Archive for June, 2009

One of the benefits, to me – now living back in the US, is Google Voice. US numbers only, I can call from my cell phone or landline and get low international rates:
http://www.google.com/support/voice/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=141925

If I’m international, I can call my Skype using my Skype to Go number, then dial my Google Voice for 2 cents/minute and make international calls also for as low as 2 cents/minute. So calling London might now cost 4 cents/min versus 20-40 cents/min.

I haven’t tried this yet and I’m guessing the VoIP quality is not great, but in theory, it works!

Google Voice also announces the cost of the call before it makes it, sweet!

Hungary has a lot of visitors from Germany. I’ve spoken more German here than I think I have in my entire life including visits to Germany and German class.

I’m learning Hungarian words, and if we can’t speak in English, often times someone will speak German. My German is improving and I’m having a blast.

This week it’s been a mix of Spanish, German, English, Hungarian, and – Euskara (basque country language)! I pop out my iPhone and ask someone to write the word down in my notepad. Little by little I’m building my own Hungarian phrasebook! So many words here however to describe similar concepts. And, if you say ‘How do you say ___ in Hungarian’ nobody seems to understand. I have to say, for example ‘Spaghetti > English… ___ > Hungarian?’ and that seems to work, I must figure out how/why the first one doesn’t work.

Truly international, learning so much, and I enjoy every minute of it. Someday I hope to be like my grandfather and learn to speak several languages fluently. Getting to be here amidst the culture learning how it’s said in context and not just from a book and why people think/act how they do is so much more interesting than learning from afar.

sajtotharum szendvics kerek

You would think that if the package says ‘Three Cheese’ Sandwich, you would probably get a three cheese sandwich. Especially if you ask the lady behind the counter ‘three cheese?’ and she says ‘yes, three cheese’.

After a quick toast in the oven, she delvers a great tasting three cheese sandwich – with, of course, ham and onion. Why didn’t I see that coming?

Not eating meat has been tougher than I thought here in Hungary. At the market the other day, I pointed to and ordered ‘Stuffed Green Peppers’ (it was also in English), to which they gave me two huge meatballs and sauce. Hmm, maybe I got the inside of the stuffed green peppers?

They have so many great sausages, tons of pork and red meat, seafood is questionable, not as much chicken as central america, and I think I saw tofu once. Lots of falafel, however.

I got really sick for about 3 days, could barely eat. I wonder if, other than the Palinka (hungarian traditional liquor), it was my stomach adjusting to meat and uht milk, considering I had a mostly vegetarian soymilk diet before. I just can’t seem to avoid it here, so although I am trying, when in Rome…