So, how about a little no thank-you portion on the history of the language! In the native tounge, it is known as Magyar. It is classified as an Ugric language, and is most closely related to the Finnic languages- those spoken in the Baltic region. Historians believe the language orginated around 1000 B.C.; due to the nomadic nature of the Magyar tribes, a pit-stop in Turkey resulted in a smattering of Turkish influence on the contemporary vocabulary. In fact, it is believed that the origins of the word "Hungarian" came from the Turkic word "On-ogur" which means "Ten tribes." And so, after hours of arduous study, I have come to the conclusion that the average Hungarian word legnth is 2.5 inches. Not letters. Inches. Take, Legeslegmegszentségteleníttethetetlenebbeiteknek, for instance. That casserole of letters actually means "to those of you whom it is the very least possible to have desecrated." Oy vey. Although I may not have learned more than a few words and numbers from the class, I am so glad I will not be thrown into shock the first time I see a word longer than my thumb.
At this point though, my biggest worry is my luggage. Much to my surprise, after I'd filled both with all the clothes, tiny-sized shampoos, socks, shoes, and stuff that I thought I would need, they both came out to a little more than 25lbs each. I'm sure I'll be cursing like a sailor the first time I have a "wardrobe crisis" but that's simply part of the experience. Now that I've got it all packed up, all I can do is hope that it makes the jump across the puddle and meets me at Ferhigy Airport. My game plan is to use up or mail back about half of my things, and leave Budapest my personal blessing in the form of the archaic brown duffel on the right. My mom denies that she used it in the stone ages, but I'm sure a biopsy of the mold on the handles would quickly disprove that. Remember those vacuum bags I mentioned? Check this out....
My stuff went from this:
To this:
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