Friday, January 18, 2013

T-minus FIVE DAYS!

So you're all probably wondering... Budapest? Is that in India? I don't even know where that is. I had to pull up a map to see exactly where you are going. You're going to Istanbul, right?
Funny enough, I didn't know much about Budapest before ranking it as my number one choice. As many of you have asked me before... why Budapest?
Well, I wanted something different and unique. I knew I could visit Spain, France, Germany, Italy, etc, but I wanted to live and experience most of my time in a country I didn't know much about. I'm studying abroad through the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California; Marshall has partnered with  over thirty schools in other countries and for my application I had to research all the schools and locations and rank all thirty-plus schools in order of my preference. After reading surveys from students who have studied at the schools during previous semesters, I felt like Budapest was the perfect location for me! Although it will take some time getting used to the average 40 degree weather. I'm used to 80 degrees in February out in Los Angeles! But, I have my furry snow shoes ready to go thanks to a Christmas present from my dad! :)

For those of you who still don't know where Budapest, Hungary is, I have circled it for you on this map!


I'll be studying in Budapest at Corvinus University which is located on the Pest side. Budapest is split into to sides by the Danube river. On the left side is Buda and on the right is Pest. I'll be living and studying on the Pest side. 

This is Corvinus University, beautifully lit up at night:

That's just a photo from google. I'm sure you'll see more pictures of the school once I'm there. 

I'm not packed yet, but hey, that's me. I'm usually a night before, day of packer. Maybe I'll start a few days before this time. I'm planning on only bringing one suitcase and one carry-on. I'll be staying in a hostel for the first few days that I am there, while I have to find an apartment in the city. Most of the international students who are studying at Corvinus next semester will be doing the same. They even sent out an email regarding the HOSTEL PARTIES that take place all during next week starting Monday. I'll be there for two of them since I get in Thursday afternoon. The hostel parties are basically let's meet in one central location and head to a different hostel each night to party. That way, all the international students who are staying in hostels for the week can meet each other. Hopefully I'll be able to meet some people that I'd like to room with for the semester, ideally all international students. 

Shout out to my momma who has already ordered me $250 worth of Hungarian money (HUF - Hungarian Forint) which is 47,500 HUF. I know, 47,500HUF seems like a whole lot of money. Interestingly enough, the HUF skyrocketed in value recently, so now my $250 is only worth about $220. Can you believe it? 

That's it for now! I'll let y'all know when I land safely in Budapest. The time difference is crazy. I'm only used to dealing with three hours when I'm at school in California, but now I'm six hours ahead of Atlanta, seven hours ahead of Alabama, and NINE hours ahead of my friends and family in California. So when all of you are watching the 49ers kick butt in the Superbowl, just keep in mind that kickoff will start at 12:30AM in Budapest. 


xoxo


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