Today was a good day, I think, for battling bureaucracy. Well, no day is really all that great for it, but I was pretty productive.

- 8 to 10, class

- 10 to 11, emotional hour where I thought I almost cried but didn't maybe four or five times. There was a line a mile long in front of the registrar's office; I was too scared and emotional to go in alone; my professor mentor told me she couldn't help; I can't receive email at my ELTE address; I have to go to a professor tomorrow and tell him for the second time in four days that I didn't do any work because I didn't get the email; my math problems are really, really difficult and I can't figure them out; I don't have any students here to ask for help yet; I haven't talked to anyone outside of the country in over a week, I'm really lonely, and I have way too much going on right now to dump on one of the other Fulbrighters, as nice as they are.

- BUT at 11:00 I toughed up, went to the registrar, and got my paperwork sorted out there.

- 11:45 I try and check out a book at ELTE's library using a letter typed up by a professor of mine on Friday stating (I think) that I really was a student and that I will have a card at some point, but I didn't have one right at the moment... Or something like that. This didn't go over very well, and when one of the librarians disappeared and wasn't back in fifteen minutes I decided to leave and try it again later with a real student card.

- 12:00 to 12:30 I ate and felt a little better

- 12:30 to 1:30 I went to ELTE's other office and got a temporary student card. There was a small hiccup when I realized that I hadn't brought the requisite two photos, but I was able to run home, pick them up and hurry back just in time for my number to be called. I'm really part of the univeristy now! This also means I can get onto the student system.

With that out of the way I went around the corner to the Renyi Institute. A quick email to Deszo (head of BSM/member of the Renyi Institute/my landlord two years ago) meant I was able to register for the library (you need to be sponsored). Unfortunately they didn't have either of their two copies of the book I wanted, even though their online catalogue says one of them is in.

After that I paid for my student card at the post office (instead of needlessly putting it off for days and days), bought a planner (like everything else so far, this was approximately ten times more difficult than you would think it would be), and went into our local district office to try and explain to the woman there that my landlady thought she had found a problem with an official document I need for my residence permit. To figure out this last hiccup I had to call my landlady and have her talk to the woman behind the desk, but apparently there was no problem after all! Great.

So now I've managed to do everything today except make food and do my homework. Suprising what gets put off until last...