Budapest

President Clinton and I are now “Budapest” best friends. We’re staying at the same hotel, eating at the same restaurants, and heck, we even live in the same town back home. Highlight of highlights- I shook his hand! As much as I loved the personal contact, I was quick to whip out my portable bottle of Purel immediately afterwards. You never know what type of germs get passed along from all of that hand-to-hand contact (Clinton is a notorious handshaker). Regardless of my germ fear, it has been very cool bumping into him frequently although I could do without his entire security detail closing down roads and messing up the flow of post-Communist living here in Budapest. Anyway, when he shook my hand he asked where I was studying. Nervously, I stuttered about my semester abroad in London. Impressed, he told me that London is a very “accessible city”. In my star-struck state all I could do was rapidly nod my head and awkwardly smile. I should never run for a political office- I do badly when meeting people of power. One time in New York City I saw Jay Z, my all-time favorite rap artist, and I was so excited/ nervous that I couldn’t move. Instead, more maturely, I gaped at him. I’m sure he could tell that I was a huge fan and not some girl with a debilitating illness.