Goodbye Budapest

Goodbye Budapest....

So classes are finished and university is complete... all that is left to do is to have some fun with the friends we have made along the journey.

Our friends in our flat hosted a leaving party for Kirsty, Kattie and I on our last night in the flat. We were really excited and it showed us how much they enjoyed having us with them as most students never stay up in the hostel at the weekend, (just like stranmillis!) So we said our goodbyes and had some cake which our friend made us. At the end of the night they gave us each a present and we headed to bed so sleep in our room in flat four for the very last time!

Sunday was our last day in Hungary and it was really difficult. We went to church at the international Baptist for the last time. This was really hard as it was here that I first felt at home in Budapest. The people had really cared for us and I made a lot of life- long friends, and so to go knowing I would not be back (at least for a very long time) was hard. After the service I hugged a lot of people and got lots of life advice from older friends! My pastor took me aside and prayed for my journey through life after my experience in Budapest...this put me to tears as I left for the last time!

On Sunday afternoon I was cooked dinner by friends in the flat and we spent our last few hours together. Kirsty, Kattie and I went to collect our luggage and lock up our room for the last time. We shared a few tears and then turned around to see a guard of honour to see us off!! The people in our flat had all stood outside their room and were standing waiting to say a final goodbye to us. By this stage we were all sobbing! Two of our friends, Ferenc and Reni, offered to take us to the train station and help us with our luggage. The train station was about an hour away and so this was very sweet of them to take us. I had become very close to Ferenc and Reni throughout my stay and so when we arrived at the station staying goodbye to them was awful!

So after a busy weekend and a lot of crying we got onto our overnight train to head to Warsaw, Poland.....

My Hungarian adventure was over, but it certainly was the best experience of my life and a decision which I would never take back. I met some very special people, and discovered things about myself which I would never had found out if not taken part in the Erasmus programme. I certainly would encourage more people to consider the opportunity.

All I have to do now is look forward to the next time I can visit Budapest! But for now I am heading for a new adventure around Europe before heading home to Northern Ireland.... so Warsaw, Prague and Paris, here I come!

Cultural:
My last week week in Budpest really brought everything together and was a great way of ending my time in Hungary. A tutor (Jayne Moore) came out to see how the education system in Hungary works, and so we spent most of our free time telling Jayne about the things that we had learnt and also a bit about the background of Budpest. It was good to be able to talk about our experiences with someone and to introduce her to the different part of the world that is Hungary!
We took Jayne to the Naitonal Opera House while she visited us and it was our first time inside. I was glad to be able to see an in it as music is a huge part in many Hungarian's lives.
Also during Jayne's visit we visited a Kodaly school of music along with our music teacher at the Hungarian university. It was very interesting to observe different lessons in this school. The music ability among such young learners was incredible to see, and certainly put us to shame!

Professional:
The last week at university was certainly an experience. Kirsty, Kattie and I had spent the 12 weeks preparing 2 songs to perform to a Hungarian audience, and last week the time came for the performance! One of the songs was a Hungarian folk song, and so it took a lot of preparation and help from our Hungarian flatmates to prepare the correct pronunciation. We sang these songs infront of fellow students and their response of great. They all were deeply touched that we had spent time learning their language, and even our singing teacher, (who had always been very strict with us) was impressed. I was also very touched as the performance was on my birthday, and when we finished our songs the hall exploded into singing 'happy birthday' to me in Hungarian!
In our last 'teaching English as a foriegn language' class the girls had organised a surprise birthday party for me and had baked a traditional hungarian birthday cake. This was a brilliant way of ending my time at the university. They asked us to sing the Hungarian song which we had prepared at the end of the lesson and when we finished our teacher in the class was in tears as she was so moved by it. We were very shocked at this, as we didn't think we had sang the song particularly well, but we soon realised that students coming from a Western country and singing to them in their own language meant a great deal.

Personal:
School this week was great. The children had lots of tests to complete and the teachers were able to tell me that the results of the sections which I had taught were great. This was very encouraging to hear as I was just about to leave the school.
On my last day of school my second grade class presented me with chocolate and a card. We played lots of typical party games from Northern Ireland and the children really loved taking part in this.
In my fourth grade class Kirsty, Kathryn and I were presented with a booklet each, made up of pictures and things written by the children which they knew meant a lot to us. One thing which will stay in my mind for a very long time was when I went to leave the classroom for the last time and a girl grabbed my hand and whispered whilst crying, 'please never forget us out here when you go home.' This moved me and made me realise yet again just how different life is in Hungary from in Northern Ireland.

So school and university is over and the erasmus experience is coming to a close..... it is now time to say our goodbyes to some very special people.....