It's been a little over two weeks since I left my easy life in Ohio. It feels much longer, like I've been away from home forever, but at the same time I am still living as if in a dream. It hasn't quite sunk in yet that this is my home - at least for the next 9 months.
The first few days my sleep schedule and appetite were out of whack and I'm just now starting to get back to normal. I've lost an unhealthy amount of weight (to lose in a week) and I can feel the bones in my arms and chest. It's unsettling and my new friends will probably wonder why I got so fat when I just get back to normal :)
The city is beautiful. Everything is grand and old in a way that we Americans aren't used to experiencing. I love just walking and exploring although eventually I need to get a better grasp on the public transportation. I've been walking everywhere.
Everyone in the program is great so far - we've been traveling in giant packs of people and it reminds me of my first year at Miami when people would yell "Freshmen!" at us as we walked by. I'm sure that eventually the packs will get smaller, as they always do, and each of us finds our place.
I do have a flat. I'm living with a girl named Sarah, from San Francisco, and our apartment is quite nice. It's right on Andrassy utca, which is a relatively main road. It takes less than 10 minutes to walk to school and that is a huge plus for me - especially since I'm still having a little trouble finding my way around. The first week in our new place I didn't have a bed - just a little Nona-sized cot on the floor. I got my bed and a desk on Friday and life is much better. Now I can start to make my room my own and have a place to look forward to going at the end of the day.
I didn't expect to be homesick this early on but I have been. At times, overwhelmingly so. Nothing is easy here. Every task I set upon is trial. For example, when I first arrived I needed to get a phone so that I could be in touch with my classmates. My phone from home didn't have a SIM card so I needed a new one. You can't buy a phone without an address though so I went looking for a one the kiosks in metro stations where they sell (most likely stolen) used phones. This turned into me wandering around for 4 hours. Finally, I did find a place and the next day I was able to purchase a SIM card and put some money on it. Most of my transactions involve miming, pointing and nodding. So far I've only learned to say these words: yes, no, thank you, and cheers. I can also say "I speak English" and "I don't speak Hungarian." I hope to get a bit better but I really have no hope of actually learning Hungarian.
My mom say it's all a "lesson in problem-solving" and I'm trying to see it that way and to find the humor in my failures.
The really awful thing that happened to me is that I got my wallet stolen. That's right - I was here for 10 days and got my wallet swiped by gypsies. It really made me doubt my ability to navigate in a new place. Basically what happened is this - I was sitting in a park where there is free Wifi. It was dusk and I was trying to finish up what I was doing so I could go home. A guy approached me and was talking in Hungarian. He was probably saying "Hey stupid. Pay attention to me so that my friend can fish in your bag and take your wallet. K thanks." Looking back, he was standing far enough away that I was leaning towards him saying "Nem, nem, English, nem nem." Just as I was looking for my wallet, starting to panic, I was approached by a Hungarian couple. The girl spoke English well and she said "We think you've had something stolen from you." I guess they had seen it happen, from a distance and then saw the men walking away (I'm imagining gleefully) with my wallet. I immediately burst into tears, called my mom on Skype, saying "The gypsies stole my wallet! Cancel my cards!" Thankfully the couple was very helpful. They called the police for me, walked me to the station, explained everything to the cops and waited with me until a translator came to do the report. By the time it way all over it was after 10 p.m. here and I couldn't get back in touch with my mom. Our class had a field trip to Lake Balaton planned for the next 2 days and the whole trip I was unable to contact anyone from home or check on anything. I tried to have fun, but every few hours I would start crying and it was really not a fun trip for me.
Once I got back to the city and was able to get on the computer, though, I felt much better. I talked to my mom, realized things were going to be okay, and was able to calm down. At this point I have had some money wired to me and am just trying to be especially frugal for a couple of weeks until my cards get sent to parents' and then, eventually, to me in Hungary. Hopefully, this will be a low point but at the time it just felt like I was incapable of doing anything right. I wanted to be in the US where there are no gypsies, but without money it's not as if I could leave even if I wanted to.
The weather has been amazing so far. It's only rained a little bit. Mostly it has been sunny and warm. The last two weeks have been orientation at school. Classes start Monday and while I am nervous about resuming my studies in an intensive program it will be nice to have something to focus my mind on. I am almost eager to develop a "normal" routine, as nothing has been normal to me so far. Later today or tomorrow I will post some pictures on facebook of the city and my place.
Know that I miss you all, every last person. And despite all the complaining I did at home about the US and American businesses, I miss it - especially the efficiency! Send me your warm wishes, I could really use them!
The first few days my sleep schedule and appetite were out of whack and I'm just now starting to get back to normal. I've lost an unhealthy amount of weight (to lose in a week) and I can feel the bones in my arms and chest. It's unsettling and my new friends will probably wonder why I got so fat when I just get back to normal :)
The city is beautiful. Everything is grand and old in a way that we Americans aren't used to experiencing. I love just walking and exploring although eventually I need to get a better grasp on the public transportation. I've been walking everywhere.
Everyone in the program is great so far - we've been traveling in giant packs of people and it reminds me of my first year at Miami when people would yell "Freshmen!" at us as we walked by. I'm sure that eventually the packs will get smaller, as they always do, and each of us finds our place.
I do have a flat. I'm living with a girl named Sarah, from San Francisco, and our apartment is quite nice. It's right on Andrassy utca, which is a relatively main road. It takes less than 10 minutes to walk to school and that is a huge plus for me - especially since I'm still having a little trouble finding my way around. The first week in our new place I didn't have a bed - just a little Nona-sized cot on the floor. I got my bed and a desk on Friday and life is much better. Now I can start to make my room my own and have a place to look forward to going at the end of the day.
I didn't expect to be homesick this early on but I have been. At times, overwhelmingly so. Nothing is easy here. Every task I set upon is trial. For example, when I first arrived I needed to get a phone so that I could be in touch with my classmates. My phone from home didn't have a SIM card so I needed a new one. You can't buy a phone without an address though so I went looking for a one the kiosks in metro stations where they sell (most likely stolen) used phones. This turned into me wandering around for 4 hours. Finally, I did find a place and the next day I was able to purchase a SIM card and put some money on it. Most of my transactions involve miming, pointing and nodding. So far I've only learned to say these words: yes, no, thank you, and cheers. I can also say "I speak English" and "I don't speak Hungarian." I hope to get a bit better but I really have no hope of actually learning Hungarian.
My mom say it's all a "lesson in problem-solving" and I'm trying to see it that way and to find the humor in my failures.
The really awful thing that happened to me is that I got my wallet stolen. That's right - I was here for 10 days and got my wallet swiped by gypsies. It really made me doubt my ability to navigate in a new place. Basically what happened is this - I was sitting in a park where there is free Wifi. It was dusk and I was trying to finish up what I was doing so I could go home. A guy approached me and was talking in Hungarian. He was probably saying "Hey stupid. Pay attention to me so that my friend can fish in your bag and take your wallet. K thanks." Looking back, he was standing far enough away that I was leaning towards him saying "Nem, nem, English, nem nem." Just as I was looking for my wallet, starting to panic, I was approached by a Hungarian couple. The girl spoke English well and she said "We think you've had something stolen from you." I guess they had seen it happen, from a distance and then saw the men walking away (I'm imagining gleefully) with my wallet. I immediately burst into tears, called my mom on Skype, saying "The gypsies stole my wallet! Cancel my cards!" Thankfully the couple was very helpful. They called the police for me, walked me to the station, explained everything to the cops and waited with me until a translator came to do the report. By the time it way all over it was after 10 p.m. here and I couldn't get back in touch with my mom. Our class had a field trip to Lake Balaton planned for the next 2 days and the whole trip I was unable to contact anyone from home or check on anything. I tried to have fun, but every few hours I would start crying and it was really not a fun trip for me.
Once I got back to the city and was able to get on the computer, though, I felt much better. I talked to my mom, realized things were going to be okay, and was able to calm down. At this point I have had some money wired to me and am just trying to be especially frugal for a couple of weeks until my cards get sent to parents' and then, eventually, to me in Hungary. Hopefully, this will be a low point but at the time it just felt like I was incapable of doing anything right. I wanted to be in the US where there are no gypsies, but without money it's not as if I could leave even if I wanted to.
The weather has been amazing so far. It's only rained a little bit. Mostly it has been sunny and warm. The last two weeks have been orientation at school. Classes start Monday and while I am nervous about resuming my studies in an intensive program it will be nice to have something to focus my mind on. I am almost eager to develop a "normal" routine, as nothing has been normal to me so far. Later today or tomorrow I will post some pictures on facebook of the city and my place.
Know that I miss you all, every last person. And despite all the complaining I did at home about the US and American businesses, I miss it - especially the efficiency! Send me your warm wishes, I could really use them!
