VKC

August 31, 2009 | Von KleinSmid Center

This is, I think, my favorite building on campus. Actually, it's kind of irritating because to get to class, I may end up having to go all the way around the building if I enter on the wrong side. Structurally inconvenient, but visually appealing! The bigger classrooms are not ideal for PowerPoint presentations. The smaller classrooms are nice though, and the building is well air conditioned. Oh, but I don't have classes in it this fall.

I like this building because of the high arches and because of the country flags (especially because of the country flags). There are more flags on the other side of the building. I have been told that the flags represent international students who have come here.

I think this is where the Political Science offices are, as well as the International Relations offices. Those are two I have seen anyway. There is a library, but I have not been to it. It is downstairs, whereas most of the undergraduates classes in the building occur on the first or second floor.

P.S. I worked very hard to get a certain flag into my field of view. Hopefully, I got the right one...

Guest

August 31 | Szimpla's

This is my friend, Chris, and his older sister. She arrived today and will be staying for next week. This is exciting news as it means that I can go exploring Hungary with them for the break.

It also allows me to practice Spanish - I initially pretended that I don't speak English and we had a short conversation. I found that I am better at Spanish than I thought, though being me means that I didn't say much.

That's my side mission: to learn as many languages as possible. Currently still on my list: Italian, Mandarin, Japanese.

Chocolates?

August 30, 2009 | Chocolate Box

Well, I don't know how to explain why I took this picture. I had a sudden desire for chocolates recently. Unfortunately, because of the weather, any chocolate I buy would probably melt within the minute. I'll just have to wait until the end of the week when the weather cools off.

So, the story behind this chocolate box is that my mom knows that I have a certain affection for chocolates (because what girl doesn't). Therefore, whenever she visits, usually she will bring me a box of chocolates. YUM! I never know what to do with the boxes though, because they don't seem very recycle-able. They do make more good pranks though. People always think my jewelry box has chocolate at first. Also, I once gave a teacher a gift inside a chocolate box. Her daughter thought it was going to be chocolates.

I think I'm going to get diabetes and DIE. :o But until then, chocolates and sugar-highs!

Landscape

August 30 | Gödöllő to Budapest

Here's something that happens often. A lot of people would go someplace and come back and talk about how great __A__ was. I'd go to the same place or event, and come back and talk about something completely different. Like that one day when I went to the cake ceremony and had an amazingly fun time, only to be told later about how much I missed out by not coming to the air show. Yeah, as far as I know, nobody from BSM ever saw the cake.

Well, today twenty of us (I think) went to a palace in a town suburb to Budapest. The castle was basically a museum with fancy stuff inside and we had a tour guide show us around. (I hate tour guides.) I can't show you the interior because I was not allowed to take pictures. It was cool, I guess. But what really caught me was the scenery from the train ride. We were above ground and could see how the 10-story Soviet-era condominiums gave way to orange-roofed cottages with gardens, how those slowly disappeared, revealing a green suburban landscape, how it transformed into a forest of a composition which I did not recognize before finally settling to the town of Gödöllő.

It's hard to take pictures from a moving train, especially through a window, so I uploaded the best one I could manage. But it's not something many would understand: "I went to the Gödöllő castle on Sunday, and my favorite part of the trip was the train ride."

Bicycle

August 29, 2009 | My beautiful, red bike!

I love my bike. It is used, and it has a Hawaiian bike license sticker on it. When I first met it, sparks flew (it's red! and it's a free spirit!) , and I knew it was for me. Its only problem is that it sounds like it could break sometime soon. :/

Indian

August 29 | "Taj Mahal"

It was someone's birthday today, and a bunch of us went to an Indian restaurant named "Taj Mahal". Contrary to my perception of Indian food, it was very good.

I'm still hungry, though.

South

August 28, 2009 | From my balcony

I know I already did a similar post, but I feel like being able to give some sort of general notion of where I am. Looking south, you can see buildings from my campus. For instance, the red, rectangular building which looks rather boring (and is only moderately more interesting up-close) is the Rossier School of Education. Off to the very right, you can kind of see some of what is our main chemistry building SGM. In between Rossier and SGM, you can see a cross which is where the University Church is. I went to a service once (and, yes, I am atheist), and it is a bit small. Past the Shrine and on campus is one of the dormitories Birnkrant, and next to that is the main undergraduate library Leavey. You can only see a corner of it, I think.

Den

August 28 | My apartment

This is the secret den in my room. Unless you've been up here, you'd have no idea that it exists. We can sit up here and play set, and no one would notice.

Clouds?

August 27, 2009 Those aren't clouds...

Here is Hoover Street, which is kind of dangerous in terms of traffic and pedestrians/bike traffic. Overhead are not clouds. Something is on fire. It is that time of year. Plus, it's been mid/high 90s, and I don't think it's even considered a heat wave. :/

Pancakery

August 27 | Nagymama palacsintazoja

The name literally means "Gramdmother's pancake". It's a pancakery where I went today with a group of BSMers. The pancakes were good, but especially interesting was the interior.

If you look carefully, you'll find a reflection of me in one of the mirrors.

Cooking!

August 26, 2009 | Brown Food

I cooked today! Not very colorful. Anyway, you take pictures of food; therefore, I must reciprocate. :) I like food, too. I just hate feeling full.

Jam

August 26 | My apartment

This is wild strawberry (zemlyanika) preserve. It is, I believe, one of the best kinds. I hope they didn't put too much sugar in it. From an Asian food store that had a huge selection of teas and spices.

As you can see, I like food.

Kitchen

August 25, 2009 | The Kitchen: where the most lovin' happens

This is my apartment's kitchen! I was in the middle of cooking pre-packaged dumplings. I was a bit lazy today, so I didn't make anything. Plus, I'm lacking in green onions which I use for everything. Sadly, I'll probably be way too busy to cook by mid-semester. :(

Our plastic oven knob is broken! Hurray! 5 outlets don't work in the kitchen/near-the-kitchen area...I just moved in, and already my apartment is falling apart.

Ókun'

August 25 | A restaurant in Buda

This is what I had for dinner today: ókun' (perch), Hungarian style. Very good.

You can see a black shadow in the bottom of the picture. It's from my lens. I need an external flash...

Are the pictures of food interesting? I seem to upload a lot of inside café's and restaurants. Maybe I should upload something else instead?

Firetrucks

August 24, 2009 | The building is on fire?

Today, at the start of my dinner with my apartment mates, the fire alarm went off. After seeing three firetrucks and four Department of Public Safety SUV, I suppose perhaps there was a fire after all. The current rumor is: smoke from oven on 3rd floor. I personally think all fire alarms are just fire drills in disguise. I probably took about two minutes to leave my apartment. Note: police chariot by building. Hehe. They look so silly.

Tram

August 23 | Margaret Bridge

I'm cheating again, but you wanted to know about public transportation. This tram is the gem of Budapest's transportation network. It's not fast, but smooth and fancy - like the light rail in Seattle. Stops and connections are announced in both Hungarian and English, suggesting that it is also a popular tourist attraction.

Purpose

August 23, 2009 | Shrine Auditorium

This is a building outside my window. It is where important famous social and televised functions occur and also sometimes large rave parties. For the longest time, I thought it was a real temple. I don't think this is the case. I wonder if it ever was the case. The location of my apartment is kind of not so great. Being in between the Shrine and the Row, I have heard that it will be quite loud. Plus, I've been told people pull the fire alarms a lot in my building. :/

Ruins

August 23 | Margaret Island

Here I am above the runis of an old castle. The castle stood between the XIII'th and XVII's centuries. St. Margaret occupied the castle somewhere in its early years.

St. Margaret Island is in Budapest on the Duna. It's mostly a park, seeming abandoned but relatively clean and with well-kept flower beds. It's looks like a typical large urban park, not very exciting but with a few surprises. Like this one.

Room

August 23, 2009 My side of the room!

It is very messy. :) I'll think about cleaning it later...

Parties

August 22 | My living room

Unaware that I had a physics paper to write, one of my roommates invited a bunch of people to play poker. I hid away in my room and finished the paper (or, at least, submitted something that looked like a paper), but the crowd didn't help.

I feel like I'm not done with physics, though, that it would come back and haunt me in a few days. Maybe after grades are posted I will be free of it at last.

Trees

August 21, 2009 | Scenery

Here I am frantically typing because I need to go to lunch. I wish I could have taken a picture of the sky in the countryside with the stars out, but this will have to do, as will this paragraph.

Duna

August 20* | Duna at night

I also cheated. This is the Duna, from a bridge, after the fireworks. They were awesome. I videotaped the whole show.

I'm not expecting a post from you tonight. You are, after all, on the road. I will post pictures of the festivities by the time you arrive and see this.

Garden

August 20, 2009 | Garden at Night

Taking a picture during the day time probably would have been a wiser choice. There are rows of flowers, though not in this field of view, that proceed the pathway underneath the wooden arch. That's where all the fun (i.e., edible) stuff is! String beans, tomatoes, squash, basil, etc. Most of what we have now is new. We also have apple trees which have been around for probably nearly eight years now. I used to have my own smaller plot before my dad had a pathway cemented and did many things to the yard. He buried my blueberry bushes, parsley, strawberry patch, onion plants, and my really pretty rose bush! :( He bought a lot of rose bushes of different flower colors to plant, but that doesn't make up for mine...

Anyway, one of the things I have missed about home is the late summer when the fruits and vegetables ripen. Our apples don't grow very well, but it's fun to make apple crisps or something apple-y. But what I especially miss is the smell of ripen blackberries along my street.

Cake

August 20 | Parliament square

I was looking forward to this, and was determined to take a picture. This is an annual event: a cake dedicated to the people of Hungary. The tradition continues: the cake was baked, cut up, and served - to those who reserved a piece.

I have more pictures, but this one probably shows the cake best. You are the first in the states to see this picture, though it will make its way onto Facebook among other picture of the cake that show what you do not see now: a crowd of people looking up at the platform, waiting for the cake to be brought down to them.

I did have a piece of cake. Not this cake, but another one sold prior to the ceremony. It was surprisingly good for a cake that is mass-produced. I bought two slices. Too bad you weren't there for us to share them, as well as the experience of seeing a cake ceremony. For real.

Spider

August 18 (I'm cheating) | Oh, hi there!

I almost died from shock. This is the largest spider I have ever seen. Unfortunately, things did not fare well for the spider.

Café

August 19 | "Costa" on Astoria

Tomorrow is Saint Istvan's day, more recently: the constitution day of Hungary and the Hungarian national holiday. Parades and festivities all day, concluding with fireworks. I know what I'm going to post tomorrow. You'll see, but you probably won't guess.

This is at a cafe near the language school. I gave them a wrapped sandwich and ordered a tea. Well, they unwrapped the sandwich, put it on a plate and poured the tea in a teapot. I thought: this is cool and ordered a pastry, which was also served on a plate. You don't get this at Starbucks. Not to mention, everything edible on the tray cost under 8 USD. I'll definitely go back there.

Opportunity

August 18, 2009 | Door of Opportunity

So, I was waiting for a friend today, sitting near that building at 45th and Brooklyn (the building with a W on it), and I saw this door among other doors. There was chalk, and the door was in public, so obviously I had no other choice, but to add my opinion. I think my addition is rather fitting and addresses the question.

Class

August 18 | College International

Not much exciting happened today, so I thought I'd upload a picture of the class, everyone who's arrived so far. This isn't everyone, but it's close to a representative sample.

Overall, not a very exciting group. Only two Asians. Many people like going out to bars, and many would rather go to an expensive restaurant than look for a moderately-priced one.

When the subject of the conversation is not alcohol, most people are sociable. In other times, times when I feel out of place, the thought of us together, even if only through Skype or GChat, is even more significant.

Stickies

August 17, 2009 | Making Plans

My life is generally planned out on sticky notes. These sticky notes are intentionally left difficult to read because I'm embarrassed by them? I think the years might be off a little anyway. I should go check on that. The last note is for around 2020. Basically, I know what happens up until I complete my residency.

Don't mind the rest of what can be seen of my bookshelf. I know the speakers on top of the stereo seems strange. Also, the visible stack of books, papers, and random stuff does not completely reflect my interests. Bigger books just go on the top shelf. I did rather enjoy my psychology and biology textbooks though.

Castle

August 17 | Városliget

That, is a castle in a park. Among other fancily-decorated buildings. It's real. If I were there earlier, I would have better pictures.

Today was the first day of the language class. It looks like I'm succeeding in meeting more people. Yay!

Dinner

August 16, 2009 | "Spiced"

For Kevin's last get-together, we went to a Chinese restaurant called "Spiced". It is across the street from Crossroads. One of our dishes was frog...yeah. You'll have to ask Kevin. It was rather interesting.

Kettle

August 16 | My apartment

This is the kettle that I use to boil water. It doesn't look like it contains toxic metals.

I was going to upload a panorama of Budapest, but the stitcher failed. I'm pushing my netbook to the limit with Pidgin, Skype, VLC Player, and image editing running simultaneously.

Fortuna

August 15, 2009 | Clover

This might be kind of a boring post. hehe. I have a four-leaf clover that I found practically unintentionally six years ago. They do exist! :)

Workplace

August 15 | My room in Budapest

I live close to the school and to the metro station. The window opens into the courtyard.

Oh, I just finished listening to your CD. Jessica... thank you.

Fascinated

August 14, 2009 | Puzzle!

It took me forever, but I finally finished the puzzle! Okay...one late evening, but still. My mother came into my room and started working on it, too. hehe. My visiting aunt joined minutes later, but she mostly watched.

I love the puzzle! Thank you so much! :) We are doing puzzles together when we get back. I demand it!

Dessert

August 14 | On "Spoon, the Boat"

Today, my housemates and I met with a few other groups of BSMers and walked around. At one point upon reaching the river, someone wanted coffee, and as a result we all went for dessert at this restaurant, called "Spoon," on a boat.

I wish I had taken a picture of my dessert to show you. It was amazing, though.

And it was the climax of the day: the funness value decreased as the day progressed, and is increasing slightly now that I'm back in my apartment. I hope I meet more people when classes begin and reach some sort of social equilibrium.

Wall

Here is my favorite corner of my room! I would plaster my room with posters of my favorite rock/metal bands or favorite movies, but posters are not cheap. I should like to make more collages one day though. I want to create a writing space for themed quotes, but I have not figured how I will do it. Walls should never go bare (I don't think my father agrees).

Downward

August 13 | Frankfurt airport

I've long wondered where these are still used, feeling like stairs are the true way to disembark from a jetplane. I thought that maybe small airports still use them, but I did not expect such a method to be customary at an airport as large as Frankfurt am Main (the fact is, they just don't have enough jetway-equipped gates, but that's beside the point). Today, my dream of diesmbarking via stairs has finally been achieved.

Innocence

When I was in elementary/junior high school, I used to spend quite a while just folding small cranes and listening to music. I would save the paper wrappers of chocolates to make gold cranes. I have also made a few from wrapping paper. Believing that if I could reach one thousand paper cranes my wish would come true, I would focus on a wish while I folded.

Departure

August 12 | My living room

Yet in a few hours, I take off for Budapest. I've been thinking about this trip since summer of 2006, yet now I think I'll miss our times together, and home - more than before.

Prelude

August 11, 2009. Magnuson Park.

Although I constantly worried about not studying when I should have, presented the same situation, I would choose to be with you again and again.