Hannah's Adventures Abroad: Budaperfect!!

So, time really really does fly. I can’t believe I’ve already been here in Budapest for almost a week.
So on Monday I went into the office for my first day of work. The office is a flat, so it’s cozy because it doesn’t feel office-y. I work with three other people all of whom speak English and are really nice. This week at work I did a bunch of different stuff: database stuff, researching, analysis, writing mini reports, etc. I really like my work since it’s not busy work and in such a small non-profit, I can see the affect of my work everyday.

So this week I pretty much laid low and got the lay of the land. I did some walking and some exploring, but nothing too crazy. I got myself a cell phone! (cuz I know so many people here…ie 3 people from my office…right). I got a bus/metro pass, though I don’t quite know how to get anywhere yet, so that’s excellent. But hopefully within the week, I’ll meet people who can call me, and learn how to use my lovely bus pass. So, all in all my week was busy with work, adjusting to jet lag, and running errands to buy things I don’t quite have a purpose for! Awesome! Getting over jet lag was great, because before that, I was going to bed at 8 and waking up at 4. But now, I go to bed when I want, and then I get up a lovely 8 hours later.

But, today SATURDAY, I did my first big BUDAPEST EXPLORATION DAY which will be one of many. So, today I woke had breakfast etc, and then started walking. It started as a gloomy almost drizzly day but then turned into a beautiful, clear gorgeous day. So my first stop on my walk was the Central Market. The Central Market is one of the biggest markets in Budapest where each stall specializes in something. There were paprika sausages, cheese, fruit, fried bread, vegetables, and on the top floor of the market they sold Hungarian knick-knacks like lace, painted Hungarian eggs, and other painted thingies. So after strolling around the market (I'm sure I’ll be back to explore more thoroughly in the future), I headed down to the Danube and to the Liberty Bridge. I don’t think it was until I was standing on the bridge in the middle of the Danube, with Buda on one side, and Pest on the other when I truly understood and saw what a beautiful city it is. I walked over to Buda, and while I only saw a little of it, it was absolutely beautiful. I saw the enormous, old and beautiful Gellert Hotel and Bath which I plan on visiting soon. I also saw these really enchanting churches/castles/houses carved out of the hills. I’m really excited to go back to Buda and explore the castles and the caves. After walking around Buda a bit I crossed the bridge back to Pest. I walked up to the pedestrian street Vací utca and walked around, strolling, got gelato, and shopped. First note, apparently gelato is GOOD in Budapest. I got a small scoop of Nutella and it was AMAAAAZINGGGGG!!!! As I continued to stroll with my gelato, I soon realized that the wonderful gods of Budapest wanted to throw me a huge welcome to the city party by making ever store hold a huge SALE!!!!!!!!! So I did some lovely shopping at a few different stores and helped the Budapestian economy. It was really nice strolling on V.U. looking at the buildings, relaxing, people watching (tourists, hungarians, gypsies, etc). So overall, it was a fantastic Saturday and a lovely introduction to Budapest.
Tomorrow I am packing up my bags and all my stuff and moving into the apartment where I’ll be staying for the rest of my time here!! So I’m really excited about that so that I can unpack and be stable and adjust and look for a supermarket and gym, etc etc.

A few other thing:

Observations from this week:
-Much of Budapest really is under construction. And I’m sure when it’s done, it really will look amazing (or more so then it already does.) The question is, when will it all be done?

-Budapest has really gorgeous bridges, and the fact that the city is split between the Danube is just so cool.

-When you talk to a Hungarian, and they want to show that they understand, or get it, or whatever, they say “uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh or yes yes yes” a LOT of times. Like usually Americans will say yeah, but here they say yes uber- repetitively. Weird. Or cool.

-Some peeps have asked me how I’m dealing with the language here. The basic answer is that I’m not. It would be silly and semi-impossible for me to try to learn Hungarian. I know about 6 words=yes, no, thank you, please, restaurant and water. I don’t even know hello or goodbye because they are too long. But luckily, everyone I have encountered so far, either knows a ton of English, or enough for me to charade and speak some words to the point where my message or question is understood. So yeah, maybe 10 words will be my final goal?

-So!! I found out that RIGHT near my office is this great American-ish coffee place that has bagel sandwiches, chai tea, and ICED CHAI TEAS!!! And the girl that works there speaks amazing English. It’s soo good to know I can get an iced coffee or chai tea, and close to my office.

-There was a sandwich place I always passed on the way to and from work that always had a crowd around it, so I always wanted to try it. But, I was always scared to go there, because the menu on the door I glanced at was just in Hungarian. But on Friday I got up the courage to go there, and they had an old faded separate English menu, AND the girl spoke English. And I got a sandwich and it was excellent! So yay for risks and having a good outcome!

-I haven’t had any Hungarian food yet. Usually I love local food (ie Brazilian) but I haven’t had a huge craving for goulash, or stew or paprika things. But, I’ll try it soon…probably…

All in all, after a week here, I’m SO excited for what’s to come. I think before today I didn’t really realize how lucky I was to be in this city. The old buildings, the bridges, the Danube, everything about it is just so foreign but at the same time it’s a place I’ll be calling home for the next 10 weeks.

Here are some pics of my explorations today: