Marcus the expat

The number of ex-patriots in Hungary surprises me. Well, perhaps not their presence here, but that I run into them so often. There is a camaraderie among foreigners who meet acquaintances from their homeland in Budapest. This is accompanied by a willingness to strike up conversations with anyone with fluency in English. Perhaps, all the perpetually displaced people crave a touch of home, so they talk to strangers who wouldn't get a second glance if they were back in the states.
For example, not only did I meet two groups of Texans this weekend, but I also met a man who went to CU today. I’ve been finishing up and article for Denver Life magazine (which debuts in January) and starting my next article for Business Hungary on this rainy Monday. Because I’ll go nuts from isolation if I try to remain in our apartment, I headed to my favorite coffee shop next to the Museum of Fine arts. It’s housed in this old Victorian-styled house, with many rooms, blue, bold flowered wall paper, comfortable lounge chairs and hard wood floors. It is lovely and peaceful. But, of course it takes about 30 minutes to get here and is the most expensive coffee locale that I have discovered in this land devoid of Starbucks; but I like it anyway. But, as I was sitting there, someone asked if he could take a chair from my table, and after he heard my accent, he struck up a conversation with me. Imagine his surprise, when he found out I was from CO, and was a CU alum – his alma matter as well. He’s been in Budapest for a year, and in Prague prior to that. These instances are amusing, but I try to avoid saying the cliché that it’s a small world. Not because I dislike the expression, but once it's spoken, the Disney World theme song will ring through my ears, and that’s just torturous.

This weekend, we went to Szentendre, a town north of Budapest known for colorful buildings, artisans and cobblestone streets. The picture at the beginning of this post is of its main square. While it was quaint, it provided nothing new, as the food and craft vendors are the same there as they are all around the city. But, I am sure it is a fun place for visitors, and not profession Budapest tourists like I have become. Mike and I dubbed the place the "Hungarian Estes." But, if it had the Rocky Mountains near by, I'd be more inclined to return. My next plan is to get to Hungarian wine country– that is supposed to be quite different from Budapest. Also, Mike and I are going to Frankfurt in mid-August to visit his dad, who’ll be there on business. I am really excited. Here's some pics I've taken lately:

This is the inside of the Jewish Synagogue in Budapest. It's supposed to be the most ornate one in Europe - it was gorgeous. And, here is Mike, perched outside a large church in Szentendre:

A noteable occurance

Walking home the other day, I was approached by a classic little-old Hungarian woman. Wrinkles abounded on her face, her hair was covered by a dull-colored scarf, except for a bun of hair, and she wore a sensible gray button-down dress that went down to her calves.
Now, minutes before I was meeting her, I was thinking to myself about how much I wanted to find volunteer work to do in Hungary, and I miss being in a community where I feel like I am helping someone that's not work related. This is the first time since I was in junior high that I am not volunteering for one agency or another.
So, while I am immersed in this inner-dialog, this pleasant lady comes up to me on a busy street corner right by a tram stop. She begins speaking quickly in Hungarian to me, which sounds like a melodic trill to me - seeing as how I can't make out many words yet. I answer with one of the few phrases I've mastered, which means, "I don't speak Hungarian. Do you speak English?" But, she completely ignores me, grabs my arm, points across the street, and continues speaking. This is when I realize she can't see well, and she is looking for assistance in crossing the street. So, of course I walk her across and she smiles, says thank you, and walks away.
Now, as I walked home, I just had to chuckle. Here I was, thinking that I need to find more altruistic outlets, and then I perform the most stereotypical good deed possible, usually attributed to polite Boy Scouts (meant with all due respect to the wonderful Boy Scouts in my life): walking an old lady across the street. Just a good natured situation to remind me that things work themselves out.

Dog days . .

I am sitting in the sweltering heat of my fifth story apartment during the fourth or fifth day in a row that it's been in the 100s. My fan follows me wherever I go - it is the only pet I have right now. While Colorado is this hot right now too, I think it's the humidity that is killing me and being among crowds and public transportation is not helping. This heat has made it quite difficult to sleep or walk anywhere in this concrete city without feeling like I just went on a long run. Michael has barely been able to sleep for days, so I am surprised he is still surviving work. He has taken to sleeping on our balcony in his prized-lawn chair, but it doesn't seem to help all that much since our neighborhood is so noisy.

Not much new to report. Michael and I both had birthdays last week. We celebrated his at a Mexican restaurant that is actually quite good, with his coworkers. For mine, since it was on a Saturday, we went to this big outdoor pool complex on Margaret Island. I loved it and utilized the water slides and wave pool to their fullest. That night, we enjoyed fireworks over the Danube, to mark the celebration of Bastille Day. Oh, and also, my aunt Jeanette and her family from Cincinnati were in town last weekend. They took Mike and I out to a great Hungarian restaurant. It was very comforting to have some family in town. Their visit snapped me out of my bored/semi-homesick state of mind. We got my aunt and uncle to try Unicum, the harsh drink of Hungary. Hopefully, they still like me after that.

I've gone to two art museums this week, seeking out air conditioning. So, that basically tapped me out of the last entertainment activities I was clinging to in Budapest. Now, I want to travel somewhere new. But, I am also job hunting in both the states and Budapest, because I don't know where I should be in the upcoming months (I had an interview with an English school, but they canceled it on me). Basically, I'm stuck, because I need a job to have the money to travel, because at this current juncture, I certainly do not. So, I have all this time on my hands to travel because I don't have a job, but I can't afford travel because I don't have a job. Ah, sweet conundrums. But, I am still hoping to get to Italy soon. My problem now is finding a travel companion, because Mike is extremely swamped at work, and probably won't have free time again until Sept. So, chances of him getting time off to indulge in Italy are not looking good. Anyone want to turn their back on America for awhile and come play with me?

Croatian Sensation

Currently, I am a prisoner in my own apartment. The door to our apartment has to be locked from the outside, and we have two pairs of keys. Mike accidentally took my pair of keys, and he had one in his briefcase as well, so I have no way to unlock the door since he is at work. So, now I will sit tight until he comes to, "let out the girlfriend." I frequently joke about being his pet who waits at home for his return, but it scares me a little when jokes turn to reality. On a funny note about our apartment: yes, we have a working washing machine now, but that same weekend we got it, our water shut off in half our apartment (conveniently when I was shampooing my hair in the shower). Now, the water is back on, but since we had a power outage last week, the power won't return in our kitchen or living room. Luckily, one outlet works so we can plug in our refrigerator, but that's it. This is one of those houses where something always has to be broken. I guess we'll have to deal with Istvan again soon . . . I always seem to babble about the little details, but those are the things I want to know about other people's trips, so hopefully I am not boring any of you who read the blog.

But, in the exciting realm of living abroad: Michael and I went to Split, Croatia this past weekend. It was paradise - that's about the easiest way I can describe it. We enjoyed the rocky coasts of the Adriatic Sea every day, as the beaches were only a five minute walk from the little room/studio apartment we rented. I haven't swam in the ocean since I was 8, so I absolutely loved it. I always seem to go to the ocean when it is too cold, or I just go to the Pacific Ocean or the Irish Sea - neither of which are warm. I loved how few tourists there were in Split, and how the city center was built in the remains of Diocletian's Palace - all Roman ruins. On our last day, we took a ferry to a nearby island, and visited a town called Supetar. After lying on the beach for awhile, we decided to rent a motor scooter. So, with Mike driving and me clutching on (white-knuckled for the first leg of the journey, as I am the antithesis of a speed demon, and I had never been on a scooter before) to him. We drove, or "scooted" all over the Island, and ended up on the other side in another coastal town called Bol. Being able to travel around the island and see beautiful coastal views from the top of hilly roads, was definitely the highlight of the island adventure.
Now, I've only been in Budapest for 2 days, and I'm ready to go back to Croatia. Instead of describing the beauty of it more, I'll let our pictures speak for themselves. Next time I log on, I'll include a link to our entire photo album.

I love this one on the back of the scooter.

The 4th sans fireworks

On the Fourth of July, I woke with a start to Neil Diamond belting "They're coming to America . ." Even though he had to work on our nation's holiday, Mike still felt the need to soak up some patriotism before entering the office, which meant disturbing my slumber with Neil. I think this is a violation of a human right of some sort . . .
But, the holiday was fun, although makeshift to say the best. I went to the store that afternoon to pick up supplies for our potential BBQ. There, I witnessed an American couple debating how many bottles of ketchup they'd need. I walked by and said, "Happy 4th of July!" They were caught off guard, but looked up and laughed and said they were trying to barbecue like I was (they made that assumption based on the American beer, hamburger meat and buns in my cart). Nothing like a little American camaraderie in the condiment aisle . . .
The weather was nasty here yesterday, very windy and rainy. We tried to use our cheap Tesco grill out on our balcony, but the flames were enormous. The wind made them difficult to contain, and our neighbors were coming out on their balconies and glaring at us and our unusually smoky grill. We realized that we had no idea if it was even legal to BBQ in an apartment building here, and we couldn't ask anyone. So, instead of burning down our apartment and completely turning our flat into a smoke cloud, we threw water over the charcoal and made burgers on the stove instead.
We had a great group of people come by (about 10 total) - some of Mike's co-workers, friends of friends, and an American that I met at press conference. We had France, Transylvania, Hungary and the States represented. Mike assigned all of the non-Americans a state, so they could pretend that they were American too. (Mostly, he just wanted to pretend our Translyvanian friend was Pennsylvanian.)
While the lack of fireworks was disappointing (well, in retrospect I will count the sparks flying off our $10 grill as fireworks), the night was great. It was fun blaring rock and country ballads all evening, introducing Europeans to non-McDonalds hamburgers and deviled eggs, teaching Doru how to line dance and two-step, and having some interesting conversations in mixed languages. When I went abroad for the first time in Ireland, I expected many nights like this: all sorts of nationalities having parities together and learning about their cultures, but I never really had that experience. So, yesterday was what I was waiting for all along .
Next week, our French friends will have us celebrate Bastille Day with them. It also happens to be my birthday, so it'll be a joint fiesta.

Mike and I are going to Split, Croatia from Saturday through Tuesday. I can't wait! I've been writing and editing for magazines this week, and staying quite busy. Business Hungary gave me a new assignment and said that if I stayed through the fall they'd make me a deputy editor .. that would be awesome, but I am not sure I want to stay here illegally.
And tonight, I am going to a Amnesty International talk at the English speaking college here on the women's rights movement in Pakistan, then I found out about an English poetry event at this cafe too. Nothing like feminist activism and poetry to make me feel at home anywhere . . .

Oh, and as a disclaimer, last night night Mike claimed to friends at home that I just sit around the apartment all day, which is why my blog is updated and his is not. This is a fallacy; but, he is just annoyed that I am blogging on a regular basis. Only Michael would get competitive over something like a blog . .