Reflections on Eastern Europe
Traveling for extended periods of time will change a person to some extent, whether they realize or not. Having never traveled abroad for more than a week, I may have changed more than the average person. Most obviously, you start to become more aware of other cultures and languages. Hungary is in some ways more similar to the US than I expected, but it is also very different. I felt like I had to work a lot harder to just go through normal life, due to differences in language and just different routines. Most of all, I realized just how small the world that I live in at home and even in Boston is. There are so many people in cities that I barely know anything about going about their daily lives that I will never understand. It’s a big world out there, and though I’ll never see everything, I’m more determined than ever to try.
Before I left for Budapest, I tried my best to go in with an open mind and to not worry too much about anything—I knew that I would be stressed no matter what so I tried my hardest to get excited instead of scared. Two things that I was justifiably worried about were the language barrier and finding vegetarian food. The language certainly made things more difficult, but worst case scenario I typed questions into Google Translate and showed my phone to people for them to read. I had to do this a few times, but was always able to figure it out with this aid. As for the food, traditional Hungarian food wasn’t the best for me (the only vegetarian thing is fried cheese!) but Budapest is a very large city with many other kinds of food that I enjoyed greatly. There was a lot of falafel/gyros places, which were my favorites! I think most of the fears I had turned out fine once I arrived…I just had to remember to go with the flow and to focus on having fun. I know that I am generally a pretty flexible and adventurous person, but I surprised even myself with how well I adjusted to life in Budapest.
Before this trip, I thought that I would want to study abroad again, but after this trip I know that I have to do so! Five weeks was great, but I wish we could’ve had more time to integrate into the local culture. Some of my favorite experiences happened when I spent time doing what the local people did—watching the Euro Cup, going for runs on Margaret Island, sitting in cafes drinking cappuccinos—although I definitely enjoyed doing touristy things too! On one of the best days, we did a four-hour caving tour that involved military crawling and an amazing tour guide. On another, we hiked up one of the highest peaks at 3am to watch the sunrise.
In general, there were so many unforgettable experiences that I can’t even begin to list them! Another benefit with the dialogue is that I’ll see all my new friends again when we get back to school! We all bonded over the great adventure that was Budapest, but we will all be in Boston (or on coop!) in the fall. Even so, I definitely want to do a traditional study abroad semester, likely in an English speaking (or possibly Spanish) city. At the moment I’m hoping to do England, Ireland, or possibly Argentina, likely during my third year. Although it was interesting to be around Hungarian, it made everything much more challenging, and if I am staying somewhere for a longer time, I think the security of knowing the language would be really helpful.
Like I said before, I think that the most important thing that you can do when studying abroad is to keep an open mind and to be ready to explore. Having never been to Budapest and barely knowing the people I was living and studying with, there were definitely some overwhelming moments. I’m a somewhat introverted person, so I really had to put myself out there, but it was so worth it. I put a lot of effort into the new relationships I was making, both with the city and the people, and by the end everything was easier. I knew that I would have to work on getting the most out of my experience, but I think that I succeeded at the end!
