Beginning November...

Jó reggelt over there!

Yes, I've been slacking a little bit on the blog end and now have to condense two beautiful weeks in Budapest into one entry:( So forgive me if it's a tad bit long compared to my previously posted Budapest lovefests..I'll do my best to be concise!

The Monday after Fall Break called for some serious grocery shopping, especially because Meg and I go through an entire container of Keifer in basically 2 days. Hence, Monday was pretty much dedicated to assimilating back into the non-break routine. Tuesday night involved two of my favorite French things...weird films and crêpes! To my delight, the French Institute of Budapest shows French movies with English subtitles for free EVERY WEEK. Maybe I won't forget all of my French afterall! Wednesday was my friend Allie's 21st, so, naturally, we had to make a big Budapest fuss :) With a party of 18, it was difficult to find a restaurant that could take us all, but, luckily, our favorite default Indian joint agreed to take us in. We ended the night at a cute little bar that served probably close to 20 different kinds of Belgian beer. Now, picture this: 14 American college-age students all sitting lined up at a bar, 7 of us wearing pink party hats. Needless to stay, there was a decent amount of the classic hungarian staring we've come to know and love. ish. Thursday night I got my act together enough to study earlier in the afternoon so that I could go folk dancing! This was probably one of the most memorable experiences I've had here, mostly because it was so extreme in every possible sense. Allow me to paint another picture for you: a large, dark, "basementy" room filled mostly with hungarians from ages 18-45, live music played by some eccentric-looking musicians, and so much sweat that you'd think we were all running a marathon. Even though I had no clue how to do any of the dances, the steps were simple enough that I could watch a few sequences and then join the circle. I even got asked to dance by a guy with a crazy beard ponytail who really seemed to know his folk dancing. BUT the best part of the night had yet to come...after Meg and I had tried out some couples dancing, a young british woman approached me and asked me if I spoke English. "Of course!" I said. She responded, "Do you know that your skirt is tucked into your underwear?" [pause for my look of shock and embarrassment] Seeing my face, she quickly added, "But don't worry you look brilliant out there! You couldn't really see anything." Let's just say I'm glad I won't be seeing all of those hungarians again who were no doubt laughing at my little American fashion statement. Friday-Sun included a Michael Jackson laser show at the Planetarium, a nice, long late Saturday morning run, Ben & Jerry's ice cream from a small grocery store that sells some comforts from the good ol' USA, a group tasting of the Hungarian dish Fözelek, church, and rain.

This past week started out rainy as well but ended on a comparatively warm and sunny note, which I think made everyone feel a little better about the jump from Summer to Winter. It even seems like the trees are finally changing color as if to say, "Don't worry! We didn't forget about Fall altogether!" In terms of activities, a bunch of us went out on the town Wednesday night: first to a bar/restaurant that some of the kids had already been to and said was definitely a must-see. Szimpla had a pretty cool ambiance, not to mention a nice-sized glass of forralt bor (the beloved hot wine) for a great price. As we all sat crammed shoulder to shoulder at the table, I realized just how much these people mean to me. It's still so amazing to me that a group of people from all over America who met not even 3 months ago can sit together and talk and laugh together like old friends. I mean, does it get any better? I really don't think it can :) Afterwards, the boys went home, and the 7 of us girls......went dancing, obviously! Dancing to techno music for almost two hours straight just gives you a new appreciation for the music you love (unless of course you love techno in which case I make no offense). Still, we were dancing, we were laughing, and we were together, so of course it was a great night! The next night I had a really cool opportunity to attend a school play sponsored by the drama team of the International Christian School of Budapest. One of the children of the missionary family that runs events at the church I've been going to invited me to come see their rendition of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, so, once again, I got my butt in gear and studied earlier in the afternoon so that I could take the evening to sit back and enjoy some adorable acting. Not only did it warm my heart just to watch the kids perform such a classically great story, but it was also such a breath of fresh air to be in a room with at least 100 Americans or native English speakers! I didn't realize how much I missed that! I sat next to a woman who has been teaching in Hungary for 19 years and got to hear her story about how she came to live in Budapest. It never ceases to amaze me for how many different reasons Americans have moved to Budapest/Hungary AND have stayed. So, you see, there must be some element of truth to all the gushing I do over this place..... :)

This past weekend, my friend Megan and I went to Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, but I'll save that for the next post..until then!

Much love,

Val