Two Weeks – Day 16

I’ve now been in Budapest for two weeks. They’ve felt like lifetimes, full of walking and seeing and learning and meeting, and have been some of the most exciting times of my life. This week has slowed my previous pace of urban exploration to more of a routine, class to lunch to class to home. But the city abides, and to be resident in it still pleases me.

Like an earlier post, I wanted to write on a few different topics about Budapestian life.

• Music and the city: About a week ago, a few of us were in West End, Pest’s expansive and dutiful imitation of American shopping malls, checking out clothes in H&M. All of a sudden, while browsing some oxford shirts, I heard familiar tones of electronica + female voice start up. The next few minutes were a blissful frenzy of consumerism – I strutted through the store to the fast pace of Ariana Grande’s “Break Free” and loved every single second unashamedly. I wasn’t surprised to find that places like clubs and bars curate and play popular American music, but I didn’t expect the same in calmer areas. A coffee shop I’ve begun to haunt, the thoroughly Starbucksian Costa Coffee, for example, was banging out some classic songs while I was reading – everything from Smash Mouth to The Girl from Ipanema. Their playlists keep me coming back, even though I have to pay 1300 forints for a latte and a muffin. Actually, in all the stores and restaurants I’ve been in, the only thing I haven’t heard is Hungarian music. Burrita, my Chipotle-away-from-Chipotle, plays authentic mariachi. Cafe Bouchon, a French cuisine on my block, plays a rainy smooth jazz. Even the festival on Andrassy last week featured belting German opera being performed outside, but Hungarian music has been absent. I’m totally unaware as to whether there even is a Hungarian music scene, but the DMX revival tour poster I saw on a post on Nagymezo suggests that pop music is in great part an American importation.
• Hungarians and their dogs: I saw a dog walking down the street next to its owner holding its own leash. Later, when an owner stopped to talk to a friend, the dog halted in step right next to the guy. I’ve seen dogs wandering parks freely, amicably sniffing each other and taking in the sights, and dogs sleeping happily on street corners while their owners attend shop. Unrelatedly, I’ve found something I don’t really get about speaking to Hungarians. The most common Hungarian greeting, “szia,” works like “aloha” or “ciao,” in that it’s greeting and farewell at the same time. I am not sure whether that property extends to the other greetings, like “jo napot,” which is “good day”. So when I say to a Hungarian cashier “jo napot” as I leave a store, they usually reply with “hello”. Which is weird, and suggests one of two things. First, that I am messing up this basic phrase and they in turn reply with what they think I mean, a greeting. Or second and more interesting (but probably less likely), that they think “hello” works like “szia,” as greeting and farewell. I start Hungarian in two weeks, so I’ll update with my findings then.