BUDAPEST SEMESTERS IN MATHEMATICS
ARRIVAL SUGGESTIONS AND PROCEDURES
Please carry your IMPORTANT INFORMATION packet
with you
in your carry
on luggage for the telephone numbers of the program.
ADDRESS/PHONE
Budapest Office hours:...........9:00 a.m.- 5 p.m. (8:30-17:00)
Address: ..............................Bethlen Gabor ter 2 third floor (district VII)
Office Telephone: .................413-3038 (locally with voice mail)
fax: ........................................413-3030 (locally)
Fax:........................................011-361-413-3030 (from the states)
Cell Phone:.............................06-30-474-3924 (locally with voice mail)
Cell Phone:...........................011-36-30-474-3924 (from the states)
Switchboard:............... 011-361-413-3000 (from the states)
email: .................................office@bsmath.hu
(011=overseas access 36=Hungary 1=Budapest )
| Student Mailing Address (letters only) | Student Mailing Address (packages or FedEx) |
| Name of Student | Name of Student |
| College International | College International |
| Budapest Semesters in Mathematics |
Budapest Semesters in Mathematics |
| 1406 Budapest 76 | 1071 Budapest |
| P.O. Box 51 | Bethlen Gabor ter 2 |
| HUNGARY | HUNGARY |
ARRIVING IN BUDAPEST BY AIR
The Budapest Semesters in Mathematics Office in the states will fax arrival times of students to Budapest as they get them. Please be as specific as possible and include:
With direct flights or flights into Budapest from a European city, this information is easily known from your travel agent or on your ticket (barring flight delays or cancellations, of course).
In case of a flight
delay, call one of the telephone numbers listed above, first. The Hungarian cell phone number is recommended. If you have internet access remember that
Budapest is 7 hours ahead of Minnesota. You may also leave a message for the
Budapest office in the states 1-507-786-3114; 1-800-277-0434; or 1-507-645-644. If you leave a message with the North American Office, they
will do everything they can, on your behalf, to contact Budapest and apprise
them of the situation. If calling Budapest from Europe, you will need to find
out the access code and then call one of the numbers above. You may also fax or
e-mail Budapest if this is more convenient. If delayed, please remember to contact your parents and keep them posted on your
current situation.
Someone from our program should meet you at the airport. After clearing customs, you will eventually enter a roped off area. Look for someone holding up a sign saying, "Budapest Semesters". If they miss you at the airport there is a minivan which says (in English), "Airport Minibus". If arriving during office hours, this van will take you and your luggage to College International (Bethlen Gabor ter 2) for about $20.00. The trip takes about 45 minutes.
If you arrive after office hours, or on the weekend unannounced, take the mini van to a youth hostel, motel, or hotel for the night. Contact the Budapest office when the next regular office day begins.
ARRIVING IN BUDAPEST BY TRAIN
If you are arriving by train, please follow a few logical plans:
Keep in mind that not all persons who will be assigned
to pick you up will have telephones. It may be necessary for someone from the
Budapest Office to personally go to that person's home to contact them. Thus,
changes or unannounced arrivals are not as easily accommodated in Hungary as
they are in North America.
If you arrive unannounced at Keleti train station in Budapest during
office hours, 8:30 a.m.- 5 p.m. (8:30-17:00), [and you don't have too much
luggage], it is an easy 3-4 block walk to the school.
If you prefer not to walk, it may be best to hail a cab and show the driver the Budapest Semester's address. The offices are located on the 3rd
floor.
College International
Bethlen Gabor ter 2 VII
If you arrive after the office is closed for the day:
If you have not informed anyone in the Budapest office of your arrival plans,
have a change in plans, or are delayed, and/or no one meets you at the train,
plan to walk, or take a taxi to a hotel, motel, or youth hostel and spend the
night (at your own expense).
Please remember to contact your parents and keep them posted on your
current situation.
If it is necessary to spend your first night in Budapest before meeting people from the program or if you are unable to make contact with someone from the program don't panic.
Both the airport and train station have a counter set up to help people find accommodations. Once you arrive at your lodging, there is usually someone at the front desk who speaks English.
If it is necessary to spend
your first night in a hotel, motel, or
hostel in Budapest before
meeting people from the program, or if you are unable to make contact with someone from the program, don’t
panic. Eat a good meal, relax by reading a good
book (maybe math), or soaking in a hot tub, and get a refreshing
night’s sleep. The next
morning after breakfast, call the
BSM office and apprise them of your
situation, and make plans
to have someone pick you up at the motel or wind your own way to the office.
YOUR LODGINGS
Whether you arrive via air or train, there is one more piece to your
arrival:
A ''room match'' form was sent to
you in your acceptance packet. There is also a form on line. You
indicated on that sheet any
special needs or wants.
The North American office then sent this information to
the Budapest office.
The person who meets your plane or train from the Budapest office
should accompany you to your housing and go over the lease with you.
They should also give you a mini orientation of your
"environment" including
your new neighborhood and how it works, i.e., where to catch the public transportation and how to use
it; where the food stores in your area are located; and to mark a route on your
map of how to get from your location to both the Babilon Language School (if
you are taking the optional language course) and College International on
Bethlen Gabor ter. If they do not, please ask them (or the landlord or host
family) to do so.
Rents are payable in Budapest usually on a monthly basis. Rent will be payable on the day of your
arrival. Often a security deposit
equal to approximately one month’s rent is also due on the day you arrive.
[The refundable housing deposit you paid us is for bills or damage which are
not invoiced before you return home.] Please be aware that Hungarian customs
and laws governing rental properties varies from apartment to apartment and
vary greatly from laws in North America. It is possible that if you are
attending the language program and arrive in the middle of the month, you will
be charged for the whole month (either August or January). We have no jurisdiction over these
issues. Do not sign any lease
agreement until you fully understand and are comfortable with the terms. The landlord should be willing to give
you a few days grace period in which to do so.
The best way to get cash for the monthly rent is to use ATM
machines. They are widely available throughout Budapest,
and disperse funds in both US
dollars (USD) and Hungarian forints (HUF). Someone from our program will assist you with this process
upon arrival.
If any problems or concerns arise, or if you are dissatisfied with
your accommodations in any way, I strongly urge you to talk to the Program
Manager/s, instructors, or
administrators of the program, in Budapest, immediately to resolve the issue. They will try to help you sort out the
problem and, if necessary, find another place for you to live. Please be patient and flexible, as the process may take
some time to resolve, but usually a
solution can be worked out.
Be prepared to feel pretty tired and disoriented upon arrival, but
things usually get progressively
better the more you get acclimated to your new environment and get to know your
classmates.
Here is what one participant wrote about her arrival:
The hardest thing about the arrival process is that you are so
tired after traveling all the way to Budapest from the US. I had no idea how hard the trip would
be...especially when you've got all your luggage, etc.
Another thing that makes the arrival difficult is the extreme
culture shock of arriving in a new country. Obviously, there is really no way around this, but I think
we should communicate to participants as much as possible to be prepared to
feel tired, unhappy/uncomfortable, nervous and scared upon their arrival and
for the first day or so. Other than that, however, I think that my arrival
went pretty well.
It probably would have been better for me if I had attempted to
sleep on the plane on the way over...another suggestion might be to advise
students to sleep on the way over, because they will not be able to sleep when
they arrive, because there will be several hours of things to do
immediately after they
arrive. I had to go to the bank to
exchange money to pay rent to my landlord, discuss all of the necessary things
regarding rent, utilities, etc.,
with him, buy a transportation pass, etc. [note: if you arrive very late,
many tasks will be taken care of the following morning].
Dana Paquin
Davidson College