No Power

The last couple days have been exciting. Well, more than usual at least. The person we're renting from accidentally forgot to pay the electricity bill last month, so the electricians from the power company stopped by and turned off our power. Since we don't speak hungarian, we didn't really know what was going on, so my roommate went down to the power company to just pay the bill so that we could sort this out later. However, the power company doesn't let you pay unless you fill out some forms which we didn't have and probably wouldn't be able to read anyway. So, after much deliberation, we decided to call the owner of the apartment and have them deal with it, but we don't have a phone in the apartment. So, I went out to buy a SIM card for my phone, and after doing that, I realized I didn't have a charger for my phone and my phone had been idle for about 3 weeks. Luckily, there was enough battery left to call the owner and have him come over. However, they couldn't fix it that day, so we've been without power probably a day and a half now. They're supposed to fix it today at some point. It is just very frustrating trying to communicate an electrical problem when the only words you know are large, coffee, thank you, and closed.

On a better note, I've been in contact with some friends in Europe, and we're going to meet in Prague on October 19th for the weekend. It should be fun, and I'll be glad to get a break from math for a little. I'll tell more about that after it happens. Since some person(s) has expressed interest, my roommate's name is Mark, he's a cool guy and we get along. He's here for the year as well, and he's focusing more on physics and applied math than on pure math. I'm almost out of batteries and I have to go buy a phone charger.

I'm getting used to Hungary time--finally-- which is good because school is starting to get really tough, and a steady sleep schedule will be good for me. So far, I've been averaging about 9 hours of studying a day. Most of this time is consumed by only one of my four classes, Conjecture and Proof, but the problems are interesting and so I don't feel like I'm doing anything tedious. I have a feeling this class is going to maintain this level of difficulty, and as long as my other teachers don't get too overzealous, I should be OK this semester. I have managed to find a little time to do un-math stuff, like go to the gym and get lost on the way to a jazz festival. I'm still not fluent at finding my way around the city or knowing which buses to jump on.

So far I haven't found much to do in this city, and I haven't really met any people to hang out with in the BSM program. On the one hand, this leaves me more time to study, and on the other, I have less stuff to write about in my blog. Sorry, mom, can't win them all.

First Day of Class

Today was my first day of class. It was pretty uneventful, but so far I like my classes. I've been sleeping an absurd amount since I got here (probably 14 hours a day) , but yesterday I managed to wake myself up and head to the center of the city. I managed to make it all the way to the danube and get some cool pictures before I got lost. I still don't have internet at my place, so pictures will have to wait. I should have internet in a week or so, though. Stuff here is generally more expensive that in the US (about 20% more) except for food, which is significantly cheaper. However, this has not saved me any money since I have adapted by eating more. I've learned a couple important words in Hungarian, such as Köszönöm which is thank you, and Kávé which is coffee. I've discovered that it is easier to speak hungarian than it is to read it. For example, consider the word Gyógyszertár (chemist). Since I haven't really done anything since I got here, and I can't upload pictures I don't think there is much more I can do with this. I'll update again soon.

Jetlagged in Budapest

I had a pretty nice flight. The only problem was that everytime we dropped altitude, my right ear felt like it was going to bleed out of my head. To say the least, it was excruciatingly painful. But now that I'm in Budapest and have had a couple hours to sleep it off, I have regained hearing in my right ear, and have spent the morning exploring this city. I'm at a McDonald's right now taking full advantage of the free WiFi, and I can't help but notice how much nicer the McDonalds' here are, than in the states. For example, this particular one is three stories tall, and has a small cafe area (aptly named McCafe) which serves espressos, cappucinos, et cetera et cetera. My roommate has not arrived yet (I only have one assigned to me), and so I did the honorable thing and took the biggest room in the apartment. The people here are very nice, and have not tried to kill me yet (mom, you can rest easily now). It is very cold here right now (somewhere around 40 degrees) and so I need to find my way to the nearest clothing retailer. I don't have internet in my apartment yet, but as soon as I do, I will upload some pictures of London/Budapest.

Dad, The removal of the SIM card turns my phone into an excellent paperweight, so I will have to find a replacement while I'm over here.