First Day of School and River Cruise

The McDaniel College Budapest campus comprises of one building, as pictured. It was first constructed in 1896, and currently houses the Study Abroad program for students like me from the Westminster Campus; a 4-year program for students in Central Europe who do their first two years in Budapest, and then finish the final two in Westminster; an international pre-Med program; and an intensive Math Study program for students from colleges across the States. All said and done, there are about 150-200 students total.

The school began as a synogogue for the Jewish population, but after WW II there weren't too many Jews left in the city to attend. It was then confiscated by the Soviet Communists who made it a "building for the people" and used it for Special-Ed teachers. When the Communists were finally booted out in the 1980's, the building was left alone for about three years or so until McDaniel College decided to move in. The first study-abroad program in 1994 had a whopping three students, the brave pioneers of the wonderful program I am enjoying today. It wasn't until recently, though, that students were allowed to live independently in flats across the city. Now that we've spruced up our own flat, I'll try and post pictures of it soon.

My first class went well- I believe there are only four of us in it- but the material is interesting, and the teacher isn't crazy. Sarah and I were hoping to pack sandwhiches, but much to our dismay, ants had taken residence in our bread loaf. We added ziplock bags, and chip clips to our shopping list, and compromised with Cheddar and Pepperoni Matzo sandwhiches instead.

President Coley led us in our formal Convocation ceremony, and afterwards the school enjoyed a reception on a river boat cruise up and down the Danube River. It was a beautiful night, and the sight of Budapest on the water was wonderful. Over the course of the evening I became aquainted with many new students, some of whom I hope to become friends with over the course of the semester. The math students are from everywhere- Houston, Upstate New York, Southern California, Colorado, Michigan, Oregon, Isreal, Wisconsin....you get the idea. And they're all brilliant too. Pictured below is one of the many Turkish Spa Resorts.