reflections at the end of day 2: 7.9.10

Well, it turns out that only one of the people I was eyeing suspiciously in the airport was actually on my program. It's been a whirlwind since I arrived yesterday afternoon. I've met a lot of people but seen so much more. I think the sights are even more poignant because they are so new and unfamiliar.

When I arrived my roommate was already here. Soon after we met she left for lunch with some other people that she had met so I had time to unpack, to realize that I hadn't packed enough shirts but did bring enough sweaters, to set up my internet and reassure my parents and Basheer that I had arrived safely. Here is a welcoming photo of my room:

It looks like a typical dorm room, just in a Communist-style building. I didn't realize until now how sleepy I looked. With so little sleep I passed out easily around 11 pm-- ahem, I mean 23.00. We are six hours ahead of Eastern time. Despite the people complaining about the building, the neighborhood we are in is INCREDIBLE. We are all extremely lucky. Last night, after a quick trip to the mall (where I purchased a phone and some fruit from Tesco) with some people I ran into/met in my first few hours there, we went to the Mexican place across the street and grabbed a beer (about $3.50 for two draft Pilsner Urquells with tip!). We didn't try the food but our house mother warned us not to eat there. 

After that we met up with everyone else from my floor/the program. most of the people are either SUNY students or from Northeastern. Everyone seems nice and friendly so far. Our house mother took us to a cafe which was about a 7 minute walk from the dorm. Photos follow: 

here are some of the funky drawings that were on the menu at the cafe:

I had goulash. It was fantastic-- they put 4 big pieces of bread with it so though I was put off by the soupiness  of it at first the bread to soap it up was fantastic. The beef was perfect--stewlike and falling apart. And it was about $7, which was the best part.

Today we came close to oversleeping due to the fact that we had set our phones to 0500 am instead of 1700. But my suitemates and I made it to the meeting and the walk around our neighborhood. Apparently there is a way for people to call into our suite at no cost to us; one just needs to buy an international calling card. That number will be coming soon. Some photos from our walk around today will come later-- we're about to go out for the evening. Hope everyone's well; dobry vecer!