Now that I'm graduating I thought I'd make a contribution to my sad-excuse for a blog to update people on where I'm at now, in case anyone is wondering.
The past 22 months have absolutely flown by. In August 2009, two years abroad seemed like forever and now it's over. Think about the last two years - they went really fast, huh? Anyway, I graduated today (an odd day of the week) with a Master's degree in Environmental Science, Policy and Management, or MESPOM. It's quite a wordy degree title I'd say. As part of my course I studied at Central European University (Budapest, Hungary), University of the Aegean (Lesvos, Greece) and the University of Manchester (Manchester, England). I did learn some science and management, but I mostly learned about policy, which is natural I suppose, since that's what I came into this with and what drew me to Hungary in the first place.
I wrote my thesis about...well, I started to explain but you probably don't care. It's the boring part of my life that has been based in academia. If you're interested you can see the abstract here. Otherwise I'll just say it is about agriculture and Poland.
Last summer, I spent a month in Poland WWOOFing, which I wrote about a briefly previously. I loved it and this inspired me to go back to Poland this spring to do research for my thesis. I had an amazing time in Poland during both trips and met the kindest people who took me in, fed me, introduced me to more people... It was so much fun once I got past my initial shyness. I ate so much good food and even a rode horse for the first time which I pretended (to try and intimidate the horse) that I was not afraid of (but I'm told they are very sensitive - it knew).
Between trips to Poland, I lived in Manchester, England and studied at the University of Manchester for about 6 months. I had an amazing time and highly recommend that everyone from Akron, OH visit. It has an Akron feel in a good way, with trains and (lots of) buses. You can even go across the entire country in a single day using only public transport! Also, everyone is British which is an interesting alternate reality of a post-industrial society. Everyone has health care and people can actually live on unemployment. It's diverse. There's good music and food and people (think: The Smiths, The Fall, Joy Division, Oasis, and more!). Marx and Engels even used to hang out in a great old library there and watch the industrial revolution unfold. 
My flatmate Raph (left) and Rosie - reflecting on the class struggle.
Northwest England is the British version of the American Midwest (or vice-versa, rather) and there is something I like about Ohio. My hometown and those around it make every US list of "Worst Places to Find a Job" "Worst Real Estate Values" and other various "worst" indicators of economic progress or general satisfaction that are constantly being ranked by new outlets like aol.com. Ohio loses population every year. But, this is sort of a good thing. Ohioans may not have much but we've worked for what we have and it breeds good art, good values, good people. Much more of my identity feels Midwestern than my more general descriptor of American - especially when compared to the majority of Americans around me that are from the Coasts.
Maybe, I just got really lucky in England. The internet blessed me with the world's best roommate, Raphaela who sat in the living room with me making things while I studied and we chatted, listened to music and alternated cooking responsibilities. There was a cat and a basil plant. Basically, domestic bliss. Through Raph I met loads of smart, interesting people. Suffice it to say that I loved living in Manchester and very well may do it again.
So in the past year it's been Poland, Moscow, England, Poland from July 2010-March 2011 with some interludes in Ukraine, the Baltic States, Turkey, Hungary and even the USA. Then I went to Moscow (again) in April and wrote most of my thesis. I found Moscow exactly as I left it and it was a very exciting time for me as I sat inside a weirdly wallpapered twelfth-story one-room apartment all day at a computer reading and writing and driving myself mildy insane.
On the rare occasion that I socialized people were sort of confused as to what I was doing there. I'm sort of confused as well. I don't speak Russian and I wasn't even doing any tourist activities since I've already been to Moscow twice, exhausting the activities for non-Russian speakers. This actually made it an ideal place to write - I didn't know anyone, and it's too expensive to eat and drink out when a week's worth of cabbage and vodka can be acquired for $5 at the shop with only one human encounter. This encounter requires no actual words since no one in Moscow says polite words and those are the only words I know. This strategy can be roughly used in any country in Europe.
All that is in involved is shaking my head and muttering an "n" sound when addressed about whether or not I'm purchasing plastic bags (I always bring a reusable bag - of course). Then I hand over some roubles after a price has been announced (but which can be read off the cash register, thus requiring no language skills). I found speaking very little Polish in Poland harder than speaking very little Russian in Moscow because Polish people say a lot more pleasantries and generally speak to one another. In Moscow I've found it better to just interact wordlessly and glaringly - just like the woman in the kiosk is interacting with you. If anyone talks to me I basically say "no" or "I don't know" which is both rude and can be said without betraying my nationality which I find to be quite effective.
When I went back to Russia I went via Kaliningrad. Though surrounded by EU countries it was immediately obvious I had left Europe proper. Can you guess how?
So, despite an amazing trip to Abkhazia (which you can see photos of on my facebook) my re-return to Russia was largely boring and filled with academic endeavours occasionally enhanced by visiting parks and grocery shopping.
I have now been based back in Budapest for about a month. I finished my thesis and went on a delightful holiday with the wonderful Katharine to Bosnia. It went really well. We rode a train for 12 hours each way, which I actually enjoy. A day train was the only option, which was not ideal but allowed for a beautiful ride. We watched the transition from flat Hungary, to Croatia, through Serbia (enter Cyrillic) to mountainous Bosnia and Sarajevo. It was Katharine's first Couchsurfing experience and I think she is now convinced of how amazing it is (I think Couchsurfing is the best way to travel - especially alone, as I usually am). Our host Amra was amazing and we decided to stay longer than we'd originally planned. It was a perfect mix of sitting in parks, eating, drinking beer, trying to understand a heart-wrenching history and city wandering.
One day, we made a special trip to a fish restaurant near Konjic but, of course, couldn't read the menu. We ended up with pork. And 10 giant pastry rolls. And a bowl of some kind of porridge mush. At least we got the beer right. Katharine was so easy to travel with and it was great to see her one-on-one.
On Monday I defended my thesis. Now, I'm trying to solve a million logistical tasks and procrastinating. Today I graduated. On Saturday, I fly from Vienna to Tanzania when I will stay until July 14.
I'm really excited. It will be my first trip outside of Europe and my last trip before I need to get a job and I can't take a holiday every 2 months. Right now, I'm focusing on Tanzania and fun things while ignoring the black hole that my life becomes in mid-July and I will be largely out of touch until then.
From July 14 I will be in Moscow, again. Also, my Hungarian residency expires so I've got to get out of the EU. I'll stay there for a while looking for jobs, trying not to die of boredom and maybe even trying to meet some people and find nice things in Moscow, which I'm sure do exist. After that - who knows? I don't and this leaves me both excited and terrified.
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