There are so many things that are different here....I want to share everything...so I will definitely try!! LOL

The toilets here are different...very different. When you use the toilet, and go "#2" your "#2" sits on the bottom of the toilet, which is slightly raised and not under water. Supposedly the purpose is so the person going "#2" can see their "#2" to ensure that it looks healthy! This did take some getting used to. The back of the toilet, where the tank is located, is very tall. There is a button on top of the tank to flush the toilet. It took me a few days to realize that I could push the button at varying degrees of pressure to affect how much water rushed through the bowl while flushing. The way the toilet flushes is also different. Unlike the way a toilet in the US flushes, with water fairly weakly trickling out from all under the top of the bowl, the water in these (Hungarian) toilets, shoots out from the tank side. It shoots the "#2" into a small hole (about 3"x3") that contains water. If the toilet user has only used the toilet for "#1" then that person can push the flush button softer, and less water will shoot out! Ha!!!

Get this...the toilet paper in our bathroom is scented...chamomile! Again, it took me a few days to realize this! :) I just thought the restroom, or water closet (WC) as it is referred to here, always smelled nicely! Then I realized that the toilet paper itself smelled good!! I am not sure if I already mentioned that the toilet and sink, are in a separate room from the shower and vanity, which also has its own sink. The light switches for the WC are located outside of the rooms, and are big, flat, long buttons instead of switches.

The second day here, I thought that I had already clogged the drain in the shower with my long hair, because the water was not draining very well. I worried, "Oh great, my second day here and I already have to ask my dad to have a plumber come out and fix the shower!!" To my relief, when I told my dad I had already clogged the drain he said, "Oh yea, I forgot to tell you about that. If you twist open the silver cap on the bottom of the shower, there is a built-in drain (to catch hair). Just empty that and the shower will drain fine." I went into the shower and removed the cap from the bottom of the shower floor, and what do you know, there was a drain...completely full of my hair...brilliant!!

Enough with toilets and showers....It is nearly impossible to find liquid coffee cream here, at least I think it is. I can't be positive because I can't read the labels....but I have been using my grocery list translator (a great idea to carry with you on grocery shopping trips!!) and I have not found any cream. I have been using dry coffee cream and have actually been enjoying it! The coffee is also a bit different, so everyone else says. I have heard Americans complain that it is too strong and bitter. I think it's great! I have enjoyed a couple cups every morning from the drip coffee maker at home, and have also had a latte at a drinking shop (which I spoke of previously). I don't think I mentioned before that when I had that latte, it was about 60 cents American dollar!! And that was in a "nice" drinking shop.

The prices here are another unbelievable difference with the US! We already touched on this topic but I feel the need to elaborate. I stated that we paid 60 cents for a latte at a nice place, but other spots offer a nice cappuccino of latte for as little as 50 cents! Ice cream cones cost about the same. When we went to Red Box for dinner, which is considered pricier, our dishes were about $11. At lunch, a salad or hot dish, depending on where you go, will run about $2!! I bought a huge bottle of sparkling water at Interspar (similar to Wal-Mart) yesterday, and it was 40 cents!!!! That bottle, in the US, would have cost me a few dollars. If you buy a case of glass bottled beers, you can return the empty bottles, and the case they came in, back to the store for a small refund. Again, American products are a different story; they generally cost about 2 times what they do in the states. There is a very easy solution to this problem...use local products...try something new!!

I finally felt comfortable enough to drive the family car. There were first many things I had to get used to ...Instead of stop lights, most intersections are roundabouts. The odometer in the car is metric, of course. Every time a driver goes around a bike rider, or something in the road, they signal. Obviously...all of the signs are in Hungarian...I don't know the difference between "Don't Enter" "No Parking" etc....that is scary!!!

But like I said, I finally drove the car. I had a great time, the car drives great! I drove home from the 4th of July party yesterday, and then drove home from Gyor today. Hungarian drivers are very conscientious, but also very aggressive. Everyone is always passing and will not wait, without honking, if the car in front of them does not proceed immediately after the light turns green.

Speaking of traffic lights, each one has an electronic count down which displays how many seconds until the light turns green (actually, yellow then green). Also, when driving, if the passing car flashes their lights.....warning....you are about to drive by a cop!! When you flash your lights at a passing car, to warn them, they wave as a thank you. When entering into a roundabout, there is not need to signal, but you must signal as you exit.

Dusty and I went on a walk after dinner tonight and discovered a section of the downtown area that we previously had not seen. There are some more churches (surprise, surprise) lol...and an extremely old boarded up building that we were able to peak into. We didn't check out the entire area because it was dusk. We plan on heading back over to that area tomorrow, with a camera, and sight-seeing more thoroughly.

Today, Sunday, the town was dead! Almost everyting closes down on Sunday, many people attend church. When we went back into town this evening, a few restaurants and ice cream shops were open. There were quite a few people dowtown getting ice cream cones and sitting around, people watching and talking with friends.

Dusty and I plan to visit the water park this week sometime. We have not made it there yet because we have been so happy with sight-seeing. There is so much to see in this little town (Papa)... it is incredible! It has been so challenging finding the museums and galleries because every sign is in Hungarian.

We have been researching Slovakia and plan on visiting there within the month. There are so many amazing castles to tour there! We have also been planning a trip to Budapest. There are free walking tours available and we may take part in that. We want to plan our trips before taking them, so we have an idea of where we want to go. Leaving room to be flexible is also very important...so we definitely plan on doing that!

We have been on a couple of mini-roadtrips. Yesterday, we drove through the Bakony forest on our way to Magyarpolany, to go to a Fourth of July celebration. We also passed through the small villages of Papakovacsi, Kup, Bakonypoloske and Noszlop. It was very interesting celebrating the 4th in a foreign country, but it worked. The family of an airforce guy hosted the party. Their house was absolutely beautiful....and very big! It is European style and had gorgeous rock and wood work. The view was spectacular; looking out over the small town, country side and vineyards. The food was delicious. Besides from the American style hamburgers and hotdogs (though I did have my hot dog with some delicious sauerkraut and red onion) there were traditional Hungarian deserts, filled with tons of cream and fruits. Dusty and I had the opportunity of meeting alot of Americans that are living in the area.

Soccer is huge here...obviously. We went to a bar downtown, the Villa Classica, and met up with a bunch of people to watch the Netherlands-Brazil game. Most of the crowd were Netherlands supporters...and they made it very obvious. They were ALL dressed in orange shirts and had blow horns. The cheering was deafening...it was a great time. After the game a group of us went the Red Box for dinner.

Like most of the places, we all had to walk down some steps to get into the Red Box. The restaurant was dimly lit with beautiful ornate brick walls. Our waitress sat the eight of us at a rectangular glossy black wooden table, with bamboo matts. The waitress was very kind and could speak a little English, some German and of course Hungarian. Jennifer ordered slices of pork in a porcini cream sauce with a side of mashed potatoes with onions, chives, and tomato. It was excellent! Dusty ordered wild boar madallions with a mushroom cream sauce and the same mashed potatoes, this was also very good. Dad ordered steak with a Jack Daniels sauce and roasted potatoes. It took about an hour for our food to come out, but the Boeing translator, Julliana, said that this was normal. After eating our delicious meals and conversing amongst ourselves we asked for our bill. It is very common to have to ask for the bill in Europe, because when you go out to eat you should be enjoying the time and not rushing through the meal. After leaving the Red Box we walked back to our car at the Villa Classica and drove home.

Today we drove to Gyor and again drove through some small villages on the way there. Every village we drove through, yesterday and today, had atleast two churches and mulitple statues, including many of crucifixes. Today we drove through Takacsi, Gyarmat, Szentkut, Tet, Margitmajor, Gyroszemere, Nagyszentpal and Gyirmot. We are currently planning a slightly longer road trip!!