Yesterday was Friday, Friday.
The final day of classes consisted of a test and then each section putting on a performance. The test was multiple choice and didn't count for anything, since we're in no way graded or anything in the class, but it was a nice evaluation of what we learned. The little skits we all put on were entertaining, I should say. The best part though was before we did any of the skits. We had our classes in the morning in the language school, but after lunch we headed over to the university for the afternoon. We showed up in the room we were told to go to, and found it filled with Germans. There appeared to be another class, filled with German post-college pre-med students, meeting in the same room at the same time. Since none of the teachers were present, we all sat in the back looking confused. After a while, the teacher of the Germans walked up to us and asked if we knew what we were doing there. We said, nope, just kind of waiting. He seemed annoyed with us, but just went to the front of the room and started teaching. After a while, we then started filtering out of the room, pretty sure something had gone wrong. After a while of milling around in the hallways, our teachers arrived and, after much conversation with the administration of the college, straightened out the room. Turns out, we had been correct. I have no idea what the Germans were doing or where they were supposed to be or why the mix-up occurred, but it was an amusing little adventure.
After the skits, we had a small amount of time to kill, so I wandered the neighborhood with some people, trying to find a coffee shop and discover what's in the immediate vicinity. Not much was found, only a cafe that sold machine-made coffee, but we only went in one direction, so perhaps better luck will be had later.
We then had our orientation, which was very similar to the one I had the week after my arrival, so it wasn't very exciting. However, we also spent a good deal of time talking about classes, what they'll be, who's teaching them, when they're offered. This was very exciting. Real classes start on Monday, and it's something everyone's looking forward to.
I think I will try and take intermediate Hungarian language, statistics, introduction to abstract algebra, combinatorics 1, combinatorial and computational aspects of bioinformatcs, and dynamical systems & bifurcations. That's 5 math classes and 1 non-math class. This might end up being too much, in which case I'll drop one of them. But I have a 3 week shopping period before registration, so I think I'll be good. 3 of the math classes are also most likely going to be reading classes, which is when the class has fewer than 6 people in it and it therefore only meets once a week, primarily as a discussion and review section, with much work being done on one's own. So, I'm not sure if that'll make it better or worse. We'll see.
After the orientation we had a little meet & greet with the professors, so we could talk to them and, more importantly, set up a preliminary meeting time for the reading courses, which weren't scheduled yet. All of mine ended up happening on Friday, somehow, which is a shame. That will most likely change though, as people get a better idea of their schedule. Because no one wants classes on Friday, if they can help it.
I returned to my apartment to make dinner and pay my landlord. Dinner was delicious, consisting of fried rice with tofu, onions, mushrooms, egg, and arugula. Paying the landlord was not as entertaining, as the cost of utilities was more than expected. The good news is that hopefully he'll be able to get our oven replaced by next weekend. The bad news is that my roommate who was in this apartment last semester as well said he claimed the same thing almost every week. Now, however, he says he knows a friend of his father's who knows a guy who knows a place where they sell just the oven, instead of the oven/stove combination, which is what he needs. Hopefully, this means something will happen. I would like to be able to bake again!
After the landlord left, my new roommate left to go meet up with his girlfriend, another student on the program who had just gotten back today (they met here last semester), and me and Boris went over to an apartment belonging to several of the BSMers for a party. Almost all of the people on the two programs were there at some point, which was pretty impressive. Much time was spent talking to people, meeting the new people who hadn't done the language school, and drinking hot chocolate mixed with honey liquor. I went back with a group of people who live close to the same train station that I do and so discovered a night bus route that gets me home! This is very exciting news, as it goes much closer to my flat, allowing me to completely skip the sketchy walk between Blaha Lujza ter and Keleti that I'd been making previously. My roommate and I have made this walk several times past midnight, and each time we have been solicited by women that we're pretty sure are prostitutes. They leave us alone if we keep walking, but it's nice to just be able to bus it back home.