A Communist Culture and Apartments

I thought I would post on two topics today, which seem different but are slightly related here.

So Hungary is a post-communist country, which becomes apparent through the service offered here. It is constantly being explained to us that since people are coming out of the communist way of life and didn't use to have to do a good job (or much of a job at all) to get money, they don't offer great service. It becomes very apparent at restaurants. The waiter is rarely seen- they bring the menu (sometimes after you've been there a while), take your order, bring your food and that's it. You have to track them down for the check. Meals frequently take 2 to 3 hours just because there is so much waiting at each step. Tips are also usually just a flat 10% (sometimes they are included in the price) so there is no incentive for good service.

The relation to apartments here is that people don't have much incentive to fix things. My landpeople (there is a woman and a man, technically it is the woman but her boyfriend is always there too so I just call them my landpeople) are actually pretty good about this but my friends not so much. For example, one girl has a leaky faucet (I mean really leaky) and her landlord was like well just catch the water in a pan and use it for your baths or find a plumber yourself and I'll reimburse you. Another girl had a broken microwave, the landlord told her to buy a new one herself and they would take it off of next months rent. So I guess stuff gets taken care of eventually but there definitely is not the service we see in the US. On the other hand, my internet did not work and my landlord came over to help me with it that night (although it still is flaky... grrr) and our lock wasn't working so he literally unscrewed the bolt from the door and fixed the lock by himself! I mean, I've never lived in an apartment before so I don't know what exactly is normal but this is all rather interesting.

I really will eventually post pictures of my apartment but I currently do not trust my internet. I do really like my apartment. It is quiet and cute. However, after seeing all the other apartments, mine is TINY by comparison. I have put up a sheet and gotten around the lack of door issue so that is good. It is by no means quiet or dark if either myself or my roommate is up though- sound travels well and our rooms are separated by glass doors letting in all light. It also is a little far from most places it seems. There aren't really restaurants or anything right nearby. There is a big mall about 5 or 6 blocks away and a market (only open during the day) a block away that has fresh fruits and vegetables, cheeses, meats, etc. There are at least 4 other apartments with BSM students within a 15 minute walk and the metro and public transport are easy to use but we're not right next to anyone really. The people who I think I will form a study group with are about a 10-15 minute walk away though so that is good (I really like the people in this apartment and we are most likely taking the same classes).

The size of my apartment comparatively though is its biggest drawback. I don't mind it that much- if I had a big apartment I would feel like I would need to host parties and such which I don't want to. But our kitchen literally just has two chairs and my room just had my bed, desk, and one chair so I don't feel like I can invite people over (Kailyn's room has a couch and three chairs but I can't invite people over to hang out in my roommate's room). Tonight, I was going to make dinner with two other people and the guy's gas was turned off (so no hot water, no stove, nothing) and I felt bad because I couldn't invite them to my place instead because there is literally no room! But of the apartments I have been in, some of the peoples' bedrooms are literally 3 or 4 times the size of mine! Some people have living rooms (though most who do seem to be sharing bedrooms), which would be really nice to have. My apartment could literally fit in some single rooms of the other apartments I've seen. However, our apartment seems better equipped, our landlord seems a little more on top of stuff, and our apartment is quieter- all perks in my opinion. So ya, it is not perfect and I am definitely learning to appreciate things back home (Collins dining hall, anyone? dryers instead of line drying? yup, miss those!).

But some really, really great things they have here that they don't have at home? 400 forint (about $2, $2.50) opera tickets (we were told you can't see much... we'll find out on Thursday...). 200 forint (just over $1) student standing room Philharmonic orchestra tickets. Food at restaurants can be ridiculously cheap. I ate at this upscale coffee shop today where my bagel with camembert cheese was about $2. They had desserts and stuff for between $0.75 and $2- imagine that sort of stuff at Starbucks! I had a sandwich at the school cafeteria (which does not even compare to collins) for about $1.50! I am really enjoying this aspect of studying abroad! It may be a very cultural week with the Philharmonic and the Opera... for about $3! We shall see...