Breath in. Breath out. The thick eucalyptus steam filled my entire being as I felt it soothe my lungs and skin. Sitting in a heavenly cloud (almost literally) of eucalyptus, I could barely see the other side of the room the steam was so thick. Condensation rolled down my body until right before the point I could no longer take it, and then I ran to relieve my body by jumping into a pool reading 20 degrees celsius. My skin tingled with refresh and my lungs breathed deeper than they had in months; I felt as if I had gone through some sort of renewal! I was addicted to the eucalyptus steam room; I kept returning, each time bringing more friends.
Later, our Hungarian teach would tell us that staying in the minerals too long can actually do harm rather than good to your body. Do you think 7 times is too many? Whoops.
On Wednesday, August 29th, we took a cultural excursion to Szechenyi Baths as part of our Easter European Culture Class. The grand building lined with spas circled the courtyard that contained three swimming pools--one cooler, one lap pool, and one hot pool. The courtyard was similar to the water park I talked about earlier, but in the building you see below, there were hot tubs upon hot tubs all offering different minerals with varying temperatures as well as numerous saunas and steams rooms doing the same. Also in that building is where you will find the lovely eucalyptus room.
The Eucalyptus Room. Oh my. I could go on and on...but I won't. Just promise that if you ever get the chance to experience such a thing, you will.
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| Love these girls, Rachel & Julia |
But besides that glorious room, my classmates and I just swam in the various pools and enjoyed the sun. We gawked at the buildings and the people, joked around and had a grand ol' time.
August 29 was also Kellan's Birthday.
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| This is my friend, Kellan. |
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| She's dating Kai. They're adorable. |
So, August 29 was for Bathdays and Birthdays (properly pronounce the same, you must adapt an "Oh daaaling" accent...darling).
For Kellan's birthday, we celebrated by getting wine and hiking up Gellert Hill to the Citadella. The best view of the city at night accompanied by a breath-taking hike---literally breathtaking, like it took my breath away as in I have no idea where my capability to breath went, all I knew how to do was wheeze--was the perfect way to honor Kellan's special day.
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| The city's sparklers. |
It was a blast! We could see the whole city beneath us. I looked around and felt on top of the world. There we were, young and full of life. This quote by Emerson came to my mind:
"Passion rebuilds the world for the youth. It makes all things alive and significant."
With me on this trip are some of the most passionate people I have ever met. They are all so intelligent and ready to make a difference in the world. As I looked around, I felt so privileged to be able to share this semester with these specific, wonderful people. I can't wait to see what we will learn from each other and what we will experience together. I definitely felt like we were exemplifying what it means to live life during your youth. We laughed, told jokes, made memories, and shared the night together. I felt as though we gathered together not just to celebrate Kellan's birthday, but also that we were having an unofficial kick off to our semester together.
We also commemorated the night with many pictures:
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| Meet Casey and Audrey, they're dating too : |
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After the good times on Gellert Hill, we traveled back to the dorm and further celebrated with ice cream , cake, candles, and the worst rendition of "Happy Birthday" that has ever been attempted.
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| "Happy Birthday" in action. |
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