Goodbye Hungary

We got up at 5am to leave. Sophie’s mom packed me some pancakes with Nutella to bring with me and I even got Hungarian chocolate and Nutella! They’re so kind! I hugged them all goodbye and got in the car with my techers and five students.

We met the others at the airport 20 minutes before the luggage drop opened. Our teachers disappeared and had absolutely no information so I was left to tell the others when the drop would open. Me at age 12 would have been a better travel-guide than our teachers. Oh, well. This is where the story's ending guys. And it was wonderful. I've made some friends for life and I've promised to come back. All is well.






-Mari Clémentine

Meeting my new Family and old Friends

Exchange. The girl that had stayed here, let’s call her Sophie, and her father met me at the train station. I embraced the girl, shook hands with her father and we went the short way home in their rather cool car. Her mom and brother greeted me outside, in the backyard. Her mom kissing me on both cheeks (btw, she doesn’t speak English), her brother shaking my hand shyly. They showed me her room and the rest of the little house before getting me to dinner which tasted wonderful, but was a horrible experience because I have a phobia of eating in front of people. Oh well, the day would get better! 

Sophie took me to the city center were we met with nearly all of the others and we were hugging and I told the story of how I got from Oslo to Pécs and then we all went out for drinks at this little place the Norwegians named “the grass place”. We toasted to the warm weather and new friends and laughed and laughed with the sunset as backdrop.


-Mari Clémentine

Train trouble in Hungary - TRAVELLING ALONE

I hurried back to the train station and found my train, still not changed to a dress. I found my place on the train that was cooking and after much back and forth I got changed to my maxi-dress, I pulled up my magazine and after a while I fell asleep. In Kurd we had to change to a bus as it was construction work on the railway and it was really confusing since no one spoke English and the busses weren’t marked, but magically I managed to get on the right one. Kurd, the small-town where we changed trains were lovely. So lovely I really want to – I need to go back there and write. People were all having these cute little gardens where they grew vegetables and trees with pink flowers and so on. I loved it.

When we arrived in Dono-something we had to get on the train again and also this time it was rather confusing as no one spoke English, but I made it again. The Hungarian scenery is amazing, it’s inspiring. The fields half covered in little lakes. The trees with pink flowers, the little huts the poorest of them lived in. The gardens. It was a whole new world and then suddenly, we arrived in Pécs.

ON TRAVELLING ALONE
Travelling alone in eastern (sorry, people, everything is east for me) Europe I didn't expect much English, neither did I expect much help. So what did I do? I researched. I found out online when the train left for Pécs, how much time I’d have, how to get from the airport to the train station, what I wanted to see in Budapest, if there was luggage storage at the railway station, what metro line to take, where to eat. I had it all figured out in my head and I’m so glad because if not I would have been so lost. If you’re not an experienced traveller I would not recommend it though, then your best choice would probably be to stay at the trainstation and wait for the next train J

-Mari Clémentine

It's alocohol free, is that okey? - Budapest in 2 hours

The plane ride went smooth as always. I tried to sleep but couldn’t, so I just closed my eyes while listening to music. It was colder than I expected in Budapest, so I didn’t change, but picked up a ticket for the airport’s shared-shuttletaxi service (which is great and easy to use) and fetched a free map of the city, marking of some places before picking up my suitcase. The taxi driver didn’t speak English and it was a bit confusing at first, but I used the few Hungarian words I knew and got in the car which took me and another fellow safely to Keleti railway station where I picked up a train ticket to Pécs before leaving my luggage. Not changing.

I took my camera and money and went by underground to the city centre. First thing showing up: Starbucks. Then I found St. Stephens Basilica, which was really impressive. I had promised my mom to eat so I soon went down the street to Hard Rock Café where I went inside (to hot outside – yay to sweater and jeans. No.) and ordered some French fries and a groupie grind. This was the defining moment for my Budapest experience. I ordered the GG and the waiter said: “It’s alcohol free, is that okey?” I should have yolo’ed and said no, but I didn’t. I then enjoyed my smoothie, went shopping at the New Yorker and went down to the riverside to see Danube and the castles. I had so little time, but Budapest seemed wonderful with all the green areas and buildings and stuff.

-Mari Clémentine

An Unexpected Journey - Hungary

The airport was still empty and silent that morning when I wandered through security, ready to face the big adventure of flying to Budapest and then continuing to Pécs on my own. I sat down with my latest version of ELLE magazine, nervous and excited to leave for Hungary.

The trip to Hungary was not chosen by me as I’m part of an International Project at school. You get to make a wish list of three countries among five and get to go to one of them. 12 were picked to go to Hungary and for most of us it was the 3^rd wish. We wanted to go to Italy and Slovenia and Spain.
    But then in February the Hungarians arrived here and stayed with us for a week and we had so much fun! It was snow everywhere and we took them skiing and had snowball fights and went to Oslo shopping… We were so glad we had been chosen to go to Hungary as they were the most fun people ever.

So this journey will be different in so many ways. I’m staying at someone’s house, going to their school and experiencing all with 12 of my friends and 2 teachers. “Flight something something to Budapest at superearly in the morning is now ready for boarding. Please…” The flight was not what worried me. I’ve done that many times before. But I’ve never been to Budapest. So wish me luck.                                                       -Mari Clémentine 

The World is Ahead - Hungary

It’s 3 a.m. in the morning, I put my key in the door… -Eminem. Actually it’s 3.45 and I cannot believe I’m up and going to Hungary, but for some reason I find energy to stand straight and get dressed. I do my makeup and stumble down the stairs with my suitcase in hand. Breakfast is the only thing keeping me from going out the door and after hugging my mom I grab a cupcake and get in the car. The world is ahead.