FINALLY in BUDAPEST!

Hello everyone!

So it's definitely been a crazy travel experience. My eight hour flight to Germany was a wreck. My swollen lymph node was driving me crazy, almost to tears at some point. But I got through it. As soon as we landed in Frankfurt, I stopped at a bathroom to wash my face and put on new deodorant. I tried to sleep as much as I could on that flight, but some obnoxious guy snored the ENTIRE way there. I put on my headphones and tried my best to get enough sleep. I think the worst part was my swollen lymph node. My layover in Frankfurt was about three to four hours. I had to walk forever to my next gate and I felt so lost. I had to ask every single person I came in contact with where the heck gate A40 was. There was a different answer every time. Finally I found my gate and passed out on the chairs. I got about an hour of sleep until the rest of the people came to the gate and started making noise. I boarded the plane, read four chapters of the book I purchased in Atlanta, and as soon as I was going to take a nap, it was time for arrival. The flight was only an hour and twenty minutes. Such a quick flight! I landed in Budapest tired as heck. I tried finding the shuttle that was supposed to pick me up from the hostel I'm staying at, but I could not find them at all. After an hour of waiting, I decided to just get a different shuttle from the airport. I paid for that shuttle and then was directly transported to the hostel I'm staying at. Within ten minutes of getting to the hostel, I ran into a guy from USC and he told me that they were about to go on a hike. Obviously, the first thing I would do when I get to Budapest was hike the city. The guy I ran into ended up having to look at a flat that he may stay at, but I ended up touring Budapest with Anna and Anthony. Anna is from Connecticut and Anthony is from Canada! We had a blast! I bought my month-long pass to travel on public transportation; it only cost about $20 for unlimited travel for the month. We went over to the Buda side and got to see the castle on that side. From the castle we looked out onto the lit-up side of Pest. It was absolutely beautiful! I didn't have my camera, but I had Anthony take some pictures for me that I can hopefully post soon! We got to see the Parliament building and Corvinus University lit up just as it started to get dark. After that, we made our way back to the hostel we are staying at to get ready for dinner. We went to some random restaurant we found along the street. I ordered a salad without the chicken and got a horrible look; seriously no chicken? haha It was funny. And then I got to explain to everyone we were with (about 10 people) that I am a vegan and will try my best in Budapest! After dinner, we found the bar that was the location of the hostel party. I thought the parties took place at the hostels, but they actually take place at bars with all the people staying at hostels. Tonight we went to Morrison 2, which is a popular bar in Budapest. It was so so so much fun! Me and the three other girls from USC did karaoke to the song California Girls! Perfect. We stayed at the bar until about 2am Budapest time and then we took the bus back to the hostel. It's cold here, but not as cold as I thought it would be! I've had so much fun already and have met so many great people! Tomorrow I will be looking for an apartment with the rest of the students here! All the students are really confused on how to do it, so we are all in the same boat together. I guess we will all figure it out! It is definitely time for me to get some sleep.

xoxo