Getting it together!

We had our first meeting with Borbála Hárs and Eva Simko at the international office of the Academy today. They might be described as the 'Gina Balestracci' ladies of the Liszt Academy. They are both kind, charming women who get things done. And all the time, you feel that they are there just for you! They have arranged everything at the Academy end, and we will have to do something very nice for them. I think a bottle of Tokaj might hit the spot... :-)

Also at the meeting was Jack's new piano teacher, who is a small, bouncy man with a great smile. And I do mean bounce. I don't think he could be any bouncier if you gave him a pogo stick. Very loquacious and charismatic. The man responsible for the foundation which sponsors the Hungarian students at Montclair was present also. I can't remember either of their names at the moment. It's 3:30 and I can't sleep.

After the meeting, Jack and I went to Frici Papa's again to have dinner. Another hefty, home-cooked, cheap and satisfying meal! We were so satisfied, in fact, we decided to forget trombone, music and Jack's backpack at our seats when we left. The waiter (same guy as last time) came running out of the door, yelling and gesturing that we forgot all our stuff. I'm awfully glad I tipped him for the meal.

Public transportation is very good in Budapest. No matter where you want to go, you have many options of how to get there. There are three major metro lines (M1, M2, M3) on the Pest side (the M2 goes briefly into Buda), and a lot of buses, trollies (buses run off electric lines), trams (San Francisco trollies) and taxis. We live downtown (in Pest, by the way) and walking is easy, so it never takes very long to get anywhere. Everything comes very quickly. It's like New York, but much cleaner.

I guess I can't compare it to New York. The smell there is an integral part of the transportation.

After dinner, I took the 6 tram to ***Moricz Zigmund koter*** to say hello to Tamás at work and pick up a charger for the phone he gave me. I can't say enough how good Tamás has been to me and Jack. He has answered all of our picky questions, shown us to wonderful places, even helped us shop for groceries and done it all with his wonderful smile. Those of you that know him know what I mean. He's invited us over for dinner on Saturday and, in February, to his home in southern Hungary. We'll even take a brief sojourn into Romania (if Jack doesn't drag his feet - he doesn't want to go to Romania).

I'm looking forward to Barack Obama's inauguration tomorrow. We plan to watch it live at the apartment, probably with dinner. People we have spoken to here are optimistic, and share our faith in him. May this day bring some sense and stability to a fragile world.