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Budapest through the eyes of an American university student
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Budapest is not only a tourist-favourite location, but you get to meet numerous international students studying for a semester or full-term at Hungarian universities. However, it is rare that you bump into an American student in Budapest.
Justin Applebaum is a 21-year-old business student from Indiana University, currently spending a semester at the Corvinus University of Budapest, but as he reveals, pursuing business is only a plan B, his dream is to become a photo reporter focusing on different cultures and regions of the world.
Justin, who has some Hungarian roots on his dad’s side, came to Hungary for several reasons, one of them being Hungarian history, especially the past century. As someone who has aspirations of becoming a photo reporter and a journalist, he wished to find out more about Communism and the impact it has left on Hungarian society and culture first-hand. He is also interested in the private person’s take on minority and migration-related issues, especially since the media tends to show only one side of a story.
It is often said that Hungarians have a pessimist attitude towards life, but this becomes very evident for people coming from western backgrounds. Justin finds it challenging to connect with Hungarians, as they seem reserved, and in some cases, this aloofness is heightened upon finding out that he is a foreigner. “Maybe it is because of the hardships of history” – he comments, trying to find an explanation. However, in his experience, Hungarians are actually nice and kind people, you just have to break the ice (which is much easier than it seems). His advice?
“Try and say ‘jó napot’ or ‘szia’, then apologise for not speaking Hungarian – it is much more welcome than starting off with ‘sorry, only English'”
Most of the Hungarians speaks German, Italian, French. Younger generations speaks mostly English, thanks to the wider educational opportunities, lots of the Universities are thaught in English. Hungarians are very friendly and helping out if you ask on the streets. A couple of pictures of the country does not reflect the history and culture. You have to dig in more deeply, meet with locals who can explain a lot of things about Hungary.
Once you are out of Budapest it is difficult to find an English speaker or translator. You can find many people who speak German though, as there are quite a few German retirees, also in the past there were many Germans visiting from East Germany, ie in communist times.
Great pictures Justin! I especially enjoyed the uniqueness of the shoes somehow lost/left by their owners on the dock.