Pestilog

Yo La Tengo and the Genious of Toilets

It's absolutely beautiful here. I love it. I am never coming home.

That being said, it's really shocking to me how many Americans are at this school. There's even a dude from Salt Lake--who isn't Dave. Go figger. Also, I always knew that this was the case, but it is still heartwrenching for me how painfully easy it is to spot the Americans in the crowd. We are usually pegged on one of a few characteristics:

• No matter what volume you are speaking at, it is ALWAYS louder than is appropriate (This is a particularly pronounced characteristic if you are from California, I have found)
• You are wearing white socks with pants that arent quite long enough.
• You are wearing a Yo La Tengo t-shirt. (dead give-away)

I think that if you can manage to avoid these things and get yourself a trendy pair of shoes, you stand more than a snowball's chance in hell of blending.

Also, I still have as hard a time as I ever have with accents. Its not that I can't understand them. Rather, I can't help but pick them up. Anyone else remember me speaking with a Romanian accent when I was drinking with Cosmina? Lord, I do. The girl I am currently rooming with, Eva, speaks English brilliantly, and has this soft, jovial tone and a very distinctively british accent when she speaks. We have been hanging out for most of the afternoon, and now, I find myself using words like 'brilliantly' and 'proper', which I never use when left to my own devices. Even my inner monologue sounds a bit like Emma Thompson. I am hopeless.

I have to say a few things about the bathrooms as well. Toilet paper in Hungary is not designed for the faint of heart. It's not too unlike strips of paper grocery bags wrapped around a dowel. Oh, Hungarian toilet paper, hou you have offended my delicate...um...sensibilities! Also, the flushing mechanism is way different than in America, and it makes much more sense. Its like the metric system to our uber-crappy imperial system. You hit a button to flush, like normal, and the flow of water is really strong, but the you hit another button to shut off the flush. You can flush for 5 seconds, you can flush for half a second. Its like a toilet with automatic transmission. Tired of using a full tank when all you needed to do was return your goldfish to the earth? Does flushing multiple times after using too much paper fill you with malaise? Then these toilets were made for you, my friend. Look no further. All you deepest bathroom desires will be fulfilled here in Budapest.

Finally, I am starting my apartment hunt today. It seems that everything in my price range on the Pest side is at least 6km from my school (I would like to be a little closer) and everything on the Buda side with in my price range is up a big hill (problem for the bike). I'm starting to write e-mails today, so, well see how it goes. This is going to be just like the job bank at Reed. 500 kids all trying to get the same flat on the same day. $5 says this turns out to be a nightmare. Or 1.097, HUF. Either way.

posted by Veruka2 @ 2:16 PM