Second Week

I have finished another complete week here in Budapest and I can definitely say things are getting easier (I think). I am getting more comfortable with the city and really starting to get to know some of the people in my program.

Most of this week I was in my Hungarian language class. I feel like we have learned a lot in a short period of time, but I still feel really uncomfortable actually using it with Hungarians. Here are a few sentences  in Hungarian for those that are curious to know what I've learned:

Jacob öcsém.
Jacob is my (younger) brother.
Yes the verb is missing from the sentence.

A templomba megyek és a postára megyek.
I am going to the church and I am going to the post office.
Literal translation: The church in I am going and the post office on I am going.

A parkban, ő olvas és setal.
In the park, she reads and walks.

Ebédelek a szendvicset paradicsomval.
I eat a sandwich with tomatoes.

This week also included many fun adventures:

On Tuesday, Olivia, Steffi, and I took a Hungarian folk dance class that our language school was offering. I absolutely loved it! I don't have experience with any types of dance really, so I can't compare it to anything, but the posture for the dance is similar to many of the Latin dances, I guess. After class, we were told that the liberty bridge (which is closed for traffic) was having a swing dancing party. Some of us from class went to check it out, but unfortunately,  it was done by the time we arrived. Instead we enjoyed the scenery on the bridge before heading back to our apartments.

On Wednesday, our Hungarian class went to the Central Market Hall and bought supplies for a sandwich in Hungarian. We were then required to make this sandwich for our taste-tester. All the other classes did this on Thursday and the class with the best sandwich will be announced today (Monday). Our class made a ginormous sandwich with ham, salami, paprika salami, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and little bit of this super spicy sauce. I would say we are basically all professional sandwich makers now. :)

On Thursday, our class made a visit to the Immigration office to apply for our residence permits. Olivia, Haley (another BSM student), and I were done by 10:30, so we were able to enjoy the rest of our afternoon. We went to Testco at the mall to get some things we needed that couldn't be found in the grocery stories near us. I also got a bar of delicious dark chocolate bar for $1.30. So good and so worth it. We ate lunch at the mall and then headed back to our apartments to drop our stuff off. I then headed over to Olivia's place to study some of my Hungarian. At 4:15, we met up with others at the language school to go on a walking tour of Gellert Hill. Olivia and I absolutely loved being on the Buda side in the Gellert Hill area because of all the nature. We miss being surrounded by the open fresh air and all the grass and trees. Olivia and I plan to go back to the Buda side sometime to check out some cafes and maybe even do some studying in the grass.

 

While on this walking tour, we ran into a bride and groom taking wedding pictures. All the girls were freaking out over how gorgeous her wedding dress was. It was lace on the top with an open back and a fluffy tull-like bottom. We all couldn't help but stare at this couple taking the cutest pictures. Meanwhile, some guys in the AIT program (a study abroad computer science program) where in awe over a drone that someone was flying around the park, so you can see where everyone's priorities were on this walking tour.

Friday evening was also a wonderful afternoon. After a long day of class, Olivia and I checked out this International Christian Fellowship Group. This is a group of international adults who meet up weekly to talk about God. It official starts in two weeks once all the international students get back to Budapest, but Olivia and I still enjoyed speaking with some of the locals that attend the group. We sang a couple of songs, read a couple of bible passages, and prayed together. It was a great way to end the week. I had been told prior to studying abroad that I should make sure to talk to some of the locals. I was really hesitant on how I was going to do this, but Olivia and I realized this was the prefect way to do so. One of the girls name Eszter is in her last year of school, and even though she is from Hungary, she did study in Poland for a semester (or two?). Eszter was super nice and traveled back to the main train station with us just to make sure we got home safely. Eszter brought both Olivia and I a sense of ease and we are looking forward to going back again in two weeks.

Saturday, Haley and I explored the park by  Heroes' Square and enjoyed a lovely pizza and ice cream. I had a cone drizzled in dark chocolate with a small scoop of white chocolate strawberry ice cream and a small scoop of cookies ice cream. So good! A group of us also finalized plans for our trip to Prague next weekend! We plan to travel by train and stay two nights in an Airbnb. It will be a great weekend before classes start. Finally, I went to an English mass Saturday evening. The choir sang this week and after mass was over the lady in front of me said if I was going to be here a while that I should join the choir. So I gave one of the women in the choir my email and plan to join them the next time they sing at mass.

Finally, today a group of us went to Szentendre, a suburb of Budapest. We walked around an open-air museum, so there were little villages that we walked through and looked at all the different types of jobs/ways of life in each little place. We ate some very good gingerbread cookies and had lunch at the "inn" there. Our lunch included this very good cold fruit soup. It sort-of reminded me of a strawberry rhubarb pie filling. We then went into the actual town and had three hours to explore. A group of us went up to the beautiful catholic church on the top of hill and then walked along the river. We got home via a boat cruise on the Danube.

The amphitheater in one of the villages.

Our cold fruit soup!

It was a very fun week, but also a very busy week. I'm off to language class again this morning. We have four days left and then I'll be off to Prague for the weekend!

Szia,

Ashley

First Week

This week has involved a lot of changes and I am still adjusting to all of them, including life in a city, the language, Hungarian culture, new schedule, new friends, etc. As things progress and I get more comfortable, things are becoming easier. I have now had three days of my language course. I knew coming into this course that Hungarian was a difficult language to learn, but holy cow I underestimated how difficult it was going to be to pronounce some of these words. Here is a bit of Hungarian for ya:

Ashley vagyok. Húsz éves vagyok. Amerikai vagyok és Minnesotában élek. Angolul beszélek és most magyarul tanulok. 

My name is Ashley. I am 20 years old. I am American and live in Minnesota. I speak English and now I'm learning Hungarian.

Some days in the language course can be really long, because we are in class form 9 AM - 3:30 PM, but I am really getting exposed to the language. This week included classes that were slightly different than normal, because we had some other adventures: On the first day of class in the afternoon, some Budapest students who speak English gave us a small tour of the area. It was great to speak to a Budapest student to ask about some of the ins and outs of living in Budapest. Thursday we then visited the BSM/BSME school in the afternoon and had a mini orientation about some of the culture in Hungary. One thing that we are now all trying to do is to start with our thumb when counting numbers on our finger, instead of our pointer finger. We also learned that when bringing flowers to others here, there should be an odd number, because even number is bought for funerals.

Luckily, one of the things that doesn't need a whole lot of adjustment is practicing my faith: Wednesday when we got placed in various language courses, I got placed in the same room as Olivia, one of the girls that I had met Tuesday evening when a bunch of BSM/BSME people grabbed dinner. We started talking and I found out that Olivia's faith was also very important in her life. It is comforting to know that I have some one in my program that I can talk to about faith related things. We ended up making dinner together Wednesday evening: a salad with tomato, cheese, eggplant, and chicken. It was delicious (see image to the right)!

Also, when Olivia and I went to grab food for our Wednesday dinner, we stopped to take a picture of the gorgeous church down the block from me. Turns out this church is Catholic and offers daily mass - I can't explain how excited this made me! I tried going to mass Thursday morning, but I found out mass was only offered MWF at 7:30 AM and 6:00 PM on TR. I did make it to mass Friday morning before my language course though! I didn't understand a word, but the fact that I knew what was happening at each point is one of the best things about attending a Roman Catholic mass elsewhere in the world. I was also able to attend mass in English Saturday evening, which provided a piece of comfort. Olivia and I also found this International Christian Fellowship group that meets Friday evenings (and speaks English) in Budapest. We plan to check it out next Friday and see what it is all about!

This weekend has also been very busy and full of things to do! The language school hosts optional special events throughout the language course to help us get adjusted to the city and meet others in our program. Friday evening was the first one and included a Hungarian meal (goulash) and a cruise along on the Danube river. It was a very enjoyable evening. Then yesterday was a Hungarian National Holiday: St. Stephen's Day. Jane (my roommate), Olivia, some others in my program, and I got up early to see the flag raising ceremony at 8:30 AM at the Parliament building. We then waited in line for two hours to see inside the Parliament building for free. It was worth the wait, because it was absolutely gorgeous in there. We then found lunch and made our way over to the festival happening on the Buda side. The night then finished with fireworks over the river. There were four spots that the city was shooting fireworks from and it was a stunning show.

Goulash Soup!

Today I am off to see more of the festival and have a relaxing day before continuing the long week ahead of learning more Hungarian.

Szia,

Ashley

Getting Settled

I hung up some pictures today in my room to make it feel a little more like home.

Yesterday Jane, one of my roommates, and I did some cleaning of the apartment. While cleaning, we found a really cool record player, but it doesn't work. I also finally had some time to unpack since my parents left early in the morning. Saying goodbye was tough, but I know we will FaceTime plenty.

Today Jane and I adventured out to the Central Market. It is basically a building by the river with a big farmer's market. I bought some sort-of apple strudel pastry on our way out; it was very tasty. We then took a small detour by the river on our way home.

Tonight, some of the individuals in my program might grab dinner together. Then tomorrow my language course begins. I'm really looking forward to this course, because it would be nice to know some Hungarian. Currently I know a few words and am able to get by without knowing anything, but it would be nice to know a few more.

I plan to post pictures from the first weekend in Budapest within the next couple of days as well as an update on the language course and my apartment.

Szia,
Ashley

Ireland Vacation Video

This video is a montage of the family vacation in Ireland. I am going through photos currently and hope to have them up in the next few days.

I have since spent my first weekend in Budapest and am getting settled in. I did a lot of cleaning of the apartment, unpacking, and grocery shopping today. The language course I am taking begins on Wednesday.

Szia,
Ashley

Ireland: Day Five & Six

Our last two days in Ireland have been wonderful. We have gotten really lucky with the weather and have only had a few drops of rain. This is a beautiful country and I will miss the cute small towns.

We started Day Five of our trip bright and early, like every other day. Like I mentioned in the last post, we took a ferry from Killiner to Tarbert before heading around the Ring of Kerry. The Ring of Kerry was a very pleasant drive. We were very glad that we were driving the same way as the tour busses because they forced cars driving on the other side to make sure they were in their lane, and not ours. This made my dad a little less stressed while driving. We stopped at some castle ruins and stone forts about a third of the way through and then the town of Kenmare later on. This was a very cute town with delicious ice cream. :) After finishing the Ring of Kerry we enjoyed a night in the town of Killarney. We found the perfect pub later in the evening that served pizza and had live Irish music. The pizza was delicious and they also had a yummy cheesecake.

He found the throne in the stone fort!

The family stopped on the Ring of Kerry to take a picture with this gorgeous view.

This morning we woke up and grabbed coffee at the only open coffee shop. A lot of the places in town didn't seem to open until 9 or 9:30. We packed up the car and headed to Ross castle. We skipped the tour because we had to wait 45 minutes for the next available one, so we snapped a few pictures and headed on our way to Dublin. We arrived in Dublin around 3:00 PM, made a visit at the Dublin castle, and walked around town. We had pizza at a lovely small Italian place and then went and saw the famous Temple Bar with the live webcam. A few of our relatives were able to see us on the camera, so that provided some excitement. Finally, we headed back to the hotel and are currently preparing for our early morning departure. Our flight to Budapest departs at 7:00 AM, but my brother's flight home takes off at 6:25 AM, so we are heading to the airport bright and early tomorrow.

Jacob and I at the entrance of Ross Castle.

The parents and grandparents in Dublin Castle.

Tomorrow begins my adventure in Budapest. I will have more updates after I get settled and I will also post the link to the video I am making for the Ireland trip once it is completed.

Szia,

Ashley

Ireland: Day Three & Four

I write to you from the ferry from Killiner to Tarbert. These past two days have not been as stressful since Dad has gotten use to the driving. :)

On day three, we traveled out of Northern Ireland and into Ireland. We stopped at the town of Armagh since Grandma wanted to go to St. Patrick's Cathedral.  We ended up at the Church of Ireland Cathedral instead of the Catholic one though . . . We did enjoy the small town however and had a wonderful lunch at a small café. Before heading to our place of stay for the evening, Jacob, my mom, and I did some rope climbing while my grandparents and dad hit up a local pub. The place we stayed at for the evening was an old barn. It was a cute little place, and Jacob and I got to sleep in their Hobbit house. It was a fun adventure, but very cold.

The menu of the small café in Armagh.

The Hobbit House

There were many sheep found on the early morning walk my mom and I took.

We departed early the next morning, stopped in town for an Irish breakfast, and headed for the Cliffs of Moher. I loved the Cliffs of Moher! Jacob, my mom, and I hiked a little ways to one of the cliffs. It was really windy, but an enjoyable afternoon. We then traveled to the place we were staying before heading back into town for dinner. The place we ate at had an incredible seafood chowder. I've never had a seafood chowder with so much seafood. It was delicious. Jacob and I also did some exploring in town while Jacob played Pokemón Go. It was interesting to see how many kids were walking around town - it reminded me a lot of Wayzata.

Now, we currently wait to take the ferry across the bay. Today we plan to drive the Ring of Kerry before heading to Budapest on Friday.

Szia,

Ashley

Ireland: Day One & Two

After waiting over an hour for the car rental and not even getting the rental we reserved, we headed to Kills in Northern Ireland. It was a stressful start to the road trip since the only car Thrifty had that fit six of us plus luggage was a manual car. This has caused another whole level of stress to the family.

When we finally arrived at our destination where we would be staying for the next two nights, we could all relax and sleep a little bit. 

This place is absolutely gorgeous!

We were going to go to mass in town, but got lost and decided to give up. It was a humorous adventure (or at least for everyone but my dad, our driver). We went grocery shopping instead and made a nice meal before all heading to bed.

On day two (yesterday), we headed first to the Carrick-A-Rede and then the Giant's Causeway. It was really windy, but gorgeous. I would have loved to spend more time at both of these. We then stopped in Bushmill, Ireland to eat and went to an Irish relative's house at Cloughmills for afternoon tea. We chatted with them for awhile before heading back to our place for the night and enjoying the evening.

Szia,

Ashley

The Adventure Begins

Hello friends and family,

I write to you from my flight from Paris to Dublin. We had no issues with our flight from Minneapolis to Paris and were able to get to the gate for our connecting flight with plenty of time to spare. I slept a max of 45 minutes on our 7.5 hour flight, so we will see how long my energy will last today. I'm feeling pretty good right now though. :)

Before I continue, let me begin my introducing what my intentions of this blog are:

For those that have not heard, I will be spending this upcoming Fall semester in Budapest with Budapest Semesters in Mathematics Education(BSME). This program is what we consider an "external" program at CSB/SJU since it is not one of the many semester-long study abroad programs that CSB/SJU offers. So why did I choose to forgo one of the many programs my school offers and the opportunity to travel with other Bennies and Johnnies? Well, I first had no intention of studying abroad when I entered into college, but when over 50% of students study abroad at CSB/SJU, it becomes something that almost everyone starts to think about during the first year, myself included. As I looked into the various CSB/SJU programs and searched the internet about studying abroad, I some how came across BSME. At first, I thought an external program would have been outrageously more expensive than a CSB/SJU program, but when the program got brought to my attention again the fall of my sophomore year, I knew I had to at least compare the costs. After doing so, I realized the cost would be about the same, and I eventually came to the conclusion that BSME was the best fit for what I was looking for in a study abroad program.

BSME is a program for Americans and Canadians that are studying (or interested in) math education. As a math major and secondary education minor, being able to continue this education abroad was very appealing and the main reason why I picked the program. While in Budapest, I will be studying the Hungarian way of teaching math in addition to the culture and mathematic history of Hungary. Throughout the semester, I will have the opportunity to observe many classes and even teach a few lessons. I am thrilled to see how much this semester will affect my future teaching. While Budapest is a city that I probably couldn't put on the map two years ago, I have heard incredible things about the city and have received lots of advice and suggestions from previous BSME participants. I am really looking forward to what the semester holds in this beautiful city.

I have started this blog in order for those back home and for those also studying abroad to hear about how the semester is going. I also plan to use this blog as a way to reflect on my semester and keep a journal of the thoughts I am having while abroad. I do not know how often I will post updates, because I do not know how busy my semester will be. I plan to post the link again on Facebook when I have big posts or you can subscribe via email on the left side. I know that I will probably post more at the beginning of the semester as I get settled in my apartment and start my classes - both I currently know little about.

So back to current plans:

The family [brother, parents, & grandparents] left yesterday evening, Friday, Aug. 5, for our week vacation in Ireland. We will be road tripping through a good portion of the country until Friday, Aug. 12. At that point, Jacob will head home for soccer tryouts and my parents and grandparents will fly to Budapest with me. They will spend the weekend in Budapest in order to help me get settled and to do some sight seeing before heading back to the states early Monday morning.  I start a three week Hungarian course (since I know basically none) on Wednesday, Aug. 17 with those in my program and a similar program, Budapest Semesters in Mathematics, before my semester starts Sept. 5. Besides my plan to fly back on Dec. 18 and do some traveling in Europe throughout the semester, I don't have much more information about my semester to share with you at this point.

Currently, I am super excited for our trip in Ireland. I know it will be an incredible start to my semester abroad and a great way to spend time with the family until we see each other again in 4 months. However, I am a bit nervous for my semester in Budapest. I have faith that God brought BSME to my attention for a reason and that He has great things in store, but I am nervous about not knowing anyone nor a lot of details of what is ahead. One of my favorite songs to listen to/pray with is "Wherever You Are" by Jon Guerra; it is a great reminder that even though I am across the Atlantic for these next four months without anyone I currently know, He will always be with me.

While I don't know how much I will be able to post this next week in Ireland, I hope to share a few things on Instagram throughout the trip and then put together a video of the entire trip afterwards. I plan to post a link on the blog once it is completed.

Please pray for safe travels this week and that our family is patient with each other as we embark on this adventure together.

Szia,

Ashley