I think it's time for an update.

I keep putting off updating my blog, and I'm not exactly sure why.
I've done a LOT since Slovenia..

• I've done all I need to do for my residency permit (the process was really stressful, however).
• I've figured out all the classes I'll be taking (no business classes at all!!!) and think that, academically, this semester might be a breeze.
  
• I've spent time with Rachel Roozeboom, fellow Dordt student, twice now.
  
• I've traveled to Transylvania, Romania, and stopped at about a dozen churches over the course of three days.
• I stayed with the same host family I stayed with on band tour in 2006!
• I found a pole to lick and took a picture for Ashley.
• I admired the beauty of the Carpathian mountains.
• I learned more history of a variety of churches as well as of the Roma people.
  
• I got to hang out with some pretty awesome people; however, I was happy to be back in Budapest where alone time was an option.
• I've spent more time admiring the beautiful city I live in.
• I went to see the "Little Princess" statue and the Budapest Synagogue.
  
• I visited statue park.
• I saw a football game between Bd. Honved and Ujpest FC.
• I was blocked from entering the metro station by what seemed to be the entire Budapest SWAT team.

I've had a really good last couple of weeks! I wasn't forced to drink a large quantity of palinka. I've had time to relax, and I just realized that every single sentence typed begins with I.
Disgusting.
So let me tell you something about the Roma people...
Of Hungary's ten million people, 600,000 are Roma (Gypsies). According to the Budapest Times, about half of the Roma children between ages 15 and 19 have not completed their elementary education. Therefore, many Gypsies are underqualified for jobs and are forced to live on unemployment benefits. Apparently, Antiziganism (anti-Gypsy sentiment) is on the rise in Europe. Apparently the first EU Roma Summit happened on 9/16 to try to improve the situation.
When we drove through Gypsy areas in Romania, Janos mentioned that the Gypsies always live on the edge of towns and have their own churches because it isn't socially acceptable for them to attend other churches. In 2006, we visited an orphanage and were told that most kids had Gypsy parents who couldn't afford to raise them. I'm sad for them.
Something to know/think about...
Claire