In the streets of Kecskemet

Outside the studio in the streets of Kecskemet there is a vibrant international community thriving. The first week we took the city by storm and met some friends who we would continue socializing and learning with about the culture of Hungary as well as their native lands. Our pals Quentin Coltier and Ebe Link not only made time to show us around town, give us tips on socializing in the city, and came to support us at our show they also were transplants in Hungary. Through Quentin we got a taste of Franch culture and learned a great deal about skydiving and singing. Ebe balanced Quentin’s enthusiasm by helping us with our language skills and telling us about her native Estonia. Coming this fall I hope to be able to meet up with Ebe in Finland where I will attend the Anti Festival just a short ferry ride away from her hometown. From Kecskemet we met Niki, Paula, Alexa, Gabor, Krisztina, and many many more.

To all of our new friends egészségedre and terviseks! Thank you for making our time in Kecskemet so amazing!

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Esperanto and Language Equality

Since coming to Hungary I have spent a good deal of time thinking about the pressure for businesses to include English on their menu and for most Europeans to learn it as their second language.  Even though it is convenient for me as a native English speaker I feel that it must cause damage to a people’s cultural identity.  Very old Hungarian towns that have a rich history and culture are pressured through competition and hard economic times to need to cater to as wide a tourist audience as possible.  Now in large cities and even in Kecskemet Hungarians grow up watching their language forced to share room on menus, maps, and posters.  However when a Hungarian travels abroad their language is no where to be seen.  This is because Hungary had neither the population or economic sway English speaking countries enjoy.  It must be frustrating to witness the marginalization of your native language because you’re country is not as rich as the U.S. or the U.K.

This imbalance is exactly what makes the constructed language Esperanto so appealing.  It is ” an easy-to-learn and politically neutral language that would foster peace and international understanding between people with different regional and/or national languages.”  I think it is a terrific idea and a pity that it is not more common or well known.

Hungarian Customs

This summer is the first time that I have ever been out of the country. While I expected for Hungarian culture to be different from American culture I still did not know what to expect. I took some time to travel before the program in Hungary. I visited (along with Kirstie and Katie) Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Rhodes, Greece. All of the places we visited were fairly large cities that see a lot of tourism, so most of the people we interacted with spoke English. It was great to be able to talk in my native language with people from different cultures. Then I got to Kesckamet. Some people speak a little English but not as much as I was accustom to. Spending an extended amount of time in one place has helped me slow down and really observe the differences between American and Hungarian cultures. For example I noticed that not a lot of people I walk by on the street smile back at me. I was not sure if it was because they did not like me or if it was not customary to smile while passing on the street. I know that in certain cultures smiling is a sign of weakness.  So, I began thinking about social cues that I maybe unaware of so I did some research and found a website that was a really good resource on Hungarian customs.

http://www.filolog.com/      

 

This link has a comparison of Hungarian and American customs

http://www.filolog.com/crossculture_usa_hu.html

Make Hungary Happy by Speaking Hungarian!