Hungarian Bureaucrasy Strikes Back (again)

Jó reggalt, world! Been a while since you woke up to a new post, eh Margaret? Well, this one won't be particularly exciting, sorry. I haven't gone back into the Cave of Wonders yet, and haven't taken many exciting trips. The weather, on the other hand, cleared up a great deal yesterday, and the only clouds in the sky for a good while were those puffy white ones you make shapes out of. Unfortunately, I spent the good part of the day at the Emigration Office trying to obtain my residence permit. Remember I went last Wednesday, too. I obtained everything they asked for last week, and confidently handed the neat packet over the desk, clipped together with a few fancy-ish bindings, all the while thinking (POINT USA!).

There was, of course, one problem. It wasn't the office worker, who was a cutie and laughed when I cursed in Hungarian when she told me the problem. The problem was that the tulajdoni lap, a document that certifies that our landlord Emőke in fact own the apartment we are renting and allow us to stay there, had two other names listed besides hers. Her parents.

To save you the next ten minutes of confused exchanges that I wasted, I'll cut to the fat of it. To obtain a residence permit, I also need the signatures of Emőke's parents. Their birthdays are listed as 1926 and 1935, and I have no idea if they're even alive. Apparently the 'ancestral home' is an important concept in Hungary, and they have some kind of lifelong claim to the flat. The girl at the office told me that if they're dead, I don't need to get their signatures...

Which puts evil thoughts into my head... I think that, with our mostly uncaring and uncooperative landlord, it may in fact be easier for me to dispatch her parents than to get their signatures.

By the time I left the office after 3 hours, the clouds had come over the sky and the wind picked up. I've been wishing for a truly sunny day since I arrived here, and had just wasted it being told I need signatures from two possibly deceased 80-year-olds. Brilliant. I spent the afternoon salvaging some life and talking a walk around Castle Hill. The high point of this was getting a few OK sunset photos of stuff and a stunning photo of the Széchenyi bridge, just after watching the light on it flicker to life. I'll post it as soon as I find a decent internet connection. The evening was spent on a recording project I started recently. I'm attempting to record all four parts of a trombone quartet by Hidas Frigyes (lastname firstname in Hungarian). He's a very popular composer now, and Hőna as recommended him to me highly. Jack made some great chicken soup from a recipe his Dad sent.

Lesson today. Did I tell you I get two a week? It's wicked. OOOOH and tonight we go to the Palace of the Arts (look it up on Goodsearch for pictures - donate to St. Thomas in Winn!) to see the Philadelphia Orchestra play! Smetana, Beethoven, Sibelius (not symphony 2, sorry Mom) and Schubert. 300 Ft tickets and standing room only. Díák vagyok!

Sok Puszi!