Magyar News, 1993. szeptember-1994. augusztus (4. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1994-03-01 / 7. szám
second. The survey put military music to place six, light music to place seven and operetta music to place ten. Three years later, in 1931, Hungarian Radio was already broadcasting 35-40 hours of music per week. 6-8 hours of this, were filled music from gramophone records. The biggest foreign gramophone companies appeared In Hungary In the late twenties and offered their full repertory for the Hungarian market. Radio also made the most of the huge opportunities lying in this, as it managed to make the most prominent International performers - singers, soloists, conductors, orchestras etc. accessible for the widest listenership. ISPENSER The enormous change created by radio within less than a decade, was also exploited by the new significant invention of the thirties, sound-film. By 1935, on the tenth birthday of radio, a movie entitled Halló, Budapest! was completed. Its story was related to the radio building and the world of studios. This film finally made visible and perceptible for everybody the complex and complicated process by means of which human voice got everywhere. However, the human being remained the most important factor, who spoke and sent the cultural treasure everywhere accumulated in the course of centuries and - in the meantime - further enriching them. That Is how Tivadar Puskás' news and programme transmitting invention has become indispensable for the people of the twentieth century. Tibor Bános Pamela K. Revak Attorney at Law 1275 Post Road, Suite 212 Fairfield, Connecticut ESTATE, TRUST AND TAXATION SERVICES, INCLUDING TAX RETURN PREPARATION 259-9578 THE HUNGARIAN EXPERIENCE IN A NON-HUNGARIAN WORLD By Tünde Miklós The Mary Katona Scholarship applicants are required to write an essay on their Hungarian experience. This is written by one of the applicants. I left my country, Romania, and came here so I could have a chance for a better and brighter future. The reason for leaving my country was not because I didn’t like it there, but because I am Hungarian, my family and I were persecuted. My mom lost her job after sixteen years of working as a secretary at a company just because she was Hungarian. We knew then and there that my dad’s job was in jeopardy also. We also knew that I wouldn’t have any opportunities to have a good future, no matter how good I was, because I was Hungarian. In Romania if you were proud to be something different than what they were they, the people, alienated you for being different. At the nursery where I was enrolled, I only heard Romanian being spoken, but at home the opposite was true, because my parents only spoke Hungarian. When I started to go to kindergarten, I was only permitted to speak Romanian. If I spoke Hungarian to my friend, they would punish me by having me stand in the comer while the others were playing different games. I know that this does not seem harsh, but when you’re in kindergarten it’s the worst punishment. When I went to first grade I studied all my subjects in Hungarian, except for Romanian of course. I had a hard time with first grade because I used to speak Romanian most of the time. But with the help of my teacher, I overcame that obstacle and became one of the best students in her class. During my fifth and sixth grades I had the good fortune of being taught by another great Hungarian teacher. I learned a lot in her class because she made the material fun, easy to understand and easy to learn. My class took many field trips, visiting different locations where some of the great Hungarian writers and poets lived and worked. With her help, we learned how to appreciate our Hungarian heritage, culture and language better. I just wanted to tell you something about my past to show that even though I did not grow up in Hungary, I still am and always will be Hungarian. I was taught from an early age that ones heritage is everything and if you don’t keep it alive you lose something of yourself along with your heritage. Before I came to live in the United States I lived a year in Austria with my family. There again I was ridiculed not only by the kids but also by some of the teachers. Still I could not and would not change who I am. During that year I learned enough German to be able to communicate with most Austrians. In school there was only one teacher that was willing to help me and the other kids like me. He was a priest who taught us some of the Bible. In the group of kids who attended these special classes, there were some that were old enough to take their first communion. Even though I am not Catholic I went to their meetings where they talked about the Bible. When the Priest saw that I didn’t understand what he said in German, he would translate it to Hungarian so I could understand it better. When we arrived in the United States, we went to live with my aunt and uncle in Easton, Connecticut. I went to school at Helen Keller Middle School. After the school accepted my Austrian school papers they let me attend the eighth grade. It was hard to make the adjustment again to a different language but with the help of my English teacher, Mr. Goad, I succeeded. After completing the eighth grade in Helen Keller Middle School, my family and I moved to Fairfield, CT, where I continued my education at Fairfield High School. At Fairfield High I had the opportunity to improve my English and German vocabulary further with the help from the devoted teachers like Mrs. Margitay- Balogh, Ms. Santillo, Mr. Dailey, Mr. Flint, and many others. Along with improving my English diction, I also made many new friends. Some of them moved away or went away to college, but we still keep in touch. Also upon our arrival we were glad to notice that there were Hungarian services at the church that we attended (Calvin United Church of Christ). We went to church whenever our time permitted it. I also started to attend the different Hungarian programs, where I would either recite a poem or I would dance some Hungarian dances with some of my friends. I have kept this tradition up for 5 years now. I hope to be able to continue this tradition even if I don’t perform but help to organize the different events. I attended two of the Cafe Budapest Balls where I had a wonderful time dancing all the different Hungarian dances. I would never have had that experience back in Transylvania. I would have only been able to see such things in movies. One time when I went to Town Hall with my dad I saw the picture of Katona Maria. I felt as if Katona Maria had winked at me and said that if I try to get the scholarship I might succeed, because she had worked hard all her life to be able to help Hungarian students like myself to succeed in college life. page 5
