The Road So Far

What a journey! I’m currently in Szekszárd, Hungary, but it took over 12 hours. Let’s just say that I hate the airport in LA and love the one in Zurich. The flight from Switzerland to Budapest was gorgeous. By the time I got to the Budapest airport I was so tired and just done, but so excited to meet my host family. It was raining when I first got here, which surprised me because Zurich was sunny and very warm. My first night in Hungary was not conventional by any means. For one, we didn’t even go back to their house. We stayed at a motel because we had to send off Erik, my host brother who is going on exchange to Taiwan. Unfortunately, Erik is the only one in my family that speaks English well, but that’s okay.

  

My Host Brothers and Me

The first thing we did when I arrived was go get food. I got a Hungarian pasta with cottage cheese and bacon on top. It was so good! Then, something amazing happened – my host brother asked for ketchup. I thought that I would be saying goodbye to ketchup for a year, but lo and behold! The red stuff that pumps through my veins is here!

We eventually turned in for the night and like four hours later, we were up again. Erik’s flight was at 6 am and we were had to be there early. Only after that did we get to go home. I got to watch the sunrise as we drove home. In the past 24 hours, I’ve had less than 6 hours of sleep and discovered I have a hidden alternate fuel source.

The guest house is so beautiful and green. Coming from a drought to this is so shocking. My family has 2 dogs and a new litter of kittens. So cute! I get my own apartment upstairs with a balcony, a kitchenette, my own bathroom, and everything.

Zétény, my 10-year-old host brother, and I played video games for most of today with a little bit of foosball and mini billiards mixed in. My sand dollar gifts went over very well and my host mom showed me some shells she got from the coast of Croatia. 

It has been so great so far and I can't wait to learn and see more.

-Alina