Captain’s log, Day 3: Last day in Budapest

Dorm rooms at the University of Pécs. Way cool.

It’s our last breakfast at the hotel so we make it count: eggs on eggs on eggs, yogurt with mad granola, and a heaping slab of the coldest of cuts. A few of us headed to the market to buy hand-carved chess sets before the long drive to Pécs.

Time for the drive. We bustle in to spacious luxury shuttles equipped with Wi-Fi and fueled with love, and we start our trek to a new home. The drive is a sea of hills and fields, grassy knolls, and it looks like something out of Toy Story. “Picturesque, to say the least,” reports Dan. We stop at a gas station along the way to stock up on grapes, the loveliest fruit in the land. Nick buys a pastry that turns out to be an undercover steak, but he’ll live. (We hope)

Dr. Zsuzsanna Schnell showing us all the cool historical stuff in Pécs.

Entering Pécs. Sarah scours the streets for dogs, or “good boys,” as she’s taken to calling them. We’re surrounded by hills lush with greenery and beautiful architecture. We get to the dorm building, our home for the rest of the trip, and slog our luggage up the stairs like worker ants vigorously transporting bread to their anthill.

It feels like college move-in week all over again, but without any stress or responsibility. We make the discovery that our windows open up in a way that allows us to hang out on the roof and talk between rooms, all the while staring at the gorgeous city ahead of us. The Box has truly blessed us on this day. Amen.

We decide to get a taste of the city with a visit to a local cafeteria, where the food is unfamiliar and the language barrier is strong, but we press forward with valor and might. Next up is a tour of the city with Dr. Zsuzsanna Schnell, professor at the University of Pécs and celebrity superstar from our past semester’s “COIL” course (Jamie maybe insert link to your article here). We visit more places than we can remember, mosques made into churches, cathedrals, fountains, and a wall of locks.

See the umbrellas – an amazing ice cream joint called, Ciao Bella Cukrászda.

Most of the locks represent a couple pledging their love to one another, but we can already tell that we’ll be needing to leave one for the city of Pécs at the end of our journey. After the tour, we all felt the same: a strong desire for ice cream.

“Not just any ice cream, but soft, creamy… soul-saving goodness… that you can just suck in… I can’t talk about it anymore,” raves Dan, who has been steadily consuming cones ever since. While attempting to prevent Dan from getting another scoop, we have a long chat about the trip, our thoughts so far, and the truth about the moon landing. Before we pack up for the night, a Pécs student named Justin takes us to a local grocery store to stock up on food for the week ahead. Sarah continues scanning the premises for good boys. We return to the dorm, where Dan and Nick engage in a violent battle of mental warfare on their newly purchased chess sets.

Like the wise Mr. Miyagi before him, Nick teaches Stew how to play, and sets him on a path of destruction the likes of which has never before been witnessed. Dr. P, our father, reminds us to write this blog, so we decide to play cards instead. All goes well, and by the end of the game our throats are raw from screaming at each other like jackals in the night.

Finally, we sit down together to write the blog. Truth be told, we were dreading doing anything that resembled work, but after we started, we just couldn’t stop. All of our fun memories came back to us like scorned lovers, and if our laughter could be translated into written words (in Hungarian), we would outsell Shakespeare himself (though he might not be very popular here).

Days since Sarah has last pet a dog: 3.

Led by Christopher Podeschi, associate professor of sociology, a group of Bloomsburg University students spent 10 days in Hungary this summer studying first-hand the Hungarian culture, history and identity. The study abroad trip was part of Podeschi's spring collaborative online international learning course, Seminar on Identity and Locality, which included videoconferencing during the semester with a class from the University of Pecs. The abroad experience also featured visits to Budapest and a rural Hungarian community that provided social and cultural context explored during class discussion earlier in the spring.    #CollaborativeLearning #HuskySummer #HuskyAbroad

Not too shabby Budapest

Us at dinner, still happy because the check had not yet arrived.

We had an early start to our day, because we had to meet a professor for a historical tour of different residential areas of Budapest. We all had breakfast at the hotel and were rather surprised to see a platter of sandwich meat available at the buffet. After breakfast we got on a really nice minibus with Dr. Marianna Nagy from the Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary.

She took us to three different residential areas and connected each to the history of Hungary and Hungary today. It also provided us the opportunity to see daily Hungarian life up close and take note of things like socioeconomic class differences and how class-based segregation is not as pronounced in some Budapest neighborhoods as it is in the U.S.

Dr. Nagy schooling us about Hungary’s history and identity
under communism, while we visit a residential
neighborhood built during the communist era.

Dan and Nick jumped off the bus a couple times, the second time for good. Dan wasn’t feeling well so they went rogue in Budapest and saw a Holocaust museum and walked until Dan felt better.

After seeing the residential areas we went to the Zwack Museum to learn about a Zwack Unicum, a beverage that is key to Hungarian identity. After that the whole group reconvened at the Central Market Hall on the south end of downtown Budapest near the Danube. It’s a beautiful old indoor market place with many restaurants and vendors selling fruits, meats, vegetables and, traditional crafts.

Later we took the bus and trolley back up to the Parliament building for a tour, specially arranged by one of our gracious hosts, Virag Rab. The facade of the parliament was grand and ornate and the interior was equally so. The pictures tell the tale here. The couches were a century old and still comfortable! They felt like trampolines! There were also cigar holders near the windows in the hall outside of the main chamber of Parliament . . . they had to leave their cigars outside the main chamber in a numbered slot for only their cigar.

Central Market Hall near the Danube on the south end of downtown Budapest

Dr. Podeschi let us choose where to eat for dinner, and we chose to have dessert first. While eating our dessert, we avoided a really bad rainstorm. Then Dr. Podeschi left us to our own devices while he went looking for souvenirs for his family. After a tumultuous discussion of where to eat we decided on an American-style restaurant (don’t worry – we’ve been sampling authentic Hungarian fare!).

 The food was amazing and we all loved it. We were having a nice time at dinner, covering various topics (e.g., Sarah informed us that whales sleep vertically and that horrifies her). Then the check came. We should have touched The Box beforehand. It would perhaps have been easier for us to fly an airliner home than split this bill sensibly. We headed back toward the hotel in three groups, one hailing from the East, one rising from sea, and one departing from the Trolley. We all finally found dad (Dr. P) at the appointed bus stop and made it safely back to the hotel.

Thank The Box! Amen.

The view from the Elisabeth Bridge (Erzsébet híd in Hungarian) as we walked back to the hotel. Not too shabby Budapest.

Led by Christopher Podeschi, associate professor of sociology, a group of Bloomsburg University students spent 10 days in Hungary this summer studying first-hand the Hungarian culture, history and identity. The study abroad trip was part of Podeschi's spring collaborative online international learning course, Seminar on Identity and Locality, which included videoconferencing during the semester with a class from the University of Pecs. The abroad experience also featured visits to Budapest and a rural Hungarian community that provided social and cultural context explored during class discussion earlier in the spring.    #CollaborativeLearning #HuskySummer #HuskyAbroad

Sociology trip to Hungary starts with a box, ends with a community

Standing around The Box at this point, waiting for one more traveler

We literally stood around a box as though it were a sacred artifact while we waited to get our tickets and go through security at Philadelphia International Airport. From that point on, The Box became pretty important. Everyone was safely at the airport, and we were all through security and waiting at the gate without any hitches or problems. This worried Dr. Podeschi. Things were going too smoothly. But then they didn’t. Our flight was delayed and we were relieved (right?). We felt like something bad needed to happen, and a small bad is a good bad. Or perhaps we angered The Box. Time will tell.

Waiting out flight delay in Philadelphia

During the delay, airline personnel continuously called for Schmidt, Lazerhead, and Jealousy over the intercom. We’re sure of only two of these names, but that doesn’t matter. The second will always be Lazerhead. Anyway, we assume these three are now dead (or missed their flight or decided to not go to Madrid).

Now the real traveling. Dan's attempt to join the first class passengers was rebuffed. Dan and Sarah attempted to befriend the flight attendance and were rejected. She was all business. And a stranger slept on Katie's shoulder. Jackie slept in an odd, no . . . worrying position. Sam did not (sleep, that is). Once off the plane, we reconvened around and touched The Box to show proper respect (as one does).

 Then, thanks to The Box we got our luggage quickly. Nick must not have really been feeling it when he touched the box because he mistakenly withdrew a lot of Hungarian money on accident (let’s just say that if it were 1989 he could have bought a small house in the Budapest suburbs - literally). Same with Katie and Andrea: they learned a tough lesson about currency exchange. Inexplicably, Megan felt her exchange was fair. Hmmm. Perhaps she had a special connection to The Box.

On to the Hotel Jagello, on the lovely and hilly Buda side of Budapest. One group was on a shuttle to the hotel in silence and fear. The driving was a little more aggressive in Hungary than what we're used to. Members of the other group thought that Dr. Podeschi planted an undercover sociologist as their driver, because the conversation was so cool and interesting.

Going to meet Bertalan for a tour of Budapest

Once we arrived at the hotel we paired up and entered our rooms. Stew ran into an issue when he couldn't figure out how to turn on any of the lights in his room. He managed to relieve himself in the dark without too much trouble (or mess). Then Dr. Podeschi texted everyone about how the key to the door was also the key to the electricity for the whole room. Details Podeschi, details.

After the long flight, the group diverged into three. One portion wanted to rest. Another decided to find food and got lost, but found ice cream and a nice man who taught them how to count Hungarian money.

The rest took a hike through a park to a statue and then got lunch. They also learned a bit about Hungarian restaurant norms (e.g., the wait staff are not in a hurry, they don’t come back to ask you if you want another of something).

The group then all met back up to take a tour around Budapest with Bertalan (call him Bart) the wonderful former University of Pecs student who just finished his master’s degree in International Relations from Corvinius University in Budapest.

Electric trolley ride in Budapest

Bart informed us about much of Hungarian history and current politics in Hungary, all while showing us some of the main sites in downtown Budapest.

And there was a bit of a thrill at the beginning of the tour: an undercover security agent abruptly interrupted us next to the parliament building, telling us to stop because the Prime Minister was coming. Then two black cars rushed by in front of us and stopped at the side of the building. We didn't see him but Bertalan confirmed that it was indeed Viktor Orban's black armored van! We were a bit shocked because there was so little security.

Later on the tour we also observed a dog park and discovered the well behaved, unleashed Hungarian dogs. All of the students were enamored by the dogs, particularly Sarah “Good Boy” Johnson.

Sadly, Dr. Podeschi was too absorbed in Bart's discourse on Hungarian politics to notice the majestic beasts. After leaving the majestic beasts we ventured off to a nice Hungarian restaurant. Then we were super tired and went back to the hotel to sleep.

So far so good. Days since Sarah has pet a dog: 1 day. 

Enjoying the great public transportation in Hungary 

Led by Christopher Podeschi, associate professor of sociology, a group of Bloomsburg University students spent 10 days in Hungary this summer studying first-hand the Hungarian culture, history and identity. The study abroad trip was part of Podeschi's spring collaborative online international learning course, Seminar on Identity and Locality, which included videoconferencing during the semester with a class from the University of Pecs. The abroad experience also featured visits to Budapest and a rural Hungarian community that provided social and cultural context explored during class discussion earlier in the spring.    #CollaborativeLearning #HuskySummer #HuskyAbroad