When The Going Gets Tough

I didn't end up going to Croatia as planned. I did go to Romania for that wedding though and then as soon as I got back, I got really sick. You can read about it here.

And now, my luck has gotten worse. Last night my office was broken into and my laptop was stolen. I don't always leave my laptop at work, it was just my bad luck that it happened on the only day this week that I decided to leave it at work. My laptop wasn't the only that was taken. Another coworker's was taken as well. They also took some petty cash.

I'm not so upset at the fact that they took my computer. A computer is easy to replace - just buy a new one. But its more the files and documents that were on it that I'm more upset about. It was my work computer as well. I lost all my emails, all my data and now I have nothing for work. I do have a back up, but I haven't done one in almost 2 months. And I'm sad that I lost photos. I think that is what I'm most upset about because those I cannot recreate. Those captured moments are lost. 

It just seems like there have been a series of unfortunate events. First getting sick, not going to Croatia, then having a massive medical bill to deal with. One of my really good friends has also just decided to leave Budapest. Needless to say, my spirit is feeling a bit defeated. So much bad news in such a short period of time.

Waking Up to Fabulous News

I haven’t mentioned it here before as I felt this particular piece of information is too personal for the blogosphere, but now I feel comfortable writing it down. A couple weeks ago during a routine check-up on his eyes, my father needed to perform a series of tests which involved him being hooked up to machines and doing various activities. I don’t really understand what it had to do with his eyes, but it was necessary.

As he was performing these activities, his heart rate rapidly rose and the doctors though he was going to have a heart attack while in the lab. Thankfully they were able to get to him in time and calm down his heart. After another series of tests, it turns out that two of his arteries are clogged – one at 90% and the other at 70%. These clogs are too much for a simple procedure to clear them out. Instead he needs to undergo an operation – a double bypass surgery.

Within 2 weeks of this discovery, my father was headed to the hospital and undergoing the surgery. The surgery was set for 4 pm PST and was suppose to last 4 – 5 hours, maybe slightly longer. With the time change, that meant I could sleep through the operation and not worry. When I woke up Thursday morning this week, I was greeted with a message from my mother:

Dad came out of surgery in less than 3 hours.  The surgeon called to say that everything went as planned.  He has a double bypass. Uncle A went to the hospital with me and stay with us until Dad went in. We thought that the surgery will at least take 4 hours so I went to A's place to wait.  I took a little nap and woke up refreshed.  We were just about to go back when the surgeon called.
A, D and I went to the ICU to see him.  Even with all the machines and tubes, he looks very well.  He is breathing on his own and does not require machine support on anything.  He just looks like that he is asleep. He will stay in the ICU tonight and move to a regular room tomorrow noon. I am happy the surgery is done and thankful that Uncle A stayed with me. I felt less stress.  I will update Dad's progress regularly.

I’m so thankful to hear that everything went well. Being abroad while something so major is happening in my father’s life is difficult. I’m thankful that my mom was not alone and that my aunt and uncle were there to support her during this difficult and stressful time.

I was so happy yesterday! This morning I received another email from my mother saying that my father is awake and alert. He was able to feed himself and sit up in bed. Everything is looking good. So thankful.

Strange Day

This morning, I woke up and Facebook was not working. Apparently it was down in a lot of European countries. There is conflicting reports of what exactly was happening, but it seems like there was something wrong with the servers. Friends back home had no problems connecting though.

Later while at work, I was talking to a colleague when all of a sudden I hear a loud bang on the window. I look out and I see a pigeon flying away. I have no idea what the pigeon was thinking, but that is definitely a first. Our windows aren’t that clean, and yet, there was pigeon flying into it. It was fine, and flew away.

Also, the heating in the office has decided to give out completely. With each passing moment it gets colder and colder inside. Doesn’t help that its –5 outside. I’m sitting in the office huddled under a blanket and drinking copious amounts of tea. Hopefully it starts working again!

Prank Call

Today in the office I got the most ridiculous prank call. Well at least I think it was a prank call. They specifically asked for my boss by name. My boss is out of the office so I asked if there was anything I could do to help. They asked if I could take down their email and the email they wanted me to write down was suckmydick @ something I don’t know. By the time I got to the i, I realized it was a prank call and hung up.

Seriously. What a strange start to my day. Threw me off completely. What were they hoping to gain?! Seriously. People!

WTH Moment of the Week

We hired a new assistant for sales and help with admin work. She was suppose to start on Monday. It is now Wednesday. She hasn’t shown up. No phone call, no email.

We phoned and we emailed. No answer. So strange.

Not sure what we’re suppose to do in this situation. Hopefully things are okay…

Motivation

For some strange reason, I just can’t be bothered to do anything. My motivation is completely out the window.

I wonder where it has gone and when it will come back. I just need to get over it and just do it I think.

One week until holiday! 3 weeks of it! I can’t wait!

Phone Conversations

Guy on the phone: Hello, I have some questions regarding invoicing. Can I speak to ___?

Me: Unfortunately they’re out of the office today. They’re not feeling that well.

Guy: Okay, then can you tell me what bank it is you invoice through?

Me: I believe its ____

Guy: So you mean you’re not sure. Is there anyone else there that will know?

Me: No, unfortunately I am the only one in the office at the moment.

Guy: Ah okay.

Me: Yea, sorry about that. You can try back on Monday.

Guy: Are you American?

Me: No.

Why does it matter where I come from?? GAH! Today has just been a day for strange interactions. Nem jo! This 11/11/11 thing has just made everyone weird!

Things On My Mind

The following are going to be a series of unrelated rants. Just things that have been on my mind for awhile.

Money – or the lack of it

Today is October 20th. Normally I get paid on the 10th of every month. The set up is a bit strange where the company pays AIESEC and then AIESEC transfers the money to me. So even if the company pays on the 10th, I normally don’t receive it till the 12th or so. But this month, its late. Its ridiculously late.

When you’re living pay cheque to pay cheque you kind of need to have consistent source of income. No one warned me that I wasn’t going to get paid on time. My landlord was asking for rent. I had no money. So by last week I asked someone about it. Apparently the bank account didn’t have money. There was no mention of when money would be coming in and when I would get paid. I asked for an advance so I could pay rent and this was met with the most unhelpful and rude response.

The thing is, I know there is money in the account. My coworker had to withdraw some the other day. If there is money to be withdrawn, why is there no money to pay me? Its utterly ridiculous and the source of so much stress. I’ve been in a constant bad mood because of this. I hate not knowing.

I asked my boss this morning about it. Apparently its been transferred already but I still haven’t seen it. Here is hoping I get it before the weekend.

People being sick

Everyone around me is sick. Its utterly ridiculous. I’m in the office alone right now. One has a throat infection. Another stomach problems. Someone else is nauseous and is throwing up. Teachers are dropping like flies. Everyone has a cough or sore throat.

My theory is the weather. It literally went from 20+ degrees to 10 overnight. People were not prepared. People are going out without jackets, not bundled up enough. Just generally being idiotic about the change in weather pattern. I like to think that years of living in Vancouver where the weather changes 5 times a day has prepared me well for the sudden change from summer to winter.

Time to drink copious amounts of tea and eat oranges. Gotta keep up my strength and immune system.

AIESEC and CC

My flatmate recommended me to apply for the social media manager position for the congress committee for Global Leaders Summit. And so I did. I went to my interview last night. I’m not sure how I feel about it.

The interview was interesting. They kept asking the same questions just phrased differently. I got a bit annoyed trying to put together unique answers. Maybe it was a language thing or maybe they were just testing for consistency. Who knows. At the end of the interview, I had a long list of questions for them. I almost felt  like I was interview them, not the other way around. My general feeling, and this is from both the application and the interview, is that they really don’t know much about social media and are only using it because it is the “cool” thing to do and because its hot. Granted, I did do some research on the previous year’s conference and their online presence is almost non existent.

They also sprung on me that I would be required to be at the conference the whole time. Its 3 weeks long. I don’t know if I can take that much time off and not that I want to take time off to go work at a conference. Holidays should be for holidays. So I guess we’ll see.

Homesick

I think I miss home. It could be the change in weather that is making me a bit emo, but definitely, I think homesickness is starting to set in a little. On Thanksgiving this year I was thinking about how I had spent it the previous year, surrounded by friends and family. I think I had 3 different turkey’s last year.

I miss sushi and good Chinese food. I miss bubble tea and dim sum. I miss being able to read signs around me. I miss reading actual books. I miss people. I miss my cat. I miss my own bed. I miss Vancouver and everything it has to offer.

I feel like this feeling is only going to get worse. As we head into the holidays, its going to be difficult to not want to hop on a plane and head home. If only flights weren’t that expensive.

2 Hours, 3 Drunk Guys, 1 Racial Gesture

Last night was probably one of the strangest nights I’ve ever had in Budapest. I went to this bar in Budapest that is one of those things you need to experience at least once. One of those things you need to do if you live in this city so I’m told. The bar has quite the reputation as well. I’ve heard so many stories of this place and with me being here 4 months already and not having experience this establishment, I felt it was due time to check it out.

I was so not in the mood. I was there for 2 hours and was hit on by the creepiest of guys. Each of them got progressively creepier. First guy asked if I was Thai. After learning that no I’m not, he quickly lost interest and left me alone. He was the most normal.

Guy number two got reallllly close to my face and he was disgusting sweaty. Nearly dripped on me. Thank goodness he didn’t.

The third guy puts the icing on the cake. He tried to stroke my neck with what I think was a brochure or some sort of folded paper. Seriously?! WHAT THE HELL!

Then later that night, I was getting gyros with my flatmate and we were attempting to chat with the gyros guy. He was asking about where I was from and somehow in the discussion he started pulling his eyes out to make them look more Asian – the racial gesture that most people do. I don’t think he meant it in any derogatory way, but I still just wasn’t impressed.

Not a good evening at all. I don’t think I’ll be headed back to that place anytime soon. Bleh. It was just an awkward and weird evening.

Goal For My Internship

I want to facilitate at a conference. Preferably for a country that I would otherwise not visit.

When I joined AIESEC, there were a series of goals I wanted to accomplish. Year on the EB? Check! OC member? Check! Exchange? Check! The only thing I wanted to do, but didn’t was be LCP. Thats okay. My OCP experience was good enough.

I also wanted to go to an international conference. I was hoping when I was in the Netherlands for school I would be able to go to a conference there, but the LC there was useless and didn’t do anything to help me. This time around though, I have better connections.

So goal for the next year and a bit: facilitate at a conference!

My flatmate told me that the CC for IPM is looking for someone to manage their social media networks. I want to apply but the new myAIESEC.net is being silly and I can’t access any of the files. Should be interesting to see what happens with this though!

Sorry to anyone that reads this and isn’t in AIESEC. I’m too lazy right now to spell out all the different terms…

Hectic, Yet Lazy

This past week I don’t even know how to describe it. It went by in such a blur. So much was done and then so much wasn’t. For the first time in a long while, I fell behind on my blog. I woke up Monday morning and just wasn’t inspired to write anything. So I didn’t.

And that one day stretched into the next and then now before I even knew it, its Friday. Nothing was written. Its not for lack of trying. I would sit down and think about what to write, but nothing came out.

I feel a bit spread thin at work to be honest. So much is happening. Monday morning was met with bad news from another one of our new teachers. She has decided to leave due to family reasons. That now makes me 2 people down. Its starting to get a bit tight fitting in teachers and classes. Everyone is starting to get booked up and new requests keep rolling in. I guess its a good thing when demand is high and supply is low. I’ve done some more interviews in hopes of getting people here quickly. But how quick can people back up their bags and move? Its quite the adventure.

A bunch of teachers went to Slovakia last weekend and when they came back, a group of them were feeling ill. Not to mention I have 2 teachers who are currently on holiday. That left me scrambling to get people to substitute lessons on Monday and Tuesday. Those days just went by in such a blur. I don’t even know what I did with my time.

I interviewed a bunch of people for AIESEC internships. We’ll have a couple more AIESECers joining us in January of next year.

Last night I had the first lesson of a new group course I picked up. Its the same course I was teaching before the summer, but now it has new people and even a textbook. I don’t know how I feel about it yet. First classes are awful. I have this one guy, he is a bit older and he really doesn’t need much teaching. In fact, he gives me a bit of attitude. Its almost disrespectful. But he really does have a pretty good understanding of the English language. I also have 2 high school students in my classes. I guess this is a good thing if SELTI is trying to break into high schools. It means the demand is there. Another 2 of the students I’ve known from the previous class. And there is one last lady that I don’t have much of an opinion on. Hopefully for the next class I’ll be more prepared and have a better plan. At least what they want is conversation and that makes it easier for me. I just need to figure out how to get everyone talking. Some people are definitely quieter than others.

My coworker has to do a border run. We’ve decided on Romania yesterday essentially. Booked our train tickets, booked the hostel last night and then now, in about an hour or so I’ll be headed to the train station! I’m excited. Romania will mark my 16th? 17th? country. I don’t know much about where we’re going, but I have a book to read on the train.

Yes, there ramblings are very random I would say. Pretty much whatever is on my mind.

A Testing Week

This past week, work has been crazy. So many new experiences to deal with. I almost fired someone. I came ridiculously close to firing a teacher due to them not doing their job properly. It was a case of similar behaviour repeating over and over again until it was unacceptable. There is that saying “once is chance, twice is coincidence and three times is a pattern.” This was definitely a pattern.

When I took on this job, never did I think I would have to deal with firing someone. I couldn’t go through with it. Instead this person has be placed on probation. They better get their act together. Needless to say, my boss was pretty upset.

This morning another teacher quit. They were new, barely here for 2 weeks. They said it wasn’t what they expected. Well what do you expect? It hasn’t even been a week. Makes no sense to me, but who am I to judge. At least this way there will not be any more problems in the future with this teacher. One less headache.

Work has been busy. Too busy. So much to do and I feel like I’m not accomplishing anything. Its frustrating. But its the start of the year. Hopefully it will calm down soon. Too many people to manage. I feel like I need help. I’m probably going to take on an intern to help with the social media things.

Despite all the tough things, I still really like what I do and I’m definitely learning a lot. I just hope it calms down!

A Week of Blurriness

This week has passed by so insanely quickly. I don’t even really remember what happened. Its been over a week of me having a constant guest staying with me and in my room. I’m so thrilled that everyone has come and gone and I can invest in some quality alone time. It feels like I’ve been constantly going out. I drank way too much this past week. I feel like this city is turning me into an alcoholic. Going out for a drink usually turns into two or three. Much too dangerous.

Thursday August 25 - It all started last Thursday when my coworker from Prague came down for a wedding. She stayed at my place. That night we wanted to go to trivia but they had cancelled. There was a new teaching coming in that night and we needed to go to the airport to pick her up. We went to dinner then to a bar to kill time. The trip to the airport was quite the adventure. It was the first time I had gone to the airport since I arrived and figuring out how to get there via transit was confusing. There are different ways of going depending on which terminal you fly into and the two terminals aren’t exactly close to one another. There will be a post about this later on the other blog.

Friday August 26 – Woke up to find that we had no water. There was no warning, but apparently it was a scheduled thing for the whole building. It was ridiculously hot and you definitely need water. I opted to take a shower at work. The night before the guys had a bachelor party that started off at the office. Needless to say it was rather disgusting, stinking of whiskey and cigars. The boss had given all the guys a sick day and all the girls were not so pleased with this development. It definitely wasn’t my most productive day at work. That night, we took the new teacher for a night on the town. Drama happened and it was gossip for the rest of the company for the next couple days.

Saturday August 27 – This was probably the quietest day of my week. I stayed home and did nothing. I watched Layton’s funeral. What a beautiful service.

Sunday August 28 – I went to the Asia Centre with a Hungarian friend. She needed a new suitcase and I was up for wandering especially after the day before of staying in. I’ll be writing more about this particular trip on the other blog too. I found some choy sum at the centre and I was so excited. I made a massive Chinese dinner for friends. Its pretty clear that now I need to cook more. That night I was off to the airport again to pick up our 2nd new teacher. Her flight ended up being delayed so another teacher and myself were playing cards at the airport getting more and more hyper due to our tiredness.

Monday August 29 – I had class till late and went home to literally pass out on my bed. I was so tired from staying up so late the night before.

Tuesday August 30 – My 3rd monthaversary! I’ve been in Budapest for 3 months now. What did I do to celebrate? This night is a bit hazy. It took me forever to remember what happened. The night started off with wine at my flat then off to a bar for drinks. We met some random Hungarians who bought us shots of palinka and beer.

Wednesday August 31 – It was my friends name day! We went for fish and chips along the Danube. It was so yummy! It was nice to get away from the city. It was almost like I was on vacation. More on this later.

Thursday September 1 – Starting day for our new teachers! Induction and orientation. Lots of questions. It was a busy day. I felt pretty happy once it was done. Definitely more room for improvement in the future. Read about it here. A friend from home was coming to visit too. All in all an exciting day. That night it was off to pub quiz night and then bar hopping.

Friday September 2 – Quieter day at work. Had set up a variety of meetings for teachers and heard a lot of positive feedback. They’re getting placed into classes. Hurray! That night was our welcome party for the new kids. What originally started off as a night at a bar, turned into beer pong at the office and then more bar hopping.

Saturday September 3 – Late start to the day which consisted of lots of sightseeing. Went off to see Buda castle and the Parliament building. It was so hot. I thought I was going to melt. The sightseeing section by the Parliament building is so dangerous for tourist. You have to jay walk across this fairly fast moving street in order to walk in front of the building. I wonder how many people have been hit! Especially at night, its so difficult to see! And on the side you can walk on, it drops off onto rocks and the Danube. Dangerous. That night, we went for a quick drink at Szimpla, but it was pretty obvious none of us were really in the mood. But Szimpla is an institution, its a must visit during anyone’s time in Budapest.

Sunday September 4 – which brings me to today. Everyone is gone and I’m getting my much needed alone time. I slept in till past noon which is something I never do. Time to catch up on life. So sleepy.

I feel like this post is rather boring and pretty pointless, but I’m sure future me will appreciate the craziness and smile at the memory.

Strange Business

I find it always strange when people find my blog. People that I don’t know. This morning, someone left a comment on my exchange blog asking about my experience and living in Hungary. I guess its pretty cool that when people google things they find something somewhat relevant in what I post in my blog.

At least there are people out there reading it. Hurray!

Country Visits–Update

I set a goal of visiting 25 countries before I turn 25. Currently I am sitting at 15, possibly 16 depending on your definition of “visiting.” I’m approaching 25. I have just over a year to see 10 countries. Its time I start planning and making it happen!

The countries that I have visited:

• Canada – home of course
• US – lots of cross border visits
• France – Family trip, 2003
• Hong Kong – visited twice: most recently 2005
• Cambodia – Global Ed, 2005
• Thailand – Global Ed, 2005
• Netherlands – Exchange, 2008
• Belgium – 2008
• Germany – 2008
• Austria – 2008
• Czech Republic – 2008
• Italy – 2008
• Vatican City – 2008 (does this count?)
• Ireland – 2008
• Hungary – Internship, 2011

What is number 16? Slovakia. I’ve passed through Bratislava on 2 different occasions. First time was in 2008 on a train from Vienna to Prague. The second was more recently on a 7 hour bus trip from Budapest to Prague. Seeing as I didn’t leave the train stop or bus station, I don’t really count it.

So what is next for me? Not as much of western Europe. I need to head East and South! After talking to people to get an idea for travel, here are some of my options:

• Zagreb, Croatia – Easily done for a weekend trip; approximately 7 hours by train.
• Lake Bled, Slovenia – I’ve seen amazing photos of this lake and region.
• Bratislava, Slovakia – Everyone says there is nothing to see here, but I might consider it for a weekend trip.
• Krakow, Poland – I had the opportunity to go early in my trip, but decided against it for financial reasons, but I’ll have to make it happen later.
• Transylvania, Romania – I want to see Dracula’s castle! This trip will probably be a bit longer in order to fit everything in.
• London, Britain – My bro was accepted to King’s College. I will go visit him
• Scotland – During the same trip to visit my bro, we’ll go up to Scotland for a couple days.
• Sweden – I have a friend who is completing her masters there. A visit might be in order.
• Greece? Turkey? Serbia? Bulgaria? Russia?

I’ve seen most of Western Europe with the exception of Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Spain and Portugal might be difficult with language problems, but I’ve met a girl that is originally from Spain. Switzerland is ridiculously expensive. I don’t think I’ll be going there. I really wish I went to Luxembourg in 2008. It was so close to Maastricht.

There are some other regions that I want to explore in countries that I’ve already been to. Cinque Terre, Italy is one region that comes to mind. I definitely want to go to Berlin, Germany as well (in fact, I might be following my birthday this year).

So much to see in the world! I want to see it all!

In Search of Happiness

One of my friend’s back home recently wrote a blog post about his current job search in Vancouver. So many of my friends are currently wrapping up their degrees and starting on the search for a full time job. I’m definitely been there and know what its like.

This particular blog post was about not settling for a job any less than what you want. In many ways, when I took my first job after graduating, I felt like I settled. Between me being broke and my parents pushing me to find a job, I accepted a position that I was less than thrilled about. And you know what? It showed in everything I did. I tried to hide it – in fact, after awhile, I managed to figure out how to hide it well. Only my friends knew how truly unsatisfied I was feeling. This was not the job that I spent 4 years of my life working towards. This was not how I imagined life to be.

In the spur of the moment one evening in early February in the midst of a reflection on my life, I decided it was time. Time to make a change. Time to get control of my life. Time to chase my dreams. I have been talking about going on exchange the moment I joined AIESEC. It was my ultimate goal. I had been dreaming about working abroad for years. Why not now? Why couldn’t I make it my reality?

In less than a week, I signed myself up for review board, attended review board and passed. I was on my way.

I had heard of a job in Budapest through the VP Outgoing Exchange in Victoria. The CEO of a small start up had emailed her asking if she had any candidates for two internships they had open in management. I asked her to get in contact with them and the next thing I know, they wanted a resume, then an interview. It turns out they were doing 2nd round interviews already and I was thrilled to hear that they wanted to add me into the mix.

Once this happened, things started moving very quickly. In less than two weeks I accepted a job as the Chief Operating Officer in a country half a world away, in a place that I’ve never been to and know nearly nothing about. For the longest time, I questioned whether or not I was making the right decision. This was the first job I had looked seriously into on the AIESEC database. Was I making a decision too quickly? What if there was something else out there for me? Something that was more aligned with what I want to do? After my experience with my job at the time, I was determined NOT to settle. I wanted the job.

In the end, the only good reason for me to not accept the position was my fear of it being too quick and it being the first job I looked into seriously. The job description sounded amazing. The company cultured looked like an atmosphere I wanted. The place was right in the region I wanted to be. It was all falling into place – just at breakneck speed.

In my gut, I felt it was the right choice for me and I am so glad that I decided to follow my gut feeling. There has been no regret. I’m really enjoying the work that I do from day to day. My coworkers are great. In many ways, I am my own boss. I control what I do and when I do it. As long as my work gets done.

In hindsight, my previous job was a good stepping stone to what I’m doing right now. Without my previous experience, I don’t think I would have been offered the job I have now. Even though I feel like I settled in the pass, it was an important part of my growth and contributes to my developing career. Everything comes together in the end.

Balkan Beats!

Last night I went to a club that was playing Balkan music. I was warned to be prepared for the shock of my life in terms of the music. In reality, it really wasn’t all that bad. It was very fast, almost techno-y, but there was definitely a melody. It was actually really fun to dance to. You just let go and move with the music. No one is watching and no one is judging. Everyone is just doing their own thing. Rather liberating I would say.

Halfway through the night, they played a piece of music I recognized! It was Czardas by Monti – a violin piece that I absolutely adored the first time I heard it and then eventually learned how to play. I’m not sure I like the Balkan version of the piece, but it was cool nonetheless. It was definitely strange dancing to a piece of music that I played previously on the violin (in a classical setting) in a club.

Here is an example of what it sort of sounded like:

Bitterness

I’ve been away from home for about 6 weeks now and I think some of the realities of living here are starting to set in. I spent the past weekend feeling pretty bitter and sorry for myself. The biggest thing that set off this gloominess is the heat. Over the weekend it was at least 36 degrees on both days. We don’t have air conditioning – in fact, as far as I can see not many people do. I really have no idea how people deal with the heat and still manage to go about their day to day lives. I spent the whole weekend in front of my fan. It was too hot to move and definitely too hot to step outside. To make matters worse, our fridge, our very tiny fridge, has decided to stop working properly. My flatmate’s milk and meat have all spoiled. My theory? We only have a tiny fridge to share amongst the four of us meaning the fridge is stuffed to the max. The cold air can’t move around it properly which means food at the front of the fridge is not cooled properly. We have someone coming to take a look at the fridge, but to be honest, we just need a newer and larger fridge.

I’m frustrated by many things:

• I still haven’t been paid yet. I’ve been here 6 weeks. I was suppose to be paid on the 1st of July, but my bank account remains stubbornly empty. Rent is due sometime this week. I’ve run out of money. I’ve been living on pasta, bread, eggs and canned corn.
• My debit card hasn’t arrived either. Even if I do get paid, I can’t get any money out because I don’t have a debit card. I’m sure I can bring my passport with me to the bank to get money out, but that means I will need to bring someone that can speak Hungarian with me to translate. I really hope it hasn’t gotten lost in the mail.
• Things here are expensive. I bet a number of people, thinking that Hungary is in Eastern Europe, immediately assume that things are priced at a much lower point than neighbouring countries in the West. However, this is not the case. Yes, rent is drastically more affordable, but for the most part, everything else is about the same price as back in Canada. Food is slightly cheaper, but given the salary that the average person earns, purchasing power is drastically reduced compared to home.
• I wish I could speak Hungarian or at least be able to understand a lot more than I do. I feel like in the few weeks that I’ve been here I've picked up a lot already, but this language is impossibly difficult to pronounce and they have accents up the wazoo.
• My roommate broke my rice cooker and I won’t be able to get another one till September at the earliest when I have family friends visiting. I'll have to figure out how to make rice on the stove (something I’ve never done). Rice goes a long way in me keeping my happiness. You have no idea. Not being able to have easy access to rice has increased my bitterness.
• My flat has so many problems with it. The poor excuse for a kitchen is so tiny and so ill equipped. We don’t even have proper pots and pans – the non stick is falling off everything. I don’t have the money to purchase new ones. And there is the whole fridge problem. Whenever I go grocery shopping I can never buy too much because there is nowhere to put it. We have a tiny freezer so I can’t even buy frozen food. I don’t have time to go shopping everyday for food. Food makes me happy. Eating well makes me happy and this kitchen just isn’t doing it for me. I am seriously considering moving. Or if I buy pots and pans, I would feel ridiculously selfish not letting anyone else use it (I really don’t want anything else of mine getting ruined).

I know I can’t expect to live the way I did at home, but I’ve just been really frustrated with a lot of things and they’re all piling up. I think once it cools down some (and by cool down, I mean to less than 30) and once I get paid, I’ll feel better. Not having any money sucks. I need to figure out a better way of managing it too.