Owl

October 31 | Košice Forest / Nature Preserve

Happy Halloween!

This picture's not great, but it proves that I saw an owl today. This was on the way back from the "high top" when I was in a hurry to get out of the woods before sunset, but decided to make a small digression to the "white cliff". On the way there I spotted the owl.

I think I also saw a fox! It ran away as I approached, and I took a few pictures. They're not great either. In fact, it could have been a small dog. But I don't think so: dogs stand their ground and give hikers a hard time.

Responsibility

October 30, 2009 | Keys

Igor, Igor, Igor! I got keys to my lab and lab building today! I could have gotten them sooner, but still! THIS IS BIG! Imagine if I were to give you the keys to my apartment. Well, no, that would be silly because you don't live remotely near me. I'm so excited. This means I can go in without knocking and waiting! And go in on weekends! Ahhhh!

Mud

October 30 | Zemplén Forest Preserve

I went hiking here today. It's the forest past the castle that's 4 hours away. It was really cold there, and the road was muddy. I'm going hiking Past Kosice tomorrow. It will be as cold, and I'll have to wake up at 5am but it will hopefully be fun.

Surprise?

October 29, 2009 | Strawberry's birthday!

Okay, my friend's name isn't Strawberry, but it was a nicknamed designated to her during freshmen year. My friend, Chocolate, and I, Caramel, started a dessert family. We also have a Vanilla, a Butterscotch, a Sprinkles, and a Marshmallow. Actually, funny thing, Sprinkles and Marshmallow are in love. True story. We also have two exceptions to our family: Vitamin D Full-fat Milk (he's actually also known as Waffles, though not named by the dessert family) and Condensed Milk (but we just call him Milk). Well, we don't use our tasty names so much any more because we rarely see each other.

Oh, so, the above picture, one of Strawberry's friends made her these things. They looked and tasted awesome (I got a lonely one which was not part of the bowl formation).

Piano

October 29 | College International Lounge

This is the piano in our lounge. It's really bad. The keys are out of tune and the middle C gets stuck a lot. There'a a grand piano upstairs but it's in a room that is locked.

But... it's a piano. I practice on it, and a few others practice on it, and others annoyingly pretend to play (I wouldn't say try, as they're probably not trying) random stuff on it. We study, play, study, until it is time to go to class.

DOMO

October 28, 2009 | Domo cup!

I went through much to get this picture. I may have stolen this cup. Well, it was just sitting there, mostly empty. And I had my camera, but no memory card. So, naturally, I took it...It was really important! Domo is so funny-looking!

Chessmarket

October 25 | Market square in Krakow

Chess again. But this was so unusual! The stands sold wooden things: plates, boxes, and chess sets. Look at all those chess sets!

Nomenclature

October 27, 2009 | Name change?

Yes, well, someone misplaced my "c", but that's okay. I like it. I think I should consider adopting it. I had a wonderful drink with multiple shots of espresso to keep me up yesterday. It was beautiful. By the time I was starting to fall asleep, Starbucks was open again, and I could have had more coffee! But alas, I resisted the temptation because I wanted a short nap, didn't want to spend money, and would have fallen asleep on the walk over.

Chessmen

October 26

I feel stupid for posting this. I'm not that excited about the chess set, you don't seem very excited either, and I just didn't have my camera with me today. (!)

Today was interesting, though. Three of us studied Galois theory and then went to lunch, then after class again we (only two now) studied Galois theory, and then went to dinner, but there was another BSMer who knows a lot of math, and he taught us a lot of stuff. So we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant, and meanwhile talked about math: the set-theoretic construction of the natural numbers, a hierarchy of algebraic structures, p-adic numbers, etc. (The latter is actually relevant to what I plan to do and I am more excited now.)

I wish I could share a picture of something from today, but I have only the symmetry of the chess pieces.

Flower

October 26, 2009 | Bird of Paradise, Official city flower of Los Angeles

This flower is curious. It's so strange, but awesome, too! I like birds. This resembles a bird. Therefore, I like this. It's like it has a orange crown with a purple beak! :) Caw, caw, rawr!

Chessboard

October 26

I got a chess set from Krakow! Full-size, with wooden pieces. And cheap - this set cost 95 Polish gold, or about $35.

I can play chess now. I already beat my roommate. We'll see how it goes...

Meters

October 25, 2009 | Parking Meter

Ahh! I couldn't help it! It was too amusing. :) :) :) I wonder what it fails at though.

Dragon

October 23 | The Castle

I was going to try to upload later, but my friends were really mean about me finding Internet. I'm sure you've come across people who would refuse you a favor just because they want to make it uncomfortable for you to hold to a lifestyle that is either not as simple or not like theirs.

Anyway, I'm uploading now. This is a dragon statue by the castle that we visited the day before yesterday. It periodically breathes fire. Fun.

Tailgating

October 24, 2009 | Game Day

Football is a big thing at USC. Today was one of the busiest game days, probably, with all the parents being here and such. People set up tents everywhere and make a big ruckus (which kind of is unfortunate for people studying in the two libraries surrounding this area. The smell of grilled food is strong. There is much drinking and happiness. I, myself, do not tend to party with these people. I also don't go to football games. I might next year because I think big crowds of people sitting down and cheering is potentially fun.

Auschwitz

October 24 | Auschwitz II-Birkenau

We visited Auschwitz today. It was cold and wet. Later it got colder and wetter, and we had to stand in a semi-crowded bus for almost all of its 1.5 hour trip. It was worth it, though.

I'm tired. As always.

Parents

October 23, 2009 | Trojan Parents' Weekend

Ahhh, cutest weekend ever! Some students are seen walking around with one or two parents. Sometimes parents follow students to class and sandwich the student in a parental set. I love it! I was sitting at a fountain eating my lunch. So from here, I could see the area in front of VKC (flags and arches) and Doheny, to the right, which was filled with tables for parents to have their lunches! So many tables! Exciting! I'm going to my parents come next year. :)

Chickens

October 23 | Market in Krakow

I was going to put a picture of our train compartment, but it wasn't really that special. We had two beds and a little table, and a place to hang clothes with hangers. For the four of us, we got 2 compartments, and all crammed into one for the evening, and played Nerts.

What distinguished it from 2nd class (I guess) was that we got a croissant, water, and towels (not that great), and that the conductor collected our tickets for the trip. This way we didn't get woken up in the night by controllers from Slovakia and Poland, wherethrough we've passed.

So, instead, I would like to share these hand-made chickens (or hens, whichever be the colloquial name thereof) that we passed by on our walk through Krakow today. Aren't they cute?

Burrito

October 22, 2009 | Korean-Mexican Burrito

This burrito comes from a taco/burrito truck. I don't know if you've ever noticed them in Washington; they're pretty uncommon there. Here, they have Asian-Mexican fusion trucks! Basically, they take somewhat Korean-style prepared meats and stick them in a burrito (therefore, it is half a "Mexican"-burrito, I do not really consider burritos a true Mexican food item, but that's another story). I had one on Tuesday, and I really liked it. So, I bought one again today when the truck came back. They park about the streets. I think I almost like it more than Chipotle! And I like Chipotle. There was egg in my burrito; I was kind of surprised.

Slanted

October 16 | Glacier Express approaching Chur

Not much happened today, or yesterday, unless you count midterm after midterm with varying results.

Here you can see the Glacier Express stopped in a slanted position. Being in the train at this time, and especially walking through it, was funny. This is probably the last picture I will post of Switzerland. The Facebook albums are getting there (eventually) and I will have Poland to share. Expect another train picture tomorrow night - we are travelling in a 1st class sleeping car, and it is supposed to be awesome.

P.S. This post is #144. 144 is gross! Seriously, who came up with these units?

Downtown

October 21, 2009 | A view of Downtown. Hurray!

I was walking off-campus today to go to a building I don't usually go to, and I had a nice view of downtown from the street. Well, the view from atop a building is much better, but I do not have time to be conquering heights these days. There's some construction to the right of me. They are building more apartments for USC students which will be nice because then fewer students will have to deal with plotting landlords and ridiculous leases. Unfortunately, the new building will obscure the view of downtown from the windows of the conference center across the street. :/ Well, I don't really go to the conference center anyway (today was an exception, but we were in the basement/ground level anyway).

Zermatt

October 17 | Zermatt, Switzerland

Zermatt in the Winter is a ski resort, famous for its matter horn. In the summer, it is a pleasant town to stay at during one's journey through the Swiss alps.

Yeah, it was 3 days ago, but I wanted to show you some more Switzerland. I really liked it there. I'd like to come back and hike in the mountains, and spend some time in the alps.

I leave for Poland tomorrow. It will be an entirely different experience.

Community

October 20, 2009 | University Village

This is our UV. It is small, very small, and not very fancy. It's very popular for the "international food court". The food isn't bad. It's like the Ave, except in a food court and with much fewer food options. I also like to come to the UV because there is the Dollar Dollar Store and Elegance - a cheap clothing store with very interesting things. Also, there is a grocery store. And a sketchy bike shop and a military recruitment center and a cheap movie theater and Starbucks! and Baskin Robbins and a tiny pharmacy and a tobacco shop and a Sprint (or possibly some other cell phone company) store.

They (USC?) are planning to take down this place and rebuild a big fancy one. The problem is: the community and the shop owners have been here for years. With the current development plan, there is good chance that these people will not get leases in a new facility. Furthermore, our UV would look more homogeneous with other UVs or malls because I would bet the new stores would be chains. It's a great "benefit" for students, but it's really not fair to the community. And as our school develops more and more, making housing more expensive, too, which will push out the residents, we should instead be thinking of ways to minimize our destruction. This is becoming an essay/rant. Must stop. Okay, bye.

Puppy

October 20

This is a Hungarian breed of dog. I won it for my Hungarian composition. The prompt was who / what is speaking. Here is my response:

Minden nap, egész nap, egész éjszaka, egy helyen állok. A hátam a falra van ragsztva. A fejem mozog.

A gyerek visszajön az iskolából és huzza a fülem. Jaj! Elsétal mellettem és most a másik fülem húzza! Bumm! Nem szeretem a gyereket.

Éjszaka nem vagyok képes mozogni. Alszom. Reggel a gyerek megy (juj) és én moygok oda - vissza, oda - vissza, a széllel. Van lyukam és néha kinézek a lyukon keresztül.

Soha nem megyek haza. Itt éltem, amikoraz első ember idejött, itt fogok élni, amig kidobnak. Fábol vagyok és a fejem fémből van. Hosszú ideig élhetek. Csak kérlek, vigazz rám!

A rough translation:

Every day, all day, all night, in one place I stand. My back is glued to the wall. My head moves.

A child comes back from the school and pulls my ear. Ouch! Walks past me and pulls the other ear. Boom! I don't like the child.

At night I cannot move. I sleep. In the morning, the child leaves (ouch) and I move, there and back, there and back, with the wind. I have a hole, and sometimes they look through the hole.

I never leave home. Here I lived when the first people came here, here I will live until they throw me out. I am of wood, and my head - of metal. I can live for a long time. Just please, be careful with me.

Can you guess what it is?

Inside

October 19, 2009 | In between buildings

So, here we are between my building and the connected other building. There is a nice spacious courtyard, and maybe I'll show it to you some other time. But I just liked the neatly parked bikes here (much more crowded elsewhere). Also, I just find it interesting that beach cruisers, as they are called, are so popular here. They are also pretty much the only bikes the nearby bike shops sell. In any case, they're kind of boring. :) On this rack, there were three of the same type! my bike, on the other hand, is awesome. Though actually, I've seen its doubles around campus. One was parked at the biology building, and the other was parked at the chemistry building. Not totally unique, I guess. But mine has a bike license sticker from Hawaii. And therefore, I am awesome.

Okay, sleep/nap time! Bye!

Bus

October 19 | Outside Train Station, Vienna

I found myself in Vienna again, as our Budapest-bound train stopped there. A controller ran into our compartment, yelling "Are you going to Budapest? No, no, you must go to bus! There is strike in Hungary!" And very soon we were here, waiting for the bus.

And they didn't even know where they were going. This bus is going to Budapest. Then when the bus got packed: No, this bus is not going to Budapest! That bus is going to Budapest! Ok, this bus is going to Budapest. That bus... this bus is going directly, that bus will make stops. Later: this bus leaves and the other bus: Is not going to Budapest, just Hegyeshalom; there will be other buses to Budapest. Eventually we got on the second bus which took us back to Budapest. Some people there were travelling from Italy, it seems. Funny.

And this happened today? No, I don't believe it.

Dyeing!

October 18, 2009 | Tie-Dye! Ooo, pretty colors. :)

I tie-dyed with my building today! One of those residential building event things. Unfortunately, I fail at tye-dyeing as you can see. I let gravity bleed my dye downwards. Also, too much red. I don't what this will look like after a wash, but hopefully, it will still look nice!

Bird

October 18 | Zoo in Zurich

The Zurich Zoo was big and very interesting. Ever seen this bird?

I got home about 20 minutes ago after getting stuck in Vienna due to the rail workers' strike in Hungary. Having to readjust to the apartment. Weird. Otherwise, all is well (I think).

Citrus

October 17, 2009 | Lemon/Lime Tree

I honestly can't tell if this is a lemon or a lime tree. I feel like it's a bit late in the season for the fruit not already be yellow if it were a lemon, but it's too large for a lime. I guess I'll find out in a few weeks. This tree is at the 32nd Street school which I walk by from school. I want to steal one, but I'm a bit short. :( Maybe it is a lemon tree. It is beginning to yellow. Did you know green peppers are just unripen red/orange peppers? The same is not true for limes and lemons, sadly.

Snowman

October 17 | Disentis train station

The Glacier Express, a scenic train which we took from Zermatt to Chur today, stopped briefly at Disentis to change locomotives. Meanwhile we tossed a few snowballs and made this snowman.

Today: Zermatt, train, snow (we had a minute or two before), train, snow, train, Chur, playing a weird card game - was way too much fun.

Camping!

October 16, 2009 | On-campus camping

Today as I was walking home, I passed a campsite in one of our "parks". I got really excited because the idea of camping on non-traditional camping sites excites me. I.e., camping at home on the lawn? Yes, please! Camping on school property? Most definitely! (I once camped outside the housing office at USC, but there was no tent involved).

No, this is not a tent city. It's for a philanthropic group called Troy Camp. The volunteers mentor children in the LA community. They go camping, but I don't think they do it on-campus. I'm not sure what they were up to this afternoon.

Camera

October 16 | Old City of Geneva

This was an antique shop that specialized in optics: telescopes, microscopes, cameras. That's a standard-sized price label, so you can tell how small that camera is. It's cute! And old - 1955. I wonder if some camera enthusiast still makes film for it.

Geneva was too much fun for city that I didn't even know existed. And now I'm in Zermatt, a car-free town next to an apparently famous mountain. Switzerland is, so far, awesome.

Addiction

October 15, 2009 | Cup of Joy

There are few things I think more about than school and life in general: coffee, you, coffee, boba (bubble/pearl milk tea), food, coffee, chocolate. And sleep, of course. I like to think about sleep since I do not often get to engage in this activity. It is a requirement of my Taiwanese heritage that I like bubble tea (fact: it started in Taiwan).

Ferrari

October 15 | On Rue de Lausanne

Here's a look into a Ferrari dealership in Geneva. There's also swiss watches in window displays. The watches cost around $100-$200, but in the airport there were advertisements of really cool watches - those we didn't see.

The plan for tomorrow is to walk around Geneva, including spending some time in the CERN globe exhibit. Then, we will catch a train to Zermatt.

Also, restaurant prices are high. Looks like I'll end up spending a lot of money here.

Interactive

October 14, 2009 | "Sonic Forest" by Christopher Janney

This is the Sonic Forest! 16 columns of weirdness. The first time I saw it, I actually saw someone I knew from high school, and I thought, this person is strange. The next day (today) I returned. It didn't seem to do anything when I placed my hand in front of the sensor, so I left. I came back after class with two of my friends (the one in white and the one in red), and I had at it. I was waving my hands and running around. The "trees" play different sounds: cows, insects, birds, marimbas. It was ridiculously fun(ny). I'm pretty sure people thought I was not quite right. It's staying until Friday. I will miss it. I think every campus should have this; it puts a smile on people's faces.

Moskvicki

October 15

This is a close-up of my cache of Russian candy. To the right are my favorite caramels, "Moskvichka"-s (or, in Russian, Moskvichki - Moscovians, f.). They have jam inside, wrapped in a layer of caramel, wrapped in a layer of chocolate. I think.

To the left are candies which I only tried here. And I like them. And I have too many. They'll probably be gone faster than they should.

Cobbler

October 13, 2009 | Blackberry Cobbler

I bought cobbler from the farmer's market. It was kind of expensive, but it's fairly yummy. It's actually pretty sweet, but the ice cream balances it out a little. Blackberries remind me of home. :)

Sacher

October 10 | Cafe Sacher

October 10 again. Ok, Vienna was just too amazing.

That cafe is famous. That cake is famous. And delicious. And expensive. So much that I don't want to give any numbers here; look up a picture on Facebook, the one that has comments.

I'll post something recent tomorrow. Maybe weather-related. I don't know yet.

PIE

October 12, 2009 | Apple pie a la mode!

To satisfy my desire for warm apple with ice cream, I went to the store and bought a frozen apple pie. And ice cream. The reward was and continues to be delicious. Oh! That reminds me: during freshmen year, there was sometimes fresh-baked apple pie in the cafeteria. :) Pie pie pie.

Mozarts

October 12 | By the Vienna opera house

These people walked around the Vienna city center (and even as far out as the Strauss park) and solicited tickets for the "Mozart koncert". They were everywhere!

Patterns

October 11, 2009 | The bottom end of Nappa cabbage

We're on picture 123! I was cutting cabbage and decided the bottom looks like a flower. Ooo, that would have made a nice garnish. But I threw it out already. Haha.

Engloried

October 11 | Schwarzenbergplatz, Vienna

That's a Soviet monument in the middle of Vienna. I was so excited! The back reads:

Вечная слава героям Красной Армии, павшим в боях с Немецко - Фашистскими захватчиками за свободу и независимость народов Европы!

Translated:

Eternal glory to the heroes of the Red Army, fallen in battles with the German - Fascist invaders for the freedom and independence of the nations of Europe!

The center has a list of names and text that praises the Russian troops, with excerpts of the first Soviet national anthem - no wonder the Austrians don't like this monument.

And yes, I'm back in Budapest.

Pasteles

October 10, 2009 | Pastries from a panadería

I went a local Mexican bakery shop while waiting for my oil change. And of course bought two non-Mexican pastries. Palmier and apple turnover. Two of my favorite pastries. I also really, really enjoy chocolate croissants. Yum. My school sells them, but this shop does not.

Embirdened

October 10 | Schönbrunner Park, Vienna

There was a huge park by a palace in Vienna, with woods, a zoo, etc. There was a playground, maze, and labyrinth, which charged an entrance fee. The playground was amazing, though. This, for example, is a bird that you can sit in and pretend that you are flying, up and down, up and down...

In the picture: Madeline, Chris.

Intersection

October 9, 2009 | Marketing Strategies

I wonder how effective this is. On the one hand, large signs draw alot of attention. But on the other hand, these people seem scary and unapproachable (especially with signs condemning non-believers to hell). Also, my bicycle is temporarily out-of-service which requires that I walk everywhere which means people try to stop me more. What am I supposed to do with flyers I have no interest in reading?

Rediscover

October 9 | Vienna

This is a present to you, or maybe from you, or maybe to us both, because even though I don't drink coffee, it feels closer to home. There just aren't any in Hungary.

The first thing that I saw on leaving the West train station in Vienna was a "Chinese restaurant". This was very soon after, and they came around every few blocks, alternating Starbucks and McDonalds.

I'm writing from a common space on our floor of the hostel. The rooms themselves do not have Internet. I will have to go out to the lobby to talk to you tomorrow.

Courtyard

October 8, 2009 | University Religious Center

This place is significant because I come here to sack lunches every Thursday from 5-6PM. It's pretty enjoyable, and I like talking about the LA working poor with people there. We sack lunches in the room in the back (probably can't see it).

Note bench, puddle, and courtyard. Double note peace pole. There is a peace pole at my high school, too. :)

Duality

October 8 | By the National Theater

Today I was taking "weird" pictures. This is one of them. I will upload others to Facebook later.

Also, you're talking to me right now :)

Words

October 7, 2009 | A T-shirt!

Hehe. I like this shirt. It's very cute. Also, it has a good message, I think. And I like t-shirts with words on them. :) One more non-black shirt for me. Hurray!

Textbooks

October 7 | Mya

I bought textbooks yesterday. RFM homeworks are out of the book, GAL textbook is just useful, D&B is a good reference. And I just had to get the NUT lecture notes since I missed the 2nd and 3rd weeks of class. I am catching up, though.

Books are expensive. Handouts especially: how much does it cost to print one of those? Not $20.

P.S. The 50 HUF ice cream place closed. For the winter, probably. Don't know if it will reopen next Spring.

P².S. Writing about the ice cream place reminded me of The Mix. What if it were still in business?...

Fountain

October 6, 2009 | Doheny Fountain

Ummmm, eventually I will run out of Doheny library-related things. But until then, I like the fountain. Actually, I like Doheny alot. I should go there more often. VKC, the building with the tall arches and flags, is glowing in the background. It is awesome at night...minus the whole light pollution business.