Czech-ing out Praha

This past weekend, I went to Prague (Praha) with six other girls. I'd recommend visiting. Prague is so beautiful! We were in very touristy areas and enjoyed hearing plenty of English. We had one day of rain and a lot of cold, but it didn't slow us down too much. The highlights of Prague for me were the Charles Bridge, walking by the river, Old Town Square, and exploring around the castle.
You could tell it was a more touristy areas with places to exchange money on every street corner and long streets of just souvenir shops. My biggest purchase was a Ron Weasley marionette.. :) Good investment, I think.
I've already put up pictures from Prague (FYI).
I'm glad to be back in Budapest now though. The floors in our 14-person hostel room did not allow for quiet entering and exiting of the room. I enjoy my bed in Budapest quite a bit. Also, we've had such great weather here recently... It's a high of 63 and sunny today. Perfect for a fall day.
I might be going to Salzburg this next weekend. The following weekends, I'll be on a group trip to Ukraine and a trip to Vienna with my parents! A lot of travel, but I have to take advantage of being in Europe, yeah?
Anyway, I have reading to do for my classes, but I thought I'd give a quick update.
I miss family and friends, by the way. Hope you all are doing well!

Yet another weekend in Budapest...

This weekend, we decided to stay in Budapest again. Fall is definitely here, and I'm loving it!
Rachel and I decided to go to the Labyrinth on Thursday. We had a great time getting creeped out by all the stone figures, wall paintings, and small, dark spaces. I had David Bowie running through my head pretty much the entire time. :)
We ended up going bike riding on Margarit Island as well. We rented bikes for 1/2 hour for less than $3 (450 Forint). This weekend has been beautiful with the high temp being in upper 60s lower 70s. Soo good.

On Friday, a group of us toured the Holocaust museum as part of an excursion through our Holocaust Literature class. Here are a few things I learned:

• Ten percent of the Jews murdered were Hungarian.
  
• Deportation of Hungarians did not happen until 1944.
  
• Many Jews were put into ghettos first but were moved to concentration camps only one to three weeks afterward.
  
• Budapest Jews were not deported but many were still killed here by various means, many in the Danube.
  
• Hungary was unique because it was politically independent but still enforced antisemitic laws. Laws included a limit as to how many Jews could be accepted at universities and forbade marriage between Jews and non-Jews.
  

Most of the images and footage shown at the museum were overwhelming, seeing people starved, deprived of freedom and dignity. Another eye opening experience.

On Saturday, I went to Hero's Square with the roomies. We were looking for the Budapest Crafts Exhibition and Fair. We found it. I thought it was really neat! Many booths were set up for anyone to participate by weaving baskets or painting jewelry. It would have been a lot of fun if I had been in the U.S. and had been with someone who was interested in making crafts with me. :)
In the evening, I went on a sightseeing cruise on the Danube with Rachel, Stephanie, and Elizabeth. We had a lot of fun!
Next week, we're planning on going to Prague. I'm pretty excited.
Oh, and I do homework every once in a while...
This is the life. Now if only everyone from home could come join me.

p.s. I think I just fixed my blog so anyone can post comments to an entry. FYI. I didn't know I had control over who comments on my blog...

Polska!

When told we were traveling as a group to Poland, I had very few preconceived notions about the country. I hadn’t heard or learned much about it before this semester, but I was really glad we made the trip. Each excursion was good in a different way.
I enjoyed learning about the history of Krakow. Seeing the University where Copernicus and Pope John Paul II attended was very neat. I enjoyed seeing where Pope John Paul served as a bishop as well. The buildings and the main square were beautiful. Until this semester, I didn’t realize how affected Poland was by Communism. Before the Holocaust, one-fourth of Poland’s population was Jewish. During our bus ride to Poland, I listened to an audio version of Elie Wiesel’s Night. I found it beneficial to hear one person’s account of what being Jewish during World War II was like before seeing Auschwitz for myself.
On Saturday, our visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau made the Holocaust a little more real to me. I did not realize that many people didn’t even make it to the concentration camp because they were sent to the gas chambers immediately. Hearing about the different ways and planning that the Nazis put into murdering innocent Jews was disturbing. The crematorium burned many, and over 1500 people could be gassed at a time. We were standing in barracks and on grounds at which so many people were murdered.
One thing that particularly got to me was seeing two tons of human hair from the heads of concentration camp victims. To think that hair was used in carpets and blankets seems so inhumane. Also, all items belonging to children added extra emphasis to the fact that these were innocent people who did absolutely nothing to deserve death. Twenty percent of those who were murdered were children.
Overall, the attitude of our group while on the tour was somber. Because of all of the other tourists, the whole place seemed less real to me. I almost feel like I should have been impacted to a greater extent. And although we need to remember the innocent victims of the Holocaust, I believe that it’s also important to move on to the present and future by preventing similar occurrences from happening. The memorial in Birkenau read, “For ever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity, where the Nazis murdered about one and a half million men, women, and children.” It saddens me to think that events like this are happening still. I am glad we could end on less of an emotionally draining note by visiting the salt mines, a tour I found very enjoyable. Poland was a beautiful country with a rich and fascinating history.
This weekend, we're sticking around Budapest. We might take a day trip, but we haven't thought about it too much... Hopefully, the following weekend, we'll go to Prague. Yay! I'm excited.
Have a good week!

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

Slovenia!!

This weekend, I traveled with others to Lake Bled in Slovenia. We thought that getting to Slovenia would be relatively simple as it looked like no train changes would be necessary. However, our trip to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, involved a train followed by a bus followed by another train due to construction. Transportation in a foreign country, especially in Hungary, is complicated because communicating can be a challenge. On the train, the Hungarian ticket collector was very helpful by telling us when we needed to transfer. I have observed similar instances in Budapest since I’ve been here. For example, the nose pad of my glasses broke off last weekend. I brought them to my Hungarian language instructor, Kati, so I could figure out where I’d get them fixed. Instead of just telling me where I might go, she offered to bring me there. I appreciate Hungarian kindness very much!

Continuing my account of this weekend’s trip, the bus was not air conditioned, and the ride was very rough as we sped down Hungary’s curved country roads. In general, Hungarians seem to drive faster and more abruptly. Also, one of the speakers was making a crackling noise the whole time. The man who’s head was under the speaker was getting so irritated that he ended up jabbing it with a pair of small scissors and pulling out the insides. The crackling noise definitely stopped. The whole situation was pretty hilarious.

We arrived in Ljubljana around 21:45 on Thursday evening and didn’t locate where we could buy tickets until after it had closed at 22:00. So, we decided to eat Bureks, traditional Slovenian street food. We were all very hungry after the nine hour train ride. We ended up buying tickets on the train. Two Slovenian guys spoke great English and helped us figure out how to get tickets and at which stop we’d need to get off. Once we arrived in Bled at 1:30 in the morning, we finally got hold of a taxi driver (the last number we could find). The taxi driver asked us what we would have done had he not been available to drive us. Our answer? We would have had to sleep in the train station because our hostel was a good distance from the train station.

We arrived at the hostel around 1:43 and were very ready for bed. Damien, the owner of the hostel greeted us warmly even so late at night. The hospitality of Central Europeans was apparent once more.

The next morning, we enjoyed a good breakfast and were driven by Damien into Bled. We walked around the lake on the perfect, sunny, seventy-degree day. The walk took a good couple hours. We all took multiple pictures of the same sights (i.e. the castle and church) from slightly different angles.

We later walked up to the castle and rowed a boat to the church. While rowing back, we spotted what we believed to be the Slovenian crew team practicing on Lake Bled.

Everywhere we went, people were very helpful and spoke English, for the most part. I had to fight back the urge to respond with “thank you” or “yes” in Hungarian. Although it started to pour after we rowed back in, our day in Bled was a success. In the evening, we went back to the hostel and took advantage of the six euro three-course meal we were offered by our hostel. The food was delicious!

The next morning, Stephanie and I tried to ride bikes through the streets of the cute town our hostel was in, but it began to rain. We ended up at a local coffee shop called Bistro Noc. It was good to experience a little local culture at local prices. Around noon, four of us went horseback riding through the mountains. The ride was a little more advanced than I expected. We trotted quite a few times, went through streams, and rode up and down plenty of steep inclines.

At 17:00, we took a train back to Ljubljana. Stephanie, Sarah, and I decided to explore Ljubljana a little. Here, I decided that Slovenia was definitely one of the most beautiful countries I had ever been to. On our train ride back to Budapest, I could not get enough of the beautiful countryside. The wealth of the country could also be seen by the shops in the city’s center, the way people dressed, and in the prices of everything.

In Professor Smidt’s class this past week, we were told to write down countries we viewed as part of Central Europe and as part of Eastern Europe. Geographically and culturally, I have decided that Slovenia should be classified as Central Europe for aforementioned reasons. After finishing assigned reading for this next weekend, it seems like Slovenia, being on the western edge of formerly communist countries, was less affected by the devastation wars had on many other ex-communist countries. Slovenia has a high-income developed economy and has the second highest GDP per capita of new EU countries. Perhaps, being less affected by wars is why their economy is fairly strong.

Well despite my wonderful trip to Slovenia, I am happy to be back to the fo

rint and beautiful Budapest!

OOH!! And I finally got peanut butter!!!! Hungary just hasn't gotten that memo yet.

p.s. I hope to put more pictures on Picasa soon!!

Slovenia?!

So, I just purchased a train ticket to Slovenia. Six of us will be headed to Lake Bled. Did I mention that we'll also be right by the Julian ALPS?! Holy cow, I'm excited. We'll actually be spending two days in Bled, and long train rides are involved. BUT I really think it will be worth it! We're looking at hostels now...

These past few days have been pretty uneventful because of the oppressive heat. Last night it rained and everything really cooled down! Huzzah!

Tonight, our first class with Prof Smidt happens. This week, I need to figure out all of my other classes also... Oh boy.

End of week two?!

Meet my roommates... Stephanie, me, Leah, and Elizabeth. They are all pretty awesome!
The group has a whole half of a floor so we tend to commingle. I have been here for almost two weeks and am still very excited about the fact. Everyone gets along despite the fact that we have many different types of people. However, I am a little disappointed about all I'm missing out on at Dordt this coming semester. I keep getting e-mails for choir, band, etc.
Hey, don't forget to keep checking my photos (under links) because I put more up about every other day! I think I will begin to create albums by date instead of having one big one. It should be easier that way, eh? Yeah, I think so...
So, yesterday, a group of us walked up St. Gellert hill after dinner at Prof Smidt's apartment. Afterward, I went with Elizabeth and Liz to these really awesome slides! It was pretty dark but definitely a worthwhile adventure! For class today, we went on scavenger hunts (with instructions in Hungarian, of course) on castle hill. My group finished first. :) I was pretty proud of the fact..
Later, we went to Corvinus University (where I plan on taking two electives). The facilities are very nice, and I'm super excited about that! We were also shown where many cheaper restaurants around Corvinus can be found. The university happens to be by one of the nagy (large), olcso (cheap) markets as well!
Afterward, I went to the market with Stephanie and Liz for some alma (apples) and paprika (peppers).
p.s. The next three days have high temps from 88 to 92 degrees Fahrenheit. Fun.