I should really be studying

We have another long break this weekend, and I wanted to go to Vienna of Milan, but the tickets are really expensive right now. So, I guess I'll just spend the weekend exploring Budapest, which I have not done much of so far. I did manage to get out last weekend and see some of the more prominent tourist attractions, like parliament and St. Istvan's cathedral. I took some nice pictures too, even though the flash on my camera doesn't work anymore and the weather wasn't ideal.

It's the time of the semester when we get to prove ourselves through midterms, and I have had two out of four so far. I did well on my geometry midterm, but messed up my conjecture and proof exam pretty badly. I'm not looking forward to my algebra midterm, either. I attribute a lot of it due to not knowing how to study for that class, but also that I've been sick since I got back from Prague and have barely been able to concentrate. The symptoms are finally starting to ebb and I feel much better. Before I forget, here are some pictures:

This is a bridge

This is the inside of St. Istvan's Cathedral. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the whole place is covered in gold. Also, the mummified hand of St. Istvan is on display, but wasn't available when I was there.

The castle has these watchtowers around it, which are fun to stand in, and look out of. Also, they remind of LoTR.If you climb to the top of St. Istvan's, you can get a good view of the city. The day I went was pretty cloudy and foggy (you can kind of tell from the picture), but the building in the back is the Parliament.

I think this weekend I'll try to visit the medicinal baths, and maybe statue park too.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about math, and I think I'm going to start changing my focus from pure math to applied stuff, so that I can have some tools to study economics. Also, I want to take a semester off of school and just travel...I wonder what my parents will think of that?

Back from Prague!

I just got back from Prague by train, which is about a six and a half hour ride, and I've got some great pictures. Prague is such an amazing city, and one of the best places I've ever visited. I arrived on Friday the 19th and met my friend Todd at the train station. From there, we went to the hostel we stayed at called the Czech Inn. The hostel was nothing like we expected, and was comparable to a nice hotel. We had a lot of fun there, and met some really interesting people, whom we ended up hanging out with quite a bit. We decided to see a lot of the tourist attractions the next morning, like Prague Caste, Charles Bridge, an Andy Warhol exhibit, and we even got to see a classical music concert inside the castle! Here are some pictures:

That's Prague Castle in the background.
Standing before some cool willow trees.
Stained glass windows inside the cathedral.Todd and I one our way to the castleThis is Charles Bridge from the top of the castle

Prague is so easy to get around, the people are all very nice and they speak english, the food is cheap (and delicious) and the views are amazing. I want to go back to Prague sometime soon, but I also want to visit some of the other countries and see what they have to offer. I don't know where I want to go next, and I hope I can get some more time to travel before winter break, but we've been coming up with some great adventures for the winter break also.

Budapest Isn't (that) Different

I'm going to Prague in one week, which I'm really excited about. I just felt like posting some observations I've made about the major cultural differences between the US and Hungary. Besides the time difference and the language, these I have found to be the hardest to adjust to, and continue to boggle my mind whenever I think of them.

Main cultural differences:

(1) McDonald's is a 5-star restaurant, and KFC sells beer. Also, the Burger King is America themed.
(2) There is no such thing as a "regulation" sized basketball hoop. They all differ in height and rim size.
(3) The graffiti looks professionally done, and probably belongs in a contemporary art museum.
(4) Dogs urinate on BMWs... and nobody cares.
(5) The computer paper is both longer and thinner, and therefore does not fit on my clipboard.
(6) The Hungarians would starve, if it were not for gyro stands on every corner.
(7) Reracking weights at the gym is a sign of weakness. Also a sign of weakness is wearing a shirt and shoes while exercising.
(8) There are washing machines, but no driers. The first person to bring a drier into Hungary will become very wealthy.
(9) In the US, the slogan for Coca-Cola is "Always Coca-Cola". In Hungary, it is "Make it a Large".
(10) Couples will make out anywhere and everywhere. Some of the more popular make-out spots are on a moving bus and in the middle of a walkway.
(11) Don't make enemies on the subway--at the next stop, someone may push you out right as the doors are closing.

I probably won't post again until after my Prague trip unless something spectacular happens.

Slowly Becoming Less Awkward

There's a bakery right next to where I live, which is really good for breakfast. I've been going there pretty consistently since I got here, and since the beginning I knew that there was always some frustration between me and the workers. If I had to guess, I'd say it started on the first day when they realized that I didn't speak a word of Hungarian, and then when I tried to pay for a 200 forint pastry with a 10,000 forint bill. But, the tension has finally subsided--I had my first english-free encounter today. I started off by saying "see yah", which oddly enough is "hello", and then pointed at what I wanted and held up my index finger to indicate 'one'. Since I had gotten the same thing a many times before, when she told me the price in Hungarian I had exact change ready, and then said "thank you" in Hungarian. All in all, I think she was pretty impressed at how well I've adjusted. She'll tell her coworkers, and word will spread.

Also, I went to a small town just north of Budapest called Entendre or something like that, which is a little touristy city on the Danube, with some really great views. I went with a group of 7, and we tried to have a picnic, but got attacked by mosquitoes. I took some pictures, and as promised, here they are---

I think this is called the Plague Cross, and on the right is some cool building in Budapest.








This is me with the Danube in the
back. The views from Entendre were amazing.







So, I think that's enough for now. Hope everyone is doing great. Let me know of any new developments.