For DIS Students, the semester is broken up by three longer breaks - Travel Break One and Two, which are each nine days long, and April break, which spans five days. While everybody gets one of the Travel breaks and April Break to devote to independent travel or exploring Copenhagen, the other Travel Break is spent travelling with their core course on what is called a study tour. My class' tour was this past week in Budapest, Hungary! In addition to learning that Budapest is home to the world's best lemonade (seriously, insanely delicious), we learned a lot about the history of the country and how it has impacted the current day political and economic state of the country, as well as its citizens' well-being. Each day was broken up into a morning activity, free time for lunch and exploration, an afternoon activity and class meal, and then the evening to ourselves. If you'd like to read about our activities with DIS, keep reading! If you'd like to hear about what we did in our free time, you can find that link at the bottom of this post. MONDAY: While we arrived in Budapest late Sunday night, we only had time for a class dinner at a nearby restaurant, and Monday was our first full day in the city. We started the morning with a lecture on the current state of Budapest with economist Gyorgy Leitner, and discussed the statistics relating to spending, political satisfaction, education, health care systems, and other factors of a country's functioning. We were able to compare where the U.S., Denmark, and Hungary rested on these scales, and to consider how these factors impact each nations' well-being. Our afternoon activity was an architectural walking tour of the city. This activity was similar to our walking tour of Copenhagen during core course week, and allowed us to compare the ways the built environment of each city contributes to the flourishing of its' citizens, and the way urban planning can impact their lifestyles. Budapest and Copenhagen are strikingly different cities, and it was interesting to learn about how each came to function in the way that they do. The influence of Budapest's history is apparent; the trolley buses are numbered starting at 70, because the first route began operating on Stalin's 70th birthday. This system was simply never changed, which contributes to the lasting impact of the Communist regime on the city... Our evening activity was a Dinner Cruise on the Danube River, which was one of the highlights of the trip as a whole. There was live music, a delicious buffet, and an incredible view of the city lit up on both sides of the river. After the meal, we climbed up to the top deck for an even better view of Parliament, the Chain Bridge, the Royal Palace, and the hills covered in golden lights. TUESDAY: Our first activity on Tuesday was a round table discussion with local Hungarian Psychology students. We got to discuss what the school system is like, learn about the life of millennials in modern-day Budapest, and get a first hand account of their opinions of the history, politics, and economic state of Budapest. This was one of many opportunities we got to interact with locals this week - we also had a Random Acts of Kindness Activity and Interviewed some of the locals. Our afternoon activity was a visit to the House of Terror. This museum opened in 2002 at the site where many victims of the Communist regime were detained, tortured, and killed. It has since been transformed into a memorial to these victims, and is dedicated to teaching visitors about the two terror regimes that occurred in Hungary during the 20th century. While it was incredibly powerful to learn about such an important and traumatic element of the country's history, it has been met with controversy, much like other monuments within the city. Many citizens and historians feel that these monuments put Hungary in the position of the "victim" and are externally blaming. While many Hungarian citizens were the victim of many horrendous acts, the role of the Hungarian government in allowing these events to occur is often not addressed. Another example of this is a memorial in the city that depicts an eagle (a symbol of Germany) attacking an angel (a symbol of Hungary), suggesting complete innocence on the part of the Hungarian government. More powerful than the monument itself is the counter-monument that is built in front of it. Citizens leave photos and mementos of their loved ones who were lost during the war in order to protest the apparent avoidance of blame by Hungarian government. This monument is periodically torn down, but is consistently re-built in the same spot. Our afternoon activity was a visit to the Buda Castle district - the city was once actually two separate cities, Buda and Pest, separated by the Danube river. It has since been unified into one city, but the two sides are still often referred to by their original names to signify which side of the river they are on. The Buda Castle district is set in the hills, and holds the Royal Palace, Mathias Church, and Fisherman's Bastion, all of which offer incredible views of the Pest side of the city. WEDNESDAY: Our first activity on Wednesday was an interactive discussion with a local Psychologist, Eva Pollak. We discussed different methods of Psychotherapy and practiced applying various approaches with case studies. It was rewarding to see the ways we were able to apply what we learned in class to real-life scenarios. In addition, it was interesting to compare the approach to Psychotherapy in Hungary compared to the United States. Our second activity was in the city center, where we interviewed local Hungarians about their opinions of various elements of well-being in the city. While it was intimidating to talk with strangers, especially with a language barrier, it did offer a unique insight into the culture of modern-day Budapest that we wouldn't have gotten without these interactions. Our last activity of the day was another one of the highlights of the trip - we went to the Szechenyi Thermal Baths! This is the largest Medicinal Bath in Europe, and contains 18 pools of various temperatures. We spent most of our time in the outdoor thermal bath, which was much warmer than I had anticipated- according to the website, it was 38 degrees Celsius...or 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Before leaving, we went indoors to the mineral baths, which were slightly cooler. You're not supposed to be in the baths for more than 20 minutes at a time, which probably would have been helpful to know ahead of time...I had to go in and out a couple times to avoid over-heating. The waters in the baths, which come from thermal springs beneath the city park, help with joint pain, blood circulation, calcium deficiency, and simple relaxation, and make many more contributions to physical and mental well-being. THURSDAY: Our first activity on Thursday morning was a trip to a local special needs school, where we learned about the Smiling Hospital Foundation, an organization that aims to help hospitalized children by bringing in musicians, magicians, and artists to improve morale and help to speed up the recovery process. We met with some of the volunteers and attended a music and magic show for the students at the school, and were able to see the ways that volunteers interact with children on their visits. Additionally, we practiced planning activities of our own that could be done with these children, and designed murals that could be painted in hospitals. My group's design was selected to be painted by an artist at a hospital somewhere in Hungary! It is exciting to know that we contributed to such a great organization, and that our design could have a lasting impact. The afternoon was spent doing Random Acts of Kindness around the city. Similarly to our activity in Aarhus earlier this semester, it was difficult to consider the ways each of our actions would be perceived by a new culture. We decided to pay for peoples' tickets to the top of St. Stephen's Basilica - many of them were confused about why we were trying to pay for them and asked why! One of our group members had to spend a while explaining that we really didn't want anything in return. Even though they didn't quite understand, most peoples' surprise was positive, and it was a nice feeling to do something for somebody else. FRIDAY: Our only planned activity on Friday (which was probably for the best, seeing as we were all exhausted) was a wrap up activity to discuss the events of the week and how they applied to our class. Budapest and Copenhagen are drastically different cities, and this trip pushed me to consider just how much the history of a place can influence the well-being of its citizens.
While all of my travels this semester have been extraordinary, travelling with my class allowed us to explore the city with a greater understanding of the history, culture, and lifestyle. I was able to appreciate the meaning behind the monuments I saw, increase my awareness of the locals' perspective, and understand the significance of the places I was visiting. In addition to these class visits, our study tour was full of free time to explore on your own. If you'd like to read about how we spent our free time in the city, click the link below! Happy Reading, Lydia
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Hi Everyone!I'm Lydia, a 21 year old college student studying abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark for the spring 2017 semester. I'm excited to spend the next few months adventuring around Europe, and it'll all be documented here! Feel free to look around. Archives
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