Saturday, May 30, 2009
I really apologize for the prolongued silence! It was not my intention.
The Fulbright officially ends on Sunday, although a week ago was our Hungarian going-away party. Ours was an odd community -- despite the fact that we were transient by definition, we globbed together once a month in a hearty show of American-style camraderie. I'm sad to see them go, although for the most part I probably won't notice. That sounds calloused.
My attempts to work in Hungary careen daily between hilarity and desperation. My current task is to obtain a social security number. We spent two hours at the Fulbright discovering that this amounts to a textbook Catch-22: to get one, my employer needs to send a paper in requesting a second paper with which to apply for the number on my behalf. This also requires me sending in my work permit and my work visa. However, my employer doesn't want to sponsor me for a visa until I work for them, and I can't work for them without a social security number...
Budapest is so lovely these days that I've *almost* forgotten how miserable it was during the winter... Folliage so green it can hardly contain itself spills out from every corner, and every trip to the market the produce is larger and more sumptuous than the last. Citizens have shed their black and now opt instead for several varieties of revealing clothing. My favorite was the girl in the tube top, pink thong and 95% transparent white peasant skirt.
Outdoor bars are popping up left and right as well -- it's a bit unfortunately timing with exams and the termination of my fellowship and all, but fortunately my scholarly burden is light and my pockets are not yet empty.
There is so much to look forward to! On the solstace, several city museums are open "all night" (until two a.m.); I've found a half-dozen lindy hop exchanges around Europe; I'm going to be homeless for a month. I'm desperately trying to be less up-tight.
The Fulbright officially ends on Sunday, although a week ago was our Hungarian going-away party. Ours was an odd community -- despite the fact that we were transient by definition, we globbed together once a month in a hearty show of American-style camraderie. I'm sad to see them go, although for the most part I probably won't notice. That sounds calloused.
My attempts to work in Hungary careen daily between hilarity and desperation. My current task is to obtain a social security number. We spent two hours at the Fulbright discovering that this amounts to a textbook Catch-22: to get one, my employer needs to send a paper in requesting a second paper with which to apply for the number on my behalf. This also requires me sending in my work permit and my work visa. However, my employer doesn't want to sponsor me for a visa until I work for them, and I can't work for them without a social security number...
Budapest is so lovely these days that I've *almost* forgotten how miserable it was during the winter... Folliage so green it can hardly contain itself spills out from every corner, and every trip to the market the produce is larger and more sumptuous than the last. Citizens have shed their black and now opt instead for several varieties of revealing clothing. My favorite was the girl in the tube top, pink thong and 95% transparent white peasant skirt.
Outdoor bars are popping up left and right as well -- it's a bit unfortunately timing with exams and the termination of my fellowship and all, but fortunately my scholarly burden is light and my pockets are not yet empty.
There is so much to look forward to! On the solstace, several city museums are open "all night" (until two a.m.); I've found a half-dozen lindy hop exchanges around Europe; I'm going to be homeless for a month. I'm desperately trying to be less up-tight.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Cool Women
Obviously there are more; I just wanted to put these two in a list before I forgot.
1. Jane Digby: "An English aristocrat who lived a scandalous life of romantic adventure." According to another source, she tried to buy a supposedly unbreakable horse from a sheik. After she broke the horse, he told her he wouldn't accept cash; she replied that she would marry him, but only on the condition that he leave all his other wives. They would remain married for three years, and then renew the agreement should it prove agreeable.
2. Emmy Noether: She was such a brillian mathematician that Gauss himself personally requested that she study with him...
1. Jane Digby: "An English aristocrat who lived a scandalous life of romantic adventure." According to another source, she tried to buy a supposedly unbreakable horse from a sheik. After she broke the horse, he told her he wouldn't accept cash; she replied that she would marry him, but only on the condition that he leave all his other wives. They would remain married for three years, and then renew the agreement should it prove agreeable.
2. Emmy Noether: She was such a brillian mathematician that Gauss himself personally requested that she study with him...
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Man, it is really hard to motivate myself to do anything right now!
The last two days, I've been enjoying what some might call the quintessential Hungarian (and East German) holiday on Lake Balaton. With Fulbright we visited the Herend porcelain factory (anyone who can explain the history of porcelain to me gets 100 points), ate Balaton fish (pike-perch? Is that a single fish?) at their restaurant (on Herend china, no less!), and then checked out the abbey at Tihany. Andras I, one of the first four or five Christian kings of Hungary, is buried there, and the last Hapsburg Emperor was there for a week before he had to flee the country (empire?).
After that, a couple of us stayed behind to enjoy a day filled with ice cream, healthy sour water from Balatonfured's natural springs, and of course, some beach. I wouldn't say I got quite as tan as I would have liked, but after swimming and being in the sun all day I definitely slept like a brick.
As sad as I will be to see this come to a close, I have to say that I will be relieved when I am not in school anymore. I hope to some day find a job that will make me want to get out of bed in the morning. I don't know if that will be next year or what, but I'm pretty sure it's not theoretical math.
The last two days, I've been enjoying what some might call the quintessential Hungarian (and East German) holiday on Lake Balaton. With Fulbright we visited the Herend porcelain factory (anyone who can explain the history of porcelain to me gets 100 points), ate Balaton fish (pike-perch? Is that a single fish?) at their restaurant (on Herend china, no less!), and then checked out the abbey at Tihany. Andras I, one of the first four or five Christian kings of Hungary, is buried there, and the last Hapsburg Emperor was there for a week before he had to flee the country (empire?).
After that, a couple of us stayed behind to enjoy a day filled with ice cream, healthy sour water from Balatonfured's natural springs, and of course, some beach. I wouldn't say I got quite as tan as I would have liked, but after swimming and being in the sun all day I definitely slept like a brick.
As sad as I will be to see this come to a close, I have to say that I will be relieved when I am not in school anymore. I hope to some day find a job that will make me want to get out of bed in the morning. I don't know if that will be next year or what, but I'm pretty sure it's not theoretical math.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Bureaucracy, take 100
After a brief hiatus, I am back to fighting Hungarian bureaucracy. I have a job for the summer, and it's not even teaching English! Instead, I will be teaching myself C++ and then programming like a madwoman. Theoretically, the C++ shouldn't be difficult after learning Java... However, the nice way of putting it is that my Java is rusty; for all intents and purposes, I am currently re-teaching myself. So why waste time doing that when I could teach myself another language instead?
Plans for this month (of which there are many):
1. Get a tax number.
To work, I need a tax number. I spent two weeks trying to figure out how to get one. It turns out I just need to bring my passport and my bad self to an office which, in typical fashion, is only open twice a week. It is also likely that they don't speak English.
2. Get a new flat.
Although I have a lease on my current one until the end of June, it will be too expensive once I am no longer in Uncle Sam's warm, fiscal embrace. It's also a bit big and the space is used funny, so I pay the same my friends do for studios, but instead I get a twin bed and an 8m2 room. Furthermore, I need to have a flat to extend my visa, and I might as well move before I do this. So I'm looking at two places this evening and another two (hopefully) on Monday. Side benefits: hopefully I can get a place with a bigger bed, better ventillation (--> painting in the room) and cool Hungarian roommmates.
3. Extend my visa
"Extending" my visa is a misnomer -- for all intents and purposes I am just applying for a new one. Sans Fulbright, I will probably have to pay a couple thousand forint. I also need to have some money in my bank account... Unclear how much, but presumably enough to assure the government that I won't be a leach on the rump of the wellfare state. This probably will involve borrowing money from my parents or myself. Also I need an apartment: see 2.
4. Health Insurance Number
Apparently I get this after I get my tax number? It's good because I will get Hungarian health insurance (although the Hungarian health care system seems unsustainable, I am happy to reap its benefits).This is GOOD, because if I pay 40% tax on my income I won't be able to afford any other health insurance.
That's about it for now... I guess it's not quite as bad as I initially thought. Wish me luck, though!
Plans for this month (of which there are many):
1. Get a tax number.
To work, I need a tax number. I spent two weeks trying to figure out how to get one. It turns out I just need to bring my passport and my bad self to an office which, in typical fashion, is only open twice a week. It is also likely that they don't speak English.
2. Get a new flat.
Although I have a lease on my current one until the end of June, it will be too expensive once I am no longer in Uncle Sam's warm, fiscal embrace. It's also a bit big and the space is used funny, so I pay the same my friends do for studios, but instead I get a twin bed and an 8m2 room. Furthermore, I need to have a flat to extend my visa, and I might as well move before I do this. So I'm looking at two places this evening and another two (hopefully) on Monday. Side benefits: hopefully I can get a place with a bigger bed, better ventillation (--> painting in the room) and cool Hungarian roommmates.
3. Extend my visa
"Extending" my visa is a misnomer -- for all intents and purposes I am just applying for a new one. Sans Fulbright, I will probably have to pay a couple thousand forint. I also need to have some money in my bank account... Unclear how much, but presumably enough to assure the government that I won't be a leach on the rump of the wellfare state. This probably will involve borrowing money from my parents or myself. Also I need an apartment: see 2.
4. Health Insurance Number
Apparently I get this after I get my tax number? It's good because I will get Hungarian health insurance (although the Hungarian health care system seems unsustainable, I am happy to reap its benefits).This is GOOD, because if I pay 40% tax on my income I won't be able to afford any other health insurance.
That's about it for now... I guess it's not quite as bad as I initially thought. Wish me luck, though!
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