I just came back from a weekend trip in Vienna, now I am heading out again, this time to Venice for Carnival.
Vienna looks like Budapest, but grander and bigger. Or rather, as my study abroad director points out, Budapest looks like Vienna as they use to be the dualing capitals in the Hapsburg empire; Budapest was always looking to outdo Vienna in terms of scale and grandeur.
I don't know what to expect for Venice yet. But I think it will be something good.
One of the things I love about Europe is their cafes. Right now I'm at a cafe right across the street from my flat, by the basilica. Snow is falling: it looks like a dream.
I'm going to a Spaparty - a "rave" in a Turkish bath, unique to Budapest. So excited!
A preview:
Today, we finally made it out of Hungary and took a day trip to Bratislava, Slovakia. (Photos to come!) It's a two and a half hour train ride out of Budapest's Keleti station. We left in the morning and arrived in Bratislava at noon. Coming out of the station, it was like my first night in Budapest: a strange form of culture shock. Like being transported back in time.
The Soviet legacy is still very obvious in Central and Eastern Europe. It reminds me of my childhood in communist China in an unsettling way. The same infrastructure; the same style of building; the statues.
I chose Budapest because I wanted to be somewhere completely different. A place removed from my childhood in China, my growing up in Canada, and my high school and college years in the United States. Strangely enough, Central Europe is making me confront my issues with the East and the West in a way I never anticipated. Instead, I step into my past, my present, and my future.
Central Europe is a place caught between two cultures and two histories; in many ways, still playing catch up to the modern industrialized state. I am someone who is also caught between two traditions and still trying to figure out how to integrate these different identities into a coherent whole.
We really do find pieces of ourselves in places when we least expected it.
I've been in Budapest for just over 3 weeks and I already feel like I've been here for a year. It's strange to feel at home in a city where I stick out like a sore thumb and where I am constantly surrounded by a language I don't understand (and would probably never really understand). Yet, at the same time, I am getting to know the in's and out's of this city better than any other place I've ever lived.
The great thing about living abroad is meeting new people. Tuesday night, we met a group of French students from Paris, who are currently on exchange in Slovenia, visiting Budapest. Wednesday night, we talked to someone from Latvia and a British coach surfer who became overjoyed when he discovered that we all speak fluent English. (If you haven't noticed, I've been going out a lot on weekdays.)
In Hungary, you are expected to check your coat everywhere you go. There are two coat checks in the university building itself. You can check your coats at bars, clubs, libraries, the opera house, the skating rink, etc. etc. Most of the time, you are expected to a pay a small fee, between 100-200HUF.
It is definitely a different culture. Back home, it seems that we only check coats at museums or really fancy resturantes. Here, even a smoky, beer stained bar will expect you to use their coat check.
I am officially a resident of Budapest (for the next 3 months). We moved into our flat close to Saint Stephen's Basilica earlier last week. It's a beautiful area. Our flat is part of an old palace, with 12 foot ceilings and double doors.
Things are happening so fast here. There is so much to tell that I don't have the time to write it all down!
Of all the flats we saw in Budapest, and we saw many, many, none of them have a dryer. All the flats came equipped with washers. But, according to an American owner, in Europe it is hard to convince people to use dryers. Instead, people choose to line dry their washings. It is standard to use a drying rack.
Imagine if 95% of the people in the U.S. stopped using their dryers and decided to line dry. The amount of energy we'd save would be obscene.
We found a flat! It's in an amazing area of town. In District V Belváros, which is the inner city, downtown area. It is the absolute center of Pest. And it is literally 2 minutes from the University and even closer to the major Metro stop.
On Thursday, my roommate and I went to sign the contract. They require us to put down the 1st half of the safety deposit in cash--which was very annoying, since as study abroad students, our only source of readily available Hungarian Forints are from ATM machines, which have a set value of how much you can take out on a daily basis.
Everything is dealt with in cash in Budapest--except for in tourist areas and major shopping centers. They take Visa, Mastercard. American Express (which I have) is limited. We will be paying our rent completely in cash. Most places, however, only accept cash. As someone who usually never carry cash and rely on cards, I find it particularly interesting to suddenly find myself with a bulging wallet of three different currencies.
On Friday, we returned to the management agency to sign the lease. With our second half of the safety deposit, the common cost, and first month's rent. Thankfully, they were kind enough to keep the lease bilingual. But the lease signing requires the presence of a witness. At first the management agency (which is ran out of a converted apartment in a residential building, apparently very common in Hungary) insisted that one of her colleagues be the witness, but we managed to get the director of the study abroad program to come instead. Just in case.
Unfortunately, we will not be able to move in until Monday.
In Hungary, they change the lock every time a new resident moves in. They also hate short term renters. Which means that a 4-month lease is as short as it can be from 90% of the rental agencies. But with the slow global economy, Hungary was hit particularly hard (they ever quite recovered from their Communist economic past to begin with), these days renters will rent anything.
Flat prices are up for negotiation, especially in struggling new developments which stands empty for months on end. If you know the right agent to take you to the right people. It's a city run on money--the lack of it, the excess of it, the pursuit of it.
(It also appears that most houses are owned by "Westerners" not native Hungarians. The apartment building we are renting is owned by an Irishman, managed by a Hungarian rental agency. It is the case with most buildings we saw. The building would be owned by an American, or an Australian, or a Brit, but runned by small Hungarian agencies.)
Excuse me. I meant "flats." I think everyone here becomes immensely confused when all the American study abroad kids say "apartment." Ever since my first night here on Monday, all of us has been trying to find a place to live that is closer to the university and therefore also near downtown Budapest, where it would be more convenient and more fun.
The dorms are good, only too far away from everything. It requires a 35 minute commute on a bus and then the metro. My first day using public transportation in Budapest was a little nerve wracking (thankfully a friend took me in). Everything was in Hungarian; all the stops have unpronounceable names; people moving all around you. The stations seemed like sprawling underground labyrinths to me.
Trying to find a flat in the city is one of the best ways to explore the city. I'm getting my bearings a little. Budapest is busy and alive. I love being brought around the city and given a little peek into people's lives.
Many older buildings were built almost 100 years ago. They use to be palaces, back when Budapest had been the capital to an important empire. The doors leading into these old-world buildings are always hidden between shop windows and underneath graffiti. If you didn't know they were there, you would walk right past them without giving them a second look.
But as soon as you walk in, you are greeted by high vaulted ceilings and courtyards, often with a garden. These flats in old converted palaces have high ceilings and double doors; they look like they have been taken straight from the turn of the 20th century: like echoes of old-world splendor and wealth. Dusty iron wrought gates and railings, dilapidated chandeliers, cracked spiral marble staircases. The building itself is truly a vision of the old-world falling into, giving away to the demands of the modern world.
The interiors of these flats, however, are bright, clean, and decidedly new-world: flat screen televisions, internet connections, antique mahogany furniture juxtaposed against IKEA creations. (This is the first thing I learned about Budapest: it is a place truly caught between worlds, the old and new, the East and West, development and stagnation.)
My current roommate in the dorm and I are going to live together again. (This is another thing to know about Budapest: it's always easier to find a 2-bedroom apartment than a 3- or 4-bedroom.) I think we might have found the perfect place but I don't want to jinx it!
My flight was delayed in Amsterdam but otherwise, it was a good trip. So far, Europe seems really lax about visas and such. I got a stamp for Amsterdam! And I can't wait to go back. Schiphol Airport was absolutely crazy. Every announcement was repeated in at least 3 different languages. There were people from everywhere.
While I waited for my flight, I got snacks from Starbucks. The girl behind the counter laughed as I struggled to make out €4.75 with the coins I had just exchanged for. "First time using the Euro?" she asked. I nodded, embarrassed. I'm still such a tourist.
While the Dutch are good at being multi-lingual, Hungarians are not so much. Only the airport has been multi-lingual, while everything else is in Hungarian only. It's weird being so cut off from the outside world. You don't really realize how much you depend on understanding signs and writing until you don't understand it at all.
As I finally made my way to the Central European University this morning, we were stopped several times by people offering tours of the city. They simply come up to us speaking English. We stick out of the crowds as foriegners. I hope towards the end of the trip, I will finally blend in.
I am leaving Sunday night, arriving in Ferihegy International Airport in Budapest on Monday afternoon. I've been checking and rechecking my itinerary. I have a 3 hour layover in Amsterdam which I wish were longer! I definitely will have to make a point to return sometime over the next couple of months.
Eastern Europe is at once familiar and exotic. I've been talking to my friends back home about being abroad. A part of me feels that it's a bad decision academically, in the short term, to go away for one of the most important semesters of college. I also know that, in the long run, it will be something positive. But I still have regrets and reservations.
I've been listening to a lot of 3OH!3 as I pack (thanks a lot, Allie). It almost makes me guilty, but I can't stop playing this entire ridiculous album on repeat. It's kind of insanely infectious!
Happy belated New Years!
In Hungarian, hallo means "goodbye"; I can't help but think that there's something deeply symbolic about that. Like maybe everything might just start where it ends. (Or maybe symbolism only belongs in novels, poems, and movies.)
I brought one of those tourist guide books for Budapest. In the section about Hungarian cuisine, it reads "Vegetarianism is slowly, ever so slowly being recognized in Hungarian restaurants; many establishments now offer a vegetable plate entrée, usually consisting of seasonal steamed and grilled vegetables, or cheese plates. Hungarians look on vegetarians with suspicion, regardless of their nationality." (That last bit sounds like my dad.) Okay, makes dieting easier.
I've been snowed in this entire weekend. We got a ridiculous amount of snow, almost two feet in some places. I took the free time to really start planning my trip. So far I haven't done much preparation other than booking my flight. I feel like I should start learning some elementary Hungarian or something.
I started looking at "flats" I might rent. There are some really beautiful ones near Buda Castle but apparently further away from the university. Location vs. convenience?
I'm only allowed two checked bags on my flight. This calls for a lot of planning ahead. I don't think I know how to pack economically. How many pairs of jeans would I need? Five? Ten? What about shoes? Two suitcases for five months?! This really doesn't bode well.Fall semester has officially ended. I handed in my last paper on Tuesday; packed and ran errands on Wednesday; drove home on Thursday, just in time to miss the huge snow storm that hit the Northeast.
Now I am in a process of sorting out all of my worldly possessions in what looks strangely like a hybrid between unpacking and repacking. In short, everything's a mess.
This whole trip really hasn't hit me yet. I just helped put up the Christmas tree this afternoon and helped my mom plan her holiday party. It's really strange to think that soon I'll be half way around the world in a country with a completely different culture and where they speak a language I can't understand. Budapest is still abstract to me.
January 4th - 16 days and counting.
