I seem to have settled into my life here in Budapest. I know my roommates, the main trams and metro stops, the good restaurants near my dorm, and the local grocery store. As a result of my very beginner Hungarian courses, I can read signs and negotiate purchases without looking like a complete idiot, and more importantly, I have stopped massacring the pronunciation of Hungarian words. Even though I just got here, I am already planning little escapes from Budapest, including this weekend when I will go to Košice, Slovakia to explore the hometown of a Hungarian author, Sandor Marai, whose writings I fell in love with last year at Georgetown. One of my professors once stated, “Hungary is the only country completely surrounded by Hungarians.” That certainly appears true to me.
The first countries I went to outside of the US were England, France, and Spain. Though those countries are undeniably interesting historically, politically, and culturally, I would not consider it exactly adventurous or unique for an American to travel there. They are pretty normal tourist destinations where English is generally spoken, hamburgers are readily available, and Starbucks graces every main street. Of course, given the chance, I would return to any of those places in a heart beat. Many of my friends at Georgetown and other universities are studying abroad this semester. Some are in Botswana or China or Nepal, but most of them are opting for the traditional study abroad locations: Australia, Argentina, Spain, France, Italy. Of course, there is no problem with these choices. Honestly, I think study abroad, regardless of where a person goes, is going to be a learning experience that will help them learn to adapt and thrive in a culture that is not their own.
But, to go to Hungary the first time one leaves the United States; that is pretty darn adventuresome. The language is crazy, and the people do not necessarily speak English. Though the food is absolutely spectacular, I doubt that some of the dishes could be found in the US unless you were looking for them. Practically everyone loves pastries filled with chocolate, but not everyone is brave enough to try bread filled with an unknown cheese and strange meaty bits. Put simply, Hungary is not for the faint hearted.
Maybe this post is a little unorthodox, since it is not technically about my personal experience, but I wanted to demonstrate that Hungary is not a strange or frightening place. So, I want to write about Budapest from the perspective of a group of Americans who have never travelled outside of the US ever in their life.
I recently asked one of my roommates, Molly about her thoughts on Hungary. As an anthropology major, she originally chose to come here because of the inter-religious history of the region and how that was effected by the Nazi and Soviet occupations. She decided to study abroad when a friend from her university stated that the best thing she could possibly do in college is study abroad. She had not even considered this possibility prior to college, but now she is in Central-Eastern Europe and taking advantage of the temporary respite from American life by exploring the ancient fortresses in Buda and finding a new favorite food: gnocchi with paprika sauce.
When I have asked other students in my group on choosing Hungary, the most common answer was that they wanted to go to a place that they had absolutely no expectations. For example, one of my other roommates, Lisa is a history major hoping to become a history teacher whose expertise is the World Wars. She stated that she never learned anything about Eastern Europe in her studies in the United States. She came her not knowing anything about Hungary to expand her knowledge of an area of the world that is important and rarely mentioned at her home university in New York State.
I have heard some interesting commentaries on Hungarian life from the group. For example, I have heard that, for better or worse, Hungarians are extremely open people. They are unafraid to discuss their perhaps complex history, especially their historical relationship with the Nazis or Soviets. They may not have good things to say about these groups, but they are not afraid to discuss and share their opinion on a topic that Americans might feel awkward to talk about. I have also heard, “The people don’t smile here,” “Everyone smokes,” “Bad weather makes gothic buildings look even more sinister,” and my personal favorite, “Does political correctness exist here?”
Some are amazed that they can buy their brand of make-up and toothpaste outside of the United States. Or that bike lanes and recycling exist in a country that used to be communist. My roommate was surprised to find that our sturdy little Italian washing machine that sounds like a jet engine actually cleaned her clothes better than the Maytag she has at home. Everyone loves the fast and extremely accessible public transport.
Regardless of their reaction to perhaps mundane aspects of everyday Hungarian life, I love the fact that young Americans who have never traveled outside of the United States are willing to do it on their own and to a not-so-typical location. I hope that, like me, they will come to love travel and see it as something without which life would not be lived to the fullest.
