My Life Here
I leave for Romania in 8 hours!!! I can’t wait to come back and share about all the amazing things I’m confident God is going to do while I’m there!
I should be sleeping right now, but instead, I wanted to share a little bit of random stuff about my life here. Here are a couple lists of observations I have made thus far. I will continue to add to this list as time goes on, so keep checking for updates! Also, I’ve added a video of my lovely apartment. This is where I now call home Things Hungarians do better:
• Public transportation. The city of Budapest has an amazingly efficient system of public transport. It entails a combinations of trolleys, buses, an underground metro, and taxi service (as well as convenient train stations throughout the city to take you OUT of the city into neighboring communities, far away cities, and throughout Europe.
• Pastries and breads. in Budapest there is a bakery ever 3 blocks. They have the BEST breads imaginable, my favorite being pogácsa sajtos, a type of biscuit, with melted cheese on top. I tried out all the bakeries between my tram stop and my school to find which kind I liked the best. :)
• Lunch. Hungarians have figured out that it makes sense to have the largest meal in the middle of the day so you can work off the calories throughout the day. I don’t know if that’s really why they do it, but it works for me! Dinner usually consists of something smaller… my favorite: a szendvics (sandwich with cheese, szalami, and cucumbers.
• Chocolate. I don’t know what it is, but the chocolate here is wonderful. My friend Nikki encouraged me to try Milka, a Swiss chocolate, and I honestly almost wish she hadn’t. I’ve begun tast-testing all of the reasonably priced chocolates they sell here, and I have yet to be dissapointed.
• Pools. Actually, they’re thermal baths (or Furdo in Hungarian). I just got back from lap swimming in a spring fed warm water pool. The outdoor furdo’s are open year round because they can be so nice to sit in, even if it’s chilly out. Tonight when I went, Ego and I were the only ones brave enough to venture into the windy weather, so we had the pool to ourselves and made a whirlpool. Reminded me of some good times in Christine’s pool
• Coffee. Not only is the coffee better tasting, stronger, and cheaper…it is EVERYWHERE. (coffee vending machines in locker rooms, parking lots, etc. )
Simple conveniences Americans take for granted:
• Hot water. Heating water is quite expensive here so I have to boil the water for my dishes, and take short baths so the hot water doesn’t run out. A long hot shower is a luxury for most people.
• Ziplock bags and Tupperware. Living alone it’s hard to cook for one person and then store leftovers without these convenient amenities.
• Doing a lot of laundry at once. The average time to wash a load of clothes is 2 hours with the washing machines here. There are no dryers so everything has to hang dry… all over the house. : )
• Low-fat/ h ealthy food options. Skim milk doesn’t exist here. I really miss some of my ‘weird’ foods that Gorge typically makes fun of me for… Hungarians aren’t really on the organic/ vegan/ gluten-free band wagon…yet. (*man…. I could really go for some trader joe’s right about now…)
