Sorry for the delay in posting. After 2 weeks of dedicated traveling - finding my way to 3 different countries and numerous different cities. After finding laundry services and showers more rarely than I have liked, I will be moving into my own apartment tomorrow. I am so excited about the prospect of my own place to live. Honestly, I have never lived truly alone in my life. Ever since I left home at 18 for college, I have always shared public areas with others - bathrooms, kitchens, etc. For the firs time, I will have all the rooms of my home to myself. Amazing. What am I going to do with all this freedom?!? :-)
I will be traveling on an overnight train to Cluj/Kolozsvar, through Arad. After not getting much sleep last night, this might be a challenge, to switch trains at 3 in the morning. But on the bright side, I am being met at the train station by my kind new landlord, Marc Pillich-Wright. He's going to take me to my new place and help me get settled in.
Then there is a Unitarian conference on Tuesday evening. I'm hoping to crash the party a little bit, and just show up to some of the events. There are a couple Unitarian folks who I knew from HDS who will be there, and I would love to hang out with them a little bit.
I was looking through my list of people who I know in Cluj/Kolozsvar this morning, and I had a momentary pang of fear, fear of being lonely in this place and without any institutional aid in meeting people. I am hoping that this worry doesn't pan out - worrying about ending up being isolated in this city without a way to really get integrated into a social network somehow. We'll see.
That's all for now.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Back in Budapest
Only a short time for a post: Arrived back in Budapest last night from Debrecen. Slept until noon this morning - Excellent! It feels like it's been forever since I actually got 8 hours of sleep.
Overall estimation of the experience - I had a great time!!!! Did I learn as much as I could have? Probably not. Did I succeed in making a lot of new friends and expanding my contacts in Hungary and Europe. Most definitely. Did I break out of my uber-bookworm Harvard shell and rediscover what it's like to dance like crazy three nights in a row until 2 in the morning? Yes, most definitely. Did I push myself past my own fears of attachment, did I remember what it's like to care, to be attentive to someone else's ups and downs? Yes, most definitely. A great experience.
In Budapest for a couple days, then on to Croatia for a wedding. From there it's to the beach for a week, to Slovenia to visit a new Debrecen friend, and then to Romania.
Overall estimation of the experience - I had a great time!!!! Did I learn as much as I could have? Probably not. Did I succeed in making a lot of new friends and expanding my contacts in Hungary and Europe. Most definitely. Did I break out of my uber-bookworm Harvard shell and rediscover what it's like to dance like crazy three nights in a row until 2 in the morning? Yes, most definitely. Did I push myself past my own fears of attachment, did I remember what it's like to care, to be attentive to someone else's ups and downs? Yes, most definitely. A great experience.
In Budapest for a couple days, then on to Croatia for a wedding. From there it's to the beach for a week, to Slovenia to visit a new Debrecen friend, and then to Romania.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Brake a Train
Woke up this morning singing this song, inexplicably.
Here's the chorus:
Brake a Train (Cliff Eberhardt)
And my heart feels just as caloused
As some old breakman's hands
Been on the job for years
He still don't understand
Why the towns fade away like lovers
His life has let him down
You can brake a train you can break a heart
But you never learn to like the sound
The lyrics are perfect, I think. It is true: I have never learned to like the sound.
Here's the chorus:
Brake a Train (Cliff Eberhardt)
And my heart feels just as caloused
As some old breakman's hands
Been on the job for years
He still don't understand
Why the towns fade away like lovers
His life has let him down
You can brake a train you can break a heart
But you never learn to like the sound
The lyrics are perfect, I think. It is true: I have never learned to like the sound.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Last week in Debrecen
I'm sitting down to write a few lines before I head to sleep, after the regular dance party at the Tent tonight in Debrecen. I'm tired. I haven't slept well for 2 days. I'm still figuring out where I'm going to stay in Budapest after things end here. I've got a test on Thursday. But these things should come together. I'm excited about the Croatia trip at the end of the month. That should be fun. Otherwise, all is good here!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Status Update
I had a great day in Oradea (Nagyvarad). I got sunburned. I went to a strand. Hung out in some hot water. Chatted with some locals. Had the feeling of being in Romania again, and I liked it. The stray dogs. The bad communist era hotels. The gigantic factories spewing pollution. The cheesy balkan super-pop. Romania feels different from Hungary. And I had this strange feeling of being nostalgic for Romania during this brief visit. Interesting.
And I'm still confused. But trying to enjoy it all in addition. Lots of "rhapsodic voices" running around in my head, as one friend emailed me about the current situation. But that's not a bad thing I guess. I'm just pushing the boundaries of the life I've been used to in the States for so long.
And I'm still confused. But trying to enjoy it all in addition. Lots of "rhapsodic voices" running around in my head, as one friend emailed me about the current situation. But that's not a bad thing I guess. I'm just pushing the boundaries of the life I've been used to in the States for so long.
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