Long Live the Hungarians!

It seems as though the days spent here in Budapest are going by so fast that I only get a chance to blink two times before it's a new day. I'm happy about this because I am excited to return home for the winter holiday season, but at the same time I feel like I am running out of time to enjoy Budapest. A lot of it has to do with being a full-time student with the most ridiculous schedule on the planet, which means that I have to be smart about setting aside time for play and make sure that I don't compromise my studies too much. Maybe I'm taking school a little too seriously; then again, if I just wanted to explore/travel/party all the time, I could have done that without signing up for a two-year school program.

I have been making it a point to do at least one thing for myself a week that involves enjoying Budapest and forgetting that I have any homework to do. Two weekends ago when I visited the second-hand English bookstore, I picked up a flyer for a symphony orchestra concert happening the following weekend. The flyer expressed that the show would feature the cimbalom, and although at the time I wasn't exactly sure what that was, I figured it would be a fun time. When I got to my room, I hopped on the computer and found out that the cimbalom is a fancy name for a hammer dulcimer that has been tweaked by the Hungarians to suit their wants. I immediately decided I was going to go, and I didn't mind at all that I would be going alone. There are just some things in the world that are better to enjoy without having to be distracted by the awareness of a companion there. Don't get me wrong, I do still like to be social, I just wanted this for myself.

Last Saturday I made my way to the Duna Palota, which is a former casino-turned-palace right across the street from where I go to school.  Talk about not having to worry about getting lost! When I found the entrance to the palace I was immediately overwhelmed by the decor- everything was carefully styled in neo-Baroque (pretty much all archietectural styles in Budapest are "neo" because there are not a whole lot of surviving original buildings due to war destruction). Once I was given my seating assignment I walked slowly up the red carpeted stairs so that I could admire the golden stucco features of the walls and the cherubs pointing down at me from the ceilings. If the concert turned out to be awful, at least I knew I would be able to enjoy the atmosphere.

Much to my satisfaction the concert turned out to be amazing. The theater itself was quaint, for it occupied just a small area on the upper floor of the building. The decorations were just as impressive as the rest of the palace, although I didn't doubt this for a moment before walking into it. When the members of the orchestra came out from backstage they didn't once try to hide their individual personalities, and you can tell they treated one another more as family members rather than colleagues. They began by playing the Rakoczi March by Berlioz, which I later found out is considered an anthem of Hungary (although unofficially). The sounds were full and rich and I couldn't help but notice my emotions stirring. After a few other Hungarian-influenced pieces, the orchestra played Tschardas (or Czardas) from Coppelia and I actually started to cry. It was the song the last ballet class I apprenticed at Mo's had danced to, so I did feel some sadness, but they played it so well that I felt happy at the same time. Talk about mixed emotions... The orchestra played pieces by Bartok, Liszt, Lehar, Brahms, and Strauss, with the cimbalom coming in every once in a while to be featured in a specific piece. The player did a solo of Monti's Csardas and once again I cried, but this time I felt no sadness whatsoever. I felt like I was turning into my mother (no offense Mom!) :) Earlier before the cimbalom player came out, the orchestra played Haydn's Farewell Symphony IV, and every so often the players would get up, one by one, nod at the audience, and leave the stage. The audience chuckled, at first because they weren't sure what was going on and thought this was strange, but then they (I'm just going to assume) figured out what was going on (a farewell song, get it?) and laughed out of amusement. When there were only three instruments left, the conductor turned around and shrugged at the audience, pretending he had no idea what was happening. When the last viola left the stage, the conductor threw up his hands and stormed off the stage himself, leaving two violin players to duet until the end of the song. When they finished, they gave a nice bow to the audience and practically ran off the stage, making the audience chuckle once again. I was definitely having a great time.

The conductor was an interesting specimen for sure. There were times where he would act extremely serious with his orchestra, and there were other times where he would stop conducting and do a little hip swivel dance to the music. I think I would have liked him as my own conductor. He allowed certain instruments to lead the orchestra at different times, and he made sure to acknowledge the entire band after each song rather than just the soloists. I secretly think he either has a thing for and fling with the first violin player, because he was constantly kissing her hand and making her blush. Near the end of the concert during Long Live the Hungarians! he lead the audience in a hand-clapping frenzy, getting us to clap loud and soft and to different rhythms throughout the song. He "tricked" us at one point by making us think he would lead us into a big clap, but then suddenly stopped himself, although we still clapped, and gave us a shake of a his finger right before he winked. His mannerisms were odd but enjoyable, mostly because he was more cool and relaxed than I've ever seen a conductor be. I really wonder what his orchestra thinks of him, for it would be my guess they all get along with him and prefer his style. Then again, maybe he can be so cool on stage because he trains them so strictly during rehearsals. Shrugs, you never know.

I loved going to the symphony so much last weekend, that I'm going again. It's a completely different one this time though, with an entirely new orchestra and location. The show is going to be held at St. Stephen's Basilica, so I imagine there will be songs inspired mostly by religion versus the pride of a nation. I am very excited to sit inside the basilica and find out what kind of experience I will have. The show takes place tonight, so I should probably get ready for it soon.

One last thing before I go. Yesterday was Revolution Day, a national holiday in Hungary that observes the revolution against the Soviets of 1956. It marked the three year anniversary of the day I first landed in Budapest when I was on break from school in Greece. Since we didn't have classes, I invited Elena to come along with me to the Museum of Fine Arts, which is located right outside of Hero's Square. Since it was a holiday admission for all exhibits were free. I wanted to take advantage of this fact in order to see the "Turner and Italy" exhibit, which would be closed in a couple days so that the "From Boticelli to Titian" exhibit could be installed. I really enjoyed the works by J. M. W. Turner, who had made a whole series of sketches and watercolors while traveling to different regions of Italy. He made Italy look so soft and pleasant that it made me want to go back there again really soon, especially to Capri. Elena and I toured the museum for almost 4 hours (although we did take a break for a snack and a drink) and we only covered half of the permanent exhibits. Once the new temporary exhibit is put in place, I'll go back to see it, as well as the other half that I missed.

I'm typing a new post so that I keep my fingers out of my eye

Siighh...I have an eye infection. I realized it right in the middle of tonight's yoga session when I thought there was an eyelash or dust under the lid. Instinctively I went to work on the eyeball to try to get whatever foreign object it was out of there, but upon my non-success I realized the feeling was over the entire eyeball and not in one concentrated spot. I ran into the bathroom to look at my eye in the mirror, and just as I expected, the area was covered with a yellow film. I poked at the nearest sinus and I noticed unwanted pressure that tends to come with this lovely pussed-eye look. Great. These type of infections do happen to me frequently- my doc says I have a very thin sinus on the left side of my face by my eye that easily gets clogged- but I haven't had one since the end of June. There isn't a whole lot I can do other wait it out, and if it gets really bad (meaning I get a full-on sinus infection that'll basically make me worthless) I have some antibiotics in my drawer. I just have to keep my damn fingers out of my eye, which is hard when it feels so natural to prod and poke.

But what's going on in my world of Budapest? Last weekend I went to two sessions for the in-house conference the Philosophy department hosted. It was a two-day event where PhD candidates gave talks on their thesis projects. I didn't make it to any of the early morning events, because I don't do early mornings if I don't have to, but I did manage to get to the later ones after lunch. Afterwards there was a wine reception. I find it very kind that after any event they host, they offer free wine to all who attend. This includes the colloquium talks that occur each Tuesday evening. I did stay for a little while last Friday, but from here on out I'm going to skip out of the building as soon as the presentations are over, because I really do not need to be drinking any alcohol (or soda for that matter) while I am staying in Hungary. Yes yes, I'm lame, but I like it better this way.

Anyway, when I was heading to the dorm Friday I was all alone and it was late. Luckily Budapest has a reputation for being a very safe city. I ended up making a very temporary new "friend" on the bus ride from the metro station to my dorm. At first I thought he was some old creepo, and as he talked to me in Hungarian I just kept shaking my head and looking out the window. Finally I realized that I actually knew how to say "I don't speak Hungarian" in Hungarian and I thought this would be a good way to kindly let him know I wasn't interested in a conversation. Turns out he's one of those people who gets extremely excited when hearing his language spoken by a foreigner. He asked me where I was from. Shoot! I just learned how to say where I'm from in my Hungarian class the night before. He then asked my age, what I'm doing in Budapest, and where I'm going (I think). Me: "Am 24 I. Am student I." *Gives shrug for last question.* At that point I was very interested in trying to figure out what he wanted to tell me, and to figure out what I should tell him. Granted, I don't know a whole lot of Hungarian after taking the language class for only two weeks, but still, I gotta practice everything at some point. The man pulled out an apple and handed it to me. "Alma!" I exclaim. (That means apple.) Oh yes, now we're really onto something. He tolds out three more and shoves them toward me. Is he giving me his apples? I'm not sure, but I start to count "Egy, ketto, harom...." I hesistate because I cannot remember the word for four, so he helps me..."Negy..." Ah yes negy! Once we got the apples counted he put them into a bag and dropped it onto my lap. At that point it was time for me to get off the bus and go into my dorm, so I formally said Thank-you to him for giving me the apples, and informally said Good-bye because that was all I could remember. All in all, the whole scenario turned out well, and I totally scored negy almas.

It's supposed to rain all weekend, so instead of doing some sight-seeing I'm going to find some place called Tree Hugger Dan's Bookstore and Cafe. There are actually two locations, one being by the famous opera house and other being just two metro stops down from the first. My sister could probably find them easily because it's close to the photo gallery we went to on Andrassy ut (avenue). Why I want to go to one of these places is they sell free-trade coffee (score) and second-hand English books (extra extra score). I know I shouldn't be reading books that aren't my texts for school, and usually I stick to that rule during the school year, but there's no harm in just taking a look, is there? Anyway, that's where I'll be tomorrow if anyone comes looking. Have a great weekend!

Thursday is Laundry Day

I've been back in Budapest for maybe half a week, but with all the catching up I've had to do for school and running errands and what not, it feels like I've been back for an entire month. I lucked out and everyone I've gotten to know, including the professors, have been extremely helpful in getting me up to speed with everything. Two of my friends even gave me recordings of some of the lectures- unfortunately one of the recordings is of the professor who has the thickest Hungarian accent ever and I can't make out a single word that he's saying. This is true in real life as well, so this will definitely be an interesting semester. I hope at some point I'll get used to it and understand what he's saying.

Yesterday I had my first class at 11 AM, and my second one wasn't until 5:20 PM so I had a few hours to kill. I struggled to find ways to do so- I did all my required readings for the next two days, I dang-near wrote a novel for an e-mail to Cassandra, and I read every single word on the Daily Newsminer's website. After all that I still had two hours left to go, so I decided to grab some food at a Chinese restaurant near the school. I don't know why I thought that would kill any amount of time, I was finished with my food in about ten minutes and I still had nothing to do. The restaurant didn't exactly have the "sit around and hang out" atmosphere that I needed, so I moved down the street to a coffee shop. I did this on the same day I decided to give coffee a rest, since it's somewhat expensive here and  I'm sure my health would appreciate the break. "Just one more day wouldn't hurt" I thought, but then of course this stupid schedule would be repeated next week all over again. Also, I completely forgot I could have just ordered a hot chocolate, or even a non-caffeinated tea or something. I'll remember that for next week.

Today my first class isn't until 7 PM. It's my Hungarian language class, and after the first session I had two days ago I don't remember anything except how to introduce myself. Oh, and I know how to count from 1 to 2, and then 5 to 10. Right now I can't remember how to say 3 or 4, but as soon as I look at the notes laying on my bed I'm sure I'll be golden. Since I had no obligations for school today other than to write a 1 page response paper on a really easy reading for my Aesthetics class, I decided to catch up on laundry, clean my room, write the paper, and listen to the Chicago soundtrack. When I listen to the music from it I like to pretend that I am Roxie Hart, Velma Kelly, and Billy Flynn all at the same time. Don't worry, I have the whole routine worked out in my head and it pretty much only works in there, so you'll never have to worry about me thrusting it upon you or anything. :) Since it's not quite 3 PM I still have quite a lot of time to kill, so I'm thinking I'll do some yoga, take a shower, have a late lunch and read some more of the Time Traveler's Wife. I should probably go out and explore more of Budapest, but I still have the experience of being in Alaska last week fresh in my mind and I'm not ready to let go of it yet. Besides, if I do all my exploring now, I'm really going to have to find a way to kill time for the next two years.