Budapest!

The flight from Chicago to Warsaw was long. (oh and the Polish Harley Davidson couple was really interesting to watch at the gate before the flight.) I didn’t really sleep much, Polish airlines planes aren’t the most comfortable, so I was really tired at the end of the trip. I sat next to a seventeen year old Polish girl. She was very nice and her English was quite good. She had been visiting her sister, who lived in the Chicago area, for her summer break (holiday). I also made friends with the lady sitting near me who was moving to Switzerland. The three of us all waited together during our layovers. Their names were both Susan and the Polish Susan shared the same birthday as me, weird.
The flight from Warsaw to Budapest was on a much nicer plane, so I was a little more comfortable. I sat next to a younger Polish guy who lived in Norway and he was a talker or I would have slept. The flight was only about an hour long and then I was here in Budapest. What a whirl-wind it has been. The directors of the program Mary and Hajni (pronounced Hoy-nee) meet us as we came out of “customs” and got us onto the buses to the hostel/university dorms. I am quite excited to say that my room has air conditioning. It’s a pretty nice place, much better than I was expecting, and it’s clean so that’s good. The toilet in my room is really strange. To flush it you sort of turn on a faucet that lets out water to push it down the pipe, not really flushing it. It has been difficult trying to live out of my suitcase, but nice adjust with people who are in the same situation. The view from my window is pretty spectacular, so that is nice.
Sunday I explored the city of Budapest with a couple of people and got to see all sorts of things. I put pictures up on facebook. We walked to the castle and around the city for about 5 hours, so we saw a lot. On Sunday night my roommate Emma got here. She is Australian, but mostly grew up in Texas, and we get along really well. She still sort of has an accent, as do others, and I feel I’m starting to pick it up a little and trying really hard not to, but I have been using the word quite a lot.
Monday we went exploring again and hopped on the tram that took us to the center of town. We walked by the Opera house first and as we were walking past we could hear a lady rehearsing, it was pretty cool. Then we went to St. Stephen’s Basilica and it was gorgeous inside and out. They have the mummified hand of St. Stephen as the relic of the church, so we saw that too which was cool but honestly a little creepy. Then we walked down by Parliament which is beautiful and makes our capital building look really boring. It was a tiring day but worth it. Monday night we had our welcome dinner with CETP (the program I’m here with) and it was at a restaurant on the edge of the Danube. The view was beautiful and as it got dark the city started to light up and there was a fabulous view of the castle and the chain bridge (which are two major sights in Budapest). I had paprika chicken and dumplings for dinner and really enjoyed it.
Tuesday we started our orientation. We started Hungarian language classes and a teaching methodology class. So far both have been helpful and both teachers seem to be enjoyable people. We got to know everyone in our group a little bit more today. There are about 40 of us and then 20 or so returning teachers who are not at the orientation. We are a very eclectic group of people. There are several people who have graduated with in the last couple of years, several couples, and people with children, retired people, and those in search of a change in their lives. Some have lots of education experience and then there are those like me with little to none.
My experience so far has been pretty good. The language is difficult, but I am learning. The people are very interesting. I have learned that there are quite a few teachers in the northeastern part of Hungary where I am located, so I will have some company. Orientation lasts until Saturday when our contact person from our school comes and we meet them and they take us to our towns. I am excited and extremely curious to see my town and my flat.