Well people, it’s official. I’m studying in Budapest, Hungary next semester. I know, I know —you’ve all been sitting on the edge of your seats waiting anxiously for weeks to hear what my decision was going to be.
Oh wait, you’ve been enjoying Thanksgiving festivities and studying for finals instead? Damn you all for not caring. This has been an important decision that affects each one of you. After all, I will regretfully no longer be here every Thursday to grace five or six readers with my endless high-quality tidbits of wisdom.
But the fact of the matter is, I have indeed been going through some pretty intense deliberation over the past month or two about whether or not I should go. My number one concern has been that I’ll never be able to get over the fact that Hungary sounds so much like “hungry.” I love bad puns so much that I fear my repetitive, nonstop use of this incredibly convenient coincidence will annoy people to the point that I will put myself in legitimate danger of being pushed into a river. Thank God I got it out of my system during break. My family thanks me, I’m sure.
My second, and far more consequential concern, is that as awesome as Budapest sounds, I’ll be unreasonably sad to leave Madison. Bring on the waterworks, right? But seriously, I think I speak for every student here when I say that we live in an incredible city with some pretty awesome people. I know that Budapest is kick-ass too, what with its incredible architecture and long history (Who am I kidding? I’m just excited to legally buy alcohol for the first time!). It’s just that the past year and a half here have been so incontestably idyllic that it’s hard to imagine that even a world-class city could beat Madison.
Supposedly, love makes you blind. It applies to cities too, right? (Once I realized that my affinity for these 78 square miles surrounded by reality shouldn’t get in the way of a life-changing experience,) I had to make a decision nobody wants to make: Which semester should I forego for this adventure? Halloween or Mifflin? Basketball or Football? Cold or really god-damned cold? After another unspeakably good Halloween, that incredible win on Saturday and a downright balmy autumn, I decided I just couldn’t pass these things up even for one semester. Spring it was.
It hit me yesterday that this is happening in less than two months, most of which will be spent back home in Lincoln, Nebraska. (I was a Husker fan, but I’ve seen the light.) I have to make the most of my last few weeks here. My final goodbye after exams needs to last me not one single month of break, but eight long months away from this school I love so dearly. But knowing it’ll all be waiting for me when I return makes me feel better, and the extra long break will make it that much more gratifying to finally return next August.
But I think I’m going to sign off for now. I’m getting awfully Hungary and I want a sandwich almost as much as my dog wants Kibbles and Bits after a long day of crime fighting.
Going to miss Elliot next semester? Send him you’re woeful farewells at ejmorris2@wisc.edu. Or use that as an excuse to make a trip out to Budapest for a nice visit and some legal boozing.
