part 3: let do it.

Today was supposed to be a day to chill, hang out, and enjoy Budapest.
Being up all night really got things off to a pretty poor start. I did get to meet Seiji though (one of the other two students), as he’s also staying at Moha Hostel in a different room. I decided to come along with him to the workshop a day early.
So now that relaxing was totally out of the question, the walking begun!
Seiji told me a bit about the area (which is about half an hour from the city centre). It all didn’t seem too out-of-the-ordinary, though my curiosity was aroused by the random piles of garbage (henceforth known as shitpiles) all over the place.

shitpile

I encountered these mostly in front of buildings, and they seemed really out of place. Seiji explained that at this time of year, people just throw their junk out and the gypsies come and pick out what they like. I’m not 100% sure but I believe the city cleans up whatever is left, because 2 days later all the mess was gone.

So we continued our journey towards the workshop, turning left and right wherever necessary.

and finally….we arrive at:

the workshop

It really is quite a cosy little place, with a seat for each student, all the necessary tools within reach, and a separate room for upper-making.
Marcell, the teacher, had not yet arrived so I made myself comfortable snapping pictures of whatever I could see.

shoe lasts (the shoe is built around this)

Marcell arrived shortly after and the fun (I use this term very loosely) begun.

I spent the next 8 hours doing the following:
Sharpening my knife on the sharpening stick (this is much harder than you can even imagine)
Skiving (thinning layers) of leather
Sharpening my knife
Getting angry at my blunt knife which didn’t seem sharp enough to cut anything.  Except my finger. Which it did.

The Culprits

So at 4pm, me and Seiji began our walk back to the hostel. Seiji in good spirits (he started in september and is nearing the end of his 2nd pair of shoes), me rather disheartened and hoping the rest of the month wouldn’t end up nearly so shitty.

Nevertheless a true gentleman always takes things in stride.

emotionally wrecked, physically perfect. in every way (atleast in the frame)

I went to bed at 8:00pm hoping that tomorrow, the first “official” day of shoemaking, would prove to be a bit more uplifting.

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