A Brief History...

So I think that now is a better time than ever to talk about why I did this program, or why I choose math in general (before the classes start and I get too busy to write about it).

All throughout high school (and even middle school and grade school), I didn't feel like I fit into any kind of group of students. I was in advanced math and science, along with advanced English and literature. I'm well aware that many students (especially where I went to school) were in both of these categories, but most of them had preferences. I did not. They either hated math and science, but needed to take advanced classes so they wouldn't in college; or they disliked English and literature and loved math and science.

Expect that’s where I’m wrong. In my high school, at least, no one loved math. Why would anyone love math? Only science was loved. I grew up with a stigma attached to math. Most teachers (especially in younger grades) feared math, and that fear was transferred to their students. It was never portrayed as something that you could study in the long run, but only something that was needed for other subjects (which is just bologna). It’s not that I didn’t want to study math, I was just completely unaware of the possibility that I could. Math never seemed relatable. It never seemed interesting.

Except at home. My dad is a high school math teacher. Not just that, but he was an Art major in college, so he can appreciate the beauty of math. I have this distinct memory of my first introduction to “imaginary numbers”. I was around 9 or 10 and I was sitting in the kitchen, eating a peanut butter and jelly on toast (mmmm….), and my dad just starts talking about how there are “other” types of numbers that we aren’t “used to”. He said there were imaginary numbers. Not that I really knew what he was talking about, but, hellooo, tell a little kid there are numbers called imaginary numbers, you could get them hooked on math in a second. He just made math seem so interesting, so intriguing, so beautiful. He never put pressure on me to study math (neither of my parents have ever put pressure on me with school, and I really thank them for that). I have to say though, I still did not even consider math as something I wanted to study. It was just something I liked a lot.

I went to St. Mary’s College of Maryland in the fall of 2007 as a future Biology major (I don’t like to tell anyone this, though, because I really don’t think I knew enough to know what major I wanted. And I don’t want people to think that I dropped bio for math because it was “easier”). Anyways….

I had an amazing biology teacher in high school. Ms. Baker is the reason I liked biology. Biology wasn’t the reason I liked biology. Then, while being in a 70 person lecture about cellular respiration in college, I realized I couldn’t care less about the material I was learning. And I found myself working on math problems in other classes. Not homework problems, but challenging problems that I got from a separate class that I was taking to help enhance my Calculus experience. I started liking math more and more.

I remember the day that I called my parents and told them I was going to be a math major. I was walking to the campus center, and I knew that it just felt right.

The story only gets better from here…

During freshmen year, a group of us went to a math conference and I was first introduced to the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics program. It felt like a long shot. I always wanted to study abroad, ever since my sister did it. It just seemed like a once in a life time experience to learn about something in a different country, and in a different culture. This program is it for math programs abroad. It has the best reputation, the best professors, the best classes, the best professor-teacher relationships, and the best long run opportunities for undergraduates.

It seemed so cool. But it seemed impossible. There was no way that I would be smart enough for it….

In the meantime, I kept learning math, and kept falling more and more in love with it. The summer before my sophomore year I did an REU at St. Mary’s in Knot Theory. But not only did we learn knot theory, but we had a separate “class time” where we learned graph theory (something that was different from what we were doing so our brain could have some breaks). Oh my goodness, it was awesome. It was an amazing experience, and I just thought math was even cooler after I left those 6 weeks.

Sophomore year, I went crazy with math. I even did another REU after sophomore year to research a Combinatorial game (and learn some discrete geometry)

First semester sophomore year I took:

-Calculus 3
-Foundations of Mathematics
-Independent Study in Knot Theory
-Math problem solving class

THEN, second semester I took:

-Linear Algebra
-Differential Equations
-Topology.

Best decisions of my life. I can’t even begin to explain how much I have fallen in love with this subject. Math is everywhere. Find me something in life that has no math, and I will prove you wrong. Not just that, but math is so pure. It’s so beautiful. It’s useful, ridiculous, and intriguing. And I feel happy while I’m learning it. I have to thank my professors at the River for doing such an amazing job at their job. They have pushed me, believed in me, and supported me.

Last semester I was second guessing applying to BSM. I didn’t want to get rejected and feel stupid (I still need some more self-confidence). But I was told that I should. I was believed in, and so I did. And to my surprise, they wanted me! I finished up my semester of Analysis (which I looooove) and Combinatorics (which is super cool), and I started the adventure of a lifetime.

I was asked last night (which is kind of the reason why I wanted to do this post) if my classes at St. Mary’s have been more “self-teaching” or “lecture”. I had to think about this, really think about it, because my professors are tricky tricky. While I have had mostly lecture classes, I have experienced a class type that is neither “self-teaching” nor “lecture” more and more. It’s a class where we have to teach each other. And let me tell you, it is ridiculously rewarding.


And that leaves me here: with an amazing group of people from all over the United States, about to study a subject that I love so much. AND it leaves me with an amazing group of friends and an amazing math department at the River, that I just cannot imagine my life without. I just feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

You know what? I am :)

Thanks for reading my love story….

Csütörtök

Today was exhausting. I don't know why, but I am just utterly exhausted. I think it's this fast pace life. The days here seem so short, and I am just trying to catch up. I think I just want it to slooooow down a little bit (at least, that would be ideal).

Class was awesome today. I can't remember the last time that I laughed as hard and as much as I did today....the whoooole day. It was amazing.

A few of us went to a bar, Szimpla (pronounced seem-pla). It was nice because we just sat around and talked. I almost didn't go out, because I was so exhausted...but as we say in my flat, "When in Budapest!"



While we were there, a fellow BSMer "created" this drink. It's called "Hungobomb" (copyright R-). You take a glass of Hungarian beer (Soproni or Dreher-you're choice), and then you take a shot of Unikum (something special in Hungary, which is syrup-like), and then you drop the shot in and chug. Yeah, I didn't try it.



Everyone was pretty excited about it. A couple of people even went up to the bar and asked if people do that (to see if it was actually original). The bar tender said, "Eh...it has been done a couple of times..." It did, nonetheless, give two guys courage to go flirt with two Hungarian women who spoke kiscit (little) English. It was a fail, but at least they can say they did it :)

We didn't stay out long. Like I said, I'm exhausted. I'm going to go to bed. Hopefully I'll have more interesting stuff to tell you tomorrow...

Kylee, Me, Caitlin

Brrrr...

It was 7 degrees (Fahrenheit, -13 Celsius) this morning. Seven. Hét. Siete. Sept. Sieben. Zeben. Sette.

No matter what language you speak, that is colddddd: below freezing cold!

So, in the spirit of the freezing coldness: we went sledding down this awesome hill (which took us about 20 minutes to climb up to):





It was about 13 of us, having a great time, in the freezing cold. We walked over one of the 8 bridges in Budapest to cross from Pest into Buda. I took some pictures. And yes, it's as cold as it looks...

My PJ's Update:
1 pair of long-john pants
1 pair of flannel pants
1 pair of fluffy socks
1 pair of slipper socks
2 long-john shirts
1 Metro t-shirt
brrrrr

We were there for quite a while, actually. We would have stayed longer, but everyone's extremities were freezing off their bodies. So! In order to warm up, we all went to get a cup of hot wine (mulled wine), which costs 160 Forints (which is like 80 cents...)





Even though it was freezing cold, I still seemed to manage to have fun with these people. They're awesome.

Here's a little treat, that I know my family will enjoy:

Samwich or Sandwich?

I had no idea I had an "accent".

And I'm not talking about an American accent to the Hungarian people. I'm talking about a an unnameable accent to the other American students.

Who knew?

Not me! I mean, you got the New York accent, the Boston accent, the southern accent, the midwest accent, the Maryland accent (and I don't say "warsh")...but people can have their own accent?

Whatever my accent may be, I think it's one of the coolest things I've learned about myself. I mean: I have an accent! Isn't that awesome?! Apparently I say my o's like a's. Like instead of "mom" i say it more like "mam". Meh..whateva!

Also, I was told that I don't know how to say "sandwich". I mean, I guess I just never realized that I replace the "nd" with an "m". I think that's kinda funny. I must say though: I've been speaking for 18 years (give or take)...and I was never informed before that I say sandwich wrong...I am around these people for less than 2 weeks, and they have no problem telling me. I know this is going to be a great 4 months :)

Sooo...I just thought I would share with all of you that I have an accent! I bet you do too! At least you do to someone :)

Első Hétvége!

On Friday night, we first went to a bar called Katapult. It was just a small little place near the Babilion Language School where I’m learning magyarul for the next two weeks. It was fun and I got to meet some more people here. I talked to this guy from Wales for a few minutes about American Football and who I wanted to win the Superbowl. Then we decided we wanted to go to a bigger bar and maybe go dancing. That was a no go. We didn’t really find anyone where to go dancing, but we ended up at this sweet (but cold) bar and just overtook a room and sat around and talked.

The people here are awesome. They are from all over the country. I mean we got Maryland, North Carolina, California, Texas, Minnesota, Vermont, New York, Iowa, Washington, Virginia, Colorado, …

And we come from all different schools: public and private, big and small. There’s St. Mary’s, Harvard, Pomona, Northwestern, Wartburg, Bryn Mawr, Rice, Harvey Mudd, Stanford, UT Austin, Penn State, and there’s even more!

They are laid back and tons of fun. I can tell the next four months are going to be awesome with this group of people. I mean, don’t get me wrong, they will never be like my bmff on the River. But hey, I’ll take what I can get : )

Saturday was a pretty lazy day. Caitlin and I woke up late, sat around, and then decided to go out again with everyone. This guy (from Texas!) and his flat mate decided to have all of us over Saturday night. It was nice to be hanging out in someone’s apartment, relaxing, talking, and making new friends. I think that it was a nice little break from this crazy, fast life in the city.

I have to say, I’m absolutely loving it here, and I mean loving it: I love the smells, the food, the sounds, the public transportation, the people, and I’m actually starting to love the cold (shh, don’t tell!). However, I’m kind of happy that this whole fast pace life style is just a part of my life adventure. I definitely can’t see myself as a city person for the rest of my life…

Sunday was Church day! I found a church near by, The Matthias Church at Buda, and went with a new friend, Kylee. It was a noon service (in Hungarian) and it was definitely a new experience. The Church was BEAUTIFUL. Probably the prettiest church I’ve ever seen. They were doing construction on it, so I didn’t even get the full effect! As much as I liked experiencing a Catholic mass in a different language, I’m going to find a church nearby that has English services. I just feel like I would get more out of it. After mass, we noticed that the area behind the church had the most fantastic views! So I took some pictures! I mean, it really was a beautiful place. If it hadn’t been 13 degrees (Fahrenheit) I might have taken some more!

Valami Más

We have this phrase in the Garcia household. Whenever trying ANYTHING new, instead of answering with the normal: "I like it" or "I don't like it" we seem to have our own little family phrase. I never really realized it until a couple weeks before I left to come here. My mom pointed it out to me, and I had NO idea how often we said it in our family. Yesterday, I learned how to say it in Magyarul (Hungarian). The story goes a little something like this:

Here, in Hungary, they have this famous “candy bar” that children are “brought up on”. At first, when we heard about it, we were disgusted! Our teacher told us it was cottage cheese dipped in chocolate.

Grooooooss.

Turns out, there was a translation issue, and it was “cottage cheese textured”. It turned out to be ricotta cheese. Dipped in dark chocolate. So! In the spirit of celebrating the culture (and liking both dark chocolate and ricotta cheese), during our lunch break three of us went and bought a Turó Rudi.

After lunch, we had to go around the room and tell everyone what we had for lunch, and whether we liked it. So eventually it got to the three of us who went and bought one (the first people in the whole group to experience this tiny piece of Hungarian culture). So, we said:


“Ettűnk Turó Rudi”

“Ahhhhh!!! What did you think" (in Hungarian…but you think I remember how to say/spell that?!

The other two have this look of confusion on their face, because they can’t explain the interesting taste. And without even THINKING I respond:

“How do you say ‘Something Different’ in Hungarian?”

She just started laughing and shaking her head. But she told me! It is:

Valami Más (pronounced: Va-la-me Maaahsh)

And boy was that a piece of home that I was happy to share with the Hungarian culture.

Excuse me, this is CENTRAL Europe...

This was a good day. Scratch that.Today was a GREAT day.



I woke up and got to Skype with him before heading to another intensive day of Hungarian (it was a great way to start off my day). I feel like I learn so much during these classes, and then I lose most of it by the time I'm going to bed...Hopefully this is just the learning process?

We had 3/4 of a day in the language class because we were taken to College International for orientation. This is the place where all of my math classes are going to be held. We sat in a lecture hall, and I just started getting so excited. They handed out the syllabus for every class and I want to take SOO many!! sigh...


Then, I realized that I had to wait until February 8th. You know when you realize you're a huge nerd? When you are beyond ridiculously excited to start taking classes because you are having such math withdrawal. It's bad. Really bad.

After that, we sat back and listened/watched this 90 minute lecture about "The Culture of Hungary". It was awesome. We started off watching this interesting commercial. Watch it! There are subtitles on the bottom. Then he told us some history facts (some of which I feel like I should know):

~Hungary is a huge part of why East Germany collapsed. Something about how, Hungary held this huge picnic so that people from East Germany and West Germany could take a "long vacation" to meet with their family members they hadn't seen for so long. This caused a giant flood of people to leave East Germany for "vacations" and let to the collapse of the government. (I learned a lot today, so I might have gotten some of that wrong)

~Hungary is in Central Europe, not Eastern Europe. Eastern Europe has a bad name, and Hungary doesn't want to be a part of it.

~The inventor of the Rubiks Cube is Hungarian.

~The guy who figured out how to sterilize medical equipment (and realize it was important) is Hungarian. He is called: mothers' savior

~Hungarians are glass half empty kind of people (which is actually pretty sad)

~Waterpolo and Handball are HUGE here. I guess like football and basketball at home?

After that, we went back, did our homework, and then went to a little bar. It was called "Paris Texas". Someone said they saw it in their guide book as a good place to go. I don't think I'll go back because it was aimed for tourists and everything was really expensive. I had 1/2 a liter of the beer from that commercial (everyone thought it was appropriate that we get it :) ).

It was a great day. I'm exhausted and should go to sleep. Another long day tomorrow!

Magyarul: The Language of Harmony

Szia! Hogy vagy?!

Today I learned the Hungarian alphabet! Finally! That was what I think I was most excited to finally learn. Now I can actually read stuff. It’s a really beautiful language. They choose certain vowels in words based on how nice the word flows out of your mouth. They call it, choosing the right harmony. Thus, there are no ugly words! Even my name is beautiful (I mean I already have a beast name, but this just made my day). My Grandpa Mickey would be thrilled to learn that they say my name “correctly” here.

(A couple days before I left)

Grandpa Mickey: Someone the other day asked me if I was Lydia’s boy. And I was so happy to hear someone say my mother’s name correctly…You know your name isn’t pronounced lid-ee-uh, right?
Me: Uhhh, no. That’s what everyone has been calling me for almost 21 years now…
Grandpa Mickey: It’s leed-ee-uh.
Lydia: Hmmmm, interesting…

(Today, introducing myself)

Me: Lydia vagyok. (saying it like lid-ee-uh)
Teacher Lady: Ooooh, “Leed-ee-uh” vagy. Very nice (or something like that...).

Isn’t that awesome?!?!


So! I learned the alphabet. I learned numbers up to 100 (including zero :) ). I learned nationalities and countries. I learned how to conjugate FOUR verbs. I learned all 14 vowels (that’s right folks). And I learned a lot more too! We went to the Market Place and had to ask Vendors what fruits and vegetables were called and what their prices were. They were very kind people and really helpful. Also, I saw the first mall ever in Budapest (the top picture). It’s closed now….

This place is so wonderful. We walked around and I just felt like I wasn’t living real life for a few seconds; I was living in this dream, and I didn't want to wake up. I just wish I could share it with more people. I mean, I know my parents would absolutely love this place, and I know Josh would too. It's full of so much history and tradition....I guess that just means we're all going to have to come back here one day :)





I love Budapest more and more everyday. I really want to learn this language, and I really want to experience this culture. Today I bought something for the first time asking for it in Hungarian. It was amazing. It was a cheese pastry--and the best cheese pastry that I will probably ever eat.





To end this rant about how much I’m loving it here, I took some pictures of my flat to show you. This is where I am going to call “home” for the next 4 months :)

View from my front door.

Right when you walk in :)

Half of our tiny, cute kitchen

The other half :)

Our bathroom (with a really short shower...)

The toilets here have the hole in the opposite place! Crazy!

The living room area


My dresser (it's actually way nicer than mine at home :) )


My bed (where I don't seem to sleep...)

My First Day in Pest

This is the view from my apartment window. Budapest is actually two cities: Buda and Pest. Pest is the city area and Buda is more suburban. Which is weird, because I'm living in Buda and I definitely don't get a "suburban" vibe. Anyways, that's my view, and it's really the only picture I have so far. Life here is crazy fast. And it's crazy cold. I really haven't had time to stop and take pictures. Hopefully tomorrow!

Today my flatmate and I went to Pest to do a few things. One of her bags got lost on the plane, she we went to pick it up where our classes are going to be held. So at least we know where that is now! It was a good trip. Then we went back to find out where our language class is going to be for the next two weeks. This place is so interesting. It's so surreal to be the foreigner. It really is.

We have registration tomorrow at 8am! Which is 2am at home. I have had a really hard time sleeping through the night. Mainly, I can't seem to sleep from 12am to 3am (which is 6pm to 9pm...it makes sense I guess). But it needs to stop soon so I can be on Budapest time.

I guess that's all for now. Nothing too exciting. More tomorrow, for sure!

Love Always,

Lydia

A Day of Firsts

Today was a day that was filled with firsts. I'd like to share some with you.

1. Today is the first day that I have ever had to sit down while taking a shower to wash my hair. Who knew that the shower spouts are only 3 1/2 feet tall? Are people here really that short?

2. Today is the first day that I have ever caught my hair on fire. Yep! While blow drying my hair, it got caught and caught on fire. Just a little tiny one. But still!! It made my hair get into this HUGE tangle, and it was horrible. But don't worry...I saved the huge tangle to show my mom :)

3. Today is the first day that I have ever bought anything that wasn't with American money. That's right folks! At the Metro station right across the street from my apartment, I bought a juice box (multi-fruit) from the vending machine. It was about 170 HUF ...which is like .75$.

4. Today is the first day that I have bought Alcohol. A bottle of white wine, at the grocery store right next to my apartment. It was 390 HUF ...that's like 2 bucks! And it was actually quite good.

So I guess it wasn't that many firsts, but still! I think I'm doing pretty well. Besides being a little homesick and missing him a lot, I'm doing pretty well. Tomorrow, my flatmate and I are going to venture to Pest (I am living in Buda). I'll put up some pictures then I guess.

Love Always,
Lydia

"It's Grow Up Time"

These are the words my dad whispered in my ear as he hugged me goodbye at the airport. And boy was he right. The details of my journey to Budapest are nothing too out of the ordinary. You know, except for the fact that I almost missed my connection flight in London to Budapest by about 10 seconds. That wasn’t one of the scariest moments of my life at all…naaah

It started out alright. I said goodbye to the parental units, said goodbye to him. Cried, like I knew I would. Then I was off to London. The 7 hour plane ride to London was fine. I barely slept though, mostly because of my nerves. I did, however, have an excellent 3-course meal, with a complementary bottle of white wine (that was rather tasty). I listened to songs that reminded me of him for the 5 hours I didn’t sleep, and thought about how much the next 5 months are going to suck without him. Almost cried 3 or 4 times. You know…the usual.

Then. I got to London. It.Was.Horrifying. Heathrow airport is bigger than the city of Bowie, MD. At least, that’s what it felt like. You have to take a bus to get from one place to ANY other place; a bus ride that is at least 15 minutes no matter where you are going. So, like the genius I am, I go to the wrong terminal, go through the wrong security check point, and go to the wrong gate. THEN I realize how stupid I am. So I run back to the bus to take me to the right terminal. I wait for it to leave. I take the 15 minute bus ride, and then I run to the boarding pass check in place thing. I show them that my gate closes in 10 minutes so they let me through before everyone else. So I run to the security checkpoint. They let me go to the “first class priority something something” security checkpoint, which was WAY less crowded. And I am now looking at about 12 young men (mid to late 20s) that stand in my way of getting through security. I breathe and I pray,

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things
I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Then I hear my dad, “It’s grow up time!” So I breathe, and open my big, fat mouth, “Excuse me, does anyone mind if I go ahead of you? My gate closes in 2 minutes.” I must have looked pathetic. I was sweaty, near tears, and desperate. The gentlemen all looked right at me, smiled, nodded, and moved out of the way. I couldn’t believe it! I thanked them very graciously, and then I bolted! As I was about to start running again, one of the nice men said to me, “Don’t worry, you’ll make it.” Then I ran some more. The British Airways lady saw me running down the steps. She yelled, “Budapest?” “Yes!” I responded. She looks at me with a smile and says, “You just barely made it!” and all I could do was smile, thank her, and let out a giant sigh of relief.

You think that’s where I would board the plane. At the gate, right? WRONG. Another 15 minute bus ride. Jeeeez…..

Anyways, I got on the plane, changed my clothes and breathed. I breathed and I said another prayer and thanked God, those nice gentlemen, and my dad. Definitely grow up time. Definitely.

Goodbye Familiar, Hello Unknown...

I'm off to Hungary! This is probably going to be the biggest solo adventure of my life. I feel happy, loved, excited, nervous, scared...but most of all, I have a feeling of disbelief. I cannot believe that I have been lucky enough to be given this opportunity. I cannot believe that I have been blessed with people in my life that have made this experience possible for me. I cannot believe that I am about to go study Math in a foreign country for next five months. AND I cannot believe that I don't even really know what's going to be going on until I get off the plane. This really is going to be an adventure!

The next time we meet I will be in another land, far away. I will miss all of you (most especially him <3 ). It's going to be rough, but we will get through it! Viszontlátásra!

With all the love in the world,

Lydia Ann

Hello from Maryland!

Helloooo everyone (if there is even anyone)!

Welcome to what will soon become my diary. I only have 9 days left in the States, and I haven't even begun packing! I have a mixture of so many feelings and emotions, and I will miss so many people, but I know that I will have the time of my life! But for now, this is to all the folks I will miss down at the River, and at home...I love you all :)









most of all, though, I will miss him...






...sigh.


Goodbye for now! I guess I should go start packing!