hey folks, i’m in budapest – or as it is lovingly called, “the big boody.”  i got here on monday, now it is friday, and i’ve been having a grand ol’ time.  many of my friends who are still here are occupied during the day, as they are students or teachers, so i have spent a couple of days wandering around the city and taking pics with my new camera.  they’ll be uploaded when i get back to my computer.

ahh, budapest!  it’s like i never left you!  nearly everything is the same as when i left, including the slightly surreal nature of everyday life.  on my first day back, i nearly witnessed a purse-snatching (i was getting onto the metro at the same time as this lady, and a guy ran up behind her and tried to grab her bag.  he didn’t get it, though, and ran off).  on tuesday, i was going to get drinks at a restaurant with amy and matt, but when the waiter discovered we weren’t going to get food, he kicked us out.  on wednesday, i was eating outdoors at a restaurant on andrassy ut with amy and a friend of hers, and we witnessed a) a guy step in dog poop, b) another guy slip on the same dog poop and drop the eggs he was carrying, and c) a blind man run into a bush.

so nearly everything is the same, though there are some changes afoot.  for example, i hear that there are plans to renovate the sketchiest metro station known to man, kobanya-kispest, and turn it into a mall.  weird.  i hope they still allow people to sell things out of cardboard boxes when they do.

tonight i’ll be hanging out with my old roommate neal (who doesn’t live here anymore either, but who is also visiting) and a few students who graduated two years ago.  more updates to follow.

• Europe