7:06 a.m.—Wake up and eat overnight oats. Contemplate why sinks are so small here.
8 a.m.—Step out of apartment building, walking carefully because on side streets people will often let their dog sh*t and not clean it up.
8:05 a.m.—Start 45-minute commute to class via tram. King Krule in my ears for the ride because I’m seeing his show next week on a boat.
8:20 a.m.—Switch from tram to suburban rail after crossing the Danube into Buda. Missing my two-minute journey from Cleveland to D-Hall.
8:50 a.m.—Arrive at the Aquincum Institute of Technology. Semantic and Declarative Technologies up first, then Hungarian before lunch.
12 p.m.—Work on first assignment for Semantic and Declarative in the lounge. Guy from Harvey Mudd going hard on the piano in the corner is nice background noise.
1 p.m.—Out for lunch. Goulash soup warms the belly and the soul.
2 p.m.—Data Mining class with Papa Kojo Ampim-Darko ’19 and Vincent Noh ’19.
4 p.m.—Head back home. Being able to navigate without internet maps is a good feeling.
4:45 p.m.—Finally arrive in my neighborhood in Pest’s District VIII. I like my tram stop because it’s right outside my apartment and because it’s still fun to hear the automated voice say “Harminckettesek.”
4:50 p.m.—Stop at grocery store on the corner of my block on way home. Pick up salami, bread and horseradish for my lunches. Grab a few bottles of wine for ~$1 apiece just in case. Language skills are strong enough that I can usually conduct the transaction entirely in Hungarian.
5:30 p.m.—Head to my gym because Paps and I haven’t yet found a local pick-up soccer group to replace International Soccer Club. The “Iron Gym” features deteriorating equipment, thumping techno music and two dogs that strangely resemble the gym’s owners.
7:00 p.m.—Black beans with peppers, onions and paprika plus a salami sandwich for dinner. Invite people over to our five-person apartment for a pregame.
7:30 p.m.—Bathe. Picture a shower, but the shower head isn’t mounted on anything and there is no curtain. Showers are not leisurely anymore as I have to always be mindful to not soak the entire bathroom.
9:30 p.m.—More people than expected come over to our apartment. Feel glad I bought the extra wine. Flatmates and I keep having to run up and down four stories to let people in because we haven’t figured out which buzzer button is ours.
10:15 p.m.—Direct crowd of American students to tram towards the Jewish Quarter. Observe lack of enforcement on open container laws.
10:30 p.m.—Arrive at the most famous ruin pub, Szimpla Kert. It’s 20+ bars, all with their own room and all interconnected. Someone is selling whole carrots on the second floor. A remix of Arcade Fire is playing and the projector screen is playing parkour highlight videos.
11:30 p.m.—Follow friends to Fogasház. It’s another ruin bar but definitely has an environment getting closer to a “club.” Bemoan that my four-month streak of not hearing “Gasolina” is over. Repeatedly tell men to not touch my friends without their consent. Pay 200 forints to use the toilet.
12:45 a.m.—Stop at the kebab shop on my block with friends. The employees will probably know us by name by the end of the semester.
1:15 a.m.—Crawl into bed. I’d describe it as a super-thick mattress topper on wooden slats. Pass out immediately.
