Culture Infusion

How am I already almost done with my first week here? The days are definitely starting to blend together in a crazy whirlwind blur. In some ways, I feel like I've been here forever. I'm comfortable walking around the city and using the buses and metro. The only thing that still gets to me is the realization of how little Hungarian I know. We've tried to learn at least one word every day, but this an incredibly difficult language, and we usually have our guide or professors who at least partially, speak English, so we haven't truly been forced to learn it. I will say that learning Kùssenum (thank you) was probably the best choice we could have made. It makes me feel slightly better to know that I can at least show some appreciation to the locals, whether they speak English or not. Also, please note that I'm going to be spelling all Hungarian words the way I think they sound, not how they necessarily are spelled. So here's my list so far:
Sunday- Kùssenum or kùssi (thank you/thanks)
Monday- chipka (clothespin or table covering)
Tuesday- Egészégedre (cheers) (that one is spelled correctly!)
Wednesday- Vegetarian (vegetarian) and borzasz (sorry)
Thursday- ciya (see ya!)
Honestly, given how hard this language is, I'm pretty pleased so far. I know just enough to not feel 100% out of place. In actuality, this place feels quite a but like home. I don't mean that it's at all like Atlanta, or the states, but that I feel quite comfortable here. Every day I grow to love this place just a little bit more. There are some things that I miss about the states, but it's nice to be typing this next to the Liberty Bridge in one of the many park areas. It's near a bunch of pubs, so there is music and people, but it's relatively quiet. I am definitely enjoying the ability to SIT and relax. Here is my usual day:
0630/0645 wakeup
0700/0715 breakfast
0730-0800 or 0830 commute via walking, metro, or bus
0830-1230 class or clinicals/hospital
1230-1330 lunch
1330 to 1430/1530- class
1430/1530- 1600/1630 commute
1630-1800 touring or other mandatory scheduled program
1800- dinner
1800-2000/2100- shopping/free time/get out of the hostel
2100-2130- shower
2200- 2300/0000 journal/blog/homework/laundry
0030- Collapse from exhaustion
Rinse.  Repeat.
Don't get me wrong, I'm loving this! However, the days are killing me. We wake up early, run all day, and go to bed late, so I'm stumbling through my days. I'm so excited to have some down time this weekend to relax and hang out in the local parks and coffee shops. (It's Morgan's birthday tomorrow so we'll be hitting New York Cafe,which is the supposedly the most beautiful cafe in the WORLD).

Class today was in the simulation lab of Sammelweis University. It was actually a pretty nice lab! The sim people are just as creepy here as they are back home with stretched out faces and and weird breathing. The lab professors today were very nice and were very supportive. They started a postpartum ob/gyn simulation (which I have never done before), with all 12 of us working together with the same patient. That was definitely a little chaotic, but thank goodness we had other students to lean on. I have NEVER had an OB/GYN patient, and I never intend to. That's just not my cup of tea. I feel like Morgan had a blast though, and I'm glad she got a chance to shine though. Our second patient was a stroke patient, so that was pretty familiar for me. Overall though, I enjoyed the experience, and I wish we got to be there another day.
On the way back from class, our small group found a cute little coffee shop, and, to our surprise the owner is an english speaking italian! We had a good chat with him, and got some wonderful coffee (!!!!!!!). I have now found my Hungarian Bella Coffee, the local coffee shop that I will visit EVERY day to study in, and to do my homework. Luckily, it is right down the street from our hostel, and they serve coffee to go, which is rare for Europe.
After a brief (15 minute) respite, Dalna and Zoli, two hungarian students, took us to the Budapest version of Dialogue in the Dark. It was kinda similar to the one that was at Atlantic Station for a while, but in some ways it was completely different. The darkness itself is the same, you can't see anything at all, and I always felt as though I was about to faceplant. However, since I was with a group of people I know, I didn't mind running into them as much. And when I say that I ran into people, I mean that I was full on plowing into my classmates. It was the most terrifying and hilarious experience. "Who is this?!?!" "It's David/ Laura/ Bilal/Melissa/Tina!" I started just hugging people when I ran into them. In the second room or so, Morgan and I found each other and we spent the rest of the time clinging to each other for dear life. You should have heard the confusion in Ester (our blind guide)'s voice when she tried to steer us towards a door and realized that we were literally connected. For those of you that haven't been to one of these exhibitions, I highly recommend it. I was amazed at the amount to which I struggled through the various rooms (an apartment, busy street, log cabin, museum, and forest), without my eyesight. However, even though I didn't have visual capabilities, my mind tried to compensate, and I felt like I could see at times, even though I most definitely could not. My mind created wonderful images and pictures of what I presumed my surroundings to look like. The guide, Ester, was so comforting during the many times I found myself stuck in corners of the room. After the bridge, I managed to tangle myself up in a campfire bucket and a tree to the point where I had no idea of how to free myself. She was very patient and always called us forward to the correct area. I don't want to say much more so that I don't ruin the experience for anyone, but if you are not claustrophobic, I highly recommend going to such an exhibition.It is an incredible experience for sure.
One of the details I wanted to hit briefly before I finally get some much needed sleep is that I love the Hungarian system of RN to paramedic. Let me explain for you non-medicals out there. In the USA, you train to be an EMT and then Paramedic, as in, the track is completely different from that of nursing. I Hungary, you study to become an RN first, and then you get your master's to be a paramedic. Sign me up! As most of you know, I'm a critical care/trauma nurse through and through, so I would LOVE to be on the 'front lines' of the medical field. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, and I'm not leaving it anytime soon, but I love that, here, I could stay in my career path and go another step towards the trauma section of the field.

As promised, I went back to the banks of the Danube to do homeowrk/write this tonight. I love sitting in an area and soaking up the culture of the locals. It's such a wonderful way to end the day. As for now, I will leave you with a few quotes from Miss Laura Bolt to enjoy. I swear that these were hilariously meant and I still get a crack out of it.

"I really enjoyed watching you struggle for independence. I'm not even going to say it was you struggling against your shirt, it was watching your pride suffer."
- on watching me wrestle with the act of changing my shirt and not asking for help

 "Eww. Yall my arm looks weird" "....I mean... don't you think you your arm is always gonna look a little messed up?! It's metal!"



Last but not least, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MORGAN! (In Hungarian time). I love you bestie and I can't wait to spend the day with you tomorrow!

Goodnight!
-Missing the red,white, and blue


"Nursing is not simply a job, it is a way of life."