The First Few Days

Being it Sunday and having been here for nearly five days, I have experienced more drastic change in this first week than nearly any other time in my life. The most minuscule things such as grocery shopping, going out to restaurants, or sight seeing are all impacted by the language barrier and cultural divide. Having grocery shopped three times already to attempt to stock our mini fridge and kitchen that is nearly of equal size, we have attempted to use what little Hungarian we know in addition to making no mistakes so that as little language is used as possible. As sad as it is, a true sense of globalization has hit me. The necessity to adapt and learn this culture in order to integrate myself has become the forefront of my desire while in my stay. Although English is used by most under the age of 40, and is spoken nearly fluently by a large amount my age, the divide is inevitable. In Hungary, English is implemented as early as primary school in the attempt to make Hungarians more global and adaptable to our ever changing world, as no other country uses this language. However, the older demographics we see the less and less English we hear, as the influence of communism is more apparent. The elders only know Hungarian and Russian due to Stalinism and Hungary being a communist territory very close to mother Russia. And, although we know basically no Hungarian, their (under 40) acceptance to our attempts and respect to them is taken warmly, as they love to use their English as much as we love to attempt to use our first words of Hungarian. But we do not want to plan on people using English, and we hope to quickly be able to converse just enough with the locals to get by. It is as though we are again infants attempting to assimilate. . . strange.

Since my last entry I have noticed a striking element about the streets of Budapest: when people walk they walk with a look of frustration. This is not to say that their hate everything, as they are incredibly nice people. It is yet another reflection of the era of communism, as (especially the elders) spent to many years with nearly nothing to smile about, it has practically become a part of the culture. However, inside closed doors, they are always in high spirits. Next, the main difference I have noticed between Americans and Europeans already is the volume that we traditionally accompany ourselves with. Walking down the street at 4:30 in the afternoon and seeing hundreds of people, I am always amazed as to how quiet it is. Only footsteps upon the pavement are heard amidst the mass of people, and the occasional car going by. It is truly a sight to be seen.

The most interesting thing to me is the way that they communicate with one another. In the States, as you all know, all too often we will ask someone how they are doing simply because it has seemed to become commonplace, yet we do it usually because we feel obliged to, or because it has become custom interaction. Here, Hungarians only ask each other how they are doing when they genuinely are concerned with how someone is. It is a lesson that I have already come to realize that we can all be impersonal at times, even when we do not mean to.

Lastly, Beer is cheaper than water. This is quite convenient for Hungarians and their thirst.

Pictured left is the Hungarian National Castle, which was used from as early as 900 until World War I. The switch from a monarchy to the parliamentary republic that is used today was an influential one that reflected the newer world post WWI. As of now, this castle houses the National Art Gallery, and the National Library, which houses every book ever published in Hungary. Ever. The amount of history here is incredible. I took this shot on a sightseeing tour with my program, and it was one of nearly 200. Up top is the modern day Budapest, with one of so many trams that act as the city's lifeline. Having used the trams and buses myself, I am already in love with how connected this city is, as those in cars are mostly stuck in traffic, and the main mode of transportation is either the municipal systems or walking. Although, I am living on the Pest side, which is the much more urbanized and densely populated portion of Budapest. Attempts to compare this to San Francisco have failed miserably, and density is the only similarity I have found. One thing I have already learned is that whether in Europe or the States, we are in a global society.

Thanks for reading.

Arrival

Early Morning.

Having arrived nearly ten hours ago, I have come to write this entry as I am unable to sleep, and only accompanied by the sounds of the garbage man outside. This nine hour time change is already taking a toll on our arrival, yet it has already given me the opportunity to see the street I live on, and a portion of the city of Budapest, at an hour not many see on a regular basis. Already, we have come to appreciate our new home.

Our trip was much smoother than Maryann or myself could have imagined. Everything went off perfectly, and as of now I am typing this entry in my kitchen, and in the future for all you readers back home. With limited views of the city thus far, we were able to get quickly acquainted with our surroundings on our taxi ride back from the airport. Interestingly enough, the architecture of socialist years is on the outskirts of the city, and most buildings are the exact same and are a clear reflection of the war torn Europe that we have all known of. However, once getting in towards the city, the architecture becomes alive and the beauty of the city takes shape (the presence of these old buildings most likely has to do with Hitler's appreciation for architecture). So as of now, we have gotten to our safe haven, and have seen just how different the language is. If we had not received helped, we would have surely been stranded. . .

Laci (pronounced Lot-zi) is my mentor. He is a 20 year old law student at Pazmany (my school), and speaks fluent English. He met us in the airport and was so excited to see us that he jumped up and exclaimed "USF? Eric? USF?!" From our short encounter he has already told us a great deal about the city, and kind of what to expect. Already, we can see our cultural differences: fortunately there is a washing machine in the bathroom, but when I told him that back in the States we have driers, he could not believe that in such a short time our clothes were ready to wear. Here, they use heating racks to dry everything.

So it is nearly six a.m. and our only food is pretzels, trail mix, and cliff bars. We are sure to go to the market tomorrow to get real food to stock our kitchen with. Nick is to arrive on Thursday in the afternoon from France. Once he is here, the experience will really begin to take shape. The picture posted is one of a street lamp from our balcony on the third floor. I found it quite fitting, as it was one of the only things I could get enough light for, but also because it looks so different from ours back home. Notice the signs on the above the doors. And just our luck, Maryann lives directly across the street! I must end this post for more pretzels and reading up on our new home. Viszontlatarsra.

Thanks for reading.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog, and thanks for visiting.  A little background should be given about my trip to Budapest before I dive into blogging.  

1.  The title of this blog is a Hungarian translation of "For the Journey."  This adventure is already proving to be an experience just from the beginnings of packing, and the journey itself is sure to bring much to the table.  (forthejourney.blogspot.com was already taken)

2.  I will be traveling to Budapest with my girlfriend, Maryann, and will be living with my good friend Nick.  Nick is a former roomate of mine from USF, and he just spent the past six months studying in France; I am convinced he has abandoned the States all together.  Maryann, who goes to Portland State University, will be attending classes at Corvinus University (formerly Karl Marx University), a separate school a short distance from ours (Pazmany Peter Catholic University).  Howerver, she will be living on the same street as us: Raday utca.  

3.  This blog will capture our trip from Monday, January 19th, 2009, until June 6th, 2009.  It will hold entries from an array of experiences and countries to match: including but not limited to Poland, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Greece, and Croatia.  Those are not set in stone but are on the list of places we hope to visit. 

Ultimately, this blog will capture our attempts at adaptation into a completely new lifestyle, where English is spoken in limited amounts, and the lifestyle is a complete change.  It will encapsulate our learning, appreciation for a new lifestyle, and realization as just how large our world is; it is sure to be very refreshing.  So please, watch as we struggle, squirm, and try to earn our right to say we lived in Europe for a short time. 

Thanks for reading.