Digging in trash and other misadventures

I have not done one touristy thing in 5 weeks I've been here. Sometimes I walk past tourist destinations but so far at I am failing at actually visiting them. Every day I walk by St. Stephen's Basilica and I haven't even taken a photo. I will try to do better. I have been keeping busy though and have had some good times. Here's what I've been up to other than trying to survive:


Organic Farm: About five of my classmates and I went to Gödöllő (which I have no idea how to pronouce) to visit an organic farm on the 3rd. It was so nice to get out of the city, breathe some fresh air and be around some plants. I miss plants and it was really sad to leave the garden in Akron right as the tomatoes were coming into season. We got a special English-language tour, ate a nice stew (vegetarian option : potato-carrot stew with buckwheat patties), ate some ice-cream, and soaked up some sun. I bought some peppers and cheese and CILANTRO which I was incredibly excited about. The love I feel for cilantro is intense, and this was the first and only time I have seen it since I've been here.

Mountain-of-trash-day: I had been told by Mr. Stephen Solomon that each district has certain days, I don't know how often, where you can throw out all your stuff. There were huge piles of trash in front of every building and it was AWESOME. The gypsies were out in full force (don't worry, I was clinging on to my bag tightly), seemingly guarding the trash mounds and trying to sell other people's trash. They were also busting open all the electronics and taking whatever they could scrap, which is better than it ending up in the landfill if you ask me. I had a blast walking around and looking at each pile and evaluating if there was anything of worth. I really should have spent hours doing this but I started to feel a little bit crazy.

Do you watch "It's Always Sunny"? If you do - I felt like Charlie in "The Gang Finds a Dumpster Baby."
Charlie: I can't sleep, dude. It's impossible. My mind's going like a mile a minute here.
Frank: Well, stop thinking about it. I'm not your father. Now go to sleep.
Charlie: No, dude, it's not that. I'm thinking about something completely different.
Frank: It's the trash, isn't it?
Charlie: It's the sweet, sweet trash.

I did scavenge a few things (from unguarded piles) that are all very useful:

• a trash can - okay it's actually a bucket, but it will now function as a trash can
  
• a purse - I didn't have a purse. I only have "bags"
  
• a jacket - I didn't have a jacket because I did a horrible time packing. The jacket has no buttons. I don't know if the gypsies stole the buttons or what. It seems like a weird thing to do. All I know is that someone, sometime removed 15 buttons from this jacket.

Now I have a jacket AND a craft project which I am calling "Nona can sew on buttons." Seriously, this jacket is going to be kick-ass. This project has been put on high-priority because fall has finally arrived in Budapest and it is freaking cold today and I have no coat!

All in all, I saved at least $20, and that's assuming I would have bought the coat and purse second-hand anyway. Success!

Conchord Dawn: On Saturday I met up with some girls from class for the bar to be followed by an "International Student Party." This did not sound particularly fun to me. I love meeting new people but....clubs. I haven't gone to clubs since I was 18 and I'm pretty happy with that decision. I don't wear heels, I don't where sexy blouses and I don't dance to rap music unless I am by myself and am 100% positive no one will sneak up behind me. In my new life here, everyone always wants to go to clubs. I've gone a couple of times and it hasn't been awful but it just isn't really my scene.

So we're walking to catch the tram to go to the party and Emily, who is from New Zealand, stops agast in front of this sign for "Conchord Dawn." Apparently this is a New Zealand drum & bass group that she used to go see and she cannot believe they are in Budapest. She decides to forgo the ISP and stay at "Club Cool" instead. Since this place is closer to my house, costs the same to get in, and I will not require sexy dancing, I stay with her. Conchord Dawn didn't come on until 2:30 and I left sweaty, exhausted and reeking like smoke but I had a really good time. I danced a lot and no one tried to dance with me. Perfect.

District 9: Have you seen this movie? I now have. I saw it at the theater last night with Anton, who is Zimbabwean and was interested in the fact that it's set in Johannesburg. I would never have watched this movie at home, and if I did I would have been pissed that I wasted 2 hours of my life. However, in this context it was so welcome. The movie was completely mindless, it was in English and I got to see crazy Aliens and lots of shit get blown up! The only down side is that Aliens and Nigerians don't speak English, so as far as I'm concerned they only spoke gibberish with Hungarian subtitles. This wasn't that big of a deal for me though. Plot development was not this film's strong suit. Also, I'm getting pretty used to having no idea what people are saying and guessing what's going on through context clues.

Units of measurement

A funny thing is starting to happen. I'm starting to feel, occasionally, like I live in Budapest. Granted, most of the time I feel like I have fallen from the sky unto an alien planet. But sometimes...

At the end of the day I'll think to myself "I want to go home." At first I was thinking of Akron, my parent's house, the house on N. Rose that I both loved and hated. But lately, when I think of "home" I'll catch myself thinking of my flat here. I do not feel like I belong here and I'm not really expecting to feel that way anytime soon but it's getting more comfortable. Excuse me -less uncomfortable.

Each day I have to challenge myself: to be more confident, to try new things, to get to bed at a decent hour. This is why I came here. I was tired of things being easy and guess what, Nona? Things aren't so easy anymore, are they?

I still get nervous every time I go somewhere that I haven't been before and then I don't want to go anywhere unless it’s school or home or the (shitty, expensive) grocery that's two blocks away.

Speaking of blocks. People don't know what I'm talking about when I say something is ____ blocks away. I cannot understand this, as it seems like such an obvious measure of distance. You know. BLOCKS. Instead my classmates will say something is ____ meters away, which I can't really grasp.

Thank you America, for your use of a measurement system that makes no sense. Now that I'm in Europe I no longer know how tall I am, how much I weight (okay, I didn't know that before I left - but I had an idea), or how far away anything is. Ever. I don't know how to measure food or cook it at the appropriate temperature. I burned an apple pie and I am not one to burn things (in the oven). I do not know how warm or cold it is outside by checking the temperature.

Basically, I feel like a complete idiot most of the time. Sure, I know that there are 1.6 kilometers in a mile, or 2.2 pounds in a kilogram but sometimes my brain just doesn't work that quickly. I walk a mile, leisurely, in about 20 minutes but I can't do math under pressure.

Oh, and I did I mention that most everything is in Hungarian here? Just a minor detail that makes getting around a treat. Many people speak some English, and if they don't I'm becoming very good at shrugging my shoulders (when being asked a question) or pointing and miming (when I'm doing the asking). When I'm at school or with friends I sometimes forget that I'm in a completely foreign place and then I go try to buy something at the store and get disoriented all over again.

My favorite (read: least favorite) thing that has been happening is that, very often I get exactly the opposite of what I ask for. Someone will ask me "For here or to go?" and I'll say "To go" and they'll give me a glass mug. Or they'll ask "Big plate or small?" and I'll say "Small," and then I'll be given a huge plate. I would think it was a language problem except that the person asked me my preference, which I took to mean that they understood the difference between the words “big” and “small.” I'm coming to terms with the fact that everyone just wants to fuck with me. Yeah, I get it. I understand- I can't speak your language and I'm obviously stupid and more obviously American and you can ignore my requests if you are so inclined. I'll just eat my left-overs for lunch tomorrow. So there.

To end things on a positive note - I have received my replacement credit cards and now have access to money. This means a lot of things that feel materialistic but cut me some slack, please. I really needed that Gucci bag. Seriously, though - it's very difficult to move to a new city and then try to spend as close to zero money as possible for the first month. Now: I can pay tuition. I can pay rent. I can try to establish an acceptable kitchen with at least 10 spices. I can buy a coffee pot. I can buy a winter coat and some sheets for my bed, if I am so inclined. And if things really go to shit I can buy a plane ticket home. Okay, I’m out of positivity now. And I have homework.