After three weeks of my stay in my new country, Hungary. I will begin calling myself a resident of Budapest. That is, a resident who needs a map to find the nearest coffee shop. The language barrier continues to stand in the way when asking for directions, or transportation. However, people are extremely friendly. If they know some English, they will be more than happy to stop and help. Even when they don't -- more common with older people-- they make small signals and mumble in an attempt to deliver their message.
My new apartment is located in downtown Pest. The city is divided by the Danube river into two distinct sections: Buda, and Pest. Pest is the city center, it is easily walkable, full of restaurants, cafes and shops. Although the traffic sounds can wake anyone up at 6 am, as a continuation to late night party music, I cannot even slightly complain. I am less than ten minutes away from a beautiful night walk on the Danube side, 1 minute away from the metro and the tram, in a very lively area.
Everyday, I travel to the Buda side for around forty minutes to attend my classes. At first, I had to adjust with this long commute time. After all, my college in the states can be crossed from east to west in less than 20 minutes, which allows me to jump to classes from bed, and vice versa. Now I find myself enjoying this new ritual. I can read a book for pleasure, and the commute is a nice active start for the day. Plus, it is a nice change that allows me to experience life in a big city.
I will try to document many of my adventures and observations on this blog. With both pictures and words. But I cannot promise that this city will not take me away from putting enough time toward this task.
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