The People Team

The following post includes two entries- one written after the teaching stint of my internship had ended, and one upon returning home after the additional two weeks of travel in Europe.

7.27.12

Our camp was a renovated military bunker

It’s the last day of teaching. And with that, these four weeks in Kecskemet have come to an end. There is an odd lack of closure, but then again, few things rarely come with the closure I expect. The ending of freshman year of college, for example came with an odd lack of finality. Perhaps it was the awkwardly staggered trickling of exam endings, and the absence of a final bell, a la high school, that would symbolically herald the arrival of summer.

Fire shows at the camp

Regardless, we are done! I say not free, mostly because I didn’t feel constrained in Kecskemet, despite the fact that teaching started at 8:30 each morning, five days a week. There are no further lesson plans to be made, and instead, our efforts focus on planning our vacation time in Budapest (and ideally Vienna and Prague!). Fridays, while usually reserved for a weekend trip to the city center, and usually savored as an opportunity for a change of scenery from the camp, have donned a new outfit today. Instead, we stay at the camp, passing what we know to be our last afternoon and night. Actually, then I retract my prior rumination. Although it hasn’t quite hit me that these are our final hours here (forgive the dramatic connotations of that phrase), we’ve each made our little goodbyes. Kim and I played tennis one last time, which seemed a little more special as there was a wonderfully refreshing sun shower that accompanied our game. The Andys (our mentors) gave us little embroidered and tie-dyed bags, as well as diplomas, as a souvenir of our time here. There is a talent show tonight where we will sing our goodbyes to the camp via Hungarian folk song (that will hopefully be performed with at least minimal degrees of proficiency).

Exploring Kecskemet's town square

The Hungarian band Animal Cannibals performed at the camp.

I’m trying to look back and aptly summarize my experience, but I can’t find a thesis-like umbrella to categorize my thoughts under. We ate a lot of bread. And ice cream. Took daily naps, sometimes at least two or three in an afternoon. We swatted flies. And tennis balls. And badminton shuttlecocks. And ping pong balls. We (the Americans at least) enforced the obnoxious tourist stereotype. We adapted to the fizziness of the water. Adopted an air of professionalism as we taught (I failed miserably. I’m not intimidating, and I can’t be stern. Even my kids asked me, “Why are you so happy all the time?”). Bounced on trampolines. Counted the stars. Patted ourselves on the back when we could respond with simple phrases like “Koszonom.” Sang. Climbed a hill. Drank from buckets. Attempted to smuggle food out of the hangar. Tickled and poked each other mercilessly. Mastered the copy machine. Lesson planned. Improvised shamelessly as lesson plans proved ineffective, or if we blatantly left them unmade. Befriended little Ukranian boys. Taught American slang. Facetiously(?) argued for the superiority of our respective hometowns and countries.

Nostalgia is now settling in, and it’s not even over yet. 

Until Budapest,

Kelly 

8.15.12

At Sziget, the largest music festival in Central Europe

I’m sitting at a coffee shop in Miami again, my two-month stint in Europe now just a memory. Tangibly, I’ve come away with a few things, including: a handful of paprika spoons to give away as souvenirs and a ridiculous amount of photos that pretty much categorizes me as an obnoxious Asian tourist.

I’m actually flipping through the photos as I write this post and I know already that what I will miss most will be the people. Budapest was amazing to explore, Prague was a very fun blur, and Vienna was absolutely breathtaking in terms of its architecture. But this past internship was so valuable, not because of the sights that I was able to see, but because it taught me so much about other cultures and opened me up to so many new experiences. I not only was introduced to the Hungarian culture, but also to the cultures and values of the other AIESEC trainees that I worked with. Ireland, Canada, Poland, Brazil, Australia, and China are now also less elusive to me, and it was fascinating to compare and contrast our respective pop cultures, educational systems, and slang. I gained insight into Hungary not only by exploring my surroundings, but also through the stories that my students would share. They loved to ask me questions about America and I was equally intrigued by their own lives. They introduced me to the sport of handball, and I played them American rap in return. I learned some Hungarian as well—they thought it would be funny to teach me Hungarian curse words as well as pick up lines.

A view of Budapest from Gellert Hill at night

In terms of other things that I’ll miss, I’m already craving a gyro from one of the seemingly infinite stands that mark virtually every street corner in Budapest. Forty-cent gelato scoops. Paddle boating in Lake Balaton. Getting lost in a strange new city, without the correct currency or knowledge of the local language. Pedro eating mushroom soup with bananas. Katie mocking my American accent. Dinner at Zsuzsi’s house. Bonfires in the forest. Climbing hills. Etc. etc.

Thank you to all those at AIESEC that made this possible. It’s been an absolutely amazing summer.

Best,

Kelly