Budagirl: 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 :)