I - and all my luggage- am here!!!

Well I have survived a VERY long commute to scenic Budapest. It was a tough trip at first, the last goodbyes to the parents was tough- they have done a lot to get me here, and without their support, and sometimes their checkbook, I wouldn't have had this opportunity, so thanks guys.

The flights weren't bad, just tedious. MSP to Chicago 1hr, Chicago to Munich 8.5hrs. Munich to Budapest 1 hr. I arrived on time, and with all four of my checked bags. Don't ask me how I managed to get all this crap through the airport and out to my ride BY MYSELF - I know, I know "you packed it, you haul it" is the mantra I've been taught, but whatever. Luckily my - incredibly smart- mom gave me one of those clasp things to connect one bag and the carryon, and I pushed the rest on a cart. I was quite a site that's for sure. When Mary came to greet me, she said that we were waiting for one other person, Tara. Tara strolled in with two duffle bags, both "almost at 23kg" (WHICH IS LESS THAN 50 LBS). The cab driver gave us the once over but decided that he could fit everything in, and he did.... phew. Unfortunately he dropped us off at the wrong place. Now, we're staying at a place called "Hostel Hill" - so imagine where we were dropped off... the bottom of the hill. OK, not really the bottom, but at the base of a large staircase that brought us up to our hostel - so all 300 lbs of luggage and I schlepped up the stairs. Only to find out that there is of course a driveway that will bring you to the front door. YEESH... the whole time I was chanting "you packed it, you haul it." Lesson learned... yeah right. I met a few of the "veteran" teachers upon my arrival and they helped me get my things up to my room- and then I relaxed for a bit.

I decided to check out the town after about an hour in my room, and walked across the river to the "touristy" part of Pest. Budapest was originally two cities, Buda and Pest, and they eventually grew together to form one large city - for those of you wondering the etymology of the word....

I was surprised that I was as awake as I was, but I think I was just really excited to get here. Sadly, I did stop at a Burger King for a diet coke instead of anywhere authentic - I had been up too late to jump right in.

I love the "tourist" areas of major cities. It's a showing of the country's finest crap to sell to dumb strangers. All of the stalls are exactly the same, selling the same shit for the same prices. How do they all make it? For those of you who know me, I did not buy ANYTHING - yet. I figured this is not going to be my last trek into Budapest since I am less than an hour away. I did stop at an outdoor cafe to have a beer at the end of my sightseeing adventure. I was in the middle of the pedestrian mall surrounded by people selling their crap, but this particular bar/cafe had two large flat screen tv's showing the olympics - and it had been a good 30 hours since I had seen anything, so I figured I'd check it out. The sign outside also said, "buy one, take away two" (must be the Hungarian version of two for ones).

I want to close this post with my list of first impressions and things learned in my first 24 hours here...

-water bottles with a blue top are charged water, water bottles with a pink top are not.
-the 80's are alive and well in Budapest, from frosted jeans to frosted hair, neon colors to shirts --with large English sayings on them
-even if you think you're being sneaky trying to get on a random hotel's computers, someone knows you AREN'T supposed to be there
-120 forint (less than a dollar) is not worth it to use the bathrooms in the "tourist area"
-I'm going to learn to love peppers (paprika - peppers- are like their own major food group here)
-I'm not going to learn to love the things kids will wear to school... yeesh.
-the city is a bit dirty, but it's probably mostly foreigner's crap
-trying to buy a hairdryer is NOT an easy feat
-I wish I was fluent in the language so I didn't feel like such a d-bag


I'll write more later!