Featured image: Pictured above is the view from Gellért Hill. This hill was named after Saint Gerard who, according to legend, was assassinated by being rolled down the hill in a barrel. It’s crazy to think that my time in Budapest is officially halfway over, but here I am, waiting to catch a plane to Athens for a sorely needed fall break. I’m stuck between feeling relieved and disappointed. I’m relieved since this means that midterms are over. Four out…
Featured image: The Parliament building illuminated at night. Fun fact: Parliament is the tallest building in Budapest as it is illegal to construct a building taller than it. As I assume most students studying abroad do, I spent the week before I left obsessively Googling anything that might go wrong. By the time the car was loaded and I was on my way to the airport, I thought I was prepared for anything. That feeling lasted until my mom asked…
Featured image: The main plaza in Zagreb with the pastel colored houses! I am writing this entry, sick on my bed with two friends who are visiting me from their respective study abroad programs, and in my mind, I thought what perfect timing for me to have to run to the bathroom every five minutes. With this extra time on my hands, I was able to reflect on what I have been doing for the past couple of weeks. I realized…
Featured Image: My housemate and I derping in front of the Cathedral in Berlin. Sometimes I wonder to myself, “What is the study abroad experience?” Is it constantly waiting at airports because you book the cheapest flights? Is it only going to one class for a week? Is it buying four pastries instead of one because the lady did not understand your Hungarian? Perhaps it is a combination of all the above, and I am continuing to discover what the…
I often find myself staring off into space when I’m traveling alone on the tram, coming home from my friend’s apartment across the river. The Danube River splits the bustling city of Budapest into two respective parts: Buda and Pest. This view above greets me every night as I make the trek back home to my own flat. What’s not to love? The Hungarians are good-humored people, and even with my broken Hungarian, I still manage to have small conversations…
Transylvania: A Weekend With Vampires We go on many excursions with my study abroad program. So far this semester, we have made day trips to Esztergom, Visegrad, and Eger, and a weekend-long pilgrimage to honor the Kids of Pest (Hungarian Revolution of 1956). This past weekend, we embarked upon our final and most involved excursion: staying with host families in an ethnically Hungarian village in Transylvania. Although my title makes reference to Vampires, to no one’s real surprise, we encountered none. We did, however, climb a…