Banana Bread Muffins

Our initial conversation with Dr. Mandy about wanting to make muffins went a little something like this:

Sarah: "So, we were thinking it would be fun to bake in the flat"
Dr. Mandy: "Oh wonderful! What were you thinking of making?"
Sarah: "Well, my mom has this great recipe for bran muffins that she would always make for us at home, and I think she's going to email it to me, so I'd certainly like to try to make those."
Dr. Mandy: "Ah, I see. Well, Hungarians don't really have 'muffins' per se. I'm sure you've noticed that most of the bakeries sell pastry-type things."
Stacey: "We've noticed."
Sarah (always the optimistic one): "Well, I'm sure we'll be able to find a muffin pan, right?"
Dr. Mandy: "Mmm. Maybe, but it might take some looking."
Sarah: "Great!"
Stacey: "This is so ridiculously hopeless. Why are you so set on making muffins?"
Sarah: "Why not?"
Stacey: "Have you found Baking soda yet?"
Sarah: "Well, no. But I'm sure we'll find some."

Stacey: "Have you seen anything that remotely resembles a muffin tin?"
Sarah: "No, but I'm sure we'll find some"
And so on and so forth....

Here I am though, making banana bread muffins on a Saturday afternoon. I even took a picture for proof. Finding the muffin pan and muffin tins was a bit challenging because they don't bake the same way we do at home, but we did eventually find some. The muffins themselves though would not have been possible if Mom and Dad hadn't mailed a box of baking soda and vanilla extract in my care package. I've seen similar items in the store, but when it comes to baking, it's much more important that the ingredients are correct and precise.

The whole signifiance of the story is that even though just about everything here seems as difficult as hiking Everest, they are not altogether impossible. It's just a matter of putting things in perspective and moving foward one step at a time. Yesterday it was ordering my beef stew in Hungarian (and pronouncing it correctly- Bonus!), today it's making muffins that taste like home. The things I'm learning in my semester abroad!