The Hungarian Student, 1958 (3. évfolyam, 1-2. szám)
1958-10-01 / 1. szám
to frighten and convince, and the Magyars do not enjoy those rare and bold freedoms like the Poles still do. But my American friend completely disagrees with me, with the American public in general and with the traveling writers or writing travelers in particular. «I don’t know too much about life there» - he says - «but if somebody had seen Poland and is bound off to Russia, he ought to go to Hungary first. Just to get an idea, what is - between. By George, not geografically but from a social, political point of view.» However, the team did not follow this course. They went to Moscow first. «A matter of protocol, I think.» Hungary was their third stop after Poland. His first impressions where that of a nice surprise. We went with a sort of mixed feelings there, and really did not expect such an open and wide-range demonstration of sympathy. — Unofficial of course. The people followed the sight-seeing Americans on the streets, everybody was anxious to practice his almostforgotten «How do you do?» - Quite a few spoke English and there was no sign of awareness of the official dislike about the warm reception received from the public. Budapest is the mixture of the old world charm of the kind of Vienna and the shabbiness of Kiev he says. There is not much damage left from the war. The general impression is not of a damaged but rather a neglected city. There are surprisingly few new buildings and the old ones are usually in the condition of some of the New York West side temements. (His comparison, not mine.) The streetcars and busses are just as jammed as in Warsaw. People hung from the handrails like enormous grapes. Some government cars are running up and down the streets. There are a few private-owned cars too. These are sometimes twenty years old models. The men and women on the streets are better dressed than their counterparts in Moscow or even Warsaw. «It is interesting to note, that the average citizen of East Europe looks to be better off going from East to West.» In Budapest everybody has the dress or the suit, - a Hungarian girl told him. Girls wear western-like chemises and boys usually have sporty things on. In their conversations - at least with a foreigner - the Hungarians are not so open than the men and women of Warsaw. They seek the chance to talk to people coming to the West, but usually they just smile in case when a Pole would explain his own and his neighbors 15 detailed opinion about delicate political matters. What they try to
