back in the States and making lists
Top 5 Things I Missed While in Hungary
-ice cream. (There were ice cream shops/stands everywhere in Hungary, a presumed Liz McKee paradise, except that all the ice cream sucked bigtime. Most places either served Carte d'Or (dece) or Nestle (crap) brand, and usually it was melting, and the vanilla was always yellow. Yellow! Breyer's All Natural, you haunted my dreams.)
-American toilet paper. (TP in Hungary is thin with rough ridges and usually grey or hospital blue.)
-my usual oblivion from American radio music. (You know it's bad when you hear Rob Thomas so many times you almost start liking it.)
-drying machines. (Pretty much no one in Hungary but the super rich has them. There's no denying that line-dried clothes just suck, and I'm glad they're not a permanent part of my life.)
-my Amelie soundtrack. (With only twelve albums to listen to all summer, I sorely regretted the decision not to buy an iPod before I left.)
Top 5 Aspects of Hungarian Life I Can't Quite Appreciate (Or Perhaps Understand)
-clear bra straps. (I was relieved to find these just a passing fad in America, but they're everywhere in Hungary. Come on. No one's going to pretend they can't see the straps. It's tacky and gross, and in every instance where I saw them used, a strapless bra would have worked perfectly.)
-the large chain-wearing male population. (Gross.)
-dance remixes to the max. (These and American hip hop are the most popular types of music in Hungary. Everything was fair game, from predictable choices like "California Dreamin'" and "We Didn't Start the Fire," to puzzling ones, like "Dead Already" from the American Beauty score!)
-the public transportation ticket system. (What I did like was that Hungarian public transportation was very well organized, clean, and dependable. But valid tickets are checked by random inspections, when a casually-dressed passenger pulls out an official armband and asks for your ticket. It's so frustrating to me to validate a ticket and not be checked, and know that I could have ridden for free. In over two months I only encountered a ticket inspector once. I'd much rather be forced to pay each time.)
-assigned seats at the movies. (Completely unnecessary and frustrating.)
Top 5 Things I Will Miss Most About Hungary
-pastries. (If there's one thing I hate about America, it's the serious lack of pastries. Bakeries themselves are pretty rare, unless you live in a big city or are very lucky. When you go to the supermarket, there isn't a pastry counter with delicious, freshly-made selections, like in European "hypermarkets." No, all we get are yellow cakes with thick, unreasonably bland and disgusting frosting. Frosting is such a simple thing to make delicious! I don't understand.)
-Muvesz. (This is an artsy movie theatre I went to a few times. The projection rooms are small, but have extremely comfortable seats, and are all named after directors. There are large, old couches in the lobby and hallways. They only subtitle films instead of dub them. I felt so happy and at home there! And instead of taking the tram the last part of the journey there, I'd walk and pick up a pastry along the way.)
-cooking lessons and Dickens. (For one wonderful week I divided all my time between learning Hungarian recipes from my great-aunt and reading David Copperfield. It was quiet and beautiful.)
-Kinder products. (Candy selection in the U.S. mostly sucks, and that's even coming from someone that likes nougat. Why we exalt the peanut and not the hazelnut, I'll never understand.)
-Budapest at night. (Achingly romantic.)
I was also in Italy twice. Once with Alison in Padova and Rimini, and once in Venice with Mary.
Top 5 Things I Loved About Italy
-Alison and Mary being there.
-gelato.
-Venice.
-pizza.
-Kinder products. yes, they deserve to be on two top five lists. and yes, food is what I enjoyed most about Italy.
Top 5 Things I Didn't Love About Italy
-mullets being in style.
-obnoxious boys.
-the weather. (rainy in Rimini and oppressively hot in Venice)
-paying for shopping bags.
-pigeons.
And some notes:
-The song I listened to most was Jay-Z and Beyonce's "'03 Bonnie and Clyde."
-I've never eaten more watermelon in my life.
-Peanut butter is not available in Hungary, nor is it a familiar concept.
-If you think a sandwich of just meat and butter sounds gross, then you underestimate the deliciousness of Hungarian bread.
-I read a book by a Brit that teaches in Hungary about Hungarian life and Hungarians in general. He wrote: "If you want to learn Hungarian properly, you must be in your twenties, and you must marry a Hungarian." Having fulfilled neither of these criteria, I guess my failure isn't so surprising.
-I really like being American. I like it because "The Wonder Years" is about America and because I watched it while growing up in the American suburbs.
And Boston, how I've yearned for you!
-ice cream. (There were ice cream shops/stands everywhere in Hungary, a presumed Liz McKee paradise, except that all the ice cream sucked bigtime. Most places either served Carte d'Or (dece) or Nestle (crap) brand, and usually it was melting, and the vanilla was always yellow. Yellow! Breyer's All Natural, you haunted my dreams.)
-American toilet paper. (TP in Hungary is thin with rough ridges and usually grey or hospital blue.)
-my usual oblivion from American radio music. (You know it's bad when you hear Rob Thomas so many times you almost start liking it.)
-drying machines. (Pretty much no one in Hungary but the super rich has them. There's no denying that line-dried clothes just suck, and I'm glad they're not a permanent part of my life.)
-my Amelie soundtrack. (With only twelve albums to listen to all summer, I sorely regretted the decision not to buy an iPod before I left.)
Top 5 Aspects of Hungarian Life I Can't Quite Appreciate (Or Perhaps Understand)
-clear bra straps. (I was relieved to find these just a passing fad in America, but they're everywhere in Hungary. Come on. No one's going to pretend they can't see the straps. It's tacky and gross, and in every instance where I saw them used, a strapless bra would have worked perfectly.)
-the large chain-wearing male population. (Gross.)
-dance remixes to the max. (These and American hip hop are the most popular types of music in Hungary. Everything was fair game, from predictable choices like "California Dreamin'" and "We Didn't Start the Fire," to puzzling ones, like "Dead Already" from the American Beauty score!)
-the public transportation ticket system. (What I did like was that Hungarian public transportation was very well organized, clean, and dependable. But valid tickets are checked by random inspections, when a casually-dressed passenger pulls out an official armband and asks for your ticket. It's so frustrating to me to validate a ticket and not be checked, and know that I could have ridden for free. In over two months I only encountered a ticket inspector once. I'd much rather be forced to pay each time.)
-assigned seats at the movies. (Completely unnecessary and frustrating.)
Top 5 Things I Will Miss Most About Hungary
-pastries. (If there's one thing I hate about America, it's the serious lack of pastries. Bakeries themselves are pretty rare, unless you live in a big city or are very lucky. When you go to the supermarket, there isn't a pastry counter with delicious, freshly-made selections, like in European "hypermarkets." No, all we get are yellow cakes with thick, unreasonably bland and disgusting frosting. Frosting is such a simple thing to make delicious! I don't understand.)
-Muvesz. (This is an artsy movie theatre I went to a few times. The projection rooms are small, but have extremely comfortable seats, and are all named after directors. There are large, old couches in the lobby and hallways. They only subtitle films instead of dub them. I felt so happy and at home there! And instead of taking the tram the last part of the journey there, I'd walk and pick up a pastry along the way.)
-cooking lessons and Dickens. (For one wonderful week I divided all my time between learning Hungarian recipes from my great-aunt and reading David Copperfield. It was quiet and beautiful.)
-Kinder products. (Candy selection in the U.S. mostly sucks, and that's even coming from someone that likes nougat. Why we exalt the peanut and not the hazelnut, I'll never understand.)
-Budapest at night. (Achingly romantic.)
I was also in Italy twice. Once with Alison in Padova and Rimini, and once in Venice with Mary.
Top 5 Things I Loved About Italy
-Alison and Mary being there.
-gelato.
-Venice.
-pizza.
-Kinder products. yes, they deserve to be on two top five lists. and yes, food is what I enjoyed most about Italy.
Top 5 Things I Didn't Love About Italy
-mullets being in style.
-obnoxious boys.
-the weather. (rainy in Rimini and oppressively hot in Venice)
-paying for shopping bags.
-pigeons.
And some notes:
-The song I listened to most was Jay-Z and Beyonce's "'03 Bonnie and Clyde."
-I've never eaten more watermelon in my life.
-Peanut butter is not available in Hungary, nor is it a familiar concept.
-If you think a sandwich of just meat and butter sounds gross, then you underestimate the deliciousness of Hungarian bread.
-I read a book by a Brit that teaches in Hungary about Hungarian life and Hungarians in general. He wrote: "If you want to learn Hungarian properly, you must be in your twenties, and you must marry a Hungarian." Having fulfilled neither of these criteria, I guess my failure isn't so surprising.
-I really like being American. I like it because "The Wonder Years" is about America and because I watched it while growing up in the American suburbs.
And Boston, how I've yearned for you!