This past week has been a week of studying, and of course, finding time to hang out with friends and experience even knew things in Budapest! Definitely did a lot of studying, but it wasn't as bad as the killer midterm weeks at USC. Those are rough. Very rough. Like non stop, 5am bed times and 8am wake ups to study. Pulling eight hours straight at a coffee shop memorizing and summarizing notes. But despite how hard they are, we all make it through. As us trojans like to say, we always fight on. Sorry, getting a little USC sick after I've had a touch of school from seeing Carly today. Let's be honest... I felt like I needed an escape from USC, something different, exciting, and adventurous and I've gotten just what I wanted! And when next fall rolls around, I'll be that much more excited to finish off senior year at a wonderful university!
So Monday afternoon was my first midterm exam at Corvinus University for my Tourism Management and Marketing class. I was expecting really, really easy. So, I basically studied major concepts and didn't memorize much of the lists that were presented in class. I obviously was able to come up with answers for the written exam, but it was harder than I expected. I still think I did fine. After the hour and a half exam, we had a twenty minute break and then I had my presentation after the break. We had to present on a specific location and analyze the tourism aspects of that location (demand, future opportunities, competition, etc). I did my presentation on St. Martin/St. Maarten - I've never been, but my dad and uncle both have and have really enjoyed their stays there! Anyway, I was previously in a group with three other guys and then they added another guy to the group, so we had a total of five group members for the presentation. The maximum was four, but the guys were insistant that it would be okay to have five. Me being me, I emailed the teacher just to make sure. Turns out, we could not have a group of five, so I opted to do the presentation by myself, making it much easier to just work on it on my own time. So, the group of guys I was supposed to present with went before me, and then I went after them. The teachers really enjoyed my presentation and the feedback I got was great; obviously I need to cut out the number of times I say "ummm" - that's always been a fault of mine in presentations, but they they said I was very professional and relaxed, which was nice to hear.
After class I headed over to the Great Market Hall to buy some groceries for the week. I really wanted to clean out my system so I read up on low fat raw vegan diets and tried it for four days. Really felt a lot more energized and clean - I ate mostly fruits and vegetables in really high quantities. Like four oranges for a snack. And the only fats I ate were from chia seed, which are an excellent source of omega fats! Wednesday and Thursday I tried no fat. I noticed that on those days I had to eat even more fruit to stay energized. It's all a learning process and testing out how your body reacts to different foods. Let's just say I left the market on Monday with an abundant amount of fruit and vegetables - all of it couldn't even fit in my fridge. Good think oranges, bananas and apples don't have to be refrigerated!
Monday night I went out to dinner to celebrate a dear dutch friend of mine's birthday (Ben) and also Istvan's birthday! Istvan is an ESN organizer and is from Hungary. We had so much fun at the restaurant, despite how annoyed our waiter was with us. She could have been a little more positive and patient, but hey, "this is Hungary!" (We say that a lot about ridiculous stuff here to justify the different and absurd ways they do things here). After dinner we headed over to Morrison's 2 which is a bar that most international students go to every Monday night. Monday Morrisons! I haven't been in a while, but the past two weeks have been Monday Morrison birthday celebrations, so I had to join and celebrate with my friends! I taught some of the international kids how to play the game quarters - and we actually played with a quarter that I had in my purse! I thought it would only be appropriate. That quarter fell on the ground several times and over the times of it falling on the ground, it eventually turned into a hungarian forint coin. Not sure how that happened, but the quarter was lost and we were playing with a forint coin. Who knows?
Tuesday, I met a hungarian friend, Vera, to go swimming at the Corvinus pool. It was awesome! I really did not know what to expect and I could tell Vera didn't know how good of a swimmer I was so she was a little hesitant. She made sure I was wearing a one piece bathing suit because she didn't want people to make fun of me for wearing a bikini. I don't think she really realized I have experience with swimming. So we get there and head out to the pool - the teacher is apparently really strict and she doesn't speak much English, so Vera introduced me and told the teacher she brought a friend along. Vera told me after speaking with the teacher what the teacher had said. Apparently she said it was fine for me to join the class but she wasn't going to jump in and save me. Gee, thanks! So, the class is an hour swimming class but it's really basic. The teacher just said to swim 1 kilometer. I thought that was warm-up or something but Vera clarified that that was the workout we had to complete for the day. Only 1000 meters. Okay, that's pretty easy. So, once we were finished we were able to grap kick boards and other pool things to practice our strokes. Most of the class had finished the 1000 meters early - I thought if that was the whole class, then sure these people didn't know how to swim. No, they are just way more relaxed about sports here. Everyone finished within the same time frame and then all continued to swim and practice strokes! I told Vera I wanted to continue coming every week with her and she was happy I enjoyed it! After class, I stopped by McCafe - yes, McDonalds cafe to get some coffee and then walked to my class which was a few blocks away. The pool is on the Buda side and the swimming class is right before my class that I have on the Buda side - convenient! I'm usually late to this class, walking in about fifteen minutes into lecture. Now, you're thinking fifteen minutes... that's kind of a long time. No, I'm there only 3-5 minutes late every time, but each class has a different location so I spend about ten minutes listening into every closed door until I hear my professors voice. It can take up to a long time. Luckily this time I made it early. I even made a joke to my teacher about it and he just laughed - he's super giddy and excited about teaching. He's probably the most interesting, bubbly, exciting person I've ever met - like I can't spend too much time around him because I just keep wondering how he is just so happy and excited to talk about vines and grapes. He thinks that cutting vines, pruning, and the color of berries and how they grow to make wine is the most magnificent thing that has ever happend on planet Earth. I, on the other hand, enjoy my wine - don't get me wrong - but I'm not that excited about what the leaf looks like and the different clusters of berries. As long as I can have a glass of wine. :)
Like I said in one of my previous blogs, we were supposed to watch a movie on a vineyard and drink wine. The movie happened, but not the wine part. I almost said something, but didn't want to be greedy! The movie was pretty interesting, though. It was about a famous vineyard in France known for it's white wine that sells for about 300 euro a bottle. They have wine stored up in a cellar dating back to the 1700-1800s. Couldn't even believe it! The wine is so expensive, though, because they are very particular. In one harvest year, if it rains too much, they could potentially lose 80% of their grapes because of how selective they are. In fact, this happened several times to them in the past.
Tuesday afternoon and into the night I studied. Wednesday morning, I studied some more. And snuck in some time for the latest Revenge episode. And then comes one of the most exciting things I have done thus far in Budapest...
I ROWED ON THE DANUBE!!!!!
I was so excited I couldn't contain it. The boat house is on the island that I like to run around, so I jogged up to the island and then eventually found the hidden boat house. The other three girls I was rowing with were already there, but they had to change, so I didn't feel bad for being a little late. After paying and figuring out which boat to take (this actually took like an hour... things move slow in Hungary... "this is Hungary..."), we finally took out a quad. This is a four person sculling boat - meaning four people sit in the boat and each person rows with two oars, one on each side. I have never sculled before in my life, so I told the other three to be a little patient for me to learn. I said it could be a disaster and was expecting it to be a huge failure. When I competed in high school rowing, I did sweep rowing, meaning each person has one oar. I was on the starboard side, so when I sat in the boat (back facing in the direction the boat is moving), my oar was on my left hand side. The oars alternated sides, so the girl in front of me and the girl behind me would be on the right side, and so on from there. Never having sculled before, I was a little nervous. And the only advice I really got was... "make sure you keep your left hand over your right" - if any of you are confused about what I'm talking about, just youtube scull rowing and you'll see. So that's it. Left over right. Okay, I got this. I got in the boat and there I was. On the water. It had been two years since I have sat in a boat on the water. I felt immediately like I was back in my element. The sound of the water skimming under the boat. Ah, to die for. Rowers, you know what I'm talking about. So me and the girl in front of me sat out, while the two girls behind me warmed up first. Then it was my turn and I started with just arms, and eventually added in the legs. I was a little wobbly at first, but to my surprise, picked it up pretty quickly! I definitely have some more practice, but I was expecting disaster which didn't actually occur. I only bumped my hands a few times trying to get the right ratio of left arm over right arm when I came in to finish the stroke. The feathering of the blade was a little difficult to pick up just because I wasn't used to doing it with two blades, but after about five minutes I had it down well enough to keep up with everyone. Then my other favorite part about rowing, being in identical formation with the girl in front of me. I immediately felt like me and the girl in front of me where right on que with each other - and I've only felt that with a few other strokes in my life. Sliding up slowly together, digging the blade in strong, and hitting hard through the stroke. We had identical rowing strokes. I love rowing. There, I said it. I miss it. A lot. It can't even compare to any other sport I've ever done in my entire life. I miss it more than eating fresh cooked, tender chicken from the oven, I miss it more than Monday and Friday morning camp breakfast, I miss it more than the beautiful blue skies and sunny weather of California... the list could go on. If ya'll don't quite understand, think of the thing you miss the most right now... multiply it by 1000 and then think of the joy you have when experiencing the thing you miss after two-three years! Pure bliss. Pure joy. Loved it! Sorry for such an emotional exaggeration, but not really an exaggeration. Rowing changed my life in high school and I don't regret giving away countless hours every week to the Chatahoochee River and to the women at AJRA. They were my life in high school and I was completely and utterly content with that. I would do a number of things to go back in time to rowing for AJRA; even the horrible days of practice.
Dedication to AJRA over. I apologize.
So I didn't leave the boat house until around 7:15. And yes, we finished our row as it was getting dark and the beautiful lights were reflecting off the water. Such a beautiful sight. We are going to try to row every week from now on. And eventually, once my one month gym membership ends, I think I am going to get a month membership at the boat house - they have ergs and bikes there that I can use whenever I want and then I can row all day any day. eeek!
Wednesday night I came home and was on a high, but knew I had to settle down to study for my two exams on Thursday. I had all the summaries I made for both exams, so I just had to read through, memorize them. I read through the notes for my first exam a few times, but was exhausted and could barely keep my eyes open. I ended up falling asleep early, so that I could get up early before my 9:40am exam to study for a 1.5 hours before hand. I went to a coffee shop near school, had an excellent cafe americano, and had a solid hour and a half to study. The exam was super easy - went well and walked out confident! Then I had four hours until my next exam that I hadn't put much studying into. I wanted to get to the gym, though, during that time, too, so I rushed home and went to the gym, got a solid arm workout in and then came back home, showered, and only had an hour to study. I was kind of freaking out, but I was able to really focus in and felt confident going in to the exam. The good thing about studying for this exam was that I really paid close attention in every one of the classes because the teacher was able to engage us in activities every time. Activities and group discussions help me actually learn material better than just reading slides from a powerpoint. I was able to not just memorize the notes, but remember in class what we talked about. Anyway, that exam went well and I was finally done with midterms! Hallelujah! It was Thursday afternoon, I came home, and started packing and getting ready for my early morning departure to the Netherlands!! I packed really quickly... I can only bring one backpack on the plane, so I learned to pack light. I met up with a few friends at a flat party and stayed until around 11:15 which was later than I was planning because I had to be at a bus station at 4 in the morning. I didn't get home until around 11:45, quickly got ready for bed, and passed out. I was tossing and turning all night, though, because I knew I had to get up early and was afraid I would miss my alarm. I got up around 3:20, and left my flat around 3:50. My flat mate still wasn't back from the party that everyone at the flat party went to after I had left. ha! The girl I rowed with on Wednesday is from the Netherlands and it just so happened that she was taking the same flight as me this morning, so we decided to travel together to make it easier! We had to take two public transportation buses to the airport and on our way, we ran into another girl from the Netherlands who was studying at Corvinus with us and was flying on our same flight! I was thankful we ran into her, because after I landed in Eindhoven, I had to take another bus and then another train to Utrecht (a smaller city outside of Amsterdam) to meet Carly and Taylor. We got to the airport and the security line was longer than we expected, but we moved through it pretty quickly. Again, we took a bus from our gate to our plane and another mad rush to find seats on the plane. It's first come first serve. So strange. It was absolutely FREEZING this morning. I couldn't shake off the chill in my body. It had to be in the 20 degree fahrenheit range. No joke. And we had to stand on a bus, waiting for everyone, with the doors open for about twenty minutes. And then making the mad dash from the bus to the plane, I thought I was going to be knocked down by how hard the wind was blowing. I threw my hood over my head, knelt down, and had everyone else around me block the wind. I was dying. I hate the cold. Wednesday was perfect weather- sunny and about 55 degrees. Thursday it started raining again and Thursday night/Friday morning was miserable. The whole plane ride I was still frigid. I couldn't get the chill out of me. I put my gloves on and kept my big coat on the entire two hour plane ride. The two girls I was traveling with laughed at me, but I didn't care. I also passed out for the entire two hours. I was so exhausted, but it made the flight go by extremely fast. Before I knew it we were getting ready for landing.
Riding the trains in the Netherlands is free for students and then each student can travel with three other guests and the guests get a 40 percent discount. The girl I met in Budapest that had to take the train with me, ended up not having to take the same exact one. So, she found someone at the airport that was going to her same location, so she was able to buy the 40 percent discounted ticket. I asked one girl and she was going to the stop right before mine. A risk I was willing to take, so she waited for me as I bought my discounted ticket and then I got on the train with her. She was very nice and explained to me what the person over the intercom was saying in dutch. She got off at the stop before me and I had to find another student to "travel" with, just in case security came to check tickets. If they saw I had a discounted card and I wasn't with a dutch student, then I could get a big fine. Luckily the girl sitting next to me was also a student and she was getting off at the stop I was! phew! Didn't have to go looking for another student! I was really pleased with how nice and warming the dutch people are! I waited in the train station for about twenty minutes for Carly and Taylor - enough time to pay 50 cents of a euro to use the restroom and wait in about a ten minute line for a starbucks coffee! Once they picked me up, we walked outside into the downtown Utrecht area - it's adorable! Pictures to come later - I didn't bring my camera cord with me! The dutch people are beautiful. Like, when I say beautiful, I mean some are blessed by the gods! One boy rode passed me on his bike and I just stared at him. I'm sorry I couldn't help it; he noticed me staring and just started giggling as he continued to ride by. Adorable. I felt like a little kid again having a crush on a boy on a playground or something. That's another thing... everyone in the Netherlands rides bikes. There are bike paths every where that there is a street for a car. On some roads, there is more room for bikes than there is for a car! I LOVE IT! Carly and Taylor rode bikes to the station to get me and then we walked around the downtown area for a while; Taylor had asked a friend if I could borrow her bike for the day, so we walked to where it was parked and then I rode the bike back to Taylor's flat. I was on cloud nine. Giddy as can be. Again, pure bliss. I haven't been on a bike in ages. Granted, it's a crappy bike... nothing like my road bike back at SC, but it's a bike with two wobbly wheels that is able to transport me from point A to point B. We got settled at Taylor's flat and relaxed for a little. Carly gave me two cards and some small gifts that Meghan and Boneshia had given to Carly to give to me. Let me explain who these wonderful women are... Meghan and Boneshia are both full time employees at the USC Events office that I spend most of my time outside of class, not because I need the money (which I desperately need after my expenditures here in Europe...), but because I love this office so much. It's like my home away from home. I absolutely love going in to work, I love learning new things every single day, and find myself continuously being challenged and trusted, which has really allowed me to grow and expand my knowledge in the industry of event management. The Events office has been such an influential factor in my career choice and has showed me that there are jobs out there that are made for particular people to enjoy; not everyone enjoys the work they do and I believe that any field of work one chooses to go into, it must be something they love. Otherwise, its temporary and stressful and not worth it. Well, for me, at least. I have to love what I do. And I found what I love to do. Anyway, back to Boneshia and Meghan. Not only have they put a great amount of trust in me as a student coordinator at the office, but they have shown me more love than anywhere else at USC. They have respected me for who I am and I can't explain to you how much it means to me. They see my potential and have taken their time to train me and teach me. I respect that, a lot. Meghan just started working last fall when Jenny (who I am a student coordinator for) when on maternity leave. It was Meghan and me tackling the fall events! whew! Somehow we got through it, and everything turned out fantastic! I could go on forever about the work we've done together, but all in all, these two women have shaped me and will continue to shape me during my college experience! I truly look up to both of them, as they inspire me each day to continue learning and aspiring to be an event manager or work in the field of events in the future! They sent me beautiful cards and a few gifts to keep me going here! Meghan sent an umbrella - it's been quite wet over here and I could definitely use it! She also sent me a case to keep all my credit cards and other traveling cards in - super convenient; she sent a bag that can fold up into a little ball and is perfect for keeping in my backpack for when I need to stop at the market or pick something up from the store. In Budapest, every time you get groceries, you have to pay for bags, unless you bring your own - this little bag is perfect for that and even for traveling with! Lastly, she gave me a mini emergency kit "for a gal's tiny troubles!" It's adorable!! It has 17 essentials a girl could need - bandage, pain reliever, double sided tape, breath freshener, floss, hair spray, lip balm, earring backs, safety pins, deodorant towelette... etc. It's so cute and it comes in a little, silver glittery case! I absolutely love it and think it's so clever! Boneshia sent me a card with such words of encouragement, it brought tears to my eyes; she also sent along a mini candle. She has the same candle in her office that I always smell and love every time I walk in there! Now I'll have a little scent of Bo every time I walk in to my room here in Budapest! I was overwhelmed with joy after receiving these gifts and just felt so honored and cared for; thank you both for thinking of me. I miss you and the events office so much! Can't wait to come back in the fall and tackle the last year of events I'll have with ya'll!
After that long explanation about how much Meghan and Bo mean to me, I'll continue with my day here in Utrecht.
We decided to grab lunch in the town, so we rode our bikes back to the city (it's about a 10-15 minute ride) and ate at an Italian restaurant right on the canal. It was wonderful; I just had a bowl of tomato soup and Carly and Taylor shared a pizza. Then we went to check out a pub that serves 200 different flavors of beer. I had no idea what to get because the menu was extremely overwhelming. I had tried a honey and ginger beer on Monday and really liked that, so I asked the bartender if he had anything like that. He said he had a honey beer, so I went with it. It's called Barbar - a belgian honey beer. The bottle was so cool - it popped open like a bottle of champagne! The bottle looked like this:
And I wanted to keep the bottle, but when the waiter went to take it from me, I asked politely if I could take it and he awkwardly said no. We thought he was kidding, and then he just walked away... we burst out laughing because of how awkward he was. After that, we rode our bikes back to Taylor's flat and stopped at a grocery store on the way. We got back and I met everyone she is living with - there are seven people total living in the flat, and it's more set up like dorm style. Each person has their own room; there is an upstairs and downstairs, but its just two long hallways with doors entering into the rooms. And then there is one big kitchen and living room that everyone hangs out in. I think it's cool they all live together because there's constantly people around and people to talk to. Taylor had bought her and Carly tickets to an Amsterdam soccer game before she knew I was coming, and they couldn't find me a ticket last minute. I honestly did not mind at all. They are going tonight, so I have had time to update this blog and watch a little bit of TV, and just relax. I would have totally loved to see an Amsterdam soccer game, but it's also been a long day and it's beyond freezing outside, so I was okay with not going. They should be back shortly anyway!
So far, I love the Netherlands! I haven't been to Amsterdam yet, but Utrecht is beautiful! The people here are beautiful, happy, and extremely tall! Really, really tall.
Much love coming your way...
xx
P.S. - I have been thinking back a lot recently on my first days traveling to Europe and how scared I was to come here. I remember sitting in the Frankfurt airport waiting for my connection flight, regretting ever deciding to come to Budapest. I was out of my comfort zone, alone, and hated what I was experience. All I wanted to do was get back on a flight to the USA and call it a semester. But I had no option. I was getting on that plane to Budapest and I would do it, no matter what. Looking back, I just keep thinking about how crazy I was for not wanting to come here. I'm having the time of my life and couldn't be more happy getting to experience such different cultures, people, and lifestyles. I'll remember this semester for the rest of my life. Pure bliss. Pure happiness.
My wonderful friend, Cecile, and I sharing a moment of pure happiness.
It's also been gearing me up for other wild and crazy adventures I can take in the future. I know my mom will want to ring my neck after reading this... she was probably hoping my adventurous spirit would calm a little bit after traveling through Europe. Unfortunately for her, I don't think my wings will ever stop flying. I would love for my my next travel - maybe after graduation - to be backpacking Central America. All eight countries. Honduras has always had a place in my heart; I've been there twice, but I think it would be amazing to see the rest of the countries surrounding it. And hopefully making a stop to see my beautiful and precious children in San Buena Ventura whom I miss dearly...
pictures for a walk down memory lane:
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