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This
summer I have had the wonderful opportunity to continue studying Hungarian in
the nation’s capitol city, Budapest. Why Hungarian, you ask? As someone with no
Hungarian background or family connections, Hungarians are almost always
curious about why I chose to study their language. I am learning Hungarian so
that I can continue working towards my PhD degree in Modern European history at
UF, with a focus on Hungarian history. After initially beginning Hungarian
while earning my Master’s, I grew fascinated with the nation, its people,
culture, and history. It was only after first living in Budapest that I really
grew to love the country and its people. Fortunately for me, the summer is the
best time to be in Budapest. The architecture, culture, and the people come
alive during the summer. Once the temperature starts rising after the long
winter you see people walking everyone, enjoying the city and its weather!
When
I arrived in Budapest at the beginning of June the weather was particularly
interesting. The Danube, the river that runs between the two major sides of the
city, Buda and Pest, was experiencing the largest flood in several decades. Although
the side streets closest to the Danube flooded, the city luckily did not
experience much damage. Other cities and villages in Hungary, as well as Prague
in the Czech Republic and some places in Germany, endured much worse damage
from the flooding. In Budapest both tourist and locals alike flocked to the
streets closest to the Danube to witness and take pictures of the flooding.
Needless to say, until the floodwaters began to recede a few days after it
reached its peak, the flood was quite the spectacle in the city!
During
the day I am attending Hungarian language classes at the Debrecen Nyári Egyetem, or the Debrecen Summer School. Even though the
school is based in Debrecen, a city in Eastern Hungary, they have a smaller
branch in the capitol. When I am not in class, I am oftentimes doing
preliminary research for my dissertation on the everyday lives of Hungarian
elite athletes in the Communist period. In my free time, I am usually hanging
out with a mix of both Hungarian and non-Hungarian friends. From my point of
view, it is very important to have local friends, so that you can practice your
language skills. In mid-June when my friends suggested that we take a trip to
Lake Balaton, I jumped at the chance to see another part of Hungary, and to
practice speaking more Hungarian. Lake Balaton, sometimes called the “Hungarian
Riviera,” is the closest thing that Hungary has to a beach. In the summer it is
the most popular place for Hungarians to go for vacation, if they stay in within
the country. It is basically a large lake that is encased by rocks on the
shore, and with grass all around it. For Floridians, it may be a little odd
because there is no sand at all. Despite not being a beach comparable to any of
the ones back home, I thoroughly enjoyed my stay. We stayed in Alsóörs, which is one of the first small
villages that you can reach by train from Budapest. In an attempt to save
money, we stayed in very small camper in an RV park. For the four of us, the
camper was extremely cozy. Yet we were surrounded by native Hungarians from all
over the country, which is something that would not have been true had we
stayed in a hotel. Lake Balaton is also interesting because in the Communist
period it was a very popular place for East Germans to vacation. In fact, in
1989 the first people to leave the Eastern bloc en masse were the East Germans
from Lake Balaton, to Austria! Even today you can see signs in both Hungarian
and German, and sometimes in English. Even though we were in a small town,
there were quite a number of Germans that were sitting near us by the lake. In
all, it was a fantastic trip. I would recommend that if anyone has the time
while in Hungary, that they visit any of the towns along Lake Balaton.
This
past week June 30th-July 6th, was a special one in
Hungary, as it was Budapest Pride Week. Since I was busy all week with school
and research, it was not until Friday that I took part in the festivities. On
Friday night I went to a showing of the 2008 film Milk, an American film about Harvey Milk in the 1970s. Harvey Milk
was the first openly gay American politician that was elected to office in the United
States. Harvey milk’s nephew, Stuart Milk, was at the film showing and he
answered questions about his uncle’s life after the movie. He is an LGBT human
rights activist who runs the Harvey Milk Foundation. I was very excited to see
him, and at the end my friend and I met and chatted with him for a few minutes.
The experience was very neat for both of us. Then the next day, Saturday the 6th,
my friend and I marched in the Budapest Pride Parade. Although I had never seen
or marched in a Pride parade before, I am very glad that I decided to do this
one. The first gay parade in Budapest occurred in 1997. In years past however,
there have been incidents of protestors who broke through the police barricades
and threw eggs and rocks at the marchers. So I was unsure of what to expect
when I decided to join. Thankfully, the local police kept a tight lid on the
protestors, who did not seem to be very menacing anyways. The parade lasted
about 3 km, and it took about two and a half hours. While walking in the parade
my friend spotted Stuart Milk, and we decided to reintroduce ourselves to him.
Lucky for us, he asked us to join his team in the march. Mr. Milk was very
happy to see an American take an interest in the LGBT cause while abroad. After
talking with him for awhile, I saw a Hungarian couple and talked to them as
well. They were happy to see people from all over the world participating in
their Pride event. Needless to say, it was event that was full of joy and
celebration. It was an opportunity that I was lucky enough to have been able to
participate in. I just happened to be in
the right place, at the right time!
I
have about two and a half more weeks left in Hungary. I hope to visit at least
one more place in Hungary outside of Budapest. I am also going to see my
Hungarian friends as much as possible so that I can practice my language skills
until the day I leave. It has been a wonderful trip so far. Budapest is a
welcoming city that is full of life and history. I am looking forward to seeing
what other adventures I will have between now and my return to the States.
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