Hungary
Purpose
In January 2019, I packed up my life and moved to Budapest, Hungary for the next five months. I had dreamt of this day since high school. My innate curiosity and appreciation for other cultures made me desire an experience where I could be fully immersed and become more than a tourist or passerby. I moved into my small dorm room on Raday Street wide-eyed, excited, and unaware of the challenges, lessons, and breath-taking moments that awaited me. This is the overarching lesson I learned abroad and the three moments that truly impacted me.
Takeaways
You grow when you are uncomfortable.
My time in Budapest comprised of many small and large moments of me stepping out of my comfort zone and learning to adapt. It was my first time in Europe and the longest I had been away from home. My experiences pushed me to dive deeper into understanding myself and the world around me.
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Roommates - I desired a fully immersive experience, so I chose random for roommate requests. I was assigned two Hungarian graduate students who were 5-10 years older than me. Additionally, they were more reserved and didn't speak perfect English, so we struggled to relate. Issues arose due to different schedules and lifestyles egged on by our small room. I felt anxious with homesickness and fear of upsetting them. Finally, instead of wallowing in self-pity, I decided to adapt to the situation and make actionable steps to get to know them. Suddenly, a real friendship was forming through late-night chats and dinners. Their kindness and new sense of openness made the room feel light and enjoyable. Building those friendships made Budapest feel more like a home and taught me how to be empathetic in unfamiliar situations.
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Language - Hungarian is unlike anything I've heard before. In fact, on our first day of Hungarian Class, our teacher showed us a large flourishing tree with hundreds of languages connected to the same roots... and then a liiittle tree next to it with only Hungarian and Finnish. This brought daily challenges from buying the wrong groceries to misunderstanding local students to being mocked for my American accent. I was determined to learn this new language to better communicate with the people around me. I also became more thoughtful with my words, thankful for people's patience, and creative in how I accomplished tasks. By the end of the semester, people actually believed I was Hungarian! Sadly, they were only fooled at the beginning of the conversation.
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Travels - Being my first time in Europe, I was ecstatic to take advantage of the simple and cheap travel opportunities. However, I did not consider the unexpected obstacles I would encounter along the way. Issues came in all shapes and sizes; transportation mishaps, trips being cancelled last minute, and disagreements in our travel group. These experiences pushed me to think on my feet, adapt in uncertain situations, and overcome my fears. Of course, this does not diminish the amazing memories I made during my travels. From paragliding to spelunking to making friends with strangers, I made sure to step out of my comfort zone in fun ways, too!
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There's a stigma around studying abroad that "every day is the best day of your life." This is not true and shouldn't be something students feel pressured to uphold on social media or in conversations at home. I hope these experiences developed me into a kinder and more capable person. Living in a different country humbled me, challenged me, and rewarded me in surprising ways. After that semester, I feel like I can adapt and communicate in most any situation. I am forever thankful for this opportunity and excited to continuously apply these lessons to my personal and professional life.
