The top 5 weirdest things that happened to me while getting repeatedly searched at the airport...

This list could go on and on, but I will keep it short.

5. Getting my ankles checked. Dude, I my ankles are bare. You see my brown skin...

4. The security guard repeatedly used the wand to check my boots. Not just once, but twice.

3. The security guard checking to make sure I have nothing hidden in my bra....thoroughly. Lady, I'm not hiding anything in there. I'm just big chested.

2. The security guard checking my waistline. Really? Why must your thumbs be in my pants?

And the #1 weirdest thing to happen to me why getting "randomly" searched at every airport was...

1. Getting my hair checked. I had my hair up in a small bun. It was smaller than usual (I am known to rock bigger buns, like sock buns). It was the first time I did not set off any alarms, but the woman insisted that I, little sorority girl, who was wearing her letters, get my bun checked. What was she planning on finding in there other than split ends and dandruff? I don't know. Ladies, Be sure to wear your hair down when flying. The security checks are a hassle, and they mess up your hair.

Burger King International

While in Vienna for quick day trip, my classmates and I were hungry and we knew we only had a little bit of time before we had to meet up with the rest of our group. So instead of eating at a Viennese restaurant, we wanted something quicker. We settled with Burger King.

We thought we would be able to get in, get out no problem. We even thought that our stomachs wouldn't get upset. Don't worry, this isn't a story about us getting sick.

We walk into Burger King and realized everyone in Vienna speaks German. And they have all the right to assume we speak German too. Only problem is, for some odd reason, we thought because we were at Burger King, that ordering would be easy. "Its all in English." That was partly true.

The menu options were in English, the cashiers spoke German. So, it was far more difficult for my classmates to order their Whoppers.

After a small game of "what to say that makes sense" we all successfully ordered our food. We felt so accomplished. The food, of course tasted a bit different. And the mannerisms of fast food in America is very different. In a fast food restaurant in America, when a person is done with their meal they clean up after themselves and move their tray to the trash area. In Vienna, a Burger King employee does it for you.

I felt so rude leaving my tray and trash on the table. It was just such a strange experience for us. However, eating fast food over seas is an experience i would recommend. Sometimes its nice to have something familiar in an unfamiliar place.

Burger King in Vienna, Austria. 

Shoes on the Danube: The most important shoes in Budapest.

Shoes on the Danube is a memorial for victims who were shot into the Danube by Arrow Cross Militiamen from 1944-45. The memorial was erected in 2005. The reason for the shoes is that before the militiamen shot the victims, the victims were forced to remove their shoes because they were valuable.

The memorial is made out of a steel-like material. My people place flowers and candles in and around the shoes. As you can see it is right on the edge of the river. 

My classmates and I agreed that this memorial is beautiful and an interesting idea for a memorial. There was a silence that hovered over us and we felt a sense of great sadness. We spoke about how it must have been to have been standing on the ledge in 1944 knowing that you were about to die. It was almost too much to think about. 

Budapest has a large history and many museums and memorials regarding the Holocaust. The city is moving forward yet not leaving behind its past. 

Szputnyik has landed in Budapest

One more thing Julia recommended to us while in Budapest was a second hand shop called Szputnyik. We are all so interested to check out the shop, not only because of the name, but because we were all genuinely interested in what it would have.

Luckily it was not a far walk from our hotel. Julia and the rest of us explored the two story shop. She ushered us to the top floor first because she claimed it had the best stuff.

She was right. We found some really cool stuff in this shop. There were costumes and funky clothes. My favorite section had to be their jacket section, or their leather section. Julia said that the leather is cheap at Szputnyik considering it's real leather. There were a lot of good finds. Abbey's find was by far the greatest.

Abbey found a sequenced leotard. It was red, white and black. We had to give her words of encouragement but she purchased it. I bought a sequenced black, purple and green top, rabbit hair shoes, a teal dress with gems on the shoulders and a black 20s reporter's style hat.

I would recommend this shop to any Budapest traveler. Even if you do not buy anything, looking around through the fun outfits is  just as fun.

The upper floor of Szputnyik holds anything from men and women's shoes, jackets and costumes. Photo by: Miranda Carney 

Labello+lips=heaven.

While in Budapest, my fellow classmates and I received great insight regarding lip balm. Julia Sabatine, a Muncie local who now lives in Budapest was kind enough to share this information to us.

She said, that Labello, a lip balm brand, was one we all needed to buy and take home with us. Sabatine also stated that this lip balm was better than any balm you would find in the U.S.

I felt the need to then list off brands like Nivea, EOS, Burt's Bees, Blistex, etc. and she said that Labello, a german lip balm brand, was better than the rest. So of course, being a lip balm fiend, I bought 10.

I'm not kidding. I purchased 10 Labello lip balms. But they are not all for me. I bought 4 for me, and 2 for each of my 3 sisters. They are lip balm fiends as well. I mean, who knows when the next time I'll be able to get it? So I'm set for a while.

All the more reason to go back to Budapest.

Things I have happened in Europe so far,

1. We all have been asked for our hand in marriage.

2. One of us accidentally asked a Hungarian man out on a date, when not intending to.

3. Thought we were cheated out of money, but realized we have no idea how Hungarian money (Forints) or Euros work.

4. Reenacted a statue.

5. Had a bird sit on one of our shoulders. 

6. Took a picture with a soldier guarding the President palace. 

7. Met an old man who is a street performer and gave him some change. He was really excited we video taped, and photographed him. 

8. We ate Marzipan. 

WE'RE IN HUNGARY!!!!!

Hello everyone!!!! 

We made it safe in Budapest yesterday!!! Everything here is so wonderful! We arrived around 2 p.m. and immediately got dressed and went exploring.

We went to many shops. I bought a lot of souvenirs for my family and friends. We had a small snack at Anna's Cafe. I had a Cherry-like schnitzel. It was delicious. 

I have realized that Hungarian food uses a lot of natural flavors. The schnitzel had no added sugar. Professor Swingley's mixed fruit had grapes with seeds.  Hungary does not like messing with their 

foods. 

On the first day in Budapest we went sight seeing and also went shopping. Here are some photos of us on the streets of Budapest. 

I have already fell in love with Budapest. It is so exciting and filled with such fun places to go. We went to a traditional Hungarian folk dancing concert. I really enjoyed it even though I was jet lagged. We went on a boat for dinner afterwards. It was really fun. It had traditional Hungarian foods we all could eat and a deck to check out all of the locations on the Danube (River in Budapest). 

I felt really immersed in the Hungarian culture. The Danube is beautiful. 

I can't wait to see what else I'll see in Budapest in the next week! Stay tuned with more updates on my blog!

Reality is setting in...

In seven days I will be heading to Hungary. Ah! I'm excited, but starting to get really nervous. What if they can't understand me? What if I can't understand them? What if my stories, photos, video, etc. suck?

I have to keep reminding myself that all will be well and that I am not alone. I have nine other people who will be with me and who will experience all of this, too.

What I should really be worrying about is the state of my suitcase. It has a pack of gum, tissues, and a luggage tag inside of it.

But I have time this week. I just hope Budapest will not be cold and all of my equipment works. Theweatherchannel.com says that it should be in the high 50s. So who can complain? Of course, this is subject to change. I just hope it changes in our favor.

 Goodbye! Or as my Hungarian friends would say, "Viszlát."

Holy cow!

The trip is coming soon. My classmates and I are getting very excited. This is all so surreal. We have been working on our travel writing skills and photo/video skills this week.
I know it'll be a little strange at first, but I know we will all pull together and produce some awesome material. I am really excited to write a story on the cafe culture in Hungary.
I have researched that Budapest has a very large number of cafes where the Hungarian people just hang out and relax. In America coffee is more of an on-the-go thing.
I think I'll be so interesting to compare and contrast both and get more in-depth with Hungarian culture. 

Our Hungarian Guest

On Monday, we were lucky and had a guest come visit class. Martha Weber is of Hungarian descent and lives in South Bend. She was so kind and helpful. It was nice to learn more about the Hungarian culture from her. 

She brought in many artifacts she has collected from Hungary and told us places and restaurants to go to. I really liked the desserts she brought us. It made me really excited for Spring Break. 

I can't wait to experience Hungarian culture firsthand and be able to compare it with my life in America. 

Tomorrow, a few classmates are having a Skype interview with Mark Kincses. He is a representative from the international tourism office in Budapest. In my next blog I will have information and responses they received from the interview. 

The things you find on the internet: Wooly Pigs

While researching popular foods of Hungary, I somehow came across an article about wooly pigs. I was really surprised to see that these creatures existed. I have never even heard of them before. Here is the article I read.   

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/08/03/208348598/bringing-home-the-woolly-bacon-from-hungary 

Here is a terrifying photo of the pig.

  

 It is terrifying, I know. Hopefully when I am in Hungary (28 days before we leave by the way!) I will get to see one and write a beautiful piece on the man who owns the wooly pig. But for now, here is to staring at this really frightening pig. 

Below is a link to an article written in the New York Times about a man who decided to travel Hungary at random. He mentions briefly a pig killing. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/05/travel/a-weekend-in-hungary-chosen-at-random.html?ref=frugaltraveler&_r=2  

Violence in Hungary

From what I know, Hungary is not the most violent place in the world. It is not a war zone. It is not an enemy. It is not breaking out into riots. However, Hungary has a violent past and is continuing to have some violence toward the Roma. Hungary is learning from its past. It has a very large number of museums that honor its past dealing with the Holocaust and with violence against all people.  

Roma: After doing some research, I learned more about the different types of violence within Hungary. The Roma have had many violent attacks toward them. I want to interview people in Hungary while we are there so I can get a better sense of the relationship Hungarians have with the Roma.  http://blogs.aljazeera.com/blog/europe/racism-against-roma-mainstream-phenomenon. I thought this article gave an interesting tone to it and made me want to write about this topic. I also would like to do an audio story or a photo slideshow, or even a video of the people I interview. 

There is also a new Roma Holocaust museum opening in Hungary at the end of 2014 I can write about for people to see in the future. This would be a good idea to write about for tourism promotional purposes. I think that there is not going to be a lot of articles out right now about it, and I want to be among those to publish information first.  http://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/01/21/rare-roma-holocaust-documentation-center-to-open-in-hungary/         

I can't wait to be able to write articles that have not been presented in this manner before. We can all get insight onto the lives of the Roma and be able to dig deeper into the Hungarian culture. 

42 days away!!!!!!!

The countdown has started! It's 42 days until eight Ball State University students and myself travel to Budapest, Hungary. I personally cannot wait to see all that Budapest has to offer. How is it that a girl like me ends up going to Hungary you ask? Well, it all began when I decided I want to be an international reporter. I wanted to spend my life informing people on what is going on in the world. So, when there was an opportunity to join the News 397 immersive team to Budapest, I took advantage of it.  

We are going to be doing travel writing and travel promotion. It’ll be great to see and get to experience all of the interesting things there are in Budapest. 

Now the team and I have to prepare. Just a few days ago we had a meeting with a student, Jake Johnson, who was part of the same immersive class to Budapest, just two years ago. He discussed the best places to see, the importance of research, and things to talk to Hungarians about. 

We also had a meeting with an editor from M Magazine. She is willing to work with us and help us publish some of the work we produce. 

I can’t wait to start researching all of my story ideas. This trip is going to be a great trip with a great group of people!