So I wasn't sure if I was going to blog tonight but I played rock paper scissors with Abby and she won and made me blog, so here I am. Today me, Abby, Kyle, Arielle, Leesha, and Michelle went on a walking tour from a guide book. It was really cool to see a lot more of the city. We went to this awesome park that's in the middle of a bunch of apartment buildings. It was really gorgeous and had an crazy sweet play ground. There was this awesome spinny thing that we all tried and there was this woman doing photogaphy there and started taking pics of us on the spinny thing. Abby gave her her email so she's going to send her the pics. We saw a lot of really amazing architecture and took a lot of pics. We saw the opera house, which has a ballet soon and I really want to go see! Then after wards we met everyone at this place called the Hummus Bar. It was soo good!!! Really good food, large portions and a really good price!! Definitely a new favorite!
This morning me and Abby walked to the close grocery store and met these two English speaking guys. They're students and the same university as us and just got here. One is from CA and the other from Korea. We gave them lots of tips about the city etc. It was really nice to meet new people. That's pretty much it for today. Tomorrow we're going to church and then back to the Island to swim in the fountain and walk around a bit more.
Kendra
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Rum
So today went pretty well. I feel good about the quiz, we'll see how the one tomorrow goes. We went to two wonderful places today! The first was on Marget island, the island in the Danube, and it's called the singing fountain. It's a really big fountain that shoots really high in the air with classical music playing. It was awesome and we played with a little boy swimming there. I'm definitely going back there in my bathing suite to swim myself. The second place was St Steven's church. I didn't go in but it's huge!! And gorgeous even from the outside. I can't wait to see inside. In front of it is this cute area of little shops and cafes and restaurants. We all went out for dinner there today because one of the girls is going home tomorrow because someone close to her became really sick. It's really too bad, she seems really awesome.
Another good thing about today, I found out where their Lush is!!! And I remember how to get back! Soo excited!
I had my first night of drinking tonight, don't worry, it wasn't too much. But I did have my first shot. It was called Triple Sect, this kind of orange liqueur, it was good. And me and Robert bought a bottle of rum together so we can make mixed drinks. And we tried this other stuff that's Hungarian and really disgusting! It was first made as a medicine and you can really tell. It smells like Buckleys and tastes ever worse. (you can stop rolling your eyes mom...I'm fine) Now I'm ready for bed and hoping I do well on my quiz.
Kendra
Another good thing about today, I found out where their Lush is!!! And I remember how to get back! Soo excited!
I had my first night of drinking tonight, don't worry, it wasn't too much. But I did have my first shot. It was called Triple Sect, this kind of orange liqueur, it was good. And me and Robert bought a bottle of rum together so we can make mixed drinks. And we tried this other stuff that's Hungarian and really disgusting! It was first made as a medicine and you can really tell. It smells like Buckleys and tastes ever worse. (you can stop rolling your eyes mom...I'm fine) Now I'm ready for bed and hoping I do well on my quiz.
Kendra
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Sweet Potatos
I just remembered one more thing! They don't have sweet potatoes here!! And if they do, they're REALLY expensive!! My Hungarian lang. teacher told me to put it out of my mind:(:( Very sad. Hopefully they have pumpkins. And I found red onions today:)
Trying to fit in.
So we had our first Hungarian language class today! It's actually pretty fun. We have a really great teacher, she is really nice and encouraging. We have a quiz tomorrow already, hopefully I don't do awful, I don't think I will though. I'm not that bad at pronunciation, we'll see how good I am at remembering it all. It will be really nice being able to speak the language a little bit. It's amazing how helpless you can be if the person you're "talking" to doesn't speak English. Or in a restaurant. It is so hard to order something when you have no idea what anything on the menu is except for falafel and gyro and you don't want to spend too much money or end with something you really don't want to eat. So far the falafel's have been really good, so I'm surviving. And some places have English menu's which is always really nice. Last night we went to this tea house and it was really awesome. They have cushions to sit on in a little loft and they sell their tea by the pot so two people can easily split it and it's pretty cheap. And they have really good cake and baklava. It will definitely become a study spot for many of us.
Hm, I'm trying to think of what else I want to write, I feel like there was more....oh, it's kind of weird living with so many people in such a small space. If any of us want to be alone, we have to go somewhere else. I think I'm going to learn how to study at coffee shops this semester. Normally I do all my work at my desk. But since I don't have a desk and will always be surrounded by people having fun/interesting conversations, I will have to learn to travel with my work. I love how close people become when they live together. Us girls have already had a number of really good conversations. I'm excited to see how our relationships form over this time. I think that's all for now.
Kendra
Hm, I'm trying to think of what else I want to write, I feel like there was more....oh, it's kind of weird living with so many people in such a small space. If any of us want to be alone, we have to go somewhere else. I think I'm going to learn how to study at coffee shops this semester. Normally I do all my work at my desk. But since I don't have a desk and will always be surrounded by people having fun/interesting conversations, I will have to learn to travel with my work. I love how close people become when they live together. Us girls have already had a number of really good conversations. I'm excited to see how our relationships form over this time. I think that's all for now.
Kendra
Monday, August 23, 2010
Feelings.
So today I really started to realize that I'm not going to see any of you for four months. I know I knew that but it hit me a little harder today. No weekend trips home, no continent passing along of things we need etc. I guess what put it in perspective was my sandals. I got new ones this summer and they are Birkenstock and have this strange bump going up to the balls of my feet. It's something that some people need, like my mom, but not something I need. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal but it's becoming a cause of constant uncomfortably. It makes me wish that I was closer so I could trade sandals with my mom because she has the kind that I had before and they were great. But I can't because I'm crazy far away. So now what would have been an easy solution is impossible and I'm stuck with expensive sandals that hurt my feet with nothing else to wear till it stops being so hot and I can wear shoes. I'm probably channeling all my frustrations and anxiety into this one situation which makes it sound much more dramatic and awful than it really is but it's still annoying. But don't feel too bad for me, I just need time to adjust etc.
I'm starting to get the hang of things here though. I know a few phrases (thank-you, that's ok, no thank-you, excuse me, not allowed, hello, see you later) some of them are a little random but we have fun with it. Sometimes when I buy something I don't talk except for when I say thank-you and I can pretend I'm Hungarian. I'm not sure it really works, but it's fun. We went to the biggest market in Budapest today to get groceries. It's pretty big, three stories, but they don't have a whole lot of variety. Everyone had tomatoes, peaches, cucumber and potatoes. There were more things that varied from place to place but I didn't see one red onion or sweet potato (some of you will realize how devastating that is for me, not so much the onion, but the sweet potato! I will find a sweet potato!) Stuff is cheaper here though for the most part. It's not insanely cheaper, some things are, like bottle water, but many things are just a few bucks less, and some are pretty close what it would be in NA anyways. Going out to eat is not as cheap as I expected. I will definitely try to eat in as much as possible. I am looking forward to cooking for myself though! I can't remember if I already wrote that... Oh well.
Something else that's different is that I react to mosquito bite's differently here. I don't know if they don't start itching until long after I've been bitten bit when I notice them they are red dots. Normally I notice right away and my skin get's puffy. This morning I had no bites that I was aware of, and now I know of at least 8. Not a fan... I'll need to look for anti-itch cream. Although someone else just put toothpaste on her's and that seemed to work, maybe I'll do that.
Jet lag kind of sucks, it took my two hours to fall asleep last night. And I tried to make the mattress better by putting my big pillow under my torso and using my smaller pillow for my head but then when I woke up and moved my shoulder it hurt a lot! I had to move it really slowly to loosen it up. Maybe I'll have better luck tonight. So far my night as been pretty good. I was in a bit of a low mood (see beginning of blog) but then I went to the coffee shop down the street with some people and had a really good mocha and then had a little dinner with some others. Pasta with bread and we lit candles and listened to Frank Sinatra and had a really good conversation. I love being with more theatre people. I'm going to say again how awesome this group is! But I'm going to start getting ready for bed. Good night.
Kendra
PS I would read this through to make sure it all makes sense but I don't feel like it so I'm sorry if there are mistakes or weird parts, you'll figure it out.
I'm starting to get the hang of things here though. I know a few phrases (thank-you, that's ok, no thank-you, excuse me, not allowed, hello, see you later) some of them are a little random but we have fun with it. Sometimes when I buy something I don't talk except for when I say thank-you and I can pretend I'm Hungarian. I'm not sure it really works, but it's fun. We went to the biggest market in Budapest today to get groceries. It's pretty big, three stories, but they don't have a whole lot of variety. Everyone had tomatoes, peaches, cucumber and potatoes. There were more things that varied from place to place but I didn't see one red onion or sweet potato (some of you will realize how devastating that is for me, not so much the onion, but the sweet potato! I will find a sweet potato!) Stuff is cheaper here though for the most part. It's not insanely cheaper, some things are, like bottle water, but many things are just a few bucks less, and some are pretty close what it would be in NA anyways. Going out to eat is not as cheap as I expected. I will definitely try to eat in as much as possible. I am looking forward to cooking for myself though! I can't remember if I already wrote that... Oh well.
Something else that's different is that I react to mosquito bite's differently here. I don't know if they don't start itching until long after I've been bitten bit when I notice them they are red dots. Normally I notice right away and my skin get's puffy. This morning I had no bites that I was aware of, and now I know of at least 8. Not a fan... I'll need to look for anti-itch cream. Although someone else just put toothpaste on her's and that seemed to work, maybe I'll do that.
Jet lag kind of sucks, it took my two hours to fall asleep last night. And I tried to make the mattress better by putting my big pillow under my torso and using my smaller pillow for my head but then when I woke up and moved my shoulder it hurt a lot! I had to move it really slowly to loosen it up. Maybe I'll have better luck tonight. So far my night as been pretty good. I was in a bit of a low mood (see beginning of blog) but then I went to the coffee shop down the street with some people and had a really good mocha and then had a little dinner with some others. Pasta with bread and we lit candles and listened to Frank Sinatra and had a really good conversation. I love being with more theatre people. I'm going to say again how awesome this group is! But I'm going to start getting ready for bed. Good night.
Kendra
PS I would read this through to make sure it all makes sense but I don't feel like it so I'm sorry if there are mistakes or weird parts, you'll figure it out.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Day 2...I know it's unoriginal but that's all I got for now...
Ok! So I am now here in Hungary!! It's really strange because in some ways I can't tell I'm on another continent but in other ways I really can, it kind of throws me off because it's not what I expected. It's kind of like a more run down North America with a lot of old architecture and monuments and fountains. But I'm going to start from the beginning and work my way to now. So the flight went pretty good! The food was much better than I was expecting, better than some dining hall food. And we each had a our own screen so we could choose what to watch etc. I saw "Alice and Wonderland" which was ok and I started watching "The Young Victoria" which was really good. It was kind of hard to sleep, I got only 1 hr and 20 min but I survived. The worst part was coming down...apparently my ears really don't like dropping in altitude. They hurt the whole way down and were muffled for hours after wards. Is there anything that I can do other than chew gum, swallow, and yawn? But we landed safely in Frankfurt and Leesha and I tried to sleep for a little at the gate while waiting for the rest of the group. I slept for most of the flight into Budapest and my ears didn't hurt at all:) We met Michael Page (our professor) at the airport and went straight to our dorms. Most of us girls are in an apartment type place in the back of the hall. We have three bedrooms, a bigger room with beds and a couch, two bathrooms with just a toilet, one with two showers, a kitchen, and a dinning room. It's pretty nice, a little run down, but it works well. The windows don't have screens so we have to watch out for bugs and the beds aren't going to do a whole lot for my back but it's nice to have our own space and not worry about strangers going through our stuff, we can lock the door to our area. There's 11 of us in the apt. and the other two girls are in their own room at the front of the hall. They have a lot more space but they have to share the bathroom and kitchen with everyone else living in the hall.
Once we got a little settled in we spent the rest of the night walking around the city on the Buda side. We have two Hungarian's, Vera and Isfahan, who have been showing us around and answering all our questions. We saw a lot of beautiful things, the Danube (big river through Budapest), a festival, and lovely building, but we all a little to tired to really take it all in. For diner we went to this really awesome pancake place. They sell creps with all different kinds of stuff in them. I had two with fruit and one with Hungarian pork stew, all very good! I will definitely be going there again!
Today we were much more awake. I started by walking to the grocery store two blocks from our dorm and getting a few things I needed. SarahJean and I had a bit of an adventure making sure we were buying cream cheese and not sour cream or cottage cheese (we got it right:) and the security guard followed us around the whole time we were shopping. There are a lot more security guards around here than in NA, there were two at the McDonalds we stopped at today to go to the bathroom. And you either had to be a customer to use the bathroom or you had to pay. But I'm getting ahead of myself. We did a lot of walking around in the afternoon. We walked up to the top of a Geller hill, a long and steep walk, and at the top was the Freedom monument, with a great view of the city and a bunch of little shops. From there we walked through the main shopping area and took the metro to Hero Corner, an area with statues of the seven men that founded Hungary and started the seven tribes (not that I know what those are). Then we went to a fast food Transylvanian place while we were heading back.
Once we got back all us girls had a meeting and started organizing living conditions and all the stuff that's been left here from previous groups (there's a lot). And now we are all doing what we want, some are out shopping, other are out doing who knows what and some of us are just hanging out, setting stuff up and relaxing. It's pretty good so far but I'm not as excited as I thought I would be, it's very strange. I think my personality that has become one that is very focused on the present and adapts to change so easily that it weirds me out, or maybe not, I don't really know. I have a really great group that I'm with, it's a good size and we know how to have a good time. I'm looking forward to starting classes and getting into a routine. Oh! And we don't have an oven! The boys do so it's not so bad and we're getting a toaster oven, but really would have liked to have an oven. I am looking forward to cooking all the time. It will be weird cooking for only one person most of the time but I'll get used to it. The biggest market in the city is just one tram ride away and I can't wait to go there and get everything I need! I already bought some kiwi's and grapefruit from the grocery store. The one kiwi was over ripe so I'm hoping the others are better. Anyways, I think that's all I got for now, if you don't have a blog and can't comment and you want to just write it on my wall, hopefully I will know what you're talking about:) So yea, that's what's going on for now and I will write again eventually!
Kendra
Once we got a little settled in we spent the rest of the night walking around the city on the Buda side. We have two Hungarian's, Vera and Isfahan, who have been showing us around and answering all our questions. We saw a lot of beautiful things, the Danube (big river through Budapest), a festival, and lovely building, but we all a little to tired to really take it all in. For diner we went to this really awesome pancake place. They sell creps with all different kinds of stuff in them. I had two with fruit and one with Hungarian pork stew, all very good! I will definitely be going there again!
Today we were much more awake. I started by walking to the grocery store two blocks from our dorm and getting a few things I needed. SarahJean and I had a bit of an adventure making sure we were buying cream cheese and not sour cream or cottage cheese (we got it right:) and the security guard followed us around the whole time we were shopping. There are a lot more security guards around here than in NA, there were two at the McDonalds we stopped at today to go to the bathroom. And you either had to be a customer to use the bathroom or you had to pay. But I'm getting ahead of myself. We did a lot of walking around in the afternoon. We walked up to the top of a Geller hill, a long and steep walk, and at the top was the Freedom monument, with a great view of the city and a bunch of little shops. From there we walked through the main shopping area and took the metro to Hero Corner, an area with statues of the seven men that founded Hungary and started the seven tribes (not that I know what those are). Then we went to a fast food Transylvanian place while we were heading back.
Once we got back all us girls had a meeting and started organizing living conditions and all the stuff that's been left here from previous groups (there's a lot). And now we are all doing what we want, some are out shopping, other are out doing who knows what and some of us are just hanging out, setting stuff up and relaxing. It's pretty good so far but I'm not as excited as I thought I would be, it's very strange. I think my personality that has become one that is very focused on the present and adapts to change so easily that it weirds me out, or maybe not, I don't really know. I have a really great group that I'm with, it's a good size and we know how to have a good time. I'm looking forward to starting classes and getting into a routine. Oh! And we don't have an oven! The boys do so it's not so bad and we're getting a toaster oven, but really would have liked to have an oven. I am looking forward to cooking all the time. It will be weird cooking for only one person most of the time but I'll get used to it. The biggest market in the city is just one tram ride away and I can't wait to go there and get everything I need! I already bought some kiwi's and grapefruit from the grocery store. The one kiwi was over ripe so I'm hoping the others are better. Anyways, I think that's all I got for now, if you don't have a blog and can't comment and you want to just write it on my wall, hopefully I will know what you're talking about:) So yea, that's what's going on for now and I will write again eventually!
Kendra
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Getting ready.
Ok! So I'm leaving in less than two weeks! Crazy!! It hasn't really sunk in yet, I'm sure it will as I get closer to it. I should start packing soon...I just hope it all goes smoothly.
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