BASICS - The Rough Guide to Budapest - page 57

wise, most youth hostels have laundry facilities, with a small fee payable; hotels will charge
considerably more.
Living in Budapest
Teaching English has traditionally been the main opportunity for work in Hungary, and
it remains a big business, with many native speakers working in Budapest and a number
of schools in and around the capital. The most reputable language school is International
House, whose Budapest branch is at I, Vérmező út 4 ( 1 212 4010, ih.hu ); its minimum
requirement is a CELTA or TESOL qualification, and preferably one year's experience. It of-
fers a range of teacher training qualifications in Budapest. There are also teaching opportun-
ities at the British Council, VI, 1075 Madách Imre út 13-14 ( 1 483 2020, britishcoun-
cil.org ) .
Study programmes
Several schools in Budapest cater for foreigners wishing to learn Hungarian , the best of
which is the Hungarian Language School at VIII, Bródy Sándor utca 4 ( 1 266 2617,
magyar-iskola.hu ). The school runs a comprehensive range of short- and long-term courses,
from beginners to advanced, as well as organizing cultural programmes and workshops. The
Debrecen Summer School also runs year-round courses in Budapest (V, Báthory utca 4.II.1
1 320 5751, summerschool.hu/bp ).
Lost property
For items left on public transport go to the BKV office at VII, Akácfa utca 18 (Mon
8am-8pm, Tues-Thurs 8am-5pm, Fri 8am-3pm; 1 258 4636). Lost or stolen passports
should be reported to the police station in the district where they were lost.
Mail
Post offices ( posta ) are usually open Monday to Friday 8 or 9am to 5pm, though these fol-
lowing main offices keep longer hours: by Keleti Station at VIII, Baross tér 11c (Mon-Fri
7am-9pm, Sat 8am-2pm); by Nyugati Station at VI, Teréz körút 51 (Mon-Fri 7am-8pm, Sat
8am-6pm); at the Mammut Mall by Széll Kálmán tér (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat 9am-2pm);
while the branch in the Tesco at XIV, Pillangó utca 15 near the Pillangó utca stop on the
red metro is open 24 hours a day. Stamps ( bélyeg ) can be bought at tobacconists or post of-
fices, though the latter are usually pretty crowded and very few staff speak English. Stamps
for sending postcards and letters abroad cost the same. You'll do better choosing the slightly
more expensive elsőbbségi (“priority” - airmail) rate, 295Ft up to 20g within Europe, 340Ft
for further afield, rather than the nem-els őbbségi rate. If you are sending anything of value,
it is worth forking out the 1500Ft or so for recorded delivery. The Magyar Posta website
posta.hu has further details of post offices and mailing costs.