Gluten worries

For the past three years I have been strictly gluten-free. I discovered that I was gluten intolerant after my sister's good response to the gluten-free diet prompted me to go gluten-free. Upon attempting to return to a glutenous diet, I received very strong stomach pains, skin breakouts, and severe exhaustion. It has gotten to the point where even the slightest amount of cross-contamination will make me sick. Because of this I am very nervous about finding food during my time spent in Budapest. I have been working hard to find gluten-free shops and restaurants around my school. Because I do not know where my apartment will be, I have not been able to plan around that location. 

I have had some luck in this area. I've found a gluten free pizzeria and pasta shop within walking distance of my school. I have also found a couple celiac support groups in Budapest and have sent out multiple emails to them and to my program coordinators. There are multiple grocery stores in Budapest that offer gluten-free products. Even considering this, I am very nervous about leaving for Budapest and my abilities to find food. I will pack some gluten free snack bars and rice krispie treats, but these are hardly enough to live by for long. I do not know what the standards are in Hungary in comparison to the US in terms of cross-contamination, so I am nervous that I will be sick for the first couple of weeks upon arrival. This could horribly affect my abilities to attend classes, study, and most-importantly learn. 

I guess these are all things that I will have to deal with when I arrive in Budapest. I have done what planning ahead that I can. I just need to hope that that will be enough and that my odd diet with not hinder my ability to learn. It's just one more thing to worry about... I guess I need to get better at not doing that so much.

Three weeks! Ah!!

I leave for Hungary in just over three weeks and I am getting sooo nervous. I have a lot more shopping to do and I haven't even started packing. I still can't believe that I'm going to be leaving for a country that I know practically none of the language to live in an apartment that I know nothing about and be surrounded by not a single familiar person. This is getting a little bit daunting....

Syllabi update

Hello to my current non-existent readers. Hopefully there will be more followers after I actually start giving out more information on my blog. Anyways, there has been some new excitement towards the Budapest program. I have received my Gilman scholarship funds- a whopping $5000! I have sent in (even) more official documents, and I have begun the packing process. The most exciting news at this point is about my plans for classes in the fall. Just yesterday the program posted all of the syllabi for students to view.

Reading over the syllabi of classes I'd like to attend has made me so excited for the program. I'm realizing that I do know quite a lot in the world of math and that I will not be going in as blind as I had expected. It seems that my foundations classes with Lawrence professors Alan Parks and Scott Corry have given me a strong basis to work from. After looking over the classes, I am planning to take four courses: Set theory, graph theory, number theory, and probability theory. I am uncertain about wanting to take the probability course and may instead take a course on geometry or statistics.

I have reasoning for taking these classes and would like to explain myself. I am taking the set theory course because I fell in love with set theory during my foundations of analysis course. I loved it so much that I put in extra hours of work multiple times just to do more set theory problems than were assigned.  It seems that I will have a bit of a head start with this course because the syllabus seems very similar to that of my found. of analysis class. I will be taking the graph theory course because it will be helpful to my studies of anthropology (I am currently a math major with an anthropology minor; however, I intend to go to grad school for anthropology [at least that's my plan at this point in time- it may change]). Graph theory is very useful for the study of social networks through modeling- a vital new aspect of anthropology that is in need of more efficient students. I will be taking the number theory course because Hungary is known for its abilities in number theory and I would like to learn more about the subject, so I figure that I should take advantage of the opportunity. I have heard that the probability courses are easier than most and because I will be taking four math courses, I would like to take one that is a bit easier. I have always struggled with the thought processes related to probability, so I expect that this class will be relieving yet challenging enough to be enjoyable. I'm also considering taking a geometry course over the probability course because, although it will be more difficult, I have really enjoyed the study of geometry before and I think that I would enjoy it again.

One thing that is great about this program is that I will have the first two weeks of courses to take as many courses as I would like to in order to better choose which classes I would like to study. Having the syllabi posted, however, has made me very excited about this program and a bit more confident in my abilities to do well.

If you would like to see the syllabi you can go to the following link: http://www.bsmath.hu/CURRENT/schedule_of_classes.html#syllabi"

Chelsea

Introduction

Welcome to the first post on Chelsea's Budapest Semesters in Mathematics blog! I will be leaving for Budapest in early September (the date is uncertain seeing as I have yet to buy my airplane tickets), and the time frame between now and then seems to be getting shorter and shorter so quickly. Having begun to prep myself for the study abroad experience, I have become very nervous. There is much that I need to do before I can leave and there will be so much for me to do while abroad. Even considering this, I am so excited for the opportunity to experience a new culture and I look forward to the challenges that will come with my classes. 
In order to start this blog off right, I'd like to share some information on my study abroad program. The program is 15 weeks long- 14 weeks of classes plus one week of exams. During the first two weeks of the program, students are allowed to take all of the courses offered in order to determine which classes they would like to take. The average course load is 3-4 math classes. I intend to take four classes: one set theory course, one group theory course, one number theory course, and one probability course. Many more details of the program will be determined upon my arrival. For example, I have no idea where I will be living, who I will be living with, much about the city of Budapest, what the professors will be like, etc. Most of what I know comes from conversations that I have had with previous members of the program. The prominent idea that I have gotten from them can be described in one word- HARD. The classes are expected to be intense and the workload "deathly". I am trying to prep myself as best as I can for this workload, but there is a limit to how much I can do. I just need to trust my previous experience and my abilities to get me through the term.
While abroad I have a few plans outside of the program itself, the details of which will be explained later in the blog. I intend to visit Moordorf, Serbia in order to gain information on my family history, to complete my service project that is required as a recipient of the Gilman Scholarship (Yay!), and to possibly do some volunteer work/ join a volleyball or ultimate frisbee club.

For more information on the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics program visit:
http://www.budapestsemesters.com
and for information on the gilman scholarship, visit:
http://www.iie.org/en/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program

I would like to send a great big thank you to those who have sponsored my study abroad experience:
My math professor Alan Parks
My Aunts, Sue Goreham and Marge Serres
My Grandma K and
My family friend Ralph