The Land of A-thousand Suprises

I hate surprises. They almost always end up being something bad.  That bombshell in your inbox. A negative or no longer wanted response to a forgotten query. The shock of an unsolicited phone call.

Travel was always a refuge for me. A place to escape from life’s reality.  Even after days of logistical set-backs, belligerent drunks, or sleepless nights on university sponsored excursions.  At least, I’d left everyday life’s problems behind.    

There are also places that make an impression. Those I thought would be lackluster.  A well-known monument may disappoint. But, the unsuspected sometimes leaves its  mark.  Despite the up’s and down’s, I thought that I’d never tire of traveling

And then I did. The beginning of May in Poland is called ‘Majówka’.  It’s a de facto holiday season. Many on my program traveled to Italy or other locations. I stayed in Wrocław despite the risk of boredom. It was better than facing more stress of the unknown.

Stress I’ve known here is different from what I’d experienced in the past.  The unknown comes to you. Surprises call at your front door; they’re never good.  They don’t stop after a two week excursion. I’ve long wanted to tour to the Baltic states.  I have a few weeks free this June. Yet, I lack the energy.

I used to long for travel to new lands. In the past year I’ve noticed a change.  Travel options are relatively limited from Wrocław’s airport. It’s still easy to reach unexplored western European cities. After my travel-bloated fall semester it just means another trip to the airport. Another hotel I may not be able to find.
Next year, I’m studying in Vienna. Many flight’s go to western and eastern Europe. I can easily fly to northern Italy or Latvia. But, locations I’ve already been to now hold more attraction. A discount airline flies from Budapest to Skopje. I’ve spent months in Hungary’s capital. I can get to its airport. Macedonia’s western lakes are impressive. I know what to expect.   

There’s also a certain fear.  What if the places I’ve visited don’t measure up to the memory?  The circumstances under which I see them will be different.  I haven’t been back to Maldives in five years. During Iftari at Karachi’s boat club, I vowed to return to Pakistan during February of this year.  I visited a friend’s family in Tunisia instead. Macedonia’s Lake Ochrid may not measure up.  Unexpected hazards may present themselves. Time differentiates the known and the newly  discovered.       

This afternoon, I received a rare surprise. After a year of grad school and a summer internship with the European Investment Bank’s Finance Directorate in Luxembourg , I’d planned to return home for a few weeks rest. My parents had informed me we’d be going on a tropical vacation. I wouldn’t know where until I saw our connecting flight’s destination.

 It could be to Mexico, Miami, to French Polynesia, the BVI, or back to Nicaragua for all I know. It’s the first time in a while that I can live with the surprise.

I ordinarily would have inquired about our destination. For better or worse I didn’t. Not knowing in this case would mean something.  I’m reminded of trips to Russia, Spain, and my first travel to Poland.  When the focus was not on the stresses I’d encounter - but on the wonders I’d find.

I appear to be doing fine in the short-term.  Yet, I’ve come to fear the future. It’s the perpetual surprise; many pundits predict it negatively for my generation.

the respite of my parents’ undiscovered country awaits me.  Before what may ever be after it:  The final frontier where none of us want to cross. 

A Call For Change

When people travel to foreign lands,they go forth with the hope that they will change the places they visit. Those from different traditions have varied ways of manifesting this, but the intent is usually the same. Russians often refuse to overtly step out of their own cultural mindset. French interact mostly with other french speakers. Americans broadcast their own values to those around them. On a grand scale this may change the local's view of other peoples; without necessarily making it more accurate. Business continues as usual.
One man cannot change the world.When professionals are sent abroad to teach those in other parts of the world, the impact they make often pails in comparison to the cultural impression their foreign co-workers make on them. While I went to Maldives to train it's journalists,the lessons learned and friendships formed will remain a part of me for the rest of my life. For better or worse, one returns from this education forever changed.
It is almost time for me to return again. All that I had to do on my most recent sojourn through the former eastern block has been accomplished. I have received a B2 level Polish certificate, connected with extended European family, and been accepted to grad school.Despite this,I find my self focusing on every day activities of life in Budapest,which soon will no longer be a part of my own. More than anything else they have defined me. They will also continue unimpeded after my departure.
When my plane lands in Los Angeles,the city I grew up in will be exactly the same.But I will be different.As I begin re-adjusting to an old life through wizened eyes I know the process will offer little comfort. I can only yearn to for the next experience -- the newest change to my own world.

Visiting Parliament

Two years ago I spent a week visiting Budapest as a tourist. Unfortunately, during this short amount of time I did not have a chance to take the tour of Budapest's famous parliament building. Last weekend, I had some time to finally take the tour.

It is not a easy matter to get on one of the guided tours of the building. It is still Hungary's functioning parliament and because of security concerns, finally gaining admittance to the building can involve hours of waiting. I decided to take the tour in Spanish because I did not have to wait quite so long for the next available tour. Even then I walked around the city for about 3 hours until the time that tour was to begin, but the wait was well worth it. Here are a few of the factual highlights:

• When the Hungarian parliament was built over 100 years ago, it was one of the most advanced in the world, featuring electricity, central heating and in the summer months, air conditioning. This was accomplished by blowing air over several tons of ice which had to be brought in every day.
• The parliament is the third largest in the world, after the buildings in Argentina and Romania. Like Romania's Palace of Parliament ( see earlier posts) all the materials used to build it are domestic products.
• The main rotunda houses the crown jewels of Hungary, they are rumored to be 1000 years old and used in the coronation of St. Stephen, Hungary's first king. The Hungarian state apparently will not allow the carbon dating of the crown to confirm this.
• Currently Hungary has a uni-camiral legislature. However at the time of the parliament's construction the country had dominion over Slovakia and Serbia, necessitating two houses of parliament. The quarters of the lower house are still used and are not open to visitors. Those of the upper house feature elaborate brass cigar holders outside the entrance to the chambers. They were numbered so that your cigar could be changed while parliament was in session.
• You can now rent the upper house's chambers for private functions. It costs many thousands of euros per hour.

While the tour was shorter than I expected. I found the building itself to be beautiful, and the tour informative, although a bit comedic. When some Argentinians in the group volunteered in their accent that the largest parliament in the world was in fact in Romania. The guide responded first by joking "Hey, We're speaking Spanish here!" proving a laugh from all present, including the Argentinians.

The Rudeness Factor

Last weekend, while I was walking around Budapest with my friend, we got into a discussion about the attitude of the people in Budapest. She had just finished eating at a restaurant and told me that the waiter was downright rude to her and the rest of the people she was eating with. He did not smile and grumbled under his breath in Magyar as he took their orders. When my friend asked him if they had done somthing to offend him, or if he was having a bad day, he was evasive of her questions, and refused to respond with anything but a confused "no."

This incident illuminates some of the major differences between the Western and Eastern European attitudes toward the service industry. Most Eastern European cultures do not understand or feel obligated to follow the Western adage of "service with a smile." Many of the Slavic cultures with which I am familiar regard stoicisim in higher standing, choosing instead to serve customers with a professional air of emotional neutrality. This lack of manufactured friendliness is often misinterpreted by westerners as "rudeness."

The waiter's grumbling was, in my experience, unprofessional by any standard of measurement. This type of attitude does seem alarmingly common in the fast-paced metropolis of Budapest, which I have heard spoken of as the New York of the East. In other former Soviet Bloc countires, from Romania to Albania, my business was greated with compotent service.
While my specific knowledge of Hungarian culture is not as complete as that of some other Eastern European countries, I am relatively sure that his was not the only cultural infraction committed here. I did not feel it necessary to inform my friend that her questions as to the details of her server's day were likely to have been considered just as impertinent by the waiter as his grumbling was to them. He was just getting paid to serve food; how dare a total stranger start asking him about his personal life?

Even being born and raised in the Western world, the idea of false friendliness on the part of company representatives has never made sense to me. As this entire set of behavior is mandated by the employers of these workers, such displays of welcoming emotion are meaningless. The experience of my friend shows that outright rudeness is always negative in any culture. However, I still believe that the West has much to learn from the East in this case. It is not fair to require employees to project a attitude of joy regarding mundane tasks, nor is it necessary for the customers to respond as if they believe it is genuine.

Budapest: City of Arts

During orientation for my semester in Budapest, we were told that it is theoretically possible to choose a different type of entertainment every day in Hungary's capital. After the last 48 hours I can believe it. Over the course of this weekend I have taken in everything from a modern instrumental concert, to bel canto opera, to a gypsy street preformance. Here are the past few days in quick review:

My initiation into the culture scene of Budapest came from America. One of my childhood and family friends, is now a singer touring through eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle
East with Yanni. So, I had the opportunity to come and see their show, which I greatly enjoyed. Afterwards, I was invited backstage to meet some of the other band members. Yanni himself seems not to meet with anyone apart from his other musicians. This is a decision which makes perfect sense to me, both as a regular opera-goer, and as a business student. It is one for which I applaud him. The point of musical events should be the quality of the product which is being offered, not the personality of the producer.

The following evening found me returning to the Magyar National Opera, for the first time in two years, to see Donzetti's Don Pasquale. The staging enhanced the comedic effect which opera was intended to have. I found the performance refreshing. The Hungarians seem to understand that the point of opera is to produce a good product, not to simply be more avant-garde than other opera companies. I am planning many returns to the opera house during the rest of my time here.

After my late arrival home from the opera on Saturday night, I woke up rather late the next day. Sunday afternoon I attended one of the many street fairs which the local athorities organize. This one was in the historic 5th district where they can be rather elaborate. I stopped to take in the performance of a gypsy dance troupe. Appropriately, most of the members were Hungarians, not acutal Roma. I paused to reflect on the last couple of days, and the importance of quality in entertaninment. Like most other comodities, it often can be a determining factor in commercial success. In this respect Budapest has done well for itself.

I just recived a call from my landlady, a professional pianist. She told me that she can get me free tickets for next weekend to the National Philharmonic. My response? Yes, please!