Another fantastic day! Hungarian in the morning, as usual for penték. Uneventful.

After class, we tried shopping at the farmers' market in Hunyadi tér. With ease, we bought egy kilo burgonya, egy paprika, ket hagymak, és sajt paprikás (a kilo of potatoes, a red pepper, two onions and cheese with spicy paprika mixed in). Nagyon finom!

Then I went on an adventure scarier than it sounds up front. I tried to find a place to give me a haircut. My head has felt as shaggy as it was in high school in the past weeks. My command of Hungarian so far has me able to have basic conversations with people about how things are going, what they are doing, where they are going, etc. Also, I can shop with relative ease and express what and how much of something I would like. I know basic compliments and words useful in any circumstance - thank you, excuse me, good day, etc.

I know absolutely no words for describing a haircut. I was determined to avoid the 'Amerikoi' hair salon, though, so I took a risk and found a cozy little place on Nagymező and Andrassy next to the operaház. Walking through the door, I put my entire trust in the short red-haired woman I saw. She spoke no English. Oooooh boy.

Through lots of gesturing and simple language, I said I would like a haircut and asked how much it would cost and that I would like it rövid (short). The radio played a lot of American music as she washed and snipped, and also the Hungarian national anthem, which I find very stirring. It's a minor hymn with great modulations. Fifteen minutes later, my handsome head was brushed off and I was paying for the half-kilo of hair on the floor (she made the joke). YAAAY!

Two more highlights for today. First being the arrival of the beautiful package Margaret sent me. The postman at the Posta told me that the notice I got today was actually the second they had sent. Somehow I never got the first one a week ago. I carried the beautifully decorated box home like a baby, gently and with occasional petting, and maybe a sniff or two to get a hint as to what was inside, which was this: lots and lots of American food items, from chocolate to maple candy to mac&cheese and more - and lots and LOTS of awesome tea, which I will savor and enjoy for at least the next week.

I took some of the tea to the academy, stopping along the way to buy a couple mugs. On the 4th floor nook (which I will photograph soon) I found Balázs (who I will photograph myself with soon) playing games on his phone. We spent the whole afternoon and evening hanging out. He speaks broken English from learning years ago and then forgetting much, and I think he likes to practice again. I usually try saying things in Hungarian, and he will respond in English. Eventually we settle in English, a good contrast with Renátá, who seems dead set on teaching me Hungarian and speaks to me only in it.

So, for the whole afternoon we just sat in the nook and talked. I gave him a mug and we heated some water in the industrial electric kettle kept in the trombone room. It heats about a liter of water to boiling in about 2 minutes - incredibly fast. We shared some great American chai green tea, and he added honey from his hometown of Mezőhegyes in southern Hungary. Good stuff. I am rapidly becoming a fan of buying local and homemade.

Gusztáv (Guszti) even came and talked with us for half an hour after his lessons for the day finished. He told me about visiting the States, and especially Boston, where Tom Everett is a good friend of his! I told him I played in the Harvard Jazz Band for a year, which Tom directs. He got very exciting and told me stories about when Tom came to Budapest, and when Guszti went to Boston and all kinds of good stuff. During his discourse, he even gave me the recipe for one of his grandmother's fish soups! We're gonna try it this weekend.

And that is how life progresses for me these days. I spend most of my time in the warmth of 'the nook' or the studio, studying, practicing and talking. Tomorrow Jack and I go to Szentendre, a tourist trap on the Danube bend north of Budapest. I hope the weather will be good, but the forecast is snow. We shall see.

I am also having a great time looking at the daily astronomy pictures.

P.S. All the Facebook ads on the right side of my screen are now in Hungarian.