OH GOODNESS!

It's been three weeks. How did that happen? The highlights? A bunch. The weather changed and now there is an opportunity to get out there.

Went to a Hungarian flea market and found a few interesting treasures. I went with my mother's friends who are wonderful people. We have the same taste in movies and music, so the conversation is always great! As for the actual flea market, It was kind of intense. Relics from a whole other world. And some from my own, including the South will rise again painting hahaha:

That Saturday night, I went out with my cousin István and his friends. His friends are going to go live abroad so there was a party to see them off. Lots of walking, lots of buses, LOTS of palinka shots. That was a rough next morning, but so worth it :)

Had a break from school where I FINALLY managed to take some pictures of my new neighborhood! I walked around about a couple blocks out from where I live. It was a calm, wonderful day and in the coming weeks I'm going to be selecting new streets/neighborhoods in which to document with photos:

As for me? I'm doing considerably well. Aside from the language I'm learning so much more. I've learned that sometimes you have to move far, far away to determine who is willing to stay in your life and who's going to give up on you. Sometimes it's the person you least expect.

That sounds really dramatic, but without this experience I guess i'd still be in Denver, oblivious to just how freaking big this world is. How it's completely possible to live a different life and all you have to do is get on the plane. And those who show you support and are interested in your journey, emotional or physical are people you should hold dear.

I've also been making new friends, and have been able to get out of the house, the weather is GREAT. Yesterday I went to Ikea where they have AMAZING food. I never would have thought haha. And of course, I chose the swedish meatballs.

And also on the subject of amazing food. The humus bar is one of the most amazing places ever:

I will try to get back into the habit of blogging more often so that I don't have to leave these HUGE gigantic posts anymore.

Wonderous Saturday

So my homesickness is subsiding. I'm relaxed here, it's wonderful. I had to let go of a few things holding me back from home. I realized that the world is SO big and there is no way that you can know that until you.... well, go see some of it. There are too many people to meet and so many new things to feel all around you. I know i'm a sappy traveler but this experience is beautiful.

That said i've started venturing out and exploring a little, the sun is out (although the wind is NO JOKE. It is a cold, serious, and apparently very pissed off wind)

I've been wandering up and down a street called Ferenc Józséf, its comparable to Broadway, as it has a lot of little shops, places to eat and businesses. Along it runs the 4 and 6 tram and I am pretty familiar with all the stops. I am going to arrange a stop by stop tour for myself once it actually warms up around here.

Here on the map, the blue push pin is where I live, right by Petofi Bridge in Pest and the black pin is where my school is, on the other side of the Duna in Buda:

So every morning on my way to school I walk up to the top of the bridge, hop on a tram, the 6 and take it into Buda into school. The tram which is below is quite awesome (and yes I know I am quite the lazy photographer but the awesome thing about the found picture below is that it is what it is actually traveling on the same bridge/direction that I go.... basically I could easily be on it right now)

Today I went down to the mall to be around people, listen to the language, and ALRIGHT FINE scope out the sale at Mango because I am in love with that store. (Why there isn't one in Denver, I'll never know)

I met a couple while I was in line at Media Mart (think best buy). They reminded me of my parents: a suave charasmatic well dressed guy and a petit brunette with a warm smile and kind eyes who was also super stylish. I heard them trying to talk to each other... the man was speaking only in Hungarian and the woman was answering back in English..... but they weren't really getting anywhere. I looked over and said good afternoon, which is kind of code for "I speak english"...

She almost jumped she was excited. She immediately asked me where I was from and if I could assist her in communication. She told me they had met three weeks earlier and that they had somehow fallen in love even though they couldn't really talk to each other. HOW ROMANTIC. Seriously, I was completely enamored with the idea that just being with someone was enough. And that getting to know someone can be a more creative and interesting process if you have to get around a language. Beautiful.

Anyway as it turned out they reminded me of my parents in more ways than one. I figured out that the guy wanted to take the girl shoe shopping (something my father would regularly do for my mother) and that he would like to know if she wanted to.... and when I told her his wishes she was MORE THAN ENTHUSIASTIC. They walked away arm in arm and I couldn't stop smiling for the next 20 minutes.

They made my day.

Well them and this hilarious lady on the tram. I was on my way back to my house when I looked down and say an "Obama is KICK ASS" pin on this ladies bag. She saw me looking at it and then she leaned over and said "He's the president of AMERICA" to which I nodded and smiled, she then said "AMERICA is kick ass, SUPER kick ass".... I agree. I didn't say anything, because I was content with that being the whole interaction.

I've been trying to speak out loud to myself and read as much as possible in Hungarian. I've been reading one of my mothers old books from the 70s and it's really cute. It's a childrens book:

So far it's about a little girl and her family, and it's cute. But now i'm about to fix some dinner and settle into the rest of my Saturday. Tomorrow it's lunch at my cousins house in Pest!