Amy and the Great World

Archives for June 2016

Hungary

Currently, June (Budapest Edition)

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// I feel like it’s been weeks since I actually sat down to write something on this little blog of mine. In reality, it’s only been a little over a week. I blame it on the fact that it’s the end of the school year!

// Speaking of, last Wednesday was my LAST DAY OF CLASSES!!!!!! Of course, I’m not done for the summer yet…one more camp! But I’m close!

// I have gotten pretty attached to my little first-graders, but I don’t feel as emotional about the end of the year as I thought I would. Maybe because I still have the camp, so it doesn’t really feel over yet.

// June is a big month of birthdays and I cannot keep track. Grandparents, aunts, my brother, my best friend…sheesh. I used to be pretty good about birthdays until I moved overseas. What IS that?

// In addition to all of the other stuff going on, we are moving! To a new flat in Budapest, closer to my new school, where I start teaching next fall. We have to be out of this current flat on July 1–the day I get back from the camp. That’s also the day we leave the country.

// Of course, due to visa reasons, we have to leave Hungary and can’t move into our new place until the end of August. So…where are we going for the summer??? The answer is complicated, because it feels like everywhere. First stop…Romania! Transylvania, specifically. Has anyone ever been? Give me your tips!! We’re renting a car and road-tripping and I could not be more excited. (Don’t forget to follow along on Instagram!)

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// Speaking of visas/borders…what do you think about the UK voting to leave the EU? That’s the huge news over here right now. It’s interesting to have several perspectives on this–my own personal view, the views of various Hungarians, and the views of my friends from the UK that are working here or in Prague. I wonder where we will go from here??

// I mentioned this in my monthly update, but Euro Cup 2016 is so much fun. There are giant screens set up all over the city in parks and squares–usually with food/drink trucks nearby–so it’s an exciting outing. Add that to the fact that Hungary is doing pretty well…I think I’m starting to like watching sports?! Who am I?

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// I also mentioned the ruin pubs here, but Budapest also some of the best outdoor seating areas at restaurants, bars, cafes, etc, that I’ve ever seen. People here soak up the summer and I’m loving it.

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Do you have any summer plans yet?

 

 

Hungary

Five Months in Budapest (By the Numbers)

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Okay, I probably say this every month, but this last month absolutely FLEW by. Part of it was our trip back to America–that week there, prepping for my sister’s wedding, and then the wedding ITSELF, was a whirlwind. Then, coming back, it was right back into school for a crazy last few weeks. The final day of classes was YESTERDAY (!!) and although I still have work until the end of June (including a week-long camp away from the city), it’s starting to really feel like summer around here!

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FIVE MONTHS IN BUDAPEST: BY THE NUMBERS

ONE new flat found! I’m not sure if I’ve shared this on the blog yet, but we have decided to stay in Budapest for at least one more year. It probably won’t surprise you, however, to hear that I’ll be starting a different teaching job in the fall, at a new (to me) school. This means a new flat and a new neighborhood, as well!

NINE DAYS in Montana for my sister’s wedding! It was an insane week–I threw her a bachelorette party and a bridal shower, in addition to the all the wedding stuff–and to be honest, I think I’m still recovering. Two international flights in nine days is no joke! Of course, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

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NOT ENOUGH TIME with my favorite pups. Luckily, we’ll be back for two weeks this summer!

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HOURS OF PLANNING for our summer travels! I’ll share them with you soon–but they involve getting out of Hungary (for visa reasons), THREE road trips, and four countries!

TWO AND A HALF WEEKS finishing up classes. Since we returned from the States, my life has been consumed by my job.

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ONE FIELD TRIP to a nearby town to visit wine cellars, hike around, and eat ice cream.

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THREE HOURS watching Hungary beat Austria! I never thought I would care that much about sports (and okay, I still really don’t) Euro Cup 2016 is exciting. I never realized how fun it would be to actually be in the country whose football team is playing that day. Hungary hasn’t been in any international competitions for years, so this win was especially meaningful. It was wild to be there.

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TWO NEW RUIN PUBS visited here in Budapest. Such a cool feature of the city!

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ANY MINUTE I CAN SPARE soaking up the summer here in the city. It’s kind of the best!

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How was your month? Do you like football (soccer)?

One Month in Budapest // Two Months in Budapest // Three Months in Budapest // Four Months in Budapest

 

Lists Travel

Expectations, part 2

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As you may remember from this post, one of my biggest struggles while traveling is often unrealistic expectations.

Especially in the days of this rampant social media, often the pictures of a beautiful place you are seeing are edited, angled for the best view, taken at the best time of way/during the best weather, and often don’t include many people. It’s difficult not to have preconceived notions living in a world like we do, but I tend to enjoy a place more when I let it surprise me.

I’m still working on it!

When I reflect, though, I realize that every place I’ve visited has surprised me in some way, either in my own reaction or in the place itself.

For example…

In Greece…everyone warned me that Athens is grungy, Santorini is touristy, the Greeks run on their own special time, and more often than not there is some kind of transit strike going on. While I found all of this to be true, I was surprised by the fact that I didn’t care and loved it anyway.

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In Peru…I expected my first big solo trip–six months of studying abroad–to be full of adventures and wonders, as it was my dream finally coming true. All this happened, but it was also full of homesickness, cultural barriers, language difficulties, a scary illness, and more challenges I could ever have predicted.

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In Venice…I expected it to be overcrowded, overrated, and smelly. Maybe it’s because we went in March, but I found absolutely none of those things to be true. Venice was as dreamy as I’d always hoped.

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In Montenegro…I knew the nature would be stunning, but nothing prepared me for the feeling of stumbling back in time.

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In Costa Rica…what I expected to be a slow, relaxing six weeks turned into a much faster-paced adventure, as we discovered just so much to see in this tiny Central American country.

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In Vietnam…I didn’t expect to find such immense natural beauty.

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In Paris…it was impossible not have ideas on how it might like be. When a city is as famous as Paris, you can’t avoid forming some expectations. I was surprised by the very high highs and the very low lows of Paris–I knew I would love seeing the Eiffel Tower, but I didn’t expect to feel so joyful and emotional when I finally did. I knew it would be crowded, but I didn’t realize how maddening and inescapable the crowds can be in a city as well-known as Paris.

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In Thailand…even knowing it was called the “Land of Smiles” could not prepare me for the stunning generosity of the people there.

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In the Czech Republic…I could never have known just how many adorable corners of the country I would discover, nor could I have known how attached I would become to this little country.

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In Germany…I never predicted how seeing the world through my parent’s eyes would impact me.

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In Iceland…I never expected to be so thoroughly enchanted in just a 17-hour layover.

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In Switzerland…I could never have predicted how my first overseas trip could have changed my goals and my life.

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In Budapest…one quick weekend could not prepare me for living in this complicated, maddening, yet wonderful country. (Although why I thought it would is beyond me at this moment…).

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How about you? Do you manage expectations well?

Linking up with Emma, Angie, Jessi & Carolann.

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