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