So, all of the Calvin students on this semester have to do some service-learning as part of our experience here. The main idea is to do something other than studying that helps the Budapest community, and helps us Calvin students learn about Hungary from a more Hungary native point of view. There's a variety of options, but nearly everyone got assigned to helping teach English.
I, in a sense, was a bit lucky. I go to a bilingual school, UMSZKI, where the students are almost all native Hungarian speakers, and know varying levels of English (by class) and can be anywhere from 10 to 19. I go for three classes on Wednesday mornings, and my job is just to get the students talking in English. I have a lot of flexibilty as to what I can do, although just on Wednesday, I had great success with math. It makes it easier that math is kind of a common language, although they do do their notation a little differently. I should be preparing a bit more, I'm apparently supposed to do some presentations later. At the very least, I'll make one on the US itself, the election system, and Grand Rapids. Maybe Midwest food, too.
It's usually very nerve-wracking. I get put in front of 15-20 students and just have to come up with stuff to talk about for 45 minutes, and it can't be very complex. The teachers have to help give me stuff to talk about at times. I came into this semester, thinking that maybe I could be a teacher. This semester has shown me that even if I can do it, I don't think it's really in my nature. Tutoring sounds great; I might see if I can sign up for it this Spring/Summer through Calvin.
My point of contact and guide is Kati, the vice-president of the school (she also teaches). She's an amazing guide, and keeps me from getting overwhelmed. Honestly, I'm doing it more for her than myself. She's always excited to meet me and show me to more students. It's been dicey at times, but all in all, I think it's been a good experience.
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Food in Budapest
So, I've gotten questions about the food I'm eating. First, I'll just say that I drink tons of water. I refill my water bottle multiple times a day.
So, Hungarian-area-specific food. I've eaten Langos, which I believe I've talked about earlier. Almost like an elephant ear, but instead of sugar, I got it with garlic, cheese, and sour cream, which is apparently the most Hungarian way to eat it.
I haven't really eaten much other "Hungarian-specific" foods, unfortunately. Western culture has really permeated Budapest.
Every Wednesday, for lunch, I go to a kebab place at Kalvin Ter for lunch. I get a durum, no spicy, which is basically a tortilla wrap, but with kebab meat (and lots of veggies) inside. It's delicious, and goes great with a Fanta. gyros are also sold there. The gyro is interesting, because it's Greek, but the Turks kind of took it as their own with the kebab, and brought it to Hungary when they conquered it, but the gyros remained when the Turks left. So kebabs and gyros are very much part of Hungarian culture, it's just from other places.
For groceries, I go to a nearby Spar, a small grocery store that's just everywhere. It's about half a kilometer away, although I usually take the tram.
With most meals, I eat a banana. They're delicious, healthy, and filling. A great combination.
For breakfast I've been eating Musli. It's kind of like granola, mixed with cereal flakes, and one other thing that depends on the variety. I've been eating nut-Musli recently.
My main snack, although I've been eating less lately in favor of more Musli, are these slightly sweet crackers:
I haven't eaten many chips, but when I have, I've gotten knock-off sour cream and onion pringles (or the real thing a few times). I also (rarely) enjoy some Haribo (NOT sugar-free) gummi bears. They're so good, I have to be careful with them.
Earlier in the semester, for lunch, I would eat peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Peanut butter has been hard to find, but I did find it at a spar-express at a nearby gas station. But recently, I've been either going out for lunch or eating more Musli.
Dinner, I usually put some frozen veggies in the microwave, and either have some fish fingers with BBQ sauce, or fries with BBQ sauce. (and a banana, of course) I think I've lost quite a bit of weight, although most of that was likely the week I was sick. But I don't think I'm putting it back on, at least. With all the walking I have to do, I get a decent amount of exercise. On the trips I get tons of walking. I think I walked about 15 miles in Vienna. Phew!
So, Hungarian-area-specific food. I've eaten Langos, which I believe I've talked about earlier. Almost like an elephant ear, but instead of sugar, I got it with garlic, cheese, and sour cream, which is apparently the most Hungarian way to eat it.
I haven't really eaten much other "Hungarian-specific" foods, unfortunately. Western culture has really permeated Budapest.
Every Wednesday, for lunch, I go to a kebab place at Kalvin Ter for lunch. I get a durum, no spicy, which is basically a tortilla wrap, but with kebab meat (and lots of veggies) inside. It's delicious, and goes great with a Fanta. gyros are also sold there. The gyro is interesting, because it's Greek, but the Turks kind of took it as their own with the kebab, and brought it to Hungary when they conquered it, but the gyros remained when the Turks left. So kebabs and gyros are very much part of Hungarian culture, it's just from other places.
For groceries, I go to a nearby Spar, a small grocery store that's just everywhere. It's about half a kilometer away, although I usually take the tram.
With most meals, I eat a banana. They're delicious, healthy, and filling. A great combination.
For breakfast I've been eating Musli. It's kind of like granola, mixed with cereal flakes, and one other thing that depends on the variety. I've been eating nut-Musli recently.
My main snack, although I've been eating less lately in favor of more Musli, are these slightly sweet crackers:
I haven't eaten many chips, but when I have, I've gotten knock-off sour cream and onion pringles (or the real thing a few times). I also (rarely) enjoy some Haribo (NOT sugar-free) gummi bears. They're so good, I have to be careful with them.
Earlier in the semester, for lunch, I would eat peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Peanut butter has been hard to find, but I did find it at a spar-express at a nearby gas station. But recently, I've been either going out for lunch or eating more Musli.
Dinner, I usually put some frozen veggies in the microwave, and either have some fish fingers with BBQ sauce, or fries with BBQ sauce. (and a banana, of course) I think I've lost quite a bit of weight, although most of that was likely the week I was sick. But I don't think I'm putting it back on, at least. With all the walking I have to do, I get a decent amount of exercise. On the trips I get tons of walking. I think I walked about 15 miles in Vienna. Phew!
Events 10/23-10/27
Pictures from this week: https://goo.gl/photos/E6CEqvTL6axv3uvi9
Sunday morning, I got up, and almost didn't go to church, I was so tired. But with 15 minutes before I would've had to leave, I decided to go, and got up and went to Danube international (where most of the Calvin students go to). I'm glad I went, it was great.
That afternoon, I checked my emails and the news, and then went to the revolution day Prime Minister Speech. In 1956, Hungary launched a failed revolution against the Soviets, and Sunday was 60th anniversary.
It was in Hungarian, so I couldn't tell what was going on, but it looked like some sort of drama type thing. There were a lot of protesters. Hungary has quite a bit of unrest right now. I was tired, so after I left, I took a nap, not entirely planned. I then talked to my family (while watching the Lions). It was great to talk to my family; I miss them. Jessica and I might take the same class next semester. I need to take a Art History The Lions won another nailbiter.
I went to sleep, slept in got up, and tried to figure out my schedule some more. I had to register Wednesday morning, and I needed to figure things out in final. I went shopping, made dinner, did some modding, and went to sleep. No Art History for some reason. (It had been scheduled).
Tuesday, I slept in again. I talked to Jessica a little bit about some stuff, like whether she could take the class with me in the spring (we still don't know). I finished my homework for class, and then went to Central European History, where we talked about the time from the Hungarian elevation in the Austrian Empire, creating Austria-Hungary, to the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in WWI. After that, it was more homework.
Wednesday, I got up, and went to Service-Learning for the first time in a long while. I met with three classes, even helped them with the math homework. I found out on Thursday that I apparently really helped them! Which is great, because I usually feel like I'm not doing much. After that, I grabbed lunch quick, then went on a tour in the "House of Terror" for Karoli. It was used by the Nazi installed government during WWII, and Soviet terrorist organizations for a decade after. It was a prison; with lots of torture.
The tour was awful. It lasted about two and a half hours. We could only take pictures in one specific part (which I took pictures of) There were noises in every part, so I could barely hear the tour guide. It was hot. I barely even remember anything I learned.
Afterwards, some of us went to a nearby chimney cake shop. Chimney cakes are, soft, almost cinnamon roll like things. I can't describe it well, so here is a Wikipedia link. Here they made it like a cone, and filled it with stuff. I got: a cinnamon chimney cake with lemon ice cream, white kit cat and kiwi toppings, and "colorful candy" (those tiny candy balls you can get on an ice cream cone). I should have gotten a better picture of the cake itself. (but it looked like an ice cream cone)
I went back to Renaissance Art, but was distracted, still having homework to complete, and a midterm the next morning. After class, I got my homework done, and went to sleep.
Thursday morning, I got up, studied a bit for my midterm, and then went. The midterm was structured with 6 questions, and we got to chose 4 to answer, with some detail. We got the questions last week. I knew how to explain four of them. I feel like I did a lot better than I expected; most of the rest of the class having English as a second language probably helps.
I went back, took a 2-hour nap, got up and went to Late Antiquity, where we talked about various religious beliefs in Late Antiquity: The state Roman religion, the cults Mithras, Isis, and the Emperor, Manichaeism, and Judaism. (We've talked about Christianity in Late Antiquity, earlier)
Then I went shopping, made dinner, did laundry, checked email, basically got stuff done on my immediate to-do list. Obviously also did some blogging. I'm going to bed soon, because tomorrow, we actually go to Vienna with Professor Kim. I'm also currently planning to go to Prague, Saturday-Monday. Next week is fall-break, so I don't have anything going on until Thursday.
Sunday morning, I got up, and almost didn't go to church, I was so tired. But with 15 minutes before I would've had to leave, I decided to go, and got up and went to Danube international (where most of the Calvin students go to). I'm glad I went, it was great.
That afternoon, I checked my emails and the news, and then went to the revolution day Prime Minister Speech. In 1956, Hungary launched a failed revolution against the Soviets, and Sunday was 60th anniversary.
It was in Hungarian, so I couldn't tell what was going on, but it looked like some sort of drama type thing. There were a lot of protesters. Hungary has quite a bit of unrest right now. I was tired, so after I left, I took a nap, not entirely planned. I then talked to my family (while watching the Lions). It was great to talk to my family; I miss them. Jessica and I might take the same class next semester. I need to take a Art History The Lions won another nailbiter.
I went to sleep, slept in got up, and tried to figure out my schedule some more. I had to register Wednesday morning, and I needed to figure things out in final. I went shopping, made dinner, did some modding, and went to sleep. No Art History for some reason. (It had been scheduled).
Tuesday, I slept in again. I talked to Jessica a little bit about some stuff, like whether she could take the class with me in the spring (we still don't know). I finished my homework for class, and then went to Central European History, where we talked about the time from the Hungarian elevation in the Austrian Empire, creating Austria-Hungary, to the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in WWI. After that, it was more homework.
Wednesday, I got up, and went to Service-Learning for the first time in a long while. I met with three classes, even helped them with the math homework. I found out on Thursday that I apparently really helped them! Which is great, because I usually feel like I'm not doing much. After that, I grabbed lunch quick, then went on a tour in the "House of Terror" for Karoli. It was used by the Nazi installed government during WWII, and Soviet terrorist organizations for a decade after. It was a prison; with lots of torture.
The tour was awful. It lasted about two and a half hours. We could only take pictures in one specific part (which I took pictures of) There were noises in every part, so I could barely hear the tour guide. It was hot. I barely even remember anything I learned.
Afterwards, some of us went to a nearby chimney cake shop. Chimney cakes are, soft, almost cinnamon roll like things. I can't describe it well, so here is a Wikipedia link. Here they made it like a cone, and filled it with stuff. I got: a cinnamon chimney cake with lemon ice cream, white kit cat and kiwi toppings, and "colorful candy" (those tiny candy balls you can get on an ice cream cone). I should have gotten a better picture of the cake itself. (but it looked like an ice cream cone)
I went back to Renaissance Art, but was distracted, still having homework to complete, and a midterm the next morning. After class, I got my homework done, and went to sleep.
Thursday morning, I got up, studied a bit for my midterm, and then went. The midterm was structured with 6 questions, and we got to chose 4 to answer, with some detail. We got the questions last week. I knew how to explain four of them. I feel like I did a lot better than I expected; most of the rest of the class having English as a second language probably helps.
I went back, took a 2-hour nap, got up and went to Late Antiquity, where we talked about various religious beliefs in Late Antiquity: The state Roman religion, the cults Mithras, Isis, and the Emperor, Manichaeism, and Judaism. (We've talked about Christianity in Late Antiquity, earlier)
Then I went shopping, made dinner, did laundry, checked email, basically got stuff done on my immediate to-do list. Obviously also did some blogging. I'm going to bed soon, because tomorrow, we actually go to Vienna with Professor Kim. I'm also currently planning to go to Prague, Saturday-Monday. Next week is fall-break, so I don't have anything going on until Thursday.
Saturday, October 22, 2016
Events 10/21-10/22: Vienna!
Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/X1PtYfXCvFJ3n1he6
So, Friday morning started off crazy.
First of all, Professor Kim screwed up. Apparently, the excursion was set up for next friday... he gave everyone the wrong date. We were all there at 6am, including Professor Kim and his family when he figured this out. It was a huge mess. Since my group (which was about half of all the Calvin students) had already made reservations, he told us he would pay for our tickets there (we had our own tickets back). Four students had already made plans (and bought plane tickets) to go to Athens, Greece next weekend, so he has to figure out when he can get them to Vienna. Everyone (other than those four) will be going to Vienna next weekend, which was fine with my group; we just ignored the places we'll visit next friday. So my group went to the train station, and ended up having to get round trip tickets, since the station didn't have one-way tickets left for that day. (We later confirmed that Prof Kim would pay for them) So we embarked on a train to Austria.
And that was crazy thing of the morning number 1.
#2: Someone jumped in front of our train. We were traveling along, early in the ride, and the train suddenly came to a very quick halt, not at a station. An hour went by. Trains passed us on the other track. Eventually some of us walked to the restaurant on the train. We found out there, that someone has jumped in front of the train. I guess they needed to figure out who and clean it up? We were shocked. It was just so bizarre. Eventually we got going again. The rest of the ride was uneventful. It was a relatively empty train, so we were able to spread out; some of us took two seats. Finally, around noon (after a four and half hour train ride in total), we arrived in Vienna.
First, we went to Belvedere Palace.
It was beautiful. We didn't go to the museum, but we walked all the way through the grounds.
Next we kind of wandered around, looking for lunch, and ended up going to Gorilla Kitchen. I had a delicious pulled pork sandwich
We then went to Spar to grab breakfast food, and then to our airbnb. It was pretty nice. Guys set up for sleeping on the floor, girls were sleeping on the bed and couches.
After that, went to the Heldenplatz, in front of the Austrian version of the White House, where Hitler announced the annexation of Austria to loud cheers.
From there, we visited the famous central cafe. It was super fancy and expensive, so we just peeked in. Next, we walked to the opera.
We got standing room tickets for just a few euros. We couldn't see anything, so we only stayed for part of the first act. Then we went to St. Steven's Cathedral.
We got to see part of a light show on the face of the art museum. The sound was much better synced in reality than the video makes it seem.
For dinner, we went to an Italian place, where I got wiener schnitzel and fries. It was delicious.
----------
Saturday morning, we made egg sandwiches for breakfast. They were good.
We then walked to Parliament
and City Hall.
Vienna is so beautiful!
We went back to St. Steven's to see it during the day. For lunch, we all got some wurst (I got bratwurst) in a baguette. It was delicious. I should have taken a picture.
We went to some gardens
where we saw two guys playing accordion... with horse masks.
We went to St. Peter's church.
Most of the rest of the group then went to the art museum, but me and another guy didn't go. I needed to sit for a while. We hadn't used any public transportation, and all the walking was really bothering my legs. (Just soreness, my knees are doing fine now)
Finally, we headed back to the train station, in a rather meandering way to catch a few pictures of some minor sites (you can see them in the pictures). The train ride back was mostly uneventful, although much more busy. I got back, went through emails, got my photos uploaded, and blogged. Michigan won by a bunch, as was expected. And now I'm about to go to bed!
Next time on Events: Hungarian Parliament, meeting with Aaron Stevens, and hopefully blogging that answers all the questions I've been getting.
So, Friday morning started off crazy.
First of all, Professor Kim screwed up. Apparently, the excursion was set up for next friday... he gave everyone the wrong date. We were all there at 6am, including Professor Kim and his family when he figured this out. It was a huge mess. Since my group (which was about half of all the Calvin students) had already made reservations, he told us he would pay for our tickets there (we had our own tickets back). Four students had already made plans (and bought plane tickets) to go to Athens, Greece next weekend, so he has to figure out when he can get them to Vienna. Everyone (other than those four) will be going to Vienna next weekend, which was fine with my group; we just ignored the places we'll visit next friday. So my group went to the train station, and ended up having to get round trip tickets, since the station didn't have one-way tickets left for that day. (We later confirmed that Prof Kim would pay for them) So we embarked on a train to Austria.
And that was crazy thing of the morning number 1.
#2: Someone jumped in front of our train. We were traveling along, early in the ride, and the train suddenly came to a very quick halt, not at a station. An hour went by. Trains passed us on the other track. Eventually some of us walked to the restaurant on the train. We found out there, that someone has jumped in front of the train. I guess they needed to figure out who and clean it up? We were shocked. It was just so bizarre. Eventually we got going again. The rest of the ride was uneventful. It was a relatively empty train, so we were able to spread out; some of us took two seats. Finally, around noon (after a four and half hour train ride in total), we arrived in Vienna.
First, we went to Belvedere Palace.
It was beautiful. We didn't go to the museum, but we walked all the way through the grounds.
Next we kind of wandered around, looking for lunch, and ended up going to Gorilla Kitchen. I had a delicious pulled pork sandwich
We then went to Spar to grab breakfast food, and then to our airbnb. It was pretty nice. Guys set up for sleeping on the floor, girls were sleeping on the bed and couches.
After that, went to the Heldenplatz, in front of the Austrian version of the White House, where Hitler announced the annexation of Austria to loud cheers.
From there, we visited the famous central cafe. It was super fancy and expensive, so we just peeked in. Next, we walked to the opera.
We got standing room tickets for just a few euros. We couldn't see anything, so we only stayed for part of the first act. Then we went to St. Steven's Cathedral.
We got to see part of a light show on the face of the art museum. The sound was much better synced in reality than the video makes it seem.
For dinner, we went to an Italian place, where I got wiener schnitzel and fries. It was delicious.
----------
Saturday morning, we made egg sandwiches for breakfast. They were good.
We then walked to Parliament
and City Hall.
Vienna is so beautiful!
We went back to St. Steven's to see it during the day. For lunch, we all got some wurst (I got bratwurst) in a baguette. It was delicious. I should have taken a picture.
We went to some gardens
where we saw two guys playing accordion... with horse masks.
We went to St. Peter's church.
Most of the rest of the group then went to the art museum, but me and another guy didn't go. I needed to sit for a while. We hadn't used any public transportation, and all the walking was really bothering my legs. (Just soreness, my knees are doing fine now)
Finally, we headed back to the train station, in a rather meandering way to catch a few pictures of some minor sites (you can see them in the pictures). The train ride back was mostly uneventful, although much more busy. I got back, went through emails, got my photos uploaded, and blogged. Michigan won by a bunch, as was expected. And now I'm about to go to bed!
Next time on Events: Hungarian Parliament, meeting with Aaron Stevens, and hopefully blogging that answers all the questions I've been getting.
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Events 10/17-10/20
Monday, I got some good news. A friend of mine, who I had actually half-jokingly texted about living with next year, said yes! He actually only had 3 living in his KE apartment over interim and spring. So that was a great loadoff. No art history, because we had a midterm on Wednesday. In the evening, I worked on the presentation with my group.
Tuesday was more working on the presentation, more homework, and then actually giving the presentation, which we actually got a pretty good grade on, surprisingly (I didn't feel I did that well).
That night, my roommate woke up at like 4:30 for swim practice... and I didn't fall back asleep for a long time. I was feeling super tired, and so didn't go to Service Learning (they only want me at 100%). In the afternoon, we went to the Dohány Street Synagogue which was really cool. It's a Jewish synagogue, which was part of a Jewish ghetto during WWII. They made all of the guys cover their heads.
https://goo.gl/photos/A3gqatnudsA6gUcd6
Then we had Holocaust Lit, which was a great class, because we had someone from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum there. Then was the Art History midterm, which I did terribly on, because I hadn't studied, because I was auditing, so it was okay.
Thursday (today), I had Econ and the EU, and during seminar, my group sucked. We didn't have answers to the questions we were supposed to research and respond to. I need to do better next week. Late Antiquity was cool, talking about early Christianity. I figured out how I'm getting back from Vienna, went shopping, and caught up on stuff this evening (including blogging). Tomorrow, at 6 am, I leave for the day-trip to Vienna, and I'm staying another day with the other guys and a group of girls. It'll be awesome. But right now, I'm ready to sleep.
Tuesday was more working on the presentation, more homework, and then actually giving the presentation, which we actually got a pretty good grade on, surprisingly (I didn't feel I did that well).
That night, my roommate woke up at like 4:30 for swim practice... and I didn't fall back asleep for a long time. I was feeling super tired, and so didn't go to Service Learning (they only want me at 100%). In the afternoon, we went to the Dohány Street Synagogue which was really cool. It's a Jewish synagogue, which was part of a Jewish ghetto during WWII. They made all of the guys cover their heads.
https://goo.gl/photos/A3gqatnudsA6gUcd6
Then we had Holocaust Lit, which was a great class, because we had someone from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum there. Then was the Art History midterm, which I did terribly on, because I hadn't studied, because I was auditing, so it was okay.
Thursday (today), I had Econ and the EU, and during seminar, my group sucked. We didn't have answers to the questions we were supposed to research and respond to. I need to do better next week. Late Antiquity was cool, talking about early Christianity. I figured out how I'm getting back from Vienna, went shopping, and caught up on stuff this evening (including blogging). Tomorrow, at 6 am, I leave for the day-trip to Vienna, and I'm staying another day with the other guys and a group of girls. It'll be awesome. But right now, I'm ready to sleep.
Events 10/14-10/16
Friday started out with working on my schedule, then I did some chores, then some modding, then some blogging. It was a surprisingly long day.
Saturday, I went to the great market with my group for an assignment. I had actually been there before, without knowing it, as it's on the way to Corvinus.
https://goo.gl/photos/p1XYcCu4SXCq5p467
It was cool. There was a lot of meat, but also fruits and vegetables (even some corn on the cob!), and souvenir and food stall sections. There were a bunch of chess sets!
We also went down a nearby touristy street. We had to do a presentation on Hungarian culture in these areas for the next Central European Culture class. After we were done, I went back to the market to get the corn for dinner, but it was closed :( I did go to ALDI in the basement, but they didn't have any corn. I should have grabbed some while I could.
I watched College Football in the evening, even tho Michigan wasn't playing. I'm surprised how much I've been enjoying it this semester.
On Sunday, I was feeling a bit sick, so I slept through church. I practiced the Heidelberg Catechism when I woke up, and got some stuff done before the Lions were on. The Lions won another nail-biter. Then I went to sleep.
Saturday, I went to the great market with my group for an assignment. I had actually been there before, without knowing it, as it's on the way to Corvinus.
https://goo.gl/photos/p1XYcCu4SXCq5p467
It was cool. There was a lot of meat, but also fruits and vegetables (even some corn on the cob!), and souvenir and food stall sections. There were a bunch of chess sets!
We also went down a nearby touristy street. We had to do a presentation on Hungarian culture in these areas for the next Central European Culture class. After we were done, I went back to the market to get the corn for dinner, but it was closed :( I did go to ALDI in the basement, but they didn't have any corn. I should have grabbed some while I could.
I watched College Football in the evening, even tho Michigan wasn't playing. I'm surprised how much I've been enjoying it this semester.
On Sunday, I was feeling a bit sick, so I slept through church. I practiced the Heidelberg Catechism when I woke up, and got some stuff done before the Lions were on. The Lions won another nail-biter. Then I went to sleep.
Events 10/10-10/13
Monday, I took it easy, to make sure I would get healthy, did homework, lots of reading for holocaust lit. In art history, I started getting a little left behind. I decided that auditing was something I really needed to do, and I discussed it the professor, and she accepted.
Tuesday morning, I wrote the journal entry I needed too, went to Central European Culture class, where we talked about the Habsburgs. That night I started feeling slightly ill.
Wednesday, I didn't go to Service Learning, because I was feeling a little sick, and last time I had felt like that, they had turned me away. I got some stuff, went to holocaust lit, which was good, as always. Then I had art history again, this time with an audit mindset.
Thursday was Econ in the morning, talking about competition in the EU, which was cool. Late Antiquity talked about the cities in the Roman Empire. We then went to a party Karoli was throwing for us, which was awkward, and I had gotten some bad news about my schedule for next semester, then some bad news about my housing, and then some good news about my schedule. It was very distracting. I then spent Thursday night and Friday morning working on my schedule for next semester.
Tuesday morning, I wrote the journal entry I needed too, went to Central European Culture class, where we talked about the Habsburgs. That night I started feeling slightly ill.
Wednesday, I didn't go to Service Learning, because I was feeling a little sick, and last time I had felt like that, they had turned me away. I got some stuff, went to holocaust lit, which was good, as always. Then I had art history again, this time with an audit mindset.
Thursday was Econ in the morning, talking about competition in the EU, which was cool. Late Antiquity talked about the cities in the Roman Empire. We then went to a party Karoli was throwing for us, which was awkward, and I had gotten some bad news about my schedule for next semester, then some bad news about my housing, and then some good news about my schedule. It was very distracting. I then spent Thursday night and Friday morning working on my schedule for next semester.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Events 10/5-10/9: Trip to Croatia and a bit of Italy.
This'll be a long post, so I'll post the photo link at the top. https://goo.gl/photos/7177iB3BkEUqF7xo9
So Wednesday, we started traveling. We got up, and left around 7. It was a big bus; two seats on each side of the aisle. Each person got two seats. We had to soon turn around, someone left something. I couldn't sleep much. I ended getting some homework done tho, so that was good. It was probably a ten-hour bus ride.
When we arrived in Split (Croatia), it was late, but we went to Diocletian's palace anyways. This was a great decision, because there was no one around, and it was well lit.
The palace is massive. It was an amazing experience.
So Wednesday, we started traveling. We got up, and left around 7. It was a big bus; two seats on each side of the aisle. Each person got two seats. We had to soon turn around, someone left something. I couldn't sleep much. I ended getting some homework done tho, so that was good. It was probably a ten-hour bus ride.
When we arrived in Split (Croatia), it was late, but we went to Diocletian's palace anyways. This was a great decision, because there was no one around, and it was well lit.
The palace is massive. It was an amazing experience.
Due to a mix-up in reservations, everyone ended up staying in different places, probably a 15 minute walk between the furthest groups. I ended up (after getting switched with someone) staying with Professor Kim.
Thursday. in the morning, we went to a Roman museum there, so all kinds of cool stuff. I really like looking at Roman coins.
There were also a lot of outdoor ruins.
In the afternoon, we split up, I went back with some people to nap, but not too long, as people had talked about cliff-jumping.
Split is right on the Adriatic Sea, and it was quite beautiful. Watching the jumps was great. Professor Kim was *not* thrilled. A bunch of people jumped, but I did not. In addition to having done it already, I really don't like salt water (The jumpers confirmed the water was very salty). I took at ton of photos, and a few videos.
Afterwards. people went back to clean up, and then we got together to eat dinner, but then split up, because it's hard to find a restaurant that seats 18 people. I ended up going to a "fast food" place, and getting a chicken taco. It was a 15-minute wait, but some of the students ended up waiting a couple more hours for food, so for Europe, my meal was definitely fast. I went to bed after dinner.
Friday, we got on the bus again, and traveled to Pula (Croatia). Probably 5-6 hours of riding. We went tp a Roman arena, or at least everyone else did, I got lost, and couldn't find it, and did meet up until after they had gone through. I got left behind trying to get my knee braces to work. They didn't, all of the surface that the velcro attaches to was frayed fuzz. I had to order new braces.
We saw a few more Roman buildings, including this cool arch:
We went back and stayed in this great hotel, the rooms were basically apartments. We all went to watch Gladiator, but Professor Kim's computer wouldn't play it; but mine would. It was a great time.
Saturday, we had another bus ride, this time to Aquileia (Italy). Aquileia was a huge Roman city, that through years of invasion was devastated down to a small town. But lots of ruins remain. So we walked all over the small town, seeing all kinds of ruins. We even saw some building floors that still had their mosaics intact.
We also visited a basilica, which showed an early Christian theme; Christianity mixed with some pagan themes.
We also went to another museum. So much to see! This glass was cool.
That night... I woke up sick again. I talked about that a bit here. The bus ride back was rough, but I made it, and was feeling better that night. I was able to watch the Lions pull out a nailbiter, barely beating the Eagles. Next morning, back to work.
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Events 9/30-10/4: Finally some new stuff
Friday, was the trip to Pecs. Pecs was a few hour bus ride away. We were there to see Roman stuff.
The day was a tour of various sites, ending with some ruins. We saw a ton of sarcophagi, which was cool. A great trip. https://goo.gl/photos/Y9fpbViAn4kwacqP8
Saturday was a Lord of the Rings marathon. We watched all three movies, extended edition, back to back to back. It was great, and I even got some homework done. I watched the end of the Michigan-Wisconsin game, which Michigan managed to win with a late touchdown pass and defensive stop.
Sunday, I wasn't feeling well when I woke up, so I went back to sleep. In the afternoon, I went to Hero's Square and Buda Castle with a group to prepare our presentation, which was on finding a narrative of Hungary's history (with specific requirements about Hero's Square and Buda Castle). The castle was great just to see and visit. It's actually a bit of a composite, having various parts destroyed and rebuilt over the years. https://goo.gl/photos/u5ndA3uZC89zntmY6
Monday was more homework, with art history at night. Afterwards was working on the presentation.
Tuesday was more working on the presentation, and then giving it. It went well.
Some random photos: https://goo.gl/photos/cCN51maNHiToQcKa6
Tuesday night, I stayed up a bit, hoping it would help me sleep, for starting tomorrow was the big trip to Split, Pula, and Aquileia.
The day was a tour of various sites, ending with some ruins. We saw a ton of sarcophagi, which was cool. A great trip. https://goo.gl/photos/Y9fpbViAn4kwacqP8
Saturday was a Lord of the Rings marathon. We watched all three movies, extended edition, back to back to back. It was great, and I even got some homework done. I watched the end of the Michigan-Wisconsin game, which Michigan managed to win with a late touchdown pass and defensive stop.
Sunday, I wasn't feeling well when I woke up, so I went back to sleep. In the afternoon, I went to Hero's Square and Buda Castle with a group to prepare our presentation, which was on finding a narrative of Hungary's history (with specific requirements about Hero's Square and Buda Castle). The castle was great just to see and visit. It's actually a bit of a composite, having various parts destroyed and rebuilt over the years. https://goo.gl/photos/u5ndA3uZC89zntmY6
Monday was more homework, with art history at night. Afterwards was working on the presentation.
Tuesday was more working on the presentation, and then giving it. It went well.
Some random photos: https://goo.gl/photos/cCN51maNHiToQcKa6
Tuesday night, I stayed up a bit, hoping it would help me sleep, for starting tomorrow was the big trip to Split, Pula, and Aquileia.
The internet situation
Sorry I haven't gotten more blogging done yet. Part of the reason is the in-dorm wifi. It's spotty, pretty bad sometimes in my room, and I want to show pictures, but sometime they won't upload. It's frustrating. People generally go to the communal kitchen to use internet, which is kind of awkward because the space isn't very large. There is a study room with ethernet, that I've been using. It works great, but I can't use ethernet on my phone. I'm currently uploading pictures, when that's done, I'll be able to post a bunch more.
Outside of the dorm, various shops will offer free wifi, you can generally walk around until you find some. Most restaurants also have it, although you have to be eating there in order to get it. Corvinus and Karoli both have pretty good internet.
Outside of the dorm, various shops will offer free wifi, you can generally walk around until you find some. Most restaurants also have it, although you have to be eating there in order to get it. Corvinus and Karoli both have pretty good internet.
Friday, October 14, 2016
Events 9/23-9/28: Sick
So, I've already gone through most of what happened,
here: http://isaaccalvininhungary.blogspot.hu/2016/09/update-sickness.html
and here: http://isaaccalvininhungary.blogspot.hu/2016/09/update-sickness.html
But to follow up, after the doctor's appointment, I laid around, didn't do much, but felt better and better, until I was able to go to class on Thursday. It was awful, not only because I was sick, but because my head was foggy, so I couldn't even really do more interesting stuff, like reading or video games. I watched a lot of TV. I've finished ST: Voyager, and are watching Community now.
But, Thursday, I was well enough to get back to class. Which was a good thing, too. We had an excursion on Friday.
here: http://isaaccalvininhungary.blogspot.hu/2016/09/update-sickness.html
and here: http://isaaccalvininhungary.blogspot.hu/2016/09/update-sickness.html
But to follow up, after the doctor's appointment, I laid around, didn't do much, but felt better and better, until I was able to go to class on Thursday. It was awful, not only because I was sick, but because my head was foggy, so I couldn't even really do more interesting stuff, like reading or video games. I watched a lot of TV. I've finished ST: Voyager, and are watching Community now.
But, Thursday, I was well enough to get back to class. Which was a good thing, too. We had an excursion on Friday.
Events 9/19-9/22
Monday, after my blogging, was Art history, we moved through more techniques. It's been interesting learning all the different ways artists in the Renaissance could work.
Tuesday was studying, and then Central European History. We talked about the baths and the early part of the Hungarian kingdom.
Wednesday, I went to service learning, but they sent me away because I was a little nauseous and didn't look well. I went to cafe and relaxed a little and worked on homework until Holocaust Lit, where we talked about the identity among the Holocaust. Then had Art History, more talking about techniques.
Thursday, I had Econ in the morning, talking about energy policy. In the afternoon, we had Late Anqituity, talking about what we saw at Aquincum. In the evening, we had our Hungarian oral exam: to give a self-introduction in Hungarian to the teacher, who recorded it. I did well. I got a B+ in the class, I believe. That night I was up a bit late, working on a poster for my summer research, and talking to friend in the US about Marxism. I got a few stomach cramps... the start of me being sick.
Tuesday was studying, and then Central European History. We talked about the baths and the early part of the Hungarian kingdom.
Wednesday, I went to service learning, but they sent me away because I was a little nauseous and didn't look well. I went to cafe and relaxed a little and worked on homework until Holocaust Lit, where we talked about the identity among the Holocaust. Then had Art History, more talking about techniques.
Thursday, I had Econ in the morning, talking about energy policy. In the afternoon, we had Late Anqituity, talking about what we saw at Aquincum. In the evening, we had our Hungarian oral exam: to give a self-introduction in Hungarian to the teacher, who recorded it. I did well. I got a B+ in the class, I believe. That night I was up a bit late, working on a poster for my summer research, and talking to friend in the US about Marxism. I got a few stomach cramps... the start of me being sick.
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Quick update: 10/13/16: Return to normal blogging tomorrow
So, the trip went great, until I got sick the night before we left back to Budapest. First time I've had projectile vomiting; it even went out my nose, which was awful. Diarrhea was back, too. Thankfully, I felt a bit better by the next night, and fully recovered the day after that. But I was behind on homework. I'm finally caught up, but I have class most of today, and some stuff I have to work on tonight. But tomorrow I have wide open, so I'm gonna blog a ton.
So please ask lots of questions today. This post is a great place for them, too. I'll go back through my posts and find things I haven't answered previously as well. I'll do a bunch of specific topic posts in addition to the normal event posts, to try to answer as many questions as I can at once.
So please ask lots of questions today. This post is a great place for them, too. I'll go back through my posts and find things I haven't answered previously as well. I'll do a bunch of specific topic posts in addition to the normal event posts, to try to answer as many questions as I can at once.
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Quick update: 10/4/16
So, just a quick update. I did indeed get healthy when the doctor said I would, so I went back to class on Thursday. It's been a busy weekend, and I've been working hard to catch up on everything. Last night, I finally caught up on assignments, but I'm still way behind on readings, so still a lot to do. There's a Calvin required excursion Wednesday through Sunday, to Croatia and Italy, so I doubt I'll get much blogging done for quite a while (but you never know). I'll probably do another quick update or two, before I get back to normal blogging.
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