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Since Cassandra flew back to the U.S. today I’ve been feeling really down. I went to my orientation meetings today and although they were helpful I haven’t yet gotten into school-mode yet. Classes don’t even start though for another two weeks so I’m in no rush to make the mental transition. For now I’m exploring the city some more, and am scoping out little “hot spots” such as particular areas in the city center park or coffee shops along the route from my dorm to the my school that I can use as comfort zones when I need them. I don’t always like to study in my room, and I can’t stand the sounds that are made in libraries- the kind where people end up exaggerating on their efforts to be quiet that they end up being extra noisy- so I like to pick out places where I can go and fall into my own little world.
This is going to sound gross, but it’s my life and it’s current so here it goes… I haven’t shaved my legs in about three weeks and they are not looking pretty. Cassandra and I basically gave up on the idea of shaving our legs (don’t worry, we still got our arms) during the trip because we were always sharing bathrooms with other people in hostels and we didn’t want to take up too much time and what not. I figured once I got to my permanent room I’d shave my legs the moment I got into the shower. Yeah, that would be a splendid idea if I could bend over without hitting my head on the shower wall. Seriously, I’m pretty sure showers in motor homes are bigger than the one I have. I’m glad I’m not bigger around because otherwise there would be no where for the water to go other than up. I think what I’m going to have to do is set up a shaving station at my sink and just go ahead and work it that way for the next two years. It’s either that or be a happy little hippie for a while- yeah, not so much.
I also mention this little issue because Cassandra and I were chuckling about it as we were putting on our bathing suits. Yesterday morning we treated ourselves to one of the more popular Turkish baths in the city, the Gallert. It was a bit of a hassle trying to figure everything out. It took us about twenty to thirty minutes worth of running around and questioning people about what we are supposed to do and how to go about obtaining suits (the shop was closed for another two hours) until finally one woman understood what we were after. When we finally got to the swimming pool area I was pretty excited. The architecture was pretty amazing, with all the marble floors, walls, and statues in all areas of the bath. It’s very Art Nouveau. After a bit we wandered through a maze to get to the thermal baths. We went into the hotter one, and Cassandra really liked it. My thing is I don’t really like sitting in hot water very long. We did spend a good amount of time in it though, and after we got into the sauna for a short while. Cassandra probably could have lasted in there longer than me, but I don’t do well with heat in any form, so I had to get out. After that we decided to get into the big swimming pool and it felt so cold! It took us a minute to get used to it and I loved it. We swam a couple laps around and pretty much giggled the whole time while doing it. During one of the laps something was turned on and the whole pool went bubbly. It was fun! When we were done we got changed AND THEN saw that an outdoor wave pool existed. Darn the luck, that one probably would have been the best.
The rest of the day we spent walking to Castle Hill (exhausting!) and making our way to the Robert Capa exhibit at the Ludwig Museum. Capa was a photographer that Cassandra was very familiar with and I’m pretty sure his exhibit was the best part of the trip for her, so I’m happy we went. I was very impressed by his work- there were shots of famous people like Ingrid Bergman, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, and John Steinbeck, as well as a lot of his war photography. There were some photos up that stirred up my emotions, like the one I saw of a dead child on a path with a soldier nearby. The show is really popular in Budapest right now, it seems like everyone in the city has gone or is planning on going soon. I hope they do, especially since one of the greatest photographer considered by many people all over the world was born in Budapest.
I’m curious to find out what tomorrow is going to be like. We are going to be given a tour of the library, and me being the nerd I am I am sure to enjoy it. I’m missing home though- I won’t mind it so much if December doesn’t take very long to arrive.
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