we were stuck about 8 km away from the apartment with no transportation back. Thankfully, we had been in contact with the owner of the apartment, and he offered to come pick us up. He pretty much saved us, because we probably would have died on the walk back.
The five of us woke up pretty early Friday morning in order to get into the park and see a lot before heading to Zadar. We made a plan the night before to meet the other group on the other side of the park around noon and then see when we were going to leave. So we got breakfast and bought food to make lunch and then went into the park. I'm pretty sure the lakes and waterfalls and just the whole area was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen (pictures are linked below). We ended up wandering around the wrong part of the park in order to get to the other end by noon, so we tried to talk to the other group to switch the meeting location. Unfortunately, we lost communication without knowing it (text messages can be unreliable), and by the time we needed to catch the bus, the other group was at the other end of the park. They tried to get on the same bus to Zadar that we hurriedly caught, but for some reason the bus did not stop at the other bus stop. So, we ended up getting split up, and I was really worried that they would not be able to get to Zadar (since there was only one more bus for the day leaving). The two hour bus ride was not very pleasant for me, because I felt responsible for leaving the other group (because I planned the trip). But, thankfully, they managed to get on the last bus and made it to Zadar by 7:30. We brought them ice cream as an apology for leaving them, and then went to the hostel for the night. The hostel was one of the best I've stayed in, and it included full board (meals), which was really convenient for the weekend. The group spent the remainder of the night wandering around along the coast near our hostel before going to bed early.
Saturday in Zadar was one of the best and most relaxing days I've had this semester. We got up and ate breakfast at the hostel before going into the city center (located on a peninsula jutting out into the Adriatic Sea) to do a little sight-seeing. There were a lot of pretty churches, ancient ruins, and most importantly, gelato, and I had a wonderful time just walking around and taking it all in. My favorite spot was the sea organ, a musical organ powered by the wave motion from the sea. There are wide steps where you can sit and dip your feet into the sea while listening to the organ sounds behind you, which was just amazing. We decided to sit on the bottom step and somehow didn't realize a wave was going to flood the step (incoming tide, right?), so we all got a little wet. But in the course of things, it really didn't matter all that much (and it was a funny story). After awhile, we went to the bus station to get bus tickets to head back to Zagreb the next day and then walked about 10 km back to the hostel along the coast. We all had lunch at the hostel and then decided to take a ferry boat to the island Preko really close to Zadar. The ferry was really inexpensive and only took about 20-30 mintues to get to the island, where we basically hung out on the beach. Some people went swimming in the frigid cold water, but most of us just looked for sea shells, read a little or talked for a couple of hours. Right around dinner time, we went back to Zadar to see the sunset, which according to many guidebooks, the Zadar sunsets are the most beautiful in the world. We sat near the sea organ and watch the sun set behind some tall hills on a neighboring island. I totally agree with the Zadar experts, because I don't think I've seen a more beautiful sunset (well, maybe besides Hawaii). It was so cool to watch the sunset, listen to the organ in the background, and most importantly, be with some of my closest friends here. The rest of the night consisted of dinner and then bed. It was definitely a great day to be alive. :-)
We actually made all of the connections in our trip from Zadar to Budapest, and no one was left behind this time. I was a little worried on the bus to Zagreb, because there was a ton of traffic due to the holiday weekend (it was Europe's Labor Day on Thursday). But, we made it to Zagreb just in time to catch the train back to Budapest. All in all, I think the trip was a success, and I feel kind of proud to plan an international trip for 13 people.
When I got back home, I realized how little school I had left, but I still don't think it has sunk in completely that I only have one week of classes left before finals. This past week consisted of a lot of homework and some fun activities (including a chocolate bar, Belgian brewery, Margit Island, and another potluck/surprise birthday party), and I've realized I now have to just push to the end. This weekend, I'm going to Landshut (an hour north of Munich) with Nicole, which I think will be a lot of fun and definitely more relaxed than last weekend (in terms of planning and such). Then three more days of class, three days of studying and three days of finals. Wow, time sure is going quickly!!
Here are the picture links from the past couple of weeks:
-Szentendre and Hiking near the Danube Bend:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20
-A Day In The Life - Budapest Pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20
-Croatia:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20
- Location:College International
- Mood:
nostalgic - Music:"Here Comes the Sun" - The Beatles
Here's the update:
I finished class at 5 on Wednesday and headed back to the apartment to cook dinner before calling Joyce on Skype. I talked to her for a little while (the call went much better than our attempt Monday) and then went back home to write up some homework for class the next day. It didn't take too long to finish homework, so I decided to read for an hour and then go to bed early. I think the extra hour of sleep really helped my cold, because I woke up Thursday feeling a little better.
I spent way too much time at school on Thursday. I had class at 8, a two hour break, class at noon, a two hour break, and then a colloquium lecture at 4. During my second two hour break, Ray and I went to Tesco to get food for the potluck that evening, and I found the Hungarian movie I saw a couple weeks ago. It was only $5, so I ended up getting it as a good souvenir for myself. We then headed back for one of the worst lectures I think I've seen here. The abstract sounded really interesting as the speaker was going to focus on four main problems relating to prime numbers (one of the bases of number theory), but after 5 minutes of horrendous notation, I was totally and completely lost. So, I ended up really wasting an hour of my time, but at least I now know how bad a math lecture can get. :-)
After the lecture, I went back to the apartment and baked cookies for a potluck dinner two of the guys were hosting. We got to their apartment a little late, but there was a ton of amazing food still left for our consumption. The whole idea of a potluck was brilliant since everyone brought a good dish and it was an easy way to enjoy dinner cheaply with a big group of people. I would say over half of the BSM group went, which was pretty awesome. The best part was that if someone got up from their seat, someone else would sit down and join in the conversation, so everyone had the chance to talk to everyone else. We ended up hanging out for awhile and then a group of us went to Morrison's, a karaoke bar a few blocks away. I had a great time dancing and singing karaoke (Anna and I (and then the whole group) sang "Mrs. Robinson" by Simon and Garfunkel). I left kind of early, but I still had an awesome night out with friends.
I got up Friday and headed to Margit Island for my Friday morning run. It was incredibly nice out, so even though my throat was scratchy and dry, I had a pretty good run. I came back and showered and worked on writing letters to friends back home. After lunch, I met up with the group of people going to Croatia to buy train tickets to Zagreb for Thursday. Everything went smoothly, and we only had three people not show up with the group. It's definitely interesting trying to plan a trip to Croatia for 13 people, but I think I'm doing a good job so far. After the train station, I came back and watched a few episodes of the Office with Anna and Becky, and then Anna and I went to McDonald's to book the hostels for the trip. We ended up getting the last few rooms at both places we are traveling, which is pretty lucky. Now I just hope the buses will work out once we get to Zagreb. Anna and I decided to go out to dinner, so we went to Mensa, which is a cheap but hip Hungarian cuisine restaurant. It was nice to have some roommate bonding time, and the food was delicious (as always). We actually got out of the restaurant in about an hour (a feat for European restaurants), so we walked around Andrassy ut for a little while before going back home to watch the Hungarian movie with Becky and her two visitors, Liz and Joanna. The movie was just as good as the first time I saw it in my opinion, so I'm glad I made the purchase. I crashed soon after the movie, since I was still getting over my cold.
I decided to do my "A Day in the Life" picture series on Saturday, so I woke up ready to tote my camera around everywhere. I ate breakfast and got ready and then worked on finishing my package of letters to send home to Wittenberg. Once I finished writing close to 20 short letters, I went to the Posta to mail them out and then came back to eat lunch. The plan was to meet up with some people to go hiking later in the afternoon, so I hung out for a couple of hours before Becky and I left for Moskva Square. On our way it started raining and once we made it to Moskva, we realized the group had already left without us. We attempted to get on a tram to meet them, but after 20 minutes of waiting, we decided it wasn't worth it (and didn't want to take up the other group's hiking time to wait for us), so we headed back home. I made the rash decision to grab one of my tour books and do a "90-minute" walk from Buda to Pest that was detailed in the book. So, I hopped back on the tram to go back to Buda to begin my journey. On the way, I almost got fined 6000 forint (about $35) for not validating a ticket to ride on the tram. Somehow, I got out of the fine and still made it to the Castle District. I began my walk through the Castle District (where it rained again), headed down to the Chain Bridge, the first bridge connecting Buda and Pest, and walked across the bridge to the Pest side. At the base of the bridge on the Pest side is Roosevelt Square where I wandered around for a little while before walking to the Basilica, then to Erzsebet Square. At the corner of Erzsebet Square is Deak Sqaure, where the Lutheran Church is located. I couldn't go inside the church, but it was still cool to see the outside. Right next to the church is a street called "Fashion Street," where all the high-end clothing and jewelry stores are located. So, I wandered down the street for a little while before making it back to the river. I walked along the river by the Marriott hotel and eventually made it to Vaci utca, the touristy street with a bunch of little shops and restaurants. I had been down Vaci many times before, so I made my way back home. Anna had left to go to Vienna that morning, so I made dinner by myself and worked on homework before Becky invited me over to play a game called "Pictionary Telephone." Everyone has a sheet of paper where they write a random sentence at the top. Then they pass the sheets to the next person, where that person draws a picture of the sentence and folds the sentence over so the next person can't see it. The sheets are passed again and the next person writes a caption for the picture and folds the picture over. The sheets continue to be passed until the page is filled up, and then everyone reads the beginning and ending sentences. It is actually pretty funny to see how the pictures and sentences are (mis)interpreted along the way. It was a fun evening overall.
Yesterday, I got up and went to church. I met Jason and Ryan along the way, so we all got to church together, which was cool. The service consisted mainly of singing, which I really enjoyed because most of the congregation really got into the music. It really reminded me of the contemporary service back at Wittenberg. After church, we went to city park to meet up with a bunch of BSMers for a picnic lunch. It was fun to hang out and talk with others in the beautiful weather. I had the chance to toss the frisbee around a little bit, which was also a lot of fun. As inviting as the park was, I had to leave to get some work done, so I headed back home to make dinner and work on homework. Anna still wasn't back, so Becky and I worked for homework for a little while and then watch a couple of episodes of the Office before bed. All in all, it was a good day.
Today has been pretty routine with just one class. I hope to make some progress on homework tonight, since we only have a three-day week this week. Thursday is Labor Day in Hungary, so we have a four day weekend. Since it is finally warm out, we decided to go to Croatia for the weekend, where we have the chance to be on the Mediterranean coast. I got stuck planning it, which I'm nervous about making sure 13 people enjoy themselves (and don't get killed), but I'm enjoying the planning too. We're going to go to Plitvice Lakes National Park, which is one of the most beautiful parks in the world, and then head over to Zadar, which is on the coast. I'm really excited for four days of relaxation and traveling!
Coming soon: New photo albums!
- Location:College International
- Mood:
chipper - Music:"Seasons of Love" - Rent Soundtrack
I've been meaning to update for the past couple of days, but somehow it always gets left to do later. So, today, I'm taking some time to update. Here's the day by day:
Two fridays ago: The cleaning lady was here, so I went running and then changed to get to school to hear a lecture by a Cambridge prof. He talked about two famous math probelms, and gave us solutions to the two. The first was about three gamblers, one having $5, one having $10, and the last having $15. Each round, two gamblers are picked randomly and whoever "wins" the round gets $1 from the loser. What is the expected number of rounds until one gambler has all $30? (I don't remember the answer, so let me know if you solve it.) The second problem was a lot cooler (in my opinion). Suppose there is a group of 20 prisoners who are waiting execution. The governor has a surprise for the prisoners. He has put each prisoner's name into a separate box and lined all 20 boxes in a line in a room. Each prisoner has the chance to go into the room and look inside 12 boxes. The governor then tells the prisoners that if all 20 of them finds his or her name without speaking to or making any motions to one another, then all 20 of them will be released. The probability that a prisoner finds his name is (12/20)=(3/5), so the total probability that the prisoners will go free if each prisoner looks in 12 random boxes is less than 0.004%. The prisoners realize this, and they protest the process. So, the governor agrees to the plan that the prisoners can discuss a plan of attack before entering the room. Is there a plan such that the prisoners have over 50% chance of being freed? If yes, what is it?
I really enjoyed the talk, mainly because the professor was really engaging and witty. Afterward, I headed back to the apartment to shower and get ready for a cocktail party that night. The party was pretty low-key, but still fun to talk to friends and people I don't see very often.
Two weekends ago: Saturday, I woke up and went to Margit Island with Becky and Nora. We attempted to work on homework, but the sun ended up hiding behind some clouds and we happened to sit in the middle of a soccer game. So, we left and I hung out before meeting Nicole to make chocolate chip cookies (a rarity here) and then we went to see 27 Dresses. The movie was pretty good for a chick flick, and I love Katherine Heigel. After the movie, I went back to Nicole's apartment where Wes cooked fried chicken for Kailyn (who had never had it before). Then it was time to actually work on some homework. Sunday was filled with church and more homework. I couldn't believe how quickly the weekend had passed by the time Sunday night rolled around.
Last week: Monday and Tuesday were pretty normal days. I worked on combo homework with Fatema Monday night and then spent all day Tuesday working on algebra homework. Anna and Becky cooked soup for everyone, so it was nice to just walk across the hall, have dinner and talk to people, and then walk back again to work on homework some more. Wednesday is always my long day, but since I had taken my number theory midterm the week before, I only had algebra homework to do for the week. Also, in my culture class, we have been watching Hungarian movies about the Communist/Socialist era. After watching four movies about the different periods of the mid 1900's, I've come to the conclusion that Hungarian film used to be really messed up. Most of the movies were really dark or satirical, and all of them had weird sexual tension. So, when I got back from class and Anna asked if I wanted to see another Hungarian movie Wednesday night, I was a little skeptical. But, I ended up agreeing to go, and we met up with a group of BSMers at a little theatre. The movie was pretty modern and ended up being a really good romantic comedy. It definitely restored my faith in Hungarian film. Honestly, I think Thursday came and went. It was filled with class and a trip to Tesco and then hanging out with Becky and Anna. But, Thursday evening, Anna, Becky, Becky's brother Nate, Jason, and I went to see No Country For Old Men. I had completely forgotten what the movie was about, so I was pretty surprised during the first couple of scenes. Jason asked what I thought of the movie afterward, and I replied that I had no words. After time to process, I really liked the movie, but it is pretty intense. I would definitely suggest renting it, unless you have a queasy stomach.
Last weekend: The transportation union decided to have a 24-hour strike on Friday, so Anna and I decided to walk to the market hall (about 20 minutes) and go souvenir shopping. I always love walking around the market and seeing all the produce, sweets, cheese, and souvenirs all in one place. We then went to an English used bookstore, where we wandered around for a little while. Anna bought a book, and then we headed back to the apartment. I then met Ray, Dan, and Ray's friend to eat lunch at Den Haag Pizzeria. It was the first time we had eaten there since language school, so it was fun to be back. Even though the pizza is pretty typical, it always tastes delicious, mainly because it was the first good restaurant we found in Budapest. After lunch, I spent the afternoon hanging out and then went over to Natalie's for another girls party. There were only about half of the girls there, but we sat around, ate chocolate and talked for awhile. I think the conversation was a lot deeper than the last party we had, which was cool. A bunch of girls stayed the night, but I decided to go back home because I have been fighting a cold for over a week. So, I slept in Saturday a little bit before working on some homework and in all honesty, being lazy. Ryan cooked dinner at Scott and Jason's, so we made the trek up to their apartment in Buda right before it started raining. During dinner, we decided to watch No Country For Old Men, which Jason had on his computer, so I had the chance to watch the movie again. We ended up having just enough time to get back to the tram before the lines shut down for the night. Sunday, I went to church and listened to a great sermon and music. I then got lunch out at Arriba's, the Mexican restaurant before grabbing homework to work out on Margit Island. I found a good tree and sat for a couple hours while working on combo and algebra. I really love working outside, especially when the weather is warm and sunny.
This week: So far, the main news of my week is that my cold is getting worse. I thought I was getting over my cold, so I stopped taking meds, but yesterday the cold kind of spiraled out of control. I've pretty much stuck to getting my work done, going to class and sleeping. I'm just hoping I get over the cold soon, espeically since I'll be in Croatia next weekend (a 4 day weekend here because Thursday is Labor Day) and Germany the following weekend (a 3 day weekend because of Pentecost/Whit Monday). Then it's time for finals, some last traveling and then home! Only 35 more days! (not that I'm counting down... :-) )
- Location:College International
- Mood:
sick - Music:The new Dave Barnes cd
And... I also wanted to see whether you readers wanted me to talk about anything else in my posts. You can leave signed or anonymous comments after each entry, so feel free to let me know what you think!!
Albums:
Basilica and Parliament: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20
Castle District: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20
Vienna: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20
Budapest Sights: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20
Hiking: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20
Pig Sticking: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20
Valentines Day and Budapest Baths: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20
Eger: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20
Spring Break - Costa Cruise:
Album 1: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20
Album 2: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20
Album 3: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20
That's all for now. I'll keep putting up the links when I add more pictures to Facebook. Enjoy!!
- Location:College International
- Mood: chipper
- Music:"Life is Beautiful" - Vega4
Wow, I can't believe how fast the past week has gone. I'll try to recap last week to the best of my memory...
I had my combinatorics midterm last Monday. I spent the weekend really studying for it, and it paid off. I left the test feeling really confident about it, and I found out that I did really well. I really like the field of combinatorics, and am hoping to pursue the field more, so this test left me really happy. I also got an email from Mount Holyoke College, offering me a position in their REU in Mathematical Biology. It was great to have an option to do math research since the Valparaiso REU was cancelled. I left school on Monday feeling really good.
Tuesday and Wednesday are always my crunch days because homework is due Wednesday and Thursday. After class on Tuesday, I worked with Nicole on my Number Theory assignment and then we went to the mall nearby to get lunch and go to Tesco. I found a cheap pair of flip-flops (unheard of in Europe) at Tesco, since my other pair broke on the cruise. Then it was back to the apartment to do homework. I had class all day Wednesday, and so I came back to the apartment after class and worked on more homework.
I thought Thursday was going to be busy. I was at school from 8-2 for class but I decided to stay after until the math colloquium at 4. One of the grad assistants from my REU last summer was visiting Budapest from Cambridge. He and one of his friends gave short talks as part of our colloquium series, so I went to go see him speak. Even though I had heard his talk on cyclotomic polynomials twice before, I actually really understand his talk this time. Maybe I am learning something in Abstract Algebra. Afterward, I was going to try to meet up with Hemal's (a friend from home) friend from school who was also visiting Budapest. But, I found out that I couldn't call her phone (either a wrong number or I had the wrong number), so we ended up not meeting. I was kind of bummed about that, but I went back to the apartment, made dinner, finished The Notebook which I had started in the beginning of the week, and then took a short nap. I woke up to Anna cooking muffins, so we talked for awhile while the muffins baked. Then I headed to bed a little early just to make up some sleep from the previous week.
I got up Friday a little later than usual, because the cleaning lady wasn't coming. It was really nice to sleep in a little, and when I did wake up, I went running on Margit Island. The weather was a little cooler than the previous week, but it was still nice to be outside. I've decided I need to exercise outside more often at home, because it's so nice to walk or run outside with a nice breeze. I then came back, took a shower, ate lunch and then Anna and I went walking around the Westend Mall. I hadn't been there yet, so I wanted to go and see it. I didn't buy anything, but it was fun just to walk around with Anna for a couple hours. Ray called while we were out, so we made plans to get together a little later and knit some. She came over to my apartment and we spent some time knitting and talking. I finally finished the scarf I was working on around Christmas, which was awesome. Anna and Becky then joined us and we went out to dinner at a restaurant called Kulacs. It's pretty close to our apartment and has traditional Hungarian food with live music. It was cool to spend some time with the girls outside of the apartment. The three of them then went to a party while I stayed back and worked on some homework (I know, I was doing homework on a Friday night...). I went to bed feeling good about the day and I managed to be a little productive too.
Anna and I woke up early Saturday morning to meet with our combo prof who organized a hiking trip with the combo class and his topology class. We met at the northern end of Pest with everyone else and then the group (of 13) took a bus to Szentendre, a small town about 30 minutes north of Budapest. We wandered around Szentendre for about an hour and then hopped on another bus to the mountains near the Danube bend. The hike went up one of the mountains to the top and then down and up another one to the Visegrad, a medieval castle used by the Hungarians way back when. The hike ended up taking about 3 1/2 hours, but it was awesome to see the Danube bend at the top of the mountain and then the castle at Visegrad. We took a bus back to Budapest from there, so we didn't have to hike all the way back. By the time we got back to Budapest, I had to take a bus to a church on the south side of Buda to go to a play. Two of the children from the family I met last Sunday at church were acting in the play and invited me to go. I really enjoyed the play, and it was fun to see a couple people I had met from church again.
I got ready for church on Sunday and met with Jason and Ryan who were both interested in going to the church. Everyone was very welcoming of the two of them and they thought it was funny that after only a week of me attending, I had four or five people come up, say hi and give me a hug. I love how nice everyone is at the church, and I already feel about of the church family. The service went well and Jason and Ryan left to go play soccer with a bunch of people, while I stayed with the Person family (the family I met last week). They had invited me back to their house for lunch and to look through some Sunday school stuff left from the previous leader. So, I hopped in their van and we drove to Szeged, a suburb of Budapest, where I spent most of the day. It was fun to spend the day with the family, and I even managed to look at some homework while everyone was watching a movie. One of the daughters was having a birthday party that evening, so I stayed for the festivities. It was pretty chaotic with a bunch of families with small children present, but I still had a good time. I left with Erin, the music director at the church who also lives in Pest (and doesn't have a car), and we had the chance to talk some more. I got home around 8 Sunday night, so I headed to McDonald's to check email and call home.
Monday and yesterday were once again pretty regular days. I have a Number Theory midterm tomorrow, so my free time has been spent studying and finishing all my other assignments. I also finalized my summer plans, in which I am planning on working at Mathnasium, a math tutoring center about 10 minutes from home. The director sounds like a great person and even asked me to get some Hungarian math text books to add to the center's collection. I am looking forward to spending the summer at home while still doing something related to math.
In other news, I found a way to give everyone a link to my pictures I have posted on facebook, so I'll post those links in the next couple days. That way I don't have to upload all the pictures twice and everyone can see what I've been up to over here!
- Location:College International
- Mood: cheerful
- Music:"Undeniable" by Mat Kearney
Once I was back in Budapest, things were pretty tough, especially coming back to a tough math program from a relaxing cruise. It was also pretty weird coming back to a place that isn't really home. I felt really homesick the first couple of days back, and midterms did not help things either. I somehow made it through to Friday, where things started to look up. I got to sleep in for the first time since the cruise, and when I did get up, I spent the morning on Margit Island running/walking around the track. It was pretty brisk out, but still nice. I then got back right when the cleaning lady got there (she was late), so I quickly took a shower and finished my midterm essay for my culture class. I then went to McDonald's to email the essay to my prof and talk to Joyce on Skype for a little while. It was really really nice to talk to her and hear about life at Wittenberg. She had to go to class, so I checked my email, where I learned that they canceled the Valparaiso REU. I was pretty upset about it, just because I had been rejected from two others and hadn't heard from 4 yet. Plus, I had to decide what classes to take next semester, which was adding some more stress. But, I put it aside for the night, went to Jason and Scott's apartment for dinner and then headed to the space-themed party. Becky and I didn't stay very long though, so we left and watched a couple of episodes of the Office.
Saturday was spent studying for my combinatorics midterm. I attempted to find a room open at school, but I wasn't successful, so I came back to the apartment and met with Rachael (who is in my class) to go over the practice midterm. The evening was spent studying more, and by the end of the night, I was feeling better about taking midterms. As a study break, Anna, Becky and I went to go see the Bucket List. It is an amazing movie (that did make me cry), and I recommend it to everyone!
I decided last week that I was going to try out another English-speaking church. One of my friends from home found a list of English-speaking churches in Budapest for me. So, I picked one and decided to go on Sunday. I woke up early to make sure I got to the church in time. I had to take the tram and a bus across the river to the north side of Buda. I got there about 15 minutes early, so I went in an sat down and was listening to the music team practice when a man came up to introduce himself. I later learned that he was one of the trustees of the church, and that the pastor of the church just recently left to go back to the U.S. He ended up leading the service for the week, so I was glad to meet him before the service. Just after he left to finalize some things, two of his daughters came up and talked to me until the service started. The family lived in Anchorage, Alaska and about 4 years ago, decided to move to Budapest to do mission work. The service ended up being amazing, and I left feeling a lot better about my life and staying in Budapest. After the service, I met the rest of the Person family and they invited me out to lunch with them. We went back across to the Pest side (very near to my apartment actually) and ate at Arriba's, which is very similar to Chiptole. It was nice to eat good Mexican food and get to know the Persons a little better. They explained that the church is going through a transition right now, since they don't have a pastor, and I said I would love to help out during the remainder of my stay. We talked about what I could do, and I learned that the church used to have a Sunday school program, but since the pastor left, it's sort of fallen through. So, I offered to help lead that, which I think will be a lot of fun. I don't have the opportunity to teach Sunday school at Wittenberg, and I have the experience from high school. I ended up leaving Arriba's feeling a lot better and I knew God was showing me that He really does have a plan for me.
The rest of Sunday went fine, as I studied most of the evening. I was definitely feeling prepared for my midterm Monday afternoon. I went to bed feeling satisfied after a really good day. It was really difficult waking up Monday though since we had Daylight Savings on Sunday. But, I made it to school and studied a little more before my midterm. And, I was really happy, because my midterm went really well. I still don't know how well I did, but I felt like I answered all the questions correctly (for the most part). The rest of the week has been pretty normal, but I'm definitely feeling better than last week.
I will update more about the week later, and I will try to get some cruise pictures up, so everyone can see them!
- Location:College International
- Mood: cheerful
- Music:"Just Keep Swimming" from Finding Nemo
Last week was a pretty fun week in general. Monday night consisted of homework mainly, which isn't too fun, but I was trying to be productive and not procrastinate on homework like I normally do. Tuesday, I was planning on being super productive after my algebra class, but the group going on the cruise got together to figure out how we were getting to Savona, Italy. We had gone to the train station to try to buy tickets to Savona, but they told us they could only sell us tickets to Venice and then we would have to figure it out from there. We got the train schedule and found out that we only had 15-20 minutes in between the 3 connections we would have to make. So, we found a German website that had the entire trip from Budapest to Savona by train, but when we called them, they told us we could not book tickets outside of Germany. We decided it was impossible to fly to Germany for the weekend just to get train tickets, so we accepted defeat and bought plane tickets to Milan and are planning on catching one of many trains from Milan to Savona. That whole ordeal took about 3 hours though to figure out, so my Tuesday productivity decreased a little. But... I did manage to finish everything I wanted to by the end of the night, which was nice.
Wednesday was once again a long day, even though I did have my Number Theory class canceled. We discussed a book called "Anna Edes" in art in culture, which was a "murder" story about a servant girl in Budapest. The book was ok, but the 3 hour discussion was really slow and not really thought-provoking. But, after class, Ryan, Dan, Ray and I headed back to my apartment to cook spaghetti (mainly because Ryan had no food in his apartment). It was a lot of fun to just hang out and make dinner with a few friends.
Class on Thursday was pretty normal, and afterward, Nicole and I headed to the Buda side of the city in an attempt to get tickets to a play I had read about. I had directions to the theatre, but when we got off the tram, I was oriented opposite what my directions said. So... we ended up walking down the wrong side of the street and wandered into a market hall similar to the really big market hall on the Pest side. After that, we happened to go into a gymnasium to ask for directions. We ran into an older man who after my asking if he spoke any English, he said "no," and I attempted to ask him how to get to the theatre in Hungarian. He didn't really know, so he pointed us to the secretary's office down the hall. When we went to ask her if she spoke any English, she said "no," and so we tried again to get directions in Hungarian. She also didn't know where the theatre was, so we were just going to wander around some more, before she stopped us from leaving. She then called someone in the gymnasium who spoke English and could tell us where the theatre was. So... after about 20 minutes of talking to these two women, we found the theatre without any trouble and purchased the tickets. Nicole and I then went back to my apartment for dinner and met up with Anna and Becky to head to the play. It was called "While We Were Holding It Together," and consisted of 5 actors who stood in the same pose for the entire play. They began each line with "I imagine..." and created little disconnected skits. It was pretty strange, but an experience nonetheless.
I woke up Friday, went running on Margit Island again (I really like my routine of running), and then came back, showered and wrote postcards to send out to friends and family. I got a mixed cd from my friend Sarah back at school where she had recorded messages from a bunch of my friends, which was such a blessing to get. I listened to it while I worked on postcards and I am determined to get letters/packages sent out right after Spring Break. Anyway, for dinner, I went to Nicole's apartment, where she cooked tacos. It was amazing to have Mexican food here! We hung out for awhile before going to Natalie's for the Spring Break party. It was a lot of fun (like all the other parties), and after a couple hours, a group of us went across the street to a club called Szoda. We went for the dance floor mainly, and I had a blast dancing in a big group of BSM people.
After Friday, Saturday was just as busy. Nicole and I met in the afternoon to find bright Spring Break clothes, but neither of us really found anything. I then rushed home and got ready to meet Nicole, Wes, Scott, Ray and her two friends from school to go to dinner. We ate at a place called Menza, which was a funky, upper scale restaurant with really really good (but cheap) food. I had duck with baked applies stuffed with marzipan. It was delicious. We then went to the Opera House to see a collection of three ballets centered around the theme of "Passion." They were all pretty modern ballets, which was interesting in the very ornate Opera House, but it was a lot of fun. We had great seats because our culture professors set everything up for us. The rest of the class is going on Thursday, so it'll be interesting to see what they think of the ballets.
After such a busy weekend, I spent most of Sunday doing homework. Although, Ryan invited Nora, Deb and I to go to a church that was recommended to him. It was an English-speaking church out in the middle of Buda, but it was just so nice to go to church. I haven't been able to find an English-speaking church before this, so I was really excited to go worship. The beginning of the service consisted of singing a bunch of songs (their praise team was fantastic!), and then the pastor got up to read a passage from the Bible (Luke 5) and give his sermon. He was a pastor from Memphis, Tennessee, so his message was a little off from what I expected of the "go out and be fishers of men" gospel. He had a pretty negative view of humanity, which kind of turned me off, but I still want to go back one more time to hear another sermon and compare. If I don't like it, I'm determined to find another English-speaking church, just because I felt more complete when I was there. I was missing something here in Budapest before, and going to church made me feel whole again, especially from leaving such a church-centered social life at home. So that was good.
This week is a short week, because we leave for the cruise on Wednesday evening. I am really, really excited to go, because I'm traveling to Spain, Morrocco, the Canary Islands and Portugal with some of my closest friends here. I am expecting great things, and I'm sure I won't be disappointed (as long as it doesn't rain!). If I have internet access on the boat, I'll try to update here, but if not, I hope everyone has a wonderful week and a half (and a good Easter)!
REU Update: So far, I've just heard back from Valparaiso, who accepted me. The program starts the day after I get back from Budapest though, so I'm not sure if I'm going to accept or not. We'll see if I hear from anyone else.
- Location:College International
- Mood: excited
- Music:Sarah's "Ultimate Mix"
This past weekend was pretty productive, but not too exciting.
Friday, I met with Becky to head to the train station so she could get the 4 day tickets to Vienna over Spring Break. Everything there went smoothly, so I headed to school for a little while to check my email. I stayed for awhile because I was avoiding the cleaning lady, but I was getting hungry for lunch, so I headed back to the apartment. The cleaning lady was still there, so I ate my lunch quickly and then went to Margit Island. It was a pretty cloudy day, so the scenery while running wasn't that great, but I still had fun jogging around the island. I'm trying to pace myself so I decrease my time each week. So far, I shaved off 5 minutes from last week! As I was leaving the island, I decided that I didn't want to ride the tram back home, so I walked around the ring road (where the tram goes) all the way to Blaha Lujza, which is the main tram stop near my apartment. It ended up being about a 3 mile walk, which was nice. The sky threatened rain, but it didn't start drizzling until I got back to the apartment. So, I showered and got ready, and then Becky and I headed to Natalie's apartment for dinner. A big group of BSMers went to Prague this weekend, so those of us who stayed hung out at Natalies for dinner and then went to see Sweeny Todd. My faith in Tim Burton films was restored (after a disappointing Corpse Bride), and I really enjoyed the movie. I thought it was funny though that the cast contained a lot of Harry Potter actors (Snape, Wormtail, and Bellatrix).
I managed to stay in my apartment all Saturday, mainly due to the torrential downpour that happened. I woke up late and ended up watching transformers before getting ready. Ray then came over and we worked on Number Theory homework for a little while, before we ended up talking and hanging out. It's always nice to talk to her, but before long, a few people had come over for dinner. Nora decided she wanted to cook in my kitchen, so we made blue cheese pasta and then watched a bunch of the Office. The group ended up going out afterward, but Becky and I hung back to clean up and do more homework.
Yesterday, Becky and I got up early (well not too early) and went grocery shopping since none of us had food left in our apartment. I then did some homework before lunch, ate lunch and then went to IKEA. It was pretty similar to the IKEA I went to in Austin this past summer, but it had multiple floors. I had a good time just walking around and looking at the showroom. I ended up getting a few things for the apartment, but I still couldn't find nails to hang a painting I bought a month ago. I can't believe places like IKEA and Tesco don't sell nails, but oh well. I'm still on a mission to find them. Anyway, I came home and pretty much did homework the rest of the afternoon/evening. But, even though I spent all day on homework, I wasn't too productive. School is starting to get difficult and the classes I missed the day I had to get my residence permit are still affecting me. So, I spent a lot of time going over the lecture material and staring at the homework. I hope working tonight goes better.
I hope this week goes well and that I don't get too stressed. It is always comforting to think that spring break starts in 9 days for me, so hopefully that will help motivate me. And after spring break, I have just two more months left here in Budapest!
I'll keep everyone updated, and hopefully I'll have pictures of the apartment/city up soon. I'm planning a "Day in the Life of.." day (where I have my camera around all day) soon.
- Location:College International
- Mood: okay
- Music:The Office Theme Song
My introspections...
I've grown a lot during the past four years. I was a junior in high school the last leap day. I hadn't decided on a college yet, I didn't have my driver's license, I thought I was still going to teach high school, I had no idea that I would work at Graeter's, or be in Texas last summer. And I hadn't even heard of the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics.
I think I've grown a lot since then. I am a stronger person, willing to do things I never dreamed I was capable of doing (like study abroad in another country for 5 months), and I think I have more fun because of who I've become. I have met some amazing people in the past four years, and I can't wait for what's to come in the next four.
The year 2008 seemed so far away four years ago. And I'm graduating next year... weird. Hopefully by the next leap year I will be in the midst of grad school, planning on teaching, maybe even married (now that sounds weird). I hope to keep growing, but I still plan on being the same old Alyssa. :-)
- Location:College International
- Mood: thoughtful
- Music:"Here" - Rascal Flatts
My Tuesdays only consist of one class, so I spent my afternoon reading a novel for my culture class and doing other homework. Natalie had a big dinner planned, so Erin, Becky, Anna and I headed over to meet everyone at her apartment. She cooked soup and corn cakes, which were good. It turned into a graph theory homework party, so I left to finish my algebra homework with Danielle.
Wednesday came and went. It is always my long day, since I have class from 8-5 with a lunch break in there. But, this week, I had to go get my residence permit. So, I woke up early to head out into the suburbs of Budapest (we went to the very end of the metro line and then rode a bus for 30 minutes), and got to the immigration office by 9:30 or so. Since I didn't get a visa before I left the country (because they told us we didn't need to anymore), it took a lot longer to get the residence permit. I was the last to leave because the woman who was working didn't speak any English and was upset at the slow computer system. I ended up getting back to school around noon, meaning I spent 4 hours authorizing my existence here in Hungary and ended up missing two classes. On the upside, I went to eat at an awesome Italian restaurant with some friends during my lunch break, and then went to class. My evening consisted of checking email, making dinner, and doing homework.
Thursdays are like Fridays for me, because I don't have class on Friday. So, I just had two classes and then stayed for a feedback session, which ended up being kind of offensive. The director of the program was offended that a couple classes were unevenly split or that too few people were enrolled in the "important" classes. I really didn't need to be there, which made it worse. But, I made it through, and then afterward, rushed home to change and then go to hear Verdi's "Requiem" at the Palace of Arts. A Hungarian symphony and choir played the piece, and it was amazing. It ended up being only 200 forint (roughly $1) for standing room, and I still could see and hear everything fine. I had a really good time.
I woke up early Friday to go running on Margit Island again. I love being out there by myself and just spending some time thinking and exercising in the open air. I just wish we had a Margit Island at Wittenberg, so I could go running there instead of inside a gym. Oh well. Afterward, I went to school to send some REU applications and then met up with Nicole to go to another bath for our culture project. We attempted to go to the Rudas baths, which built by the Turks, is a famous octogonal pool under a dome. We made the trek out there (it's on the Buda side of the city), and when we arrived, the woman told us it was for men only. So... we walked beside the river and went to the Kiraly (meaning "king" in Hungarian) baths. This bath was also built by the Turks and was only open for women. So, we headed inside and boy was it an experience. We got there a little before they closed the ticket office, so there weren't that many women there. The attendents were helpful and showed us where to change and how to get to the bath itself. The pool is also octogonal and pretty small compared to the Szechenyi baths. The biggest shock was that there were a lot of naked women in the whole complex. I felt kind of awkward wearing a bathing suit! But it was really quiet and relaxing, and I left feeling rejuvenated. I headed home to shower and then trekked back to the Buda side up to Jason and Scott's apartment. Jason made dinner and then a group of us watched a few episodes of the Office before heading home to bed. (The Office has been saving my boredom while in my apartment, so I'm thankful to have it here with me!!)
Over the weekend, a big group of us went to Eger, which is a little town in northeastern Hungary. There were 11 of us that took the train late Saturday morning, and arrived in Eger around 2ish. There had been two groups of BSM people there earlier, so they suggested a hostel to stay in. We headed there to make a reservation (it was kind of fun traveling somewhere with no real plans until we got there), and then went out in search of food. The main part of Eger consists of the Egri castle, a Minorite church, Basilica and Dobos square with shops and restaurants. We ate lunch and wandered around the sqaure a little before heading out to the Valley of Beautiful Women. It is a collection of wine cellars right on the edge of town (Eger is known for it's wine - especially the Egri Bikaver, which means "Bull's Blood"). We spend the evening hanging out in the cellars and just tasting the different wines available. I felt pretty high class, and it was fun to just spend time with good friends. The next day (Sunday), we got up early to search for a pastry shop for breakfast. The only place open (before 10) was a sweets shop, so we all got a lot of chocolate and cake-like pastries and hot chocolate. It was incredibly bad for all of us, but it tasted delicious. We then wandered around the castle and Basilica before eating lunch at a restaurant recommended by the other BSMers. I had chicken paprikas, which is the traditional Hungarian dish. It was absolutely delicious. We then took the train home to Budapest, where I worked on homework and more REU applications.
This week has been fairly uneventful. I'm spent most of my nights working on homework and hanging out with the apartment mates or with friends. Yesterday, Ray and I attempted to go shopping for a dress (for Ray) and a skirt (for me) for our cruise over spring break. We failed miserably, but it was still fun to wander around the mall and talk while drinking coffee. This upcoming weekend looks to be pretty boring, which I'm actually excited about. I need some time to really work on studying/homework and I think spending some chill-time with friends will be good for me.
On another note, as per request, the math part of the program is going well. I registered for classes (officially) last Thursday, so I'm taking Abstract Algebra, Number Theory, Combinatorics and Hungarian Art and Culture (sorry if I'm repeating this again). All of the professors are great and really explain things well. However, a big difference between math here and math at home is that the professors present a lot more material based in theory instead of using examples. I've been doing okay so far, but I need to look at the material more outside of class. Also, they don't really teach to a book, so I really have to rely on my notes. But, I'm really enjoying my classes, and I am pretty sure I want to keep studying combinatorics or number theory (I'm leaning more toward combo right now). We'll see what happens though.
Okay, enough of me talking. Besides, I'm starving and need to get home to do homework!
- Location:school
- Mood:
tired - Music:"Home" - Michael Buble
The weekend went pretty well. I went to Margit Island on Friday to run on the track. Yes, I did run for a little bit, but it was mostly walking. My goal is to run around the entire island (without walking) by the end of the semester. We'll see how well I do. Afterward, I went to school to check email and then met up with Ray. We went to the Mammut mall to get her a swimsuit (for the cruise during spring break) and both of us butterfly clips for the party that night. The party was themed "Middle School Mixer," so I had the chance to relive all my awkward middle school days. It was a lot of fun and included dancing at least a foot apart, group trips to the "girls bathroom" and asking a friend to ask a guy to dance for us. The music made the party and brought back many good (and sometimes bad) memories from those days. All in all, I had a good time.
Saturday morning, I went over to Nora and Danielle's apartment for breakfast and then the three of us went on a quest for cheap and comfy boots. We didn't have any luck, but spent a couple hours wandering around and talking, which was nice. I then went back to the apartment for a pretty quiet day of reading and homework. Anna and Erin went to Szentendre for the day, so after they got back, we headed over to Nicole's for dinner. Once again, another tasty dinner and a chance to hang out and talk.
Yesterday was a pretty productive day. I got up and met Nicole (and some others) to head to the Szechenyi Baths. If you don't know, Budapest is famous for it's bathing complexes, because the city is built on hot springs. The Turks as well as the Hungarians built these baths which have waters ranging from 85-105 degrees. The Szenchenyi bath complex is one of the biggest, with 3 outdoor pools and 4 indoor pools. Nicole and I are doing a project on some of the baths in the city for our culture class, so we were able to have some fun and do homework at the same time (I wish all homework was like that). I think the outdoor baths were the best, especially when you could disappear behind the steam rising from the water.
After the baths, Nicole came back to the apartment and we worked on Number Theory homework. I felt pretty good, because together, we solved two of the three problems assigned. We're not quite sure that the methods are correct, but we did get the right answer. I had dinner and then worked on combo homework for a little while before going to talk to mom, dad and steven at McDonalds. I can't say it enough, but it would be much easier if we had internet in the apartment. Especially since I am now in the midst of applying for REUs. But, alas, I must trek to school or McDonalds for the internet, which is going ok for now.
This week is looking pretty boring, but I think I need a week off from activities. I want to buckle down and really tackle the homework and maybe get some sleep in there too.
Notes, letters, pictures, emails... pretty much anything is encouraged to send my way. I'd love to hear about what's going on at home, so definitely send stuff! As always, I miss you all!!
- Location:College Internation
- Mood: mellow
- Music:"Letting Go" - Jeremy Camp
Anyway, last weekend was really busy. After class on Thursday, a group of us went to see Atonement at one of the big movie theathers near school. The movie was in English with Hungarian subtitles, so it felt pretty close to seeing a movie in America. The only bizarre thing was that they dubbed some of the previews before the movie started. So, I saw the preview for the new Chronicles of Narnia movie in Hungarian, which was interesting. I really enjoyed the movie, but it had a pretty depressing plot. The cinematography was excellent. We went to a place called Mr. Pizza afterward and ended up spending two hours there. It was the first normal pizza I've had here, which was exciting.
I don't have class on Fridays, so Anna, Becky, Erin and I wandered around the city for awhile. We started at the Market Hall, which is this gigantic building with fruit/vegetable stands, a fish market, pastries, little knick-knacks and most importantly, langos. We went for the langos, which is basically fried bread with different toppings on it. I got langos with sour cream and cheese, which I think brought me a year closer to death. But it was nagyon finom (very tasty in Hungarian). We then took the trolly up to Margitsziget, which is the island in the middle of the Danube. It is a fantastic place to wander around and they even have a track for running. I am definitely planning on going back every Friday to try to get some exercise. The last stop was Heroe's Square and the City Park. Becky left us then and Fatema joined us to wander around. We happened upon a festival called the Mangalica festival. We later learned that Mangalica is a type of long-haired pig, and the festival had a lot of sausage for sale. It was nice to just wander around the stalls with crafty things, candy, soaps, and clothing. Erin and Anna went ice-skating, but I was getting tired, so I headed back early to rest before the BSM Mardi Gras party.
The party was an interesting one. I ended up leaving early because it started to get a little out of hand and I had to walk a couple people home. I am not too sure what went on after I left, but there were a lot of people there who were planning on going out to a bar. I had a good time, but I'm really glad I left when I did.
After a long day Friday, the group got together Saturday to hike up to the lookout tower on the Buda side. It is the highest point in Budapest, and we basically started at the base of the mountain and followed a trail up to the top. It was a good workout and there were some great sights along the way as well as at the top. I love nature, so it was a great experience for me. I think I'm destined to live near mountains so I can go hiking more often (especially since Ohio doesn't have any mountains). We spent about 4 hours hiking up and down, and afterward, we went back to Scott and Jason's apartment for dinner. Jason made curry, which ended up being spicier than he promised, but it was still good. I left soon after, because I was exhausted.
Sunday was the long-expected pig-sticking "festival." We left around 9 am and traveled about an hour southeast of Budapest to a place called Tamas Tanyas. We got there after they had slaughtered the pig and were in the process of burning the hair off the pig. It was just two people outside a little restaurant working on the pig the entire morning/early afternoon. We watched the process for a little while and then ate breakfast consisting of cooked blood (it was better than expected), scrambled eggs, and bread. After breakfast, they skinned the pig and began cutting it up. They let us pick up the pig's head, so Ray and I took a picture with the head. It was definitely an experience. Lunch was at the end, and by that point, I didn't really enjoy the sausage they gave us. But, I ate plenty of pork throughout the day and had a good time away from the city.
This week has started off slow, which has been kind of nice. I only had one class both yesterday and today, so I've been working on homework and spending some time with Becky, Erin and Anna. Tonight we are cooking mac and cheese and chicken nuggets tonight, so it'll be fun to just hang out with a bigger group of people. And hopefully, some homework will happen in there too.
All in all, it's been a pretty good first week and a half of classes. I have my schedule all worked out, so I just need to get in the routine of things. It's definitely weird changing my daily schedule after a month of language school and trial classes, but I think it'll turn out okay. If you want to send me mail, I would love it, and I'm definitely trying to get some postcards and stationary to send letters home! I miss you all!
- Location:College International
- Mood:geeky
- Music:"Love Song" - Sara Bareilles
So, classes are still going well. I've definitely decided on Algebra, Combinatorics and Hungarian Art and Culture. All three are really cool classes and I leave pretty satisfied each time. I also sat in on the Mathematical Problem Solving class, which was cool, but I don't think I can actually take a class where all you do is solve problems. So, I'm just going to steal the problem sheets from Becky or Ray and work on them in my free time (yes, once again, a very nerdy move). And I've still got to decide between Number Theory and Graph Theory. I'll let you know what I choose.
We've still been doing our rotation dinners. Monday. Ryan made fantastic omelettes and then we baked cookies afterward. And yesterday, Wes cooked chicken kiev, which was super spicy, but fantastic. It's just nice to hang out with a group of people and eat good food.
This weekend is once again super busy. Friday there is a Mardi Gras party, which sounds crazy but fun. Saturday, a group of us are going hiking up to the Lookout Tower, the tallest point on the Buda side. And then Sunday is the pig sticking festival in nothern Hungary. We are taking a bus up to the festival and pretty much spending the day there. I'm not too sure how the whole slaughtering process will be, but it will definitely be an experience.
Anyway, I best go. Tonight is the hermit night and I need to go grocery shopping before they close.
Pictures are soon to come!
- Location:College International
- Mood: tired
- Music:"Mr. Destiny" - Ryan's song
Since the language school ended on Thursday, we didn't have to wake up early Friday, which was in theory a great thing. However, the cleaning lady showed up at our door at 9:30 am ready to clean. She started in Becky and Erin's apartment, but after that, I really couldn't go back to sleep. So, I got up and went to McDonald's to get on the internet... and I successfully downloaded Skype, which means I can call my house and talk to my parents (a very good thing). Afterward, a group of us went to a Thai restaurant (yes, Thai food does exist in Hungary) for lunch. We were the only ones in the restaurant, so it was fun to joke around and talk about the upcoming math classes and trip to Vienna. We had orientation for the math school Friday afternoon, which was not very interesting. We already knew most of the information from our orientation before, but they did have a good reception afterwards to meet the professors. I didn't stay too long because I had a lot to do. I decided to bake cookies for Natalie's birthday party (a semi-formal event) instead of buy a bottle of wine. They were a big hit, which was awesome.
Natalie's party was a lot of fun, mainly because most of the people in BSM were there (even those who just arrived). I had the chance to dress up a little bit and we just hung out and listened to music. Some people were playing cards and we attempted to get a group dancing, but it didn't work until people went out afterward. A bunch of people left around midnight to go to a bar, but I didn't go because I wanted to sleep a little before Vienna. So, I left with Erin who also wanted to head home. There will be plenty of time to go out dancing.
Saturday morning consisted of waking up and getting to the train station at 6:30. We were worried a couple people wouldn't come because of the party the night before, but everyone showed up (except for Wes who was going to buy a ticket later). We hopped on the train and got to Vienna around 11 or so. It was probably 10 degrees colder than Budapest and raining, but we made it to the hostel and headed out to get some lunch and see the city. We wandered around the inner ring of the city (which is incredibly touristy), and visited St. Stephan's Cathedral (which is gorgeous - pictures will be up soon). We then happened to run into Wes near the Austrian parliament. He decided to take a train later and hope to find us. I still can't believe we ran into him as soon as we did.
We wandered around the city for most the day and evening and after dinner, we attempted to find the ferris wheel that overlooks the city. We found it just fine, but it was impossible to get to (and it was closed). So, we wandered back and went to bed early (nobody had slept well the night before).
Sunday morning, Ray, Jason and I went to go see the Vienna Boys Choir. They perform every week during a Catholic service in the palace district. Standing room was free, and I was blown away with how good they were. I can't really explain it all that much, other than I could definitely feel God in the chapel. After that, we met up with the group again and headed to Belvedere, which is a gigantic art museum. They had so many original paintings, including Klimt's "The Kiss," three or four Monet's, a Van Gogh, and the really popular painting of Napoleon Bonaparte (the one where he's on the horse fighting). I haven't really enjoyed art museums in the past, but I really liked this one. My right brain was definitely working. After that, we got lunch/dinner and worked our way back to the train station. Then it was back to Budapest to check email and call dad and steven. It was really nice to finally talk to them, and I can't wait for internet in my apartment to call more frequently.
Today was the first day of classes. The program has a three week trial period, where you can sit in on any class for the first three weeks. The aim is so you can observe the difficulty of the class and the professor's style of teaching before actually registering to take the class. So, I sat in on a classical algebra review session this morning and combinatorics this afternoon. The algebra class was incredibly fast-paced, so I'm not sure how much I will absorb, but it doesn't really count as a class. And, I'm pretty sure I am going to like combinatorics a lot. The professor is very good at explaining things and I like the material so far (after 2 hours of class). I'm excited to take more classes tomorrow! (And yes, I know I am a very big dork.)
Tonight the dinner group is meeting for omelettes (I think) and will probably just hang out afterward. Then off to more class tomorrow!
- Location:College Internation
- Mood: chipper
- Music:"Never-ending Math Equation" - Modest Mouse
So, this can't be a long entry (because I am a busy girl..), but I finally managed to get the Basilica and Parliament pictures uploaded from my computer. So here's the link to my photobucket album. Hopefully, more will come soon!
<a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj229/a
Today was the last day of language school. It was both a happy and sad time. I think I'm ready to move on to the actual math program, but I did enjoy the teachers and not having to do my homework or care about my progress. But, the schedule for the math classes is posted online and if I take what I'm planning on taking, I won't have class on Fridays. I think I'm going to take Algebra, Combinatorics, Number Theory and Hungarian Art and Culture, which doesn't sound too horrible. I will be in class all day Wednesday though.
Anyway, this weekend I am going to Vienna with 7 others. We are leaving early Saturday morning and returning Sunday evening. I think we're staying at a hostel in the middle of the city and we're pretty much going to play it by ear in terms of what we see and do. I'm extremely excited, because it's kind of like a trial run trip before we have to start worrying about homework and classes. I'll definitely post an entry when we get back to Budapest. And hopefully, I will have pictures posted sometime soon too.
Tonight I think we're going to see a movie and make dinner at Nora's apartment. Then tomorrow night is Natalies semi-formal birthday party. I'm super excited for that too!
Ok, off to accomplish great things!!
- Location:school
- Mood: tired
- Music:"Magic" - Colbie Caillat
