Housing and Classmates

Once we arrived in Budapest, we were directed to our apartment. Our professor told us that we would be living in apartments of 2-4 students, but due to a miscommunication and failed money transfer, we were placed in apartments of three, five, and eight. I am in the eight person apartment, and it is meant for five, maybe even six people, but definitely not eight people. The benefit is that we are forced to be very close together, and so we have all become friends, which is great. The apartment has three bedrooms, a living room, two bathrooms, and a kitchen. There is only one shower, which is quite unfortunate. As I write this post, our professor is working with the agency here to get us at least one, possibly two new apartments—the other two groups are squished in as well! Even so, there are some benefits to the apartment as it is. Our apartment is in a great neighborhood, close to the main districts, but not swarming with other tourists. There are lots of restaurants, cafes, and bars nearby and all are very cheap compared to food in Boston. Tonight, for example, I got a nice meal with an appetizer and a drink for about $12. Breakfast with a latte and a croissant might be less than $3. Although we have a kitchen, we eat most of our meals out since they are so affordable, which also allows us time to get to know each other. Even if we end up splitting up, I’m glad we had these few days together because we were able to become friends so quickly living in the smaller space.

Having such a small apartment meant that the seven other girls and I were able to become friends pretty fast. Although we spend three hours in class with the other members of our dialogue every day, I feel that I am not as close to them. We have hung out a few times outside of class, but it is hard when we live in very different parts of the city. Most people on this dialogue and in my apartment seemed to come without knowing anyone else, so everyone was looking to make friends. This made it easier to begin with, and also we have a lot in common—at the very least a passion for travel and for design. Every day we are learning new things about each other, but since there are so many people, I feel like I don’t know that much about anyone. The girls in the three person apartment may see fewer people, but they seem to know more about each other’s history, which would be nice. We are so busy seeing Budapest that we don’t have time to talk about ourselves. Even so, I’m very happy to have met so many great people, and I think that is bodes well for the rest of the trip!