I arrived in Budapest on the overnight train from Ljubljana and immediately checked into the Marriott (on points of course, because, you know, I'm a points whore). The Marriott is right on the Danube river with great view of historical buildings, river and bridges (which, except for the buildings, has an uncanny resemblance to Pittsburgh).
But this wasn't a pleasure trip, it was pure business. Budapest was the last chance to pull myself together before the big trip to Africa. I had errands galore: shopping for sponsor kid, last chance for 'washing machine' laundry, taking off my chipped nail polish, renting my condo, updating my blog, and shopping for essentials that I may not be able to find during my 6 weeks in Africa.
I took out my daily limit at the ATM and decided to spend it all on gifts for my sponsor kid, Esther, and her family. To call Esther my sponsor kid is a misnomer - I have been sponsoring her for over 6 years and she is now technically a woman at the age of 14. But it's easier to call her my sponsor kid, so we'll go with it...Since I was staying at the Marriott, I basically ate and drank everything there from the lounge (read: free) and conserved cash for gifts.
I was able to make one quick tour, the Communist Tour of Budapest. Hungary has lost all the wars they have participated in the past 500 years, most recently and importantly WWII (the tour guides words, not mine). Hungary was occupied by one of the winners of WWII, the Soviet Union which meant they were forced into Communism. (I often think how funny it is that the Soviet Union was essentially our allies during WWII in fighting the common enemy, then we spent the next 40 years with them as our enemy). Despite a violent uprising against communism in 1956, Hungarians knew how to keep their mouths shut, and it was a sort of "communism light." Not many people dared to challenge the Soviets or protest communism until 1990 when they voted in Democracy, along with most of the world.
Today, Hungary is living in what is referred to as "post-communism democracy" which differs from straight up democracy for many complicated reasons that I won't bore you with
I experienced the meaning of "post-communism democracy" as I struggled to find gifts for my sponsor kid and her family. There was hardly any selection of goods, and it was a challenge to find anything of reasonable quality at a reasonable price. Sorry Esther, you aren't getting a Louis Vuitton bag, nor are you getting the cheap shoddy Dora the Explorer knockoff backpack from the graffitied back alley.
An uplifting antecdote - at one point during my shopping spree, I was running up the Metro stairs 2-at-a-time to catch a train. I missed the train, so sat down on a bench. A woman comes walking up to me, with a friendly mischievous look in her eyes, apparently scolding me in Hungarianm while waving a bill in my face. The equivalent of a $65 bill fell out of my pocket as I was running. After withdrawing money from the ATM, I had distributed the cash among my person in case I got mugged or something. Old habit that has never been needed (knock on wood). I was touched. This Hungarian woman had no idea that her good deed is going directly back to people that need the money more than her or I, even if she is living in post-communist democracy. I wish I could show her this photo of the goodies that took me over 2 days to gather
But this wasn't a pleasure trip, it was pure business. Budapest was the last chance to pull myself together before the big trip to Africa. I had errands galore: shopping for sponsor kid, last chance for 'washing machine' laundry, taking off my chipped nail polish, renting my condo, updating my blog, and shopping for essentials that I may not be able to find during my 6 weeks in Africa.
I took out my daily limit at the ATM and decided to spend it all on gifts for my sponsor kid, Esther, and her family. To call Esther my sponsor kid is a misnomer - I have been sponsoring her for over 6 years and she is now technically a woman at the age of 14. But it's easier to call her my sponsor kid, so we'll go with it...Since I was staying at the Marriott, I basically ate and drank everything there from the lounge (read: free) and conserved cash for gifts.
I was able to make one quick tour, the Communist Tour of Budapest. Hungary has lost all the wars they have participated in the past 500 years, most recently and importantly WWII (the tour guides words, not mine). Hungary was occupied by one of the winners of WWII, the Soviet Union which meant they were forced into Communism. (I often think how funny it is that the Soviet Union was essentially our allies during WWII in fighting the common enemy, then we spent the next 40 years with them as our enemy). Despite a violent uprising against communism in 1956, Hungarians knew how to keep their mouths shut, and it was a sort of "communism light." Not many people dared to challenge the Soviets or protest communism until 1990 when they voted in Democracy, along with most of the world.
Today, Hungary is living in what is referred to as "post-communism democracy" which differs from straight up democracy for many complicated reasons that I won't bore you with
I experienced the meaning of "post-communism democracy" as I struggled to find gifts for my sponsor kid and her family. There was hardly any selection of goods, and it was a challenge to find anything of reasonable quality at a reasonable price. Sorry Esther, you aren't getting a Louis Vuitton bag, nor are you getting the cheap shoddy Dora the Explorer knockoff backpack from the graffitied back alley.
An uplifting antecdote - at one point during my shopping spree, I was running up the Metro stairs 2-at-a-time to catch a train. I missed the train, so sat down on a bench. A woman comes walking up to me, with a friendly mischievous look in her eyes, apparently scolding me in Hungarianm while waving a bill in my face. The equivalent of a $65 bill fell out of my pocket as I was running. After withdrawing money from the ATM, I had distributed the cash among my person in case I got mugged or something. Old habit that has never been needed (knock on wood). I was touched. This Hungarian woman had no idea that her good deed is going directly back to people that need the money more than her or I, even if she is living in post-communist democracy. I wish I could show her this photo of the goodies that took me over 2 days to gather
That's very nice of the Hungarian woman. I have an image of an elderly, energetic woman wearing a bonnet scolding by waving one finger back and forth. Not sure if that image holds up.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck meeting your sponsor child. I think I noticed that microphone that makes your voice echo. I've got a hunch that's going to be a hit, good find!