Chocolate, Tea, and Pretzels, oh my!

Hello there from room 852! (Ansley, Grace, Liv, and Qian)

Today, we thought we would update you on how we have settled into our home away from home this interim, Budapest. 

We switched things up a bit today and had math in the morning, where we dove into some more tricky concepts and applications of number theory. Then, in the afternoon, we had a guest speaker who lived through the Communist regime in Hungary, who came and gave an interesting lecture on that era. It was especially fascinating to hear his personal stories of living in Budapest during that time and traveling outside Hungary. It’s crazy to imagine living in a place where it takes years to buy a car, people report what’s said in school to the government, and writings of great philosophers are censored, and his talk really put into perspective things we take for granted!

After class, we powered through some homework, fueled by pretzels, chocolate, ice cream, and half a stale chimney cake (all of the main food groups). 

Then, Liv and Grace recovered for a bit by napping, while Qian continued doing homework in the breaks between losing at a game on her phone. Ansley decided to go for a run down the Danube to Margaret Island. She left a little before sunset, and enjoyed the beautiful view along the river despite being blasted by intense gusts of wind. For anyone into running, Margaret island is fantastic, as it has a beautiful sidewalk designated specifically for running, is full of green spaces and lovely scenery, and has a calm vibe since there are almost no vehicles. On the way back to the hotel just after sunset, Ansley watched as the sky grew dimmer and the buildings across the river began to light up. All in all, a wonderful afternoon experience.

At 7, Liv, Grace, and Ansley met Jill in the lobby to try a vegan restaurant out that she had found. We all loved our food, (especially Liv who is always excited to find tofu,) except Grace, who wasn’t a fan of the lactose-free cheese on her Margherita pizza, lol.

 

After dinner, we went back to the hotel and found Qian, happily eating the really good soft-serve ice cream from the chimney cake shop down the street, and some take out dinner. Ansley made pancakes for a snack on tomorrow’s train ride, flipping them with some folded tin-foil since spatulas are nowhere to be found in our hotel or convenience stores in Budapest.

Liv, Grace, and Ansley did face masks and made tea, to relax before doing a bit more homework (involving canned hams), while Qian, who was speedier with homework, enjoyed some more game time. We are now going to bed soon in preparation for an early day tomorrow, featuring a couple of long train rides, some more Hungarian friends, and exploring another town! 

Viszlát!