Arts and Culture

During my first month in Budapest much of what I have learned about the Hungarian world view has been through their fine arts. My journey into the Magyar mentality began, as much does, in the Opera house. I had decided at the last minute attend the performance of a Hungarian opera entitled "Bank Ban" or The Viceroy Bank. Judging by the sheer number of dark themes, the opera was the darkest I have seen to date. It dealt with corruption, betrtrayal, rape, revenge, murder, infanticide, suicide, and plain simple death, in the space of just 3 hours. Unlike in many Slavic cultures there does not seem to be much glory in such suffering.

Even more interesting, was the attitude that Hungarians have to the production itself. The following evening I accompanied my landlady, a pianist, to a performance of the National Philharmonic. We took the tramwaj to the venue, along with one of her friends, a violinist in the concert. Instead of focusing on the Magyar national opera company's many strengths, he baselessly complained that it was inferior to Vienna's. Having seen both companies preform, it is my experience that, euro for euro, the opposite is true. They also told me that Magyar National Opera was in talks with Placido Domingo to bring the opera I had seen to LA, but that such talks were halted when LA Opera ran out of money. While they did bitterly complain about such mis-fortunates, it is important to note that the also warmly joked that exporting the opera was unnecessary as LA, in the person of myself, had come to them.

At the concert, one of the featured pieces was a suite from Bartok's ballet "The Miraculous Mandarin." Among other things, it dealt with the suffering of city-dwellers, through the main character of a whore, during the industrial revolution. During the intermission we discussed the present day implications of the piece. I pointed out that the subject matter and music, while avant-garde when it was premiered, fails to raise an eyebrow in the present day. This points to the increased callousness of man. My landlady agreed, but pointed out that, within the story, what positives there are remain timeless.

It seems to me that the Hungarians take a long term view when it comes to their philosophy of life. While the world inevitably gets worse over time, within those negatives one can always find reason to make life worth living. As I responded while the lights dimmed for the second movement "The more things change, the more they stay the same" Ironically, this is this mentality from which Hungary draws it's comfort.

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!

The Other Twin Towers

In my earlier posts, I commented on the aftermath of the conflict in Bosnia and what I was able to observe during my travels there. Now that I have settled in to Budapest for a semester abroad at Corvinus University in Hungary, I have more time to write. I find it somehow appropriate that I am sitting in front of the computer on the 10th annaiversary of 9/11.
The Twin Towers in New York were not the only ones in the world. Sarajevo also has its own set. They are located next to the Holiday Inn near the beginning of Sniper's Alley. These high-rises were quickly bombed out during the siege of the city in the early 90's. As defininig landmarks of Sarajevo's own sykline, their skeletons became a symbol of the lives lost and the devastation the country suffered during the war.
Even 15 years later, the towers are not the only signs of that devastation. From the time of my arrival, I was shocked by the state of the buildings in many parts of the city: bullet holes and craters from mortar impacts still riddle many of the buildings. In many cases the block's inhabitants have simply plugged the holes with whatever building material they can find, still unable to truly restore the bulding. Many of the city's main churches are still construction sites. While the famous old bridge in Mostar has been rebuilt, practically half of the city's buldings remain little more than burnt-out hulks.
In many ways Bosnia is still licking its wounds. Not only have Bosnia's people lived through a bloody civil conflict, but in the present day must live among their former enemies. In order to even make peace, the country had to be divided into 2 autonomous regions, one of Bosniaks and Croats. The other one is Republika Serpska (the same name as the country) where the Serbian flag is flown more from homes than the national Bosnian flag to this day. There are different versions of each banknote, one displaying historical figures from each ethnic group. The coins all feature a bird with a olive branch, and are clearly inscribed in both latin and cyrillic lettering with the phrase 'Glomb Mira' -- The Dove of Peace. Despite the passage of time, anger still exists on all sides. When I overheard one tourist ask her guide about the Serbian army during the conflict he responded almost harshly. "The Serbian FASCIST Army," he corrected her " because only fascisists like the Nazis could bomb hospitals, mosques and schools."
Despite such impediments, the country is rebulding. Sarajevo's twin towers recently were re-built, and serve once again as a business center. They stand not only as a monument to the past, but also as symbol of hope for the future. They show us how such tragic circumstances on a grand scale can change countires and the people who live in them, no matter where they are in the world. Most importantly, they remind us of the consequences of unfounded fear and hate.
The 9/11 memorial in New York has finally opened to the public. I hope it continues to remind America that we must continue the long process of healing and look toward the future.

On The Black Mountain.

I am on a time scedule, so I did not have time to see much of Montenegro. What I did see impressed me. Through bus windows I gazesd at pristine coastline and crystal clear lakes, dramatically set between towering canyons. I stayed in the captital, Podgorica. The city formally named "Titograd" has a distinctly communist-era feel, but also is replete with good cafe culture, I enjoyed what time I had there. Although I only spent a day in Montenegro what I did see made me hungry for more. I would like to return there, and see more of this strikingly beautiful country.

Thoughts over a Bosnian Breakfast

I was somewhat disappointed in the breakfast at my hotel in Sarajevo untill I noticed that the honey they served was beginning to crystalize, denoting it's high quality. After I started to enjoy the product, which had been imported from Croatia. I started to think about how I had come to be able to decern the various qualities and types of honey.
My my first experience with honey was one of teaching. It was in Panama during my freshman year of college. I was working as a translator on an expedition organized by the non-profit Global Business Brigades. We were consulting a group of honey farmers in the rual community of El Bale, who were attempting to form a co-op. It was here that the farmers taught me about the different types of honey, and the basics of its production. It was amazing for me to translate the business workshops we presented for them. Explaining concepts which people in the developed world take for granted, such as bookkeeping and credit systems, is an experience I will never forget.
My second experience was one of learning. While taking my Polish to the next level I twice visited my friends' families in Nowa Sarzyna, a small town in southeastern Poland. The grandfather of one of my friends runs a honey farm. He has been producing honey for many years. He took the time to teach me some of the finer points of honey farming . For instance, while it is common to see honey advertised as being from the pollen of a certain kind of plant, it is generally impossible to control what kind of flower the bees will pollenate, or whether they will choose to at all. He also told me how he remedies various hive-oriented parasitic infections, which the Panamanian farmers had struggled to solve.
The Polish grandfather also gave me business advice. He told me how he grew not only honey, but also raspberries and other fruits as well. He spoke of these matters as if it were easy for him to navigate the complicated agricultural regulations regarding the commercial sale of farm products. In this way, he was able to diversify in a makeshift rual economy, something which the Panamanians have also struggled with.
While eating my Bosnian breakfast, it occurred to me that it would be good to get these two groups together. The experence of an Polish honey farmer and businessman would be more valuable than any advice from some city-dwelling college students. The Panamanians could bring to the table their own experiences with growing a business in the modern day.
While translating across cultures I have learned much more than what to eat at breakfast; I have gained an understanding of the challenges businesses face across the world.