Visegrad Day Trip

On May 27th the trainees were invited to attend a boat trip to the town of Visegrad. Visegrad is a small town north on the Danube. This town is well known for its political history between the Hungarian, Polish and Czech governments. I won't going into detail mainly because I don't really know the details :) The boat trip up the Danube was beautiful, the hills were lush and green and went on forever. It' not what I expected at all... Although I didn't really know what to expect. But both ways it was a peaceful ride that I would recommend to anyone who visits Hungary. The trip took 3.5 hours up the Danube and 2.5 hours down the Danube back to Budapest.
In the picture above you will see the view from the Castle of Visegrad. Its a beautiful, lush view of the Danube. Even though it was busy with fellow tourists it was quite peaceful and calm when you looked out onto the Danube.

The picture above shows the wall of Visegrad Castle. I think in the next few weeks I am going to be "Castled Out"... I know they are part of history but sometime they start to look the same.

Okay I think most of these pictures are pretty self explanatory. This picture above, is of me at Visegrad castle, look at that view!!!

The rocky cliff shown in the picture is at the town of Vac. I was very surprised when I say this, it looks like the mid west doesn't it??

And there I am waiting for our boat to come in to depart to Budapest, enjoying the sunset :)

Shopping Spree

I have official received my first payment for the 3 weeks I have "worked" in Budapest. I decided to treat myself with a little European shopping spree. There are a few items I have been looking at for a few weeks. I also found myself in great need of a mug to make noodles in with my kettle. So I went out on a search for the biggest mug I could find that said "Budapest" on it!! I found myself on my favorite street "Vaci ut" and stumbbled across a store that was filled with mugs of all sizes. I picked out the biggest one in blue, of course its my favorite colour. In the picture below you can see all the loverly things I purchased. All very pratical of course!!

The sad news is that when I used my mug for the first time to make me some delicious noodles it cracked down the side when I poured the hot water.... The lady at the store told me it was okay for the microwave and the dishwasher so I was surprised. Thank goodness I kept the receipt, so I will be returning today to see if I can exchange it. Wish me luck, the lady spoke English yesterday but today could be a different story :)

Davinci Code

Last night I went with the trainees to see Davinci Code in the MOM Park Mall. Its a really big modern mall on "Csörsz u" on the Buda sideof the Danube. The theatre shows english movies with Hungarian subtitles. So I thought it was perfect... Well I had forgotten that part of the movie is in other languages.. French, Spanish and Latin. Now for all you folks in Canada you will be given subtitles in English for those parts... But here in Hungary the whole thing was Hungarian subtitles (which does make sense I know, I just didn't think of it) So it was fairly interesting but thank you to Jerome for translating the French parts for me. Also thank goodness I had read the book, I knew roughly what was going on.

Now something new I learnt last night about European movies theatres is that you reserve seats like you do if you are seeing a play. Now I didn't realize this so I was leading the way and went to pick a seat and all my friends didn't understand what I was doing... They had to show me the seat assignment on the ticket. I like this whole idea of reserved seats, you can miss the previews and still get a nice seat in the centre of the theatre!!

As for my review of Davinci Code I would have to say I enjoyed it. I know most people didn't like it but maybe it had to do with the fact that I thought it was really neat that I was watching this movie that is set in Europe while I myself am in Europe!!! One complaint though, the SMART car in the book was red... The one in the movie was silver. Very Disappointed : )

The Food of Hungary

Okay, so I have gotten my appetite back after the first few days and I don't think it is a good thing. The food here is so good!! And so many different things to try, I don't think I have enough time. In the picture below are these little sandwiches that I can buy at a little shop by the "Déak tér" metro station (thstationon where all the metros connect) on "Bajcsy-Zsilinszky ut". This place has about 20-3differentnt kinds of these open sandwiches. The orange one was like a spicy pepperoni salad, the onwith theht he cucumber was like a dill garlic spread and the one in the middle explains itself. (Adam, I took this picture for you. How's that for a klebeachkie (sp?)) : ) I hope to go back soon and try all the different kinds!! Each one is about 120 HUF each.


Now last night some of the trainees and the IAESTE coordinators went out for dinner at a restaurant near the "Moszkva tér" red metro station called... The portion there were huge. I had the Gouloash soup and dumplings. It was great, spicy and so filling. The dessert Anna is diving into are cottage cheese dumplings with breadcrumbs and sweet sauce. All in all another great meal.

Just a Few More Observations

I have remembered more observations I made in my first week here and I thought I would get them down before I forget them.

- Some washrooms have one communal roll of toilet paper (Hey I am not complaining, I am just happy there is toilet paper)

- People carry their flower bouquets upside down (It makes sense because it prevents them from wilting)

- Europeans love their ice cream!! At 8 am you can find people walking out of McDonald's with an ice cream.

Our Eger Day Trip Turned Weekend Trip

So this past weekend, Jola, Alex and I made plans to go to town called "Eger" which is north east of Budapest (Click on the picture above and you can locate it). Eger is well known for there wine and the public cellars. The town it's self is beautiful with shops, churches and the ruins of Eger Castle.

Our trip started on Saturday May 20th with a train ride at 9:15 am leaving Budapest and we would transfer to another train at the "Füzesabony" to continue to "Eger". The total time for the trip would be 2.5 hrs. The train ride was fairly peaceful, we were able to get into one of the private bench sections with 3 other Hungarian travelers. Since we had an early morning we slept most of the way to Eger.
Once we arrived at Eger we decided to walk towards the city centre to see the sites. In the picture above I am standing by the second largest church in Hungary, known as the Archbishop's Palace. We were not able to go in because there was a wedding being performedd. Can you imagine...Geting married in a place like that!! It's so normal for the people in Europe to have these beautiful churches .
After about 15 mins of walking we decided to make our way to the Eger Castle to avoid the incoming rain. The castle is partly restored and is the home of a few art exhibits. The castle has one of the best views of the city. It is so neat to walk the grounds where so many people of the past have been. To think that those walls were once full of people selling meats and such in the local weekend market.
Above is a view from the Eger Castle. The tower you see in the middle of the picture is the minaret that was a section of an old existing church before the Turkish soliders invaded in 1596. The tower consists of 97 steps to the top. A very interesting walk up I am sure.
Once we saw the sites and got some traditional Hungarian pancakes we decided to make our way to the famous Eger wine Cellars. This area is well known for there wine called "Bull's Blood". This wine got its name in 1516 when theHungarian soldiers drank all the wine in Eger in efforts to push back the Turkish invaders. All the wine from various grapes were mixed together then when it was drunk by the Hungarian soldiers their beards became stained red. The Turkish soldiers were then frighten by this and the Hungarian soldiers won the fight. In the picture above Jola is sitting infront of some vines for the Eger vineyards.
Each cellar has its own number. The picture above is the first cellar we went into, number 4. The smell was so sweet, something I have ever smelt before but will never forget (Dad, I think you would love this place!) At each cellar you are able to buy a glass, 1 liter or more of the wine. We decided to order a few glass to share among each other. Each glass of wine was about 70 HUF that's about 50 cents CAD) Also, we each brought a large empty 1.5 litre water bottles which the cellar will fill up for you!!! Can you believe that, I loveEurope.
As the day went into night we found ourselves visiting many different cellars. Some are quiet while others have muscians playing outside on the patios. The weather cleared up which allowed us to sit outside, eat cheese, drink wine and enjoy the sun while it was out.Around 9:30 we decided to make our way to the train station hoping we hadn't missed the last train. As we arrived at the train station we boarded the 22:22 train back to Füzesabony. Once we arrived at Füzesabony at 23:00 much to our disappointment we found the next train to Budapest would not be leaving until 2:50 the next morning... All we could do was wait, so wait we did. As you can see in my picture above we decided to take a nap in the station before our train arrived. But we were rudely kicked out of the station at midnight so we spent the rest of our stay in Füzesabony on a bench waiting for our train. After our nap we caught our train and arrived in Budapest at 5:30 in the morning.

This trip was worth it!! Eger has a charm I have never seen before and the train ride home may have been long but made the day trip (sorry the weekend trip) something I will never forget. Now I am back, safe and sound and with about 9 liters of wine between Jola, Alex and I!! Thanks Eger for all your hospitality!!

Desperate on a Thursday

First off I would like to aplogize for the cheesy title. I just couldn't help myself... So last night all the trainess (all 5 of us) were invited to attend a party at a night club near the "Astoria" metro station on the red line, called Desperados.


The whole theme of the club is a western style saloon. There is a maze of hallways that leads to various dance floors. The whole place was rented out by the students at the college I work for, BMF. The hungarians know how to book a party. They even provided their own DJ. The guy in the picture is one of the IAESTE organizors from BMF.


Below is a picture of Inci and I. She has the same birthday as me, December 30th. How neat is that, you travel to another continent and within the first few days you meet someone with the same birthday, kindered spirtis! Well kind of : )


The picture below is of Jola (my polish roommate)and I drinking the loverly Hungarian wine. I have come to learn that when in Hungary you do not drink beer you drink the wine or the apricot palinka (although I try to avoid the palinka because it can be deadly) I have even had a glass or two of red wine here and so far no headaches!! The hungarians really do make a nice selection of wines.
In this picture is the girls (Me, Jola and Anna) in the women bathroom (or Nöi WC, in Hungarian) Take a close look at the ad that is behind my head.. . I don't know what it says but the picture sure is interesting. On a side note Anna, is a past IAESTE president for one of the local committees in Budapest. She is taking electrical engineering at a local university in Budapest, BME.


Unfortunately not all the trainees made it out last night. So among all the Hungarian students there were the three international IAESTE students. In the middle is Alex, the new trainee from Hamburg, Germany. Right now there are 4 female trainees (Jola-Poland, Ommi-Thailand, Barbara-Autria and I) and one guy (Alex). Its been nice to have Alex around just incase we find ourselves in a weird area of town. He is also quite tall so its good : )
So that was my night, in all it was great and look forward to many more nights (hopefully the next time we wont get lost... we accidentally missed out bus stop last night, but we figured it out) so I will be able to learn the names of all the people I keep on meeting... So many hungarian names and I thought it was hard to learn english names.

Home Sweet Home...Finally

So... It has been 13 days so far in Budapest and I been going to work, booking appointments to see flats, almost moved to a new flat and then in the end decided to stay in the hostel I am already in.

So let me explain, when I first arrived in Budapest I was given a 4 person room at the Goliat Hotel (not like a hotel at home) just north if Hero's Square. I was told that later that evening another trainee will be arriving, she had currently been staying at another hostel but it was not very clean or safe. So later that evening Jola (my polish roommate) moved it. Shortly after her arrival she told me that she is currently looking to move to a flat closer to the city... I was devastated since at that moment Jola was the only soul I knew in Budapest and the thought of living alone was quite terrifying. The next day I went along with Jola to look at her flats. She had found herself a nice flat near the opera house that was currently looking for a third housemate. This apartment was newly renovated and was completely furnished with IKEA. So you can imagine how nice it was... So on Friday May 5th Jola had decided to move into this flat the following Sunday. So I took it upon myself to also start looking for a flat since I did not choose to continue to live at the hostel by myself with no easy night transportation!!

So there I was in the middle of Budapest on my 4th day calling apartments, sending emails and going to viewing appointments. I was doing all this and not be able to speak a lick on Hungarian... So finally on Monday I found myself a flat. It was located to the left of St. Istvan church in a building that must of been there since the medieval times! I loved the location and the inside was not great but livable (I can't complain when there is a toilet, a shower curtain and a door to the bathroom) There was currently two other girls living there, one from Hungary and the other from Moldavia. I had decided on the spot that I was going to be moving into the flat the next day, Tuesday.

So Tuesday came around and I told Jola that I was going to move. Jola had been living in her new place for 3 nights and she told me that she now wants to move back to the hostel!!! She tells me this the day I am suppose to move into my new place. So I decide to hold of until Wednesday to give Jola one night to sleep on her moving plans.

So as it ends up...


Jola moved back to the hostel. I called my soon-to-be flatmates and broke the bad news and now Jola and I are living in the Hostel very happily. As of Saturday a new trainee has arrived from Hamburg, Germany. His name is Alex and he is living a few doors down from Jola and I. Currently there is also a Thailand girl, Ommi, that is suppose to be living in our room but I have not seen her since Sunday and she will not be due back until Tuesday then she will be living the first week of June.

So currently Jola and I have lots of room. We have bought ourselves a electric kettle and two mugs to make tea in the mornings. I have posted a couple of pictures in the inside if my room. Its nothing pretty but at least it is clean : ) Also there is a link to the hostel website in the side bar of this blog.

Weekend in Szanda

This past weekend I was in "Szanda" a small country town north of Budapest. Please see the picture below for the location. To get to the town we took two trains and a short bus ride. In all it took about 2 hours. I traveled with about 20 people. They were all members of the IAESTE committee for Hungary and this weekend was their training retreat. I was brought along as a special guest per say, since I would not be taking part of the event during the day since they were all going to be in Hungarian.

We all stayed at a small place which was just as nice as the hostel I am staying at now. In the bottom left corner of the picture is Barbara, she is another trainee from Austria and she also spent the weekend with me since she cannot speak Hungarian either.


The weekend consisted of sleeping, relaxing, sunbathing, reading, listening to music and a few parties. It was a great weekend. Barbara and I had some time to go walking in the hills and we came across a row of wine cellars. It was such a beautiful site. Below is a picture of me infront of the cellars. We hiked along this road which then lead to an opening to the valley where we got to see over the land.


Below is a picture of IAESTE members dressed up as cowboys. The theme for the conference was "Western". At night the members put on skits that could be understood in any language : )

Mc D's with Hungarian Class

Okay, so much to my surprise the McDonalds in Budapest are the classiest joints in town. It is the only place I have found that also makes you pay to use the toilet if you are not a customer (70 HUF)and if you are a customer you are allowed to go to the bathroom once with your receipt. I realize that I should not be spending my time in a McDonalds when Budapest has so much to offer but sadly it was the only sit down breakfast place open this past Friday so I thought I would give it a chance since i had some time to kill before getting on the bus to Szanda.



In the picture below you will see what I ordered. The tea pot is real porcelain.. And the orange juice was freshly squeezed. I still don't believe I was sitting in a McDonalds. I think I might be writing a letter upon my return to the McDonalds in North America to let them know how ashamed I am of the lack of loverly teapots and freshly squeezed orange juice.

Oh and I should mention that I also ordered ham and cheese toast as well. And the total for all the food came to 700 HUF which is about $4 CAD.

100 HUF Store

Dad, this post is for you. I know we discussed the topic of the "200 HUF Store" but much to my surprise I was able to locate a very loverly 100 HUF store. I think everyone knows my love for the dollar store back home. This store was located above the "Deli pu" metro station on the red line. It was filled with many fun things, I hope to return soon and get a closer look.

SMART Roadster

Okay I know I said that I would stop with the Smart car counter but I have to do it one more time since I was able to see a very special Smart car today. So here it goes...

Fortwo - many many more...
Forfour - 4

and.....

Roadster - 1

I was not able to take a picture of the car since I was in another car with my boss on the way back to work. I thought it would be too weird if I grabbed my camera leaned over the drivers seat and snapped a picture..

So just for interest sake the SMART roadster was red with black tridion cell.

More Observation and Facts

Okay so I thought I would post some more observations and random facts about Budapest.

- You can J-walk in the city, which is surprising because many other European countries frown upon it.

- Hungary had the first metro line in central Europe (it was second to London, England)

- Currently Budapest is under construction for the replacement of new trolleys. The new trolleys that were purchased can not fit on the old tracks.. (gotta love those Hungarian engineers)

- No matter what country you are in engineering student enjoy drinking and partying

- Tea in Hungary consists of water, sugar and lemonade (possibly a tea leaf, I am not sure)

- You can buy a 2 liter bottle of wine for 300 HUF which is about $3 CAD

- The most popular car manufacturer in Hungary is Suzuki

- The Suzki Swift and Audi TT are manufactured in Hungary

- In the LUSH store in Hungary everything is wrapped individually (yes I have already been to the LUSH store, but everyone can be proud of me since I did not buy anything)

- The buses on the main routes are the same buses as VIVA and Ottawa transpo

- No matter what language is being spoken you can tell when a women is gossiping to another women

Well I hope you have enjoyed my observation so far. Let me know if you have any specific questions on how things work or are in Budapest and I will seek out your answer : )

Time for Pictures

Okay Gang, Here is is I finally got to upload my pictures. I will post a bunch and just put a little blurb about each one. It might not be too pretty but I thought you guys might be bored with all my text by now.

So here we GO!!!

This was taken on my second day while I was wondering around the "Batthyany ter" Metro station on the red line on the left side of the Danube River. There is was, the wonderful SMART ForFour caught in some major traffic.

Well the first few days were rough, but some how eating a crunching chocolatety hippo made things a little easier. I will be forever grateful to this hippo for giving his life for a good cause, my well being and sanity.




I know what you guy are thinking. "Katie! Where are the pictures of Budapest!" But don't worry they are coming I just thought I would ease you all into it slowly. So this pictures... See that dog in there, they are very popular here I see like 5 each day. Anyone know the name of this dog? Its an ancient asian breed. Anyone?

So here are the Budapest pictures you have all been waiting for...

In this pictures, Jolie (my roommate from Poland) and I are standing in front of the famous church of St. Istvan. The church of the first king of Hungary, Stephen as you would say in english. He was the first Hungarian to become christian so the pope appointed him as king.




Below are some pictures taken at Buda Castle Hill. It's a beautiful quite place that also has a library that the students use to study off campus. I went with Ommi another trainee who is from Thailand. She has been here for almost 4 weeks now, sorry I do not have a picture of her yet.

Smart Car Counter

So I thought I would update my Smart car counter...

ForTwo - 14
ForFour - 6

I am starting to loose track.. There are not a lot of them on the road but definitely more than back home. I think this might be my last Smart Car count as I think people get the point that "Yes we know Katie.. There are SMART cars in Europe"

First Day at Work

So I had my first day at work on Monday. Iren (aka Inci) from the IAESTE came to pick me up from my hostel and took me to work. I am working at the Budapest Polytechnical Institute in the department of Mechanical Engineering and Material Science better known as BMF to all the student who go here. The IAESTE office is located in the same building as I work which makes it easy to inquire about my paycheck and other administration.

So I arrive at 7:45 am at the school (15 mins earlier for work) and waited for the professor to arrive. The professor arrived at 9:00 looking very ill. We had our quick introduction and tour of the offices then I was brought to my office where I was given a laptop and printed articles to read. I was told my first task was to correct his research paper (which was written in English) then read the printed articles and write a 10-12 paged essay on the Topic of Manufacturing Cost Estimation and if I would like I may go site seeing for the day... Then in two weeks time I will start a very small Microsoft Access database.

That is it...

He has also made me aware of the fact that if I want I can take 2 weeks off if I would like to travel since it will only take 6 weeks to finish my work. My boss (Professor Miko Balazs) works at another university on Thursday and Friday of every week. So he will not be in the office those days and he has stated that the weather outside will be nice on Friday and the office is quiet so I should go sight seeing again... On Friday..

Gotta love the Hungarian work ethic and the academia life.

Today being my third day at work I thought I would purchase lunch at the little cafe in the building. It is a small room with a counter that sells 15 different kinds of premade fresh sandwiches and all types of drink and some hot items. Today I bought myself a large sandwich that had, meat, cucumber, tomatoes, cheese and hardboiled egg on it and I also got a tea (which resembled a warm cup of liptons ice tea, but it did taste good oddly enough). My total cost for this meal was 230 HUF which is 1.24 CAD!! And the sandwich was not small it was like a 6 inch subway bun but tasted so fresh! So it looks like eating at my work is a great and cheap idea!

So over all work is good and easy to get to. The only thing that sucks is that no one in my office can speak a lick of English... So it's quiet most of the time or I don't know what's going on because I cannot understand anyone.

First Weekend in Budapest...

Well I have to say I think the first week or at least the first weekend will be the most memorable. I will have to admit it was hard adjusting to Hungarian life and city life. I think I am still in the process. Coming to a brand new country by yourself is quite an experience and not always in the good way. So many unknowns and it can be a lot at once. But as the days pass and the nights came to I managed to meet a few people and I have gone out every night.

My first weekend in Budapest has been one great big roller coaster ride, both emotional and physically. I went from feeling lonely to meeting new people to not being able to communicate with anyone. I have been on the right side of the Danube the left side of the Danube, Buda Castle Hill, Hero Square, Metro stations, Trams station, bus station and even a large mall called West End Mall (very similar to home ) and a McDonald's (I know Adam I should be eating the Hungarian food... It wasn't my idea)

One of the best things I have done so far would have to be my Motorbike ride around the Danube. Don't worry everyone I was not driving I was a passenger! It was so nice to see the city at night all lit up whizzing by you. I was taken up "Bajcsy-Zsilinsky ut" across "Margit hfd" (Margaret Bridge) down "Budai Also rakpart" past "Batthyany ter" Metro station (Red Line). Then over the "Szecheny lanchid" (Chain Bridge) back to "Deak ter" Metro (Yellow, Blue and Red line) station. (if you want to search any of these streets check out www.mappy.com) What a Ride!!

Well I have also learned that the drink of choice for the Hungarians other than wine is an alcohol called "Palinka", much like vodka. It is made from plums and comes in different flavors. They prefer to drink it cold or frozen.

I have been doing a lot of walking around trying to get familar with all the different areas and transit ways. I might soon become a public transit queen (Who would of thought I would be doing the whole public transit thing?!!) I have been issued a Hungarian student card from the university where I am working at so I get a 30 day pass for a little over 2000 HUF which is $10 CAD for the whole month and I can travel on the Metro, Trams, Trolleys and Bus as much as I want. I think I would take the public transit in Toronto if it was that cheap!

I have been keeping up with my Smart car count and here are the updated numbers..

Fortwo - 7
Forfour - 4

I am still loving that car the more and more I see it

Just a little Administration

Hello all!!

Just wanted to let you guys know that if you are viewing my blog with Internet Explorer you will not be able to see the things on the RHS bar below my picture. What you should see is a clock, a tag board, a weather link and such.

Unfortunately I am using internet Explorer here on my laptop from work so I cannot see anything either.

I apologize to everyone who has posted on my tag board and I haven't responded. I will try to find a computer that has Mozilla soon.

But for now, please feel free to leave me comments under each post. I would love to hear from everyone.

To leave a comment just click on the link that says "0 comment" it will pop up a window where you can enter a msg. I will for sure be able to see those!!

Observations...

Well as every knows, when you go to a new country things are going to be different. In some cases I am sure they can be very different.

(Pardon some spelling mistakes, I am using an Hungarian laptop which has the Y and Z in a different position)

Okay so below I have listed my Hungarian observations...

- Signs painted on the sidewalk that sas "Internet Cafe" and leads to a store that also has a sign on the door that says internet but inside they sell rollerblades and do not understand what the word "INTERNET" means no matter how slow you say it or hand gestures you make

- Everybody waits for people to get off the bus, metro or tram before entering, it is very polite.

- Everybody buys flowers on Friday (The flowers are much nicer and exotic then home)

- As a non Hungarian resident I cannot buy a cellphone but I can buy a SIM card for a cellphone (Figure that one out...)

- No matter what country you are in there is an IKEA!

- Hungary is not known for it's beer... Dreher (Hungarian beer) tastes like Canadian

- Just because it is called a HOTEL does not mean it will look or feel anything like a hotel... Meaning you won't have you own bathroom and there will not be any toilet paper or shower curtains (Man what a way of life...I have bought a plastic table cloth as my sudo curtain)

- Everyone has a cellphone.. I mean everyone. I am starting to think you get one with your EU citizenship

- Lots of young men wear full suits during the week

- They put flannel blankets on the chairs on the patios in the evening (I love this!!!!!)

- You do not have to pay for the public bus... And even if you try the machines that are suppose to take your ticket doesn't work anyways

Well that's all the observations I have so far. I am sure I have noticed a lot more but can't seem to remember them all. There are too many!!!

What am I Doing Here?

Okay so I have arrived in Hungary after a 8 hour flight, two bus trips and a metro trip. I am stying in s hostel far from the city centre...

I dont know what is with this place but they have never heard of toliet paper or a shower curtain.... man you know its bad when you get excited when there is toilet paper in the washroom!!!

On the same day I arrive another girl from Poland, Jolie, came and has been staying with me in my room. She has been here before and she has shown me the way and helped me get connected. I am hoping together we will be able to find a place to live but at the moment it looks doubtful. I will keep you informed. Sorry I have not written earlier but it has been hard to keep grounded. So many things have happen.

First night I went out to have a drink (I really needed it) with Jolie, 3 other polish girls and Iren, a girl from the IAESTE committee (She also has the same bday as me). Went to a nice outside bar had some beer and the hungarian liquor called Palinka.

So far the smart car count is...

Fortwo - 3
Forfour - 2

I have also seen two neons which surprised me. One look just like mine.

On my third day here I tried to buy a cellphone but quickly found out that to buy a actual phone you need to have a hungarian resident card but if I just wanted to buy a SIM card I could... Crazy system. The IAESTE committee has told me that they will be able to give me a phone and then I can buy the SIM card. Everyone has a cellphone here... I get the feeling I will need one if I want friends.

It took me about 5 hours to find an internet cafe thank goodness I bought that Lonely Planet Book. It has come in handy.

Well there is much more to say but I will leave it for now. Will post soon once work gets started.

Farewell and See You Soon!!

Well I am off to Hungary today. I have packed up and said my "See you Soons". Had a great day with the Newmarket Girls yesterday (Wish you could of been there Jen W and Claire!) In one day we manage to fit in two coffee shop chats, one dinner, one wrong car incident (Jess, that was a camry not your corolla and where did that chatelaine mag come from??) and a nice fire pit gathering!! What a great send off! Thanks for letting us use your backyard Brad!

Mich you will have to send me the pics so I can post them on the blog.
Well I hope to hear from you all soon and I will be posting next when I am in Hungary so I will tell you my arrival adventures! I will miss you all!!

Below is some pictures of everything I packed for my trip.. The red bag is the bag I will be taking on the plan, I still don't know how I fit everything in!