William Penn Life, 2007 (42. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2007-11-01 / 11. szám
A nation of change, a nation of tradition Pitt student studies Hungarian trends, transformation, and culture by Max Walko Max Walko is an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, studying political science and philosophy. This past summer, he was able to study abroad in Budapest with a grant from the university's Hungarian Room Committee. What follows is an account of his personal experience in Hungary. J~ oseph Stalin died the year my mother was bom at Braddock General Hospital in 1953. My father was walking to 2nd grade at Saint Joan of Arc Elementary School during the '56 Revolution in Hungary. The Cold War came to an end when I started kindergarten at All Saints Elementary School in 1990. These are connections I make daily. Waiting for the 71D bus to Shadyside, sitting in my American Public Policy class, walking across the Cathedral lawn, I am connecting these dots of time. Before my junior year at the University of Pittsburgh, I was never really interested in things like the dissolution of the Soviet empire, NATO air strikes against Serbia, or the EU ascension of Central European nations. These events were lurking in the back of my mind as merely historical and mysterious tidbits, but important nonetheless. After taking a course in Eastern-Central European Politics, these hazy happenings took center stage, and I became almost religiously dedicated to the understanding of the developments of the region. I was determined to go there. I wanted to dive into the heart of this region once tom by war, maintained by an iron fist, and unified, once again, in a transformation. I couldn't imagine a place to explore these events and issues any better than Budapest, Hungary. My hopes to study abroad in Hungary were merely hopes, however. It was only after I heard about the Hungarian Room Committee-sponsored scholarship at Pitt that my hopes and dreams became a possibility. Eventually, with a little perseverance (and a little persuasion from my parents), the possibility became a reality, and on July 17,1 landed in Ferihegy Airport, Budapest. Upon arrival, I was met by my program manager who drove me to my apartment, located just one block off the Grand Boulevard in the heart of the city. I began classes at Corvinus University in Budapest the following week with other students from around the world. I cannot say enough about the staff at Corvinus or the friends I made there. It was a wonderful and enlightening experience. Living in Budapest was everything I dreamed it would be. Evidence of change and transformation were everywhere. For example, many buildings that were blackened by diesel exhaust under the communist era stood right beside newly renovated complexes. I would often get a cup of coffee from the oldest café in Budapest, a block away from St. Stephen's Basilica, and then use my wireless laptop on its terrace. And though I was never at a loss in my modem technological needs, I experienced a culture unchanged by a history of turmoil. My education at Corvinus was a full-body experience. It was remarkable to leam about such events as the '56 Revolution in the classroom, and then, while taking a break for lunch, pass the historical sights where those same uprisings occurred. I would read about the encampment of Hungarian Jews, and then visit the former Jewish quarters where they were encamped. I would learn about the territorial losses after the Treaty of Trianon, and then discuss it with Hungarian friends over pizza. Daily experiences like this made my entire stay in Budapest a constant mind-body learning activity. While in Hungary, I also was able to travel to a few neighboring countries. I made a week long trip to Transylvania to leam about the ethnic Hungarians living in Romania. In many ways, it was clear that this region is still claimed by the hearts and minds of the older generations living in Transylvania and Hungary. I even had the pleasure of talking at length with ethnic Hungarians in Transylvania about the legitimacy of St. Stephen's Realm; that is, whether or not the notion of a Greater Hungary should be completely wiped from Hungarian political life. In the end, all the political discussion didn't really compare to hiking through the breath-taking Carpathian mountainside. It is not easy to translate the sum of my experiences abroad in few words. When I wasn't having on-site classes in Hungarian art and architecture, I was talking with locals in City Park, taking a stroll along the Danube, or eating goulash. The city of Budapest has everything to offer: great ethnic food, beautiful neo-classical architecture, museums, a seemingly never-ending night life, and the opportunity to make friends. It is a tremendously good feeling to know that this was a time that could not have been better spent. In my future, I know I will often have the occasion to recall the information and first-hand knowledge I was privileged to experience abroad, and I will always do so with gratitude to the Hungarian Room Committe and William Penn Association. Köszönöm! [wpl| William Penn Life, November 2007 9
