“The perception of existence by human beings is entirely different from existence itself.” This is how Paul Humke, St. Olaf math professor and the American liaison for BSM, concluded his amazing colloquium lecture on the 4th-dimension today. Chalk in hand, he asked us to investigate the numbers behind higher dimension. We counted vertices, edges, faces, [...]
Puppy chow, catnip and hamster wheels. Americans are obsessed with their pets. They feed them gourmet food, buy them little outfits for cold days, and leave them messages on the answering machine when they are away. Coming from a culture like that, it can be hard to understand African’s adversity to dogs and other animals. Here [...]
Of all the subjects offered in school, physical education is the one students take least seriously. Gym is the ‘fun’ class where you receive little or no homework, play games most days and are guaranteed high marks if you just come to class. Most days, at the beginning of class we would do some exercises which [...]
It has now been almost a month since I first arrived in Budapest and I was beginning to wonder if BSM actually stood for Budapest Semesters in Munching rather than Mathematics. Until this week, the most math that Melissa, Rachel, and I had done since getting here was converting Forint to dollars and trying to figure out how to cook using [...]
What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than wandering around the historical Hősök tere [Heroes’ Square] amongst slabs of meat, pots of forralt bor [Hungarian hot wine], and huge curly-haired Hungapigs. It’s called the Mangalitsa Festival, and it is more or less like a Budapest country fair. Scores of [...]
So if I say the words “Esztergom, Hungary,” what’s the first thing that pops into your head? . . . Nothing? Not surprising. But when a Google search of “best towns in Hungary to visit in the winter” sends back a big, fat “0 results found”, it begs the question – why not go to Esztergom? [...]
Some of the most surprising differences in life here versus in the States are from the more common things that you normally don’t think about. One example would be movies. Acquiring and watching movies in Tanzania is quite different than in the States. Movies can be bought in small electronic shops or just off the street. [...]
I have been in Budapest for just over two weeks and there are so many things that I love about this city. I love the yellow tram, I love chicken paprikas and goulash, I love the crazy boots everyone wears, I love the unique character of all the buildings, I love [...]
All I have to say right now is.. I love Hungary!! .. Actually that’s not even close to being all I have to say about my most recent Saturday in Magyarorsag (aka Hungary). Oh how to begin.. well Rachel, Melissa, and I decided earlier on in the week that we really wanted to go somewhere [...]
Libraries have always been a presence in my life. Because my mother is a librarian, I spent a lot of time at libraries as a child. They became a comfortable and familiar place I could visit to read, listen to music or use the computer. I thought the British Library would evoke similar feelings but [...]