Sausage + Pumpkin + Coldplay

Had a relatively disappointing last night. Tried for a long time to get Sam and Max- the Mole, the Mob, and the Meatball working, but for some reason, it just didn't. The previous two epsiodes I had played didn't work as well. (For those of you who care.... i.e Will, watch the trailer here: http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax/meatball Looks great doesn't it!) So I uninstalled it and tried again, to no avail. Maybe it just doesn't like Europe..... I just beat part II in ROA~

So I got up at 11:20-ish today (early, huh?), so I had a good 11+ hours of sleep, and played around on my computer some- including downloading the 8 min 15 sec Lost summary of the last three seasons (that was very entertaining!), and eating breakfast + lunch.

I left at about 1:30 to go College International. Ran into some compadres on the bus... so I knew I couldn't get lost. Got my magnetic key card for entry, and my password for the computer lab. Then had the meeting which talked some about the academic program- everything sounds great. Then we had the welcome party- where I met with a few professors, some who tried to woo me into taking their class, including Mathematical Physics (which will be about Quantum Information). They all seem absolutely brilliant- Weiner, the physics professor, and I talked a bit about the quantum stuff I've studied in the past few years. The student community here is pretty much exactly the opposite of what I face at Washington and Lee. The math look- i.e. the long hair and beard- is quite prevalent here, and I guess that will take some getting used too.

After the meeting, most of the class times had been settled. I plan on attending many classes the first week. I plan on visiting in on Functional Analysis, Combinatorics, Mathematical Physics, Advanced Abstract Algebra, Theory of Computation, Conjecture and Proof, Hungarian Language 1, Number Theory 1, Character Theory of Finite Groups, Graph Theory, Mathematical Logic, and Differential Geometry. The bold ones are what I'm planning on taking now, but depending on time-- and interests, I'm sure that will change. That means I'll be in class almost 8-4 every day for the first week!! I guess I've come this far to learn math... I might as well give every class possible a small chance.

Then, I went back to my flat by myself on a trolley bus- not getting lost!- and played some Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (the demo), which was fun. Then I headed to the mall, to get some dinner. Had a sausage, a large coke (you must realize, a large is nothing like the large in America), and a piece of pumpkin. Yes you read that right- I thought it was a sweet potato, but the lady said it was a pumpkin, and I just couldn't say no after I pointed to it, so I tried it. It was very stringy. Not to mention, not tasty at all. Some Codplay came on while I was eating the pumpkin, so at least I wasn't completely unhappy.

Then went to Match and picked up some rice, chicken breast (at least I think so!), soy sauce, and tofu- for tomorrow's dinner. I tried to buy some vegetable, but I didn't realize I had to bag it and mark it with a price, so the lady just put it away. All that was relatively expensive- 2700 forint. Then I went back and, with my roommate, went to a birthday party. Met a lot of new folk, including a girl from Kansas who goes to KU. Highlights include a game of ERS and 24 - which I dominated at!

Then I went back, and on the yellow line, I saw the comptrollers in full force. They are the ticket takers. Take note, Budapest's system is in no way like New York. Sometimes you go in and everything is unmanned, so it seems you don't even need a ticket. Then, sometimes in the exit, they ask for a ticket- in my case, I present the monthly pass. But this time, they got on the subway train itself, disguised (ie not yet wearing their blue armbands), and then put them on, asking for people's tickets as the train was moving. One guy did not have a ticket- and he was reprimanded. I hear you get fined at least $20 if this happens- a large sum. So even though it might seem okay, be careful! It is not good to get in trouble, especially in a place where you don't understand the language.

Then, got off at the Kodoly Korond stop, and walked back.

I actually got stuff done today! I hope now to look a bit at a Budapest book- and tomorrow to be a tourist (Heroes Square!).