All the Details...

I have had many people ask me for more details...about the people and the culture and the daily ins and outs of what it is like here. So I thought this blog could be dedicated to that! For the most part, Hungary is a very homogenous country. The school is not! But the country as a whole is. People here tend to be friendly. When we go to pay rent to the landlord (who speaks NO English) she makes us food and sits with us and talks with us, even though neither of us can understand each other! The style here really ranges; I would say it is not that different from the U.S. The only American clothing store they have here is H&M, which I have not been into yet.

As far as groceries, there are a couple of big grocery stores which are British and French. There are also a few smaller stores, one here in Diosd is called CBA and we go there a lot because it is within walking distance. They also tend to carry some American brands (I actually bought Trader Joes cereal there the other day! In english and everything!) You can get most foods here too; they don't have chocolate chips, and the peanut butter here isn't very good (and if you know me very well then you know that that is rough for me!) Food is cheaper here than in the states (CA at least), but there are a few things that are more expensive (ice cream).

There are still remnants of communism here. Though they have free elections, many communists are still in power. The tax system here is the 4th highest in the world, with a 25% sales tax, which makes it very hard for most Hungarians to make ends meet. However, many of them have beautiful gardens and nice properties which they take good care of.

We feel really comfortable here. The Hungarians are not overly friendly, but they are polite and helpful. The city of Budapest has about 2 million people, but it never feels congested or overly crowded to us. There is so much to see and the architecture is beautiful! We feel blessed to be in such a beautiful place. Wish you all could come visit us! Just email or comment with any questions!