oh, hi hungary.

after months of planning and time spent in anticipation, i am finally in budapest. the trip here was incredibly un-complicated. nothing but flight attendents with british accents, airplane food in the form of chicken curry and some terribly uncomfortable sleeping positions in coach. oh, international travel is such a joy.

the calvin group is situated on the buda side of budapest, approximately 20 minutes south west from the danube river. our dorm rooms are lovely and spacious, clean and homey-feeling. really, what more could you ask for? we even have a newly-renovated kitchen(ette) space just off of our rooms. a few of us have already taken a trip to the giant meijer/costco-like grocery superstore for some much-needed food items. we made speghetti with vegetables last night, it was delicious. cooking, i hope, will become a group effort once we figure out a system for purchasing groceries and cooking and everything.

along with settling into the dorms, we have been exploring the city and trying desperately not to get lost. last night a group of us went to a bar on the opposite side of the city. after leaving the dorms around 11, we finally reached the club an hour and a half later after wandering past and around and through the streets of the city, wondering just which particular tram/bus/metro was the one we needed. oh, and i can't forget the lovely cold rain/mist that accompanied our first night out on the town. it's all good, though. really. the night was fun one, even though we finally made it back to the dorms around 4 am, tired, sore and slightly frizzy.

today we explored the city in the daylight. lydia, jenna, jordan, sara (a new roomie) and i walked up and down the streets of the pest side of the city for almost 7 hours. it was nice to finally see the more metropolitan parts of the city after spending most of our times on the outskirts. we stopped by the beautiful parliament building, wandered to an ancient old church and found the perfect spot for coffee and a chocolate croissant. coffee! oh joy, oh bliss!

the city itself is beautiful and bustling, even on a sunday afternoon. it was exciting to see both zara (my old home) and H&M in various places throughout the city...i will be making my way back to those streets once it's cold enough to buy myself a new coat. exciting stuff.


this is getting much too long. in an attempt to keep these things shorter rather than longer, i'll stop here.
it is hard being away from everyone in my various homes (california and grand rapids). i miss and love you all.
with love and fondness.

ali