School is out, but that doesn’t mean that I am not spreading my English language knowledge across the land. To help pass the time and supplement my income, I have taken up more private students. I have come to the conclusion that I only like tutoring women and small children. Sorry, fellas! Oh, and yes – my post title was inspired by The Decemberists.

My friend Michael visited me not too long ago, so I became Tour Guide Barbie for a few days. I showed him the sites one typically thinks of when Budapest comes to mind – Parliament, Buda Castle, St. Stephen’s Basilica, etc. – but, of course, one cannot plan everything. After passing by one the ice bars in Budapest, Michael “conned” me into going in one with him. At first I pitched a fit (I previously ridiculed my friend Patrick for his Icebar Budapest adventure), but eventually caved when Michael told me he was paying – no shame in the game. The jaded person in me typically avoids most touristy places/activities, but a free ice bar experience was too good to pass up. Upon entering the building, we were given these large, blue ponchos with fur hoods. We then walked into the actual ice bar and just laughed and laughed. As you can imagine, everything was made out of ice. We were not, however, expecting to be the only people in the ice bar during the whole duration of our experience. Club music played, so we danced and consumed fruity drinks. The non-alcoholic choices were cheaper, so I went down that road. I enjoyed these drinks: “Santa’s Icy Dream” and “Penguin Poison.” The names of the alcoholic drinks were a little more mature: “My Cold Ice Balls” (of which I correctly translated into Hungarian for my bartender), “You and Me in My Igloo,” “Reindeer’s Viagra,” and “Don’t Touch My Snowball!”

I find it hard to believe that I have been in Budapest for ten and a half months! Before coming here, I scoured the internet for blogs about people’s experiences in Hungary – much like the blog I write now. I desperately looked for pictures of living spaces for teachers and found a few in my friend Alex’s blog. I know a flat is a flat – they all share common characteristics, but my thirst could not be quenched by common sense. I have decided to include pictures of my flat in this post, just in case there is another “me” out there.

 Entrance.

Living room.

Kitchen.

Bedroom.

Bathroom – CHECK OUT THAT TOILET SEAT.

Balcony… Growing weeds is cool, right?

In other news, my next European adventure is in a week! I am going to Slovenia for four days with my friend Bec. One of the main places I wanted to visit while here has been Lake Bled in Slovenia. I cannot wrap my brain around what I am about to see! In relation to my next adventure, I am typing this blog post while locked away in my dungeon tower/on house arrest. If I leave my flat, I will spend money. Therefore, locking myself away helps me save money. The logic is there, I promise.

Lastly, I am an official resident of Hungary for one more year! Luckily being too busy (lazy) to go to the Immigration Office paid off: the postman delivered my residence card to me on Friday! If you are my friend in real life, you have probably seen the disaster that is my old residence card picture. Words cannot express how bad of a picture it is… Bank tellers, immigration officials, coworkers, students, and even random people on the street all used to laugh at it. Fortunately for me and the rest of society, my picture this year is good! All those long nights of practicing paid off.