Friday, 14 February 2014

Little pieces of happiness - My week in retrospect



Посольство Венгрии Hungarian Embassy



Today (10/02/2014) I went to the Hungarian Embassy and spent some 30-40 minutes talking with the Second Secretary. It was indeed very useful. I was given some tips (where to go, what to see, what to do, what NOT to do, e.g. protests).

On 6 April there are going to be elections in Hungary. It was quite easy to arrange that I could vote here. I just had to fill in a form online and then I got the answer of the Election Office via e-mail and post. Simple matter. I just have to print the letter and then I can go to vote.

The most interesting information was that a Hungarian Department is just about to be launched at MSLU. The opening ceremony will be held in two weeks’ time. I asked Mr. Szegedi (the Second Secretary) and he said that I can attend it for sure, which I’m going to. It would be great to attend some classes as well. I’d gladly help the students.



Другая группа – One level up!



Today (12/02/2014) I told the teacher that I would like to go to a more advanced group. I spend most of my days with studying anyways, but it will be better to be in the other group. I’ll have to study more, but that’s all right.



 День Валентина – Happy Valentine’s Day!



I’m not an enthusiastic follower of this tradition, but we were talking about this topic in the class today, plus, my Korean roommate cooked brownie in her rice cooker today, and, in addition, it is a nice day today, so I figured I’d say that.

Changing the group proved to be a good choice. It’s indeed more difficult, but I’ll see the results soon. Now I’m basically suffering, because I have to practice the grammar a lot more than the others, but I’ll manage. The verbs of motion are just terrible. Those who study Russian and are in possession of a good technique to learn the use of them… don’t hesitate to share the tips with me. J


This week I made it to the CouchSurfing meeting, and it was excellent. I will go there every week, unless I really have to study, because the people are really nice, and I can get to know many local and foreign people. Among others, I was talking with a Chinese guy, who’s from Tienjin, and he told me the story of a Chinese architect who named his children Buda and Pest. I already know the story from an ex-“classmate” (köszi a történetet Matyi, ha olvasodJ), but it was nice to see how enthusiastic he was to share this piece of history with me. When I talked with some Belarusian guys, they talked to me in English and I talked to them in Russian. It was actually useful. I really need to find a tandem partner.


Back to today! My Friday routine is that after I arrive home from the uni, I have lunch and then I leave for the big grocery store, Korona. It takes me 20 minutes to get there on foot. Others take the bus, but it just feels great to walk! I really enjoy it, that I can get around really easy on foot in this town. However, one “horrible” thing happened in the shop: it turned out that they DON’T have MUSTARD. Just outrageous! I know I can find mustard somewhere in town, since I already saw it in our fridge, but still. What the hell?! What do they eat their wursts with?


I saw that you can buy lots of different kinds of cold sweets at the fridge section. As I reckon, the locals love them. I tried the one that seemed to be the most popular. Well… My dear fellow Hungarians, you know the feeling when you eat a piece of Túró Rudi. I cannot describe how great Turó Rudis are. But today’s experience did not remind me of that feeling. Not at all. Some kind of liquid sweet cheese was inside. I couldn’t identify it. Brr…

One last fact:

In theory we can wash in the dormitory free of charge, but apparently starting from the beginning of January I quote the lovely piece of paper on the wall –, “the washing and the drying machines are out of order for the time being”. :D

Surprise, surprise. I can wash all my clothes by hand; it just takes some time, since the washbasin has its limits. I was only worried about the bed linen, but we can ask for clean ones from дежурная (’dezhurnaja’ – a lady around 65, who’s in charge of order on the floor. She randomly comes and goes and everybody tries to lock the door before she appears.). So another “problem” is solved.


I bought a bottle of cider (so cheap here!) to celebrate. Celebrate what? Everything: life, the nice, chilly weather of today, Love… whatever you feel like. Cheers to everyone!



Пока!



p.s.: I’m reading the Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy at last. Perfectly matches my recent mood!

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