Simply Amazing (Budapest Day 2)

              I think that Thursday was my favorite day in Budapest. We went to the Budapest business school and got to meet with some of their students. They put together a whole tour, presentation and lectures for us and provided us with an amazing lunch. It was amazing to learn about the average life of students in Hungary and how hard they have to work in order to get their education. During our tour of the university, I had a pretty in depth conversation one guy (in the pictures he has long hair pulled back and a checker button-up shirt.) who totally impressed me. He told me a little bit about the economic transition that Hungary is going through and his thoughts and opinions about it. He explained how the government was finally trying to get control of their financial crisis in the 90s and it was causing major discomfort for the people. In his opinion, at this point Hungary as a country saw the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of economic stress. Because of the difficulty that the people were having, they demanded a change in government action. Then the money was spread amongst the people and life got easier for a time. This only lasted a small amount of time until the country became indebted to foreign powers and started to have problems again. Now the people don’t understand why things aren’t better. This guy explained to me that because of his studies in economics he understands that it would be better for them to suffer in the short-term in order to make things better for everyone in the long-term. We discussed the fact that there are not enough resources to help the general public understand this and to embrace it. I then told him that in America we have the resources and yet people still don’t understand that bigger picture. Anyways, it was a positively fascinating conversation and I was extremely impressed by how much he knew and how well he answered all of my questions.

               After our tour of the school we had a lecture about Hungary’s economic history from the dean of the school. It was extremely enlightening and it is amazing how political motives so intensely effect the economy of a country. For example, Hungary was excluded from the European Union for an extremely long time because of their association with the Soviet Union in the past. It was a great presentation that really allowed one to understand the situation of the Hungarian people.

               As soon as our visit to the school was done, we went to an amazing museum called the House of Terror. I would quite seriously return to Budapest, Hungary only to see this museum again. It’s the best one I have ever been in and it really is more of a full-building monument and symbolic art piece to the heroes and victims of the Soviet Union and German occupation during the WWII time period than it is a museum. This was particularly interesting to me because I have always loved the history of this war, but the stories that have the lime-light are the German Nazis. Not many realize the incredible dictatorships and horrors that occurred in Hungary as well. Long of the short, they basically had a similar time period as we did in the US when the red scare affected us. The major difference between them was the sick torture and executions that occurred in Hungary. (and the fact that the communist party was the entity killing people rather than people being scared of others being communist.) We were only allowed to take pictures of the tank but none of the actual exhibits. I actually liked it because it helped to maintain the respectful and reverent atmosphere that is needed when discussing such a delicate topic.

               The reason that these experiences this day were my all time favorite is simply because of the fact that they help one to understand the background and genuine culture of the Hungarian people. Through these experiences we were truly able to begin understanding who they are, how they struggle now and in the past and how these things have shaped who they have become as people. I love having this sort of understanding of a culture the people there. If you ever go to Hungary you will find the people to be very reserved and quiet. They don’t do anything that makes them different or that keeps them from blending into the crowd. The obvious reason being that in the past they were killed for being individualistic and the culture-wide effect has made the trait of anonymity a part of them. What is interesting is that once you engage someone in a conversation, they are typically extremely nice and very interested in learning about you. Until you cross that boundary, they usually come off a little rude and rough.

           After our educational experiences we were let loose on the city of Budapest to do whatever we wanted. My roommate, Jessi, a girl Sheila and I went off to brave the subway system and to try to find a church and marketplace to buy things. We successfully managed the metro (which I actually thoroughly enjoy!) and ended up at a cathedral where they display the saint’s (who the church is named after…. even though I can’t remember it at the moment…) mummified arm. Forgive me, but I find it super weird. Unfortunately we weren’t able to see the hand, because it was closed before we got there, but the church was beautiful. After this we went to find a market which took the rest of the evening because of the confusing directions we received. Either way, it turned out to be an eventful and super fun evening.

          We ended our night at an Italian restaurant 2 blocks from the hotel that was super tasty! Their pasta, pizza and gelato was super good! Then we went back to the hotel and my roommate and I tried to wash our clothes. I say try because it turns out that they take a LOT longer to dry than either of us realized. Kinda ridiculous! By the time we’re done with this trip we’ll both be pros though. :o)

It’s Simply Business (Budapest: Day 1)

              Tuesday afternoon we arrived at the airport in Budapest and found our way through the city to finally get to our hotel.                       
             Before we were allowed to sleep (in an effort to combat jet-lag) we went out to walk around Budapest a little bit. We walked a lot before arriving at a cute little crepe (or sweet/salty pancake) shop. I got 2 Nutella, banana crepes and then went and slept. On the way to the crepe place, we took a bunch of pictures on the Danube bridge that connects Buda and Pest, which are now one city: Budapest.             

      
              Wednesday the 26th we went to 2 different business presentations and tours in Hungary: Bosch and Telenor. Bosch, as most people know is a manufacturer of many different electronic items. The plant near Budapest in Hungary specifically manufactures electronics for cars. We learned the intricacies of how the breaking computer system and the acceleration system is created, tested, packaged and sent out. Most of what we learned was about Logistics and supply-chain management. Pretty much everyone in the group is still struggling from jet-lag and so the extensive presentation was rough on us, but we made it through! (They did not allow photos)
 
             The second business was called Telenor, which is a cell-phone company throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia and most Scandinavian countries. The most important aspects of this company that make it different are its building and its philosophies. Their building is positively beautiful and it is extremely modern inside. Their building is extremely ‘green’ and it is possibly one of the most energy-efficient buildings I have ever been in.Their building is also set up around their philosophy of comfort and ease in the work place. Within each unit (for some organization) there is no assigned seating, no cubicles, no offices. The building has 50% less desks than most companies and saves a major amount of money due to this cut out. The removal of desks also proves a benefit when it comes to work space and the freedom to move around in your unit. Besides their ‘comfort’ and ‘green’ philosophies, Telenor is a very strong supporter of anti-corruption. Whether it is anti-corruption in politics, business, religion, etc. they openly oppose it. This causes many problems for the company and yet they have chosen to maintain this standard in an attempt to help change the business conditions both in Hungary as well as throughout the world. It was one of the neatest work-places I have ever seen, and I would have loved to sit and discuss better what the employees there do from day to day.
                After the tours we were able to go take a nap at the hotel, followed by a delicious, free dinner from a sister in the ward on the Buda side of the city. Dinner was amazing and I got to meet some of the local YSAs there. They are some incredible people with very strong testimonies and I feel so privileged to have associated with them, even with such short time. Following dinner, a few of the kids from the ward accompanied us to the castle along the Danube river to sight-see. It was positively beautiful and a wonderful experience.
                            

                                              

Simply Flyin’

The process of finally getting to Budapest was pretty long. We took a 2 hour flight from Salt Lake City to Seattle, Washington and waited about 20 minutes to board our next flight to Amsterdam, Holland. (The picture is of the clouds of Holland as we’re flying in.) After those 8 hours, we then had a 6 hour stay in the Amsterdam airport before heading to our ‘final’ destination. There were some pretty cool things to look at in the airport there. (EVERYTHING they do has style or flair in some degree!)

                                                               
There were some interesting elephant statue things that were intricately painted, one of which was of Obama which I found really funny, apparently he’s a big hit in Europe. (But I’m more of a Ronald McDonald fan)

                                                                                 

                
                                                   

The rest of these photos are: Me and my row on the way to Amsterdam, a few of my classmates playing Phase 10 in the Amsterdam airport, and some neat areas in Amsterdam. The first is just an area to sit down, the next is an Airport Library, then the last is an art museum in the airport, crazy!
For now, that’s all you get… Budapest soon to come!

Simply Gone…. Almost

       I’m sitting here in my brother’s house realizing that I’m really leaving for Europe tomorrow! It’s crazy how time flies. Just 4 months ago I applied for this trip in a half-hearted hope that I would be accepted and actually go. Since then so much has happened and now, after a crazy summer of saving and effort, I’m leaving for Europe tomorrow!

       The group consists of about 25-35 students from the Business and Communications major at BYU-Idaho. There are 2 professors (husband and wife) that will be traveling with us the entire time and 3 other professors that will be accompanying us in limited amounts of time. (One will be there for our entire time in Hungary, another for our time in Czech Republic, etc.) The countries that we will be visiting are: Hungary, Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France and Spain. In exception to Austria and France, we will be staying about 2-4 days in each country. Austria and France will be day trips as we’re traveling to other countries.

        I’m taking three classes that I’m really excited about: International Economics, International Studies (Special topics specific to the trip) and International Religions (also specific to the trip). So far, all of the homework assignments have been really interesting and I am learning a ton. This semester will definitely not be easy, but I am going to thoroughly enjoy it!

        Now for the fun part! Right before I leave for Europe, I got the prettiest thing ever!

                  

 

                         My man most certainly delivered. He picked this beauty out all by himself, no help from his sisters or anything. I’m crazy in love with it and I’m super glad he picked something so pretty! Our wedding is on December 28th and plans are going great so far. We’re crazy excited and really just want it to get here fast!

             That’s it for now. The real adventure starts tomorrow at the SLC airport at 9am. Goodbye US, family and fiancé for a whole month. Hello, excitement, adventure and Budapest.