We love everything, especially the bread

Hello, everyone!  

On day four, we’re remembering that we’re actually here to take a class. Every day we take the bus (5, 7, or 8) or the subway (red line) to a classroom in a small international college. A courtyard is surrounded by an iron gate. We’re on the second floor, where the windows let in a huge amount of light. The chalkboard is green, and the eraser is a wet sponge. The question on everyone’s mind is: Who is the sponge wetter? Here’s everyone in the classroom except Eva, who was taking the picture.

In the morning, we have two hours of Hungarian lessons! So far we’ve learned the alphabet, basic greetings, numbers 1-10, and how to apologize. Walking around with 21 people means that “excuse me” and “sorry” come in handy. Our teacher Erika is delightful, brilliant, and patient. She has also renamed some of us. Kate is Kati, Mattie is Magda, Eva is Ava, and “Jessica isn’t Hungarian”.

One of the best parts of Hungary has been the food, and one of the best meals of the day has been breakfast! Every morning the hotel has served us breads, cheeses, spreads, fruits, four kinds of juice and more. Including unlimited use of an espresso machine!

For lunch, a group of us traveled to a bakery called Lipoti which is just down the street from our classroom. It had an amazing selection of bread as well as yogurts and sandwiches. We even got to practice our Hungarian when thanking our cashier by saying köszönöm! Here’s Eva and Sarah, who found a lovely nook at Lipoti, with a less-lovely view of McDonald’s. i

Others went to the Goat Herder café, another nearby spot to eat with good coffee, wraps, and croissant sandwiches. We’ve been appreciating lighter foods for lunch; saving the traditionally heavier Hungarian meals for dinner.

After our afternoon math class, six of us decided to explore the Szabó Ervin Central Library to work on our homework. Housed in a palace, it was absolutely beautiful inside and out. We walked around the entire block before we found the entrance.To gain access to the library, we had to register for library passes with the help of an elderly librarian who spoke very little English. Even though she was clearly overwhelmed having to register all six of us at once, she was surprisingly patient and warm. She was utterly delighted by the eagle pictured on our passports, and happily showed Eva pictures of pigeons on her phone. Although the librarian patiently helped us through the 20 minute ordeal, the unfortunate man who got in line after 6 foreigners was less pleased. Oh well. We got the book fix we needed. The library was as full as Rolvaag during finals, but a kind librarian showed us where an empty table was hidden. There we happily worked among young Hungarian students for a couple hours.

For dinner, the four of us and Kate Arneson went to Szazeves Etterem, the oldest restaurant in Budapest! Szazeves Etterem was a little bit fancier and more expensive than our other meals (at least by Budapest standards...most entrees were still under $15), but the food and atmosphere made it worth every forint. We especially enjoyed the leek soup served in a bread bowl and the chocolate souffle (we ordered 3). Another highlight was the live “gypsy style” music played by a violin-cello-piano trio.

We love Budapest. It’s like New York, except clean, like Chicago but half as big, like the Twin Cities except with better public transit. The buildings are a bizarre, beautiful mish-mash of ancient and neon. We can get anywhere in a cinch, even if we can’t always read everything on the bus stop time tables. The streets feel safe, even after only four days when we still don’t know what all the street signs mean. Much of the food is based around bread, meat, cheese, and bread, all delicious things. We love buying really good bread for under a dollar. We really love the bread. Most of all, we love exploring the streets, climbing bluffs, and breathing air from halfway across the globe.

Tonight, our first Friday in a foreign city we adore, we are...doing homework. We have class tomorrow at 10am sharp.

Jó éjszakát! Good night!

Kate H., Mattie, Eva, and Jess

(AKA Kati, Magda, Ava, and Jess still isn’t Hungarian)