First Day Thoughts

Seeing as it was our first full day in the great city of Budapest, it was fitting that we took a walking tour of the city. It was owsome (awesome). We had an unofficial tour guide by a self-proclaimed "good citizen," which, we agreed, was just as good if not better. We started at the international college, McDaniel College, on the Pest side of the Danube and walked/bussed/trammed/metro-ed our way around Pest. The ease of public transportation was astounding and each type of transportation meshed perfectly with bus and tram stops, which were directly near the metro exits. The architecture throughout the entire city is extremely characteristic of Budapest. Most buildings are a minimum of four stories and very square, straight, and relatively flat. However, ornate and detailed statues are more than commonplace atop archways, windows, and rooftops. It was a peculiar mix of monotonous structure and detailed craftsmanship. Not to belittle the city, however, there were many distinct and unique buildings, such as Parliament, the Hungarian Science Academy, and more.

After the tour, we had our first Number Theory class (darn, forget we had to take class here to). The main thing we learned today is that Professor Hanson likes to make minor mistakes during class, but he is doing it INTENTIONALLY to ensure we are on the ball with our education. After class, a few of us took the metro to a (hopefully) more technological shopping part of town to find a few electronics we needed. We decided to stop and have dinner in The Grill House. We all tried something Hungarian and thoroughly enjoyed it. After an awkward question/answer in English about restaurant etiquette, we were on our way back to the Guest House. Sitting here doing homework and blogging reminds us all that this is not merely an awesome adventure and cultural experience, but also school and we can't fully relax into vacation mode.

-Sevy & David