A list about life as a student in Budapest.

Here are a few answers to the many questions I have receive regarding my new set-up in Budapest.

Awesome night view of Buda Castle from my room.

• I live in Buda, the hilly and wealthy side of Budapest. I have a gorgeous veiw of Buda Castle from my room. The streets in the neighborhood are picturesque, especially with autumn leaves floating around.  
• The Balassi Institute, while highly respected around the world and Hungary, functions as an arm of the Hungarian government, boasts a nationalist flair and operates as efficiently as any bureaucracy. 
• Students come from all over the world to study Hungarian language and culture here. Notably, from Venezuela, Russia, Argentina, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Poland, Bulgaria, Croatia, the U.S., Canada, Estonia, and others.

Very small room that provides for very little solo-time.

• My room is shared between three students: myself, Esther, a 22 year-old ivy-league grad (This part is important. She mentions it often.) from Texas, and Ava, an 18 year-old from California, who is "learning new life lessons every day." (Her words when learning that her rotting bananas produced the fruit flies plaguing our room.) 
• There is one communal kitchen for the entire floor, which serves about 60 students. 

Esther and I on our class trip to Eger.

Ava and I on the same class trip.

• As required, I attend 22 hours of class a week. And, I'm paid a very modest stipend to do this. Life is great. I am spoiled.
• There are two tracks, one for students of Eastern European studies of one for heritage speakers, each with various language levels. I am in the introductory level for students of Hungarian ancestry. 
• There are 6 students in my class. Half of them are teenagers and behave as if they were never allowed in public before moving to Hungary. Among their many offenses, they often break out into tone-deaf song for no understandable reason and verbally give # labels to their daily events. 
• I spend my mornings in class. My afternoons are dedicated to studying, figuring out a plan for my life (other than continuing my path as a homeless vagabond), and trying not to spend any money. Luckily, in Budapest, this last one is fairly easy as long as I don't eat or drink beer or coffee. There are many gorgeous places to wander around by foot and I have a student transport card that allows me access to all public transportation in the city. 

Emily and I wandering around Budapest.

• The toughest thing about language learning is the knowledge that it will take years before I sound even dimly intelligent. Hungarian is a very difficult language, but I have progressed enough to speak like a toddler. If I'm lucky, by the end of the course, I will speak like a dimwitted adult. 
• Autumn events attended so far: a Finnish Film Festival, where I watched a documentary about engineers, who scientifically tracked their dating lives (Love & Engineering. I recommend it for anyone in need of a laugh.); an autumn festival in my great-grandfather's hometown, Dunaföldvar; a wine cellar tour overlooking lake Balaton; and a class trip to Eger and other towns in north Hungary. More on some of these later. 

Autumn festival in Dunaföldvar.

In Dunaföldvar with cousins, Judit, Andris, Robi, and Ági.

• Emily, my first friend to visit me in Budapest, spent 10 days in Hungary. We had a great time. She liked Prague better than Budapest. I tried not to take offense. We ran into a friend from the Institute who took a few lovely photos of us near the castle. 

Emily and I in front of Buda Castle.