Week 2-Running Around Like a Headless Chicken
Seriously, that's about how I feel right now. If the title of this post and its subsequent heading wasn't indicative of the week I've had, well, you're a bit slow on the uptake, but I'm glad you're here anyway.
I do want to be able to update this more regularly, and I think once classes start on Monday that I will be able to, as I settle into a groove and am not run around all over creation.
So, I'm giving this update tonight instead of tomorrow night because tomorrow is going to be a day of actually doing shit I'm supposed to do, like laundry, printing out syllabi, and looking at my textbook list and seeing if I can buy them tomorrow or Monday morning. You know, the things called real life. I mean, I did come here to study, so the reality that this is not just an extended vacation is beginning to take hold.
I've barely had a free moment in the six days that have passed since moving from Cousin Cini's to the dormitory. Tonight I chose not to go out, watched some baseball games, and just relaxed for a little bit. So, let me recap, once again, the week that was.
On Monday, I woke up bright and early to move out of Cini's flat and into the Corvinus Dorms on Raday Street. I packed my giant suitcase and backpack, and waited for her father to take me to Corvinus. I lugged my giant luggage into the dorm, checked in with the resident staff, where they got quite the surprise when I spoke to them in coherent Hungarian, which they were not expecting as I forgot to tip off the CIEE staff that I indeed do have some Hungarian language, and it's not just a word or two. I took some of the CIEE students to lunch with me, and we just had a good time. I spent the day getting to meet my dorm-mates and roommates and procrastinated after settling in, just people-watching and enjoying myself as people introduced themselves to me and others.
Kristin, Sasha, Marissa, Myself, Jake, and Andrew having a Hungarian lunch.
Tuesday was just as hectic of a day, just not in the same way. This was probably actually, in all honesty, the most boring day for me personally. We went sightseeing around Budapest, which, don't get me wrong, was fun and all, but I had already seen the places we went (Hero's Square, and other places). We also were taught how to use the Villamos and Kismetro and other transit systems, all things I already know how to do. We then went over to the Buda side and got a gorgeous view of the Pest side and the Danube below. We finished the day off with a large dinner, and headed in for the night, knowing the next day would be rough as we had a 7:45 AM wake up call for a trip to the Hungarian Immigration Office.
This is where the "Trolling" aspect of my heading titles comes in. Knowing we would be heading to the Immigration Office, and that I was the only one besides the dual-citizen in our group, Aliz, who could speak Hungarian besides a phrase or two, I found my "Team USA" Jimmy Rollins baseball T-Shirt and strolled into the Immigration office with that. Why? Because they would assume, at first glance, that I would be least likely to be able to communicate in Hungarian with them. After waiting around for a few hours, I went in there, sat down with an Immigration official, and communicated everything with her in Hungarian, only using English for a word or two. It must've given them at least some semblance of a kick. I mean, if someone came into the American immigration office, from like, Albania or some shit, with a giant "I LOVE ALBANIA"(In Albanian, of course) T-Shirt on, asking for a residence permit, and they spoke to me in perfect English, I'd appreciate it but also find it quite funny as well that this person, of all people, could communicate with me effectively in my native tongue. We then met the Hungarian teacher, got a schedule of our excursions, and we will be going to Eger and Transylvania in the coming weeks, both of which I'm excited for. This was a rather boring day, though, as we basically lost an entire day dealing with the bureaucratic world of Immigration Control.
The same cannot be said for Wednesday night. I returned to the dorm with about an hour to spare before I was going shopping at Tesco with Tamas and Annina, two of the Dombys (My mother's side of the family) who have been supporting me and helping me while here. They showed me how to get there by bus, and then they and I went shopping together, and I got all the necessities, like, you know, dishes and such. Shit that I actually need to function. I come back at around 9PM that night, and my dorm is dead. fucking. silent. Like, there isn't a person in sight. I go downstairs and decide to just explore on my own for a little bit, expecting to be shuttered in my dorm room for the night because no one remains to hang out with. I run into some ISP Students from Chicago (ISP is another Study Abroad Program here for the semester) who all were planning to go to dinner and then The Szimpla, which is a ruin bar here in Budapest. I tag along with this ISP girl named Therese and a group of twenty-five ISP students are sitting at this Persian restaurant, ordering bottomless beers. I'm not a beer drinker, but I enjoyed just chatting with them nonetheless, and I ordered a nice Persian meal that was actually far better tasting than I expected it to be. I sat there and watched them continue to drink before sneakily paying my bill in Hungarian (So I couldn't get jipped with a 25-person bill, not that I wasn't trusting of these people, but I wasn't going to give them the opportunity to do it to me! :P), and headed back to my dorm room, where all remained deserted. I came back down and saw Gaby and Paige, two girls in our group, eating dinner just outside the dorm. My roommate Jake showed up minutes later and we agreed that we should follow Stephen, Sasha, and the CIEE Crew to the Szimpla, as it was a short way away, according to Stephen.
Not feeling like walking, we took a Villamos line two stops, and Jake somehow got his GPS to work, so we figured we would find Szimpla in no time. It was around 10:30 PM by now. Well, this didn't exactly turn out this way. Jake's GPS led us in about the longest possible route to the Szimpla as humanly possible, and when we finally got there, we realized it wasn't the Szimpla at all! It was a cafe that shared its name with the famed ruin bar/tourist attraction that is the Szimpla. I then remember that I have a map of Budapest in my satchel and we could've gotten there already. Surviving some death stares from Gaby and Paige, after an hour and a half of looking, we arrive into Szimpla at midnight. Sasha and co., who left when we did, have been there since about 10:45, and are all already completely shit-faced. Jake, Gaby, Paige, and I spend the next two hours basically catching up and getting at least somewhat drunk. I didn't drink a ton, and I was the deviant in the group. While the guys and girls alike in the group downed beers, I grabbed a Happy People cocktail, which is tequila, strawberry juice, and ginger ale mixed into a perfect combination of sweetness and tanginess, as well as a shot of Palinka (The Hungarian equivalent of brandy), and had a second Palinka shot, and topped it off with a vodka shot someone in the group didn't want. After the vodka shot, I felt a bit tipsy, and cut myself off before drinking anymore. It was a good thing I did, as I got a blister on both feet from the walking earlier, and walking back to the dorm was a chore even after only three shots and a cocktail. I felt tipsy and rather heavy-headed. So I had my first "out with friends' drunken experience at long last a week before my 21st birthday.
Thursday was a far more docile day in comparison to Wednesday. I made a promise to myself on this day that I would not go out, because I slept only four hours Tuesday night due to our 7:45 AM wake-up call, and only five Wednesday night because I came back extremely late and then there was more drunken conversation in our dorm room. We all had a GREAT time, though. I had my first bout with loneliness on Thursday, too, however, because after an academic orientation, everyone else went shopping for personal supplies and Hungarian phones, both of which I already had, so I basically had three hours to myself between 2 and 5 PM. The problem with this is that the majority of my friends and family are either on the East Coast or on the West Coast, and it's either 5 AM or 8 AM back in the States, so very few people were around to talk to, and I just stared out my window, hoping someone would come along to just chat with. I'm an extremely extroverted person, I really don't enjoy a long amount of time alone. Now, granted, sometimes it's nice, but in the aggregate, I get very lonely/needy very quickly when left to my own devices for too long. I enjoy meeting new people and reconnecting with friends. Like always. I waited around for awhile, and headed down to Corvinus as we prepared for an AMAZING trip. We had a boat cruise on the Danube planned for Thursday night. Budapest by night is something that must be seen to be believed. Here are some photos:
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This boat ride was the epitome of a pleasure cruise. The picture at the top of the post is a picture of the Danube lighting up at Twilight from the Buda side. Truly gorgeous. Also got a close-up of the Parliament building, as well. Went to a nice dinner afterward with some CIEE folk who I impressed with my Hungarian. The reason I mention this is because it gives me a bit more satisfaction than I thought it would to be able to speak Hungarian coherently in everyday life. I find myself using it more and more and I think once I'm gone from here I will be fluent again.
Yesterday was...not such a good day. I went for a walk along the Danube prior to the cruise on Thursday, in spite of blisters on my feet, and they got much worse, and it hurt to even walk on Friday morning. I hobbled my way into Corvinus, and sat by one of my friends for Hungarian class. The Hungarian teacher realized that I had more Hungarian than just a word or so, and asked me what my story was. However, after we resumed class, I began feeling not only sore in the legs, but nauseous and I was developing a headache as well. I knew I needed food for my stomach, pills for my head, and some sort of ointment for the blisters I had. My legs were so sore, walking to the market for a piece of bread and grapes, the pharmacy, and back to my dorm (All about a half mile apart), took me an hour and a half. I had to stop on a bench and rest for literally 20 minutes, my feet were that exhausted, and the rest of my body began to feel it, too. Walking became very taxing. I limped home, flopped myself down on my bed, and tried to sleep.
Big mistake. My headache turned into a migraine, and I lost my lunch about an hour later. I took a Pepto Bismol for my stomach, an Ibuprofen, and hoped that would settle things. It didn't. I couldn't even keep water down the rest of the day. If I laid down and got up, I'd throw up. If I drank water, it would come back up. I wound up vomiting a total of sixth time, three of the times it was a painful dry heave. I was in tears by the fourth one, as it was hurting to continue losing food...as there was nothing left in my body at this point. I got medical attention finally, and was told I developed gastritis and basically would need to spend Saturday, Sunday, and Monday detoxing myself, eating only apples, bananas, bread, and water for the next three days. Yeah, THAT sucks.
Today was Scavenger Hunt day, and thankfully I felt better. I had a blast going to St. Stephen's Basilica (Where I had once been locked in), the Opera House, and the baths, where my legs were still feeling the pain. My legs felt better after I soaked myself in the medicinal baths. Not healed, but better. I've been home since, just relaxing and watching some sports games.
I hope everyone had a good week, and until next time, best wishes!
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