sabbaticalbag19
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Living like a Hungarian in Budapest
I arrived in Budapest February 3rd
Classes started Monday Feb. 11th the semester ended May 16th
I taught 5 classes
Communications 101 for students who have passed their intermediate level English exam
Advanced English for students who passed the advanced exam
2 classes Cross-Cultural Communications
1 night class in the Language School students who already had their degreesMy flat
Facts about Budapest and Hungary
Hungary has almost 11 million people
Budapest used to be 2 million people now 1.7
Lowest birthrate in the European Union
Hungary was part of the Austria Hungarian Union from 1867 -1912
More Hungarians OWN their “flats” or apartments than any other country in the EU
My neighborhood
Rick Steves call Hungarians the most formal of all the Europeans
They also respect tradition
All grades are recorded by hand in a special book owned and cared for by the students.
Students must pay a fine if they fail to have an instructor sign their grade book
Students face standardized written and oral TESTS in every subject to progress to the next level
Older people try to dress well
however, college students dress like our students mostly.
Perhaps it’s the formality, Hungarians use a lot of words to say simple things
Memorials and plaques are everywhere and wreaths appear on anniversaries and holidays.
Hungarians of all ages know and respect their history
If you taught at BUTE and didn’t have get a bronze bust mounted you failed.
WWI Memorial on campus
Petrofi nationalist poet on March 16th Revolution day.
Memorial on the Danube for the Jews murdered during the Nazi occupation.
Students still talk about the Treaty of Trion in 1920Hungary lost 71% of it’s territory.
They are still discovering live WWII bombs in Budapest
Traffic diverted for bomb Bomb found Info Park May 16th
Badminton and tennis were also popular when spring arrived.
More sports – Scout climbing plastic beer crates
You see more hand tools and less automated labor
Wherever I saw a large street crew of four or more there was always one guy on a cell phone.
No fear of nuclear accidents
Park bench outside the nuclear reactor
Average Salaries are Low -------------------------------------------Physician specialist $1200 per month
College faculty $856 per month
Teachers $821 per month
Nurse $764 per month
Office clerk $475 per month
Sales clerk $343 per month
Most Hungarians pay 50% in taxes
Annual salaries in U.S. dollars
How do Hungarians cope with a sluggish economy and low salaries?
To supplement my salary I was given basic school supplies by the college
• A Calendar• 1 notebook•1 pad of medium size sticky notes•1 large pad of scrap paper•1 box of copper colored paperclips•2 pencils•1 eraser
$16.00 dollars worth of meal tickets each month
I shared a computer running a bootlegged copy of windows 95 with 5 faculty in my office.
Zsuzsa checked out my textbook from the department library
I also checked out my instruction cassette tapes from the library
•Free healthcare (Doctors expect gratuities)
•Free university tuition
•Wonderful low cost mass transit, although everyone complains about it.
•Lots of bureaucracy
•Hungarians have credit cards but they rarely use them.
•Many students & faculty drink 40ft (25 cent) coffee from the Nescafe machine rather than 90ft (75 cent) fresh coffee
At the university students seemed to not mind getting food from machines.
•Brand name sports apparel is rare
•There are a lot of used clothing & discount clothing stores
• Student live with parents, grandparents or in the college dorm
Martos HostileFaculty cars NOT student cars
Their parents will help them buy an apartment later.
Many Hungarians shop at the PLUS a discount grocery store
Everyone brings their own bag otherwise you must buy one
Store help is minimal; bag boys and girls are unheard of
Shopping carts require a coin deposit returned when you re-stack the cart correctly
Discount chains Tesco (British) and Auchen (French) have stores in Budapest.
Whether for convenience or from habit, Hungarians seem to prefer shopping for meat and produce at vegetable stands, green grocers and large indoor fresh markets.
Few Hungarians own clothes dryers
Gas cook stoves don’t have pilot lights. You must light the burners and oven each time you use them.
Many streets and public facilities are NOT pristine
I salvaged some wooden Ikea coat hangers from this mess.
Neighborhood clean-up days???
A beautiful botanic garden but
Puddles on the greenhouse floors and very rusty radiators
Graffiti abounds
The recycling bins are few and far between and overflow onto the street on weekends.
You won’t find these on U.S. playgrounds.
No one worries about minor safety issues (lawsuits aren’t common)
When was the last time you saw pony rides in a city park?
The homeless are allowed to sleep wherever they please.
The subway is a popular choice.
Hungarians require much less space for living.
Zsuzsa’s apartment is a 3rd story walk-up. This is her “dacha” or lake cabin.
In Hungary buildings are built to last.
Stone or brick and mortar with no wood.
Hungarian Splurges
Flowers!!
Fresh vegetables Meat (mostly pork) pastries, candy, chocolate and palinka
To leave Hungary I had to do all the paperwork backwards.
I had to go to various university offices and collect clearances with the official seals and stamps.
My last stop was at the bank where it took over 2 hours NOT to get my account closed.
What I miss most is strolling through the many funny little neighborhood parks and discovering little cafes.
My fitness workout was a walk up Gellert Hill from the university
The view and the chance to feel like a smug local among the tourists were great motivation.
My reward was the view and feeling like a smug local laughing at the tourists.
Young people that take such pride in their history.
.
While the fascist were throwing tomatoes at the Mayor the kids were celebrating Revolution Day.
My Neighborhood
The historic memorials at every turn
Would you believe this is Frank Zappa Ter?
Big city surprises