A Study In Hungarianness

Everyone else in our program was gone on vacation for our semi-Thanksgiving break, but Carolina and I opted to stay in Budapest and get to know the city better before we are whisked back to the US. This means that we've been going to different bars/clubs every night, some of which we get kicked out of, some of which suck, some of which close at midnight and don't let us in, but most of which are way cooler than anything in the US. It's been a lot of fun, meeting some good characters. Something we've noticed, however, is that Hungarians really cannot understand why anyone from anywhere else would want to come study in Hungary. Their response, when we say we are studying abroad from San Francisco is, "But, why?"

Good question, I suppose. It's not like I got out a map, settled down with an encyclopedia on European history, and chose Hungary as the most worthy, while sipping on some brandy. In fact, I mostly chose it because USF made it mega easy for me to sign up for last minute, and because my tuition and credits just transfer over. I really knew nothing about the city or country itself. Which has made our classes here, which would probably bore anyone well-acquainted with the region to (shall I go for the cliche?) death, really fascinating. I'll forego my fear of sounding obvious or ignorant and just say that I never really thought I would be taking basic world history classes that just put a completely different perspective on things. And the country itself has some fucked up history. The more I learn about the transition from Socialism, the current government and economy, and prevailing individualistic attitude of the population, the more depressing it is. People here aren't interested in building a community, they're interested in self-preservation. The American dream whispers to the little man that he can do anything and be as successful as he wants if he works hard enough, and is honest and moral. However little truth may be left in this, it is at least the presented ideal. In Hungary, everyone had everything taken from them by communism. There was no success because everyone was poor and miserable. When the country transitioned to its altered form of capitalism, there was a false hope that the livin' would get easier. However, this was only the case for a few well-positioned people, and everyone else just went about their lives, doing what they've always done for as little as they've always done it. So Hungarians see successful people as those who cheated, lied, or were simply lucky. Laws are things that are to be followed at one's own discretion--people are not going to change just because their government does every four years. "Customer Service" is non-existent, which can be a little jilting at first, but then it's like, yeah, why the fuck should they smile at me and be nice to me? People don't give a shit about your problems, they've got themselves to worry about.

One busy night, Carolina and I got on the tram, only to be backed into a corner because it was so packed. Very unfortunately, but not surprisingly, we were trapped in our crevice by not one, but two couples mackin hardcore on either side of us. This is a common occurrence here in Bootypest. Not only do most girls seem to have nothing better to do than spend hours on their outfits, hair, makeup, and taking mirror-cellpone-camera pics of themselves, but, as would logically follow, they want nothing more than to have a boyfriend. It doesn't really seem to matter who this boy is--as long as they can make out in front of everyone all the time. I hope I don't sound too bitter, these beezies amuse me more than anything. Just making some cultural observations. Even our program director, Andi, who is really cool, was giving me a ride one day (to the police station, lolz), and she was looking for a place to park. There was a space that was most definitely big enough for her tiny compact car, and she passed it saying, " oops, not big enough for a girl!" Well, I suppose I'm used to trying to park between driveways that are smaller than my actual car on hills in the dreaded inner richmond, but I still thought I must of heard her wrong. Then she goes, "Oh, that one is big enough," indicating a spot that would most definitely fit two cars at least. "You know, in Hungary they are thinking of making special parking spots just for girls. Some people think that is sexist, but I think it would be nice." Ooookay Andi, comparing women to the handicapped and implying their inferiority at a simple daily task definitely isn't sexist....

Well anyway, can't wait to get back to you people and do a lot of good Hungarian accent impressions. It seems like everybody has a different accent here. It's funny. Speaking of "funny", this is the word Hungarians use for "fun". That's because they don't have a word for fun. How fucked is that? So, last week Carolina and Kelsey ran into Marcel. They were like yo, Marcel, what's up man? and he was like "Oh, I am sorry. I have TWO candies in my mouth right now!" ( I love Marcel). Later that day, he showed up to our class, and asked if we all wanted some of his candy. He proceeded to pass around a pack of original flavor Halls cough drops. God I love Marcel. So you can understand the magnitude of his "child trapped in a giant man's body" syndrome, here is a picture of him:


So, Hungary is different. It's not warm and welcoming and it doesn't give a damn whether you're there or not. But it's got soul. We found about eight really really legit bars, met some hilarious and cool people, and I know I'm going to be missing them, the 24 hour liquor stores (Hungarians are second only to the Irish in alcohol consumption), the every-two-minute trams, and the cheesey bread. Oh god. The cheesey bread will be in my dreams forever.