Today was our first day here not working at Scheiber Sandor. I had anticipated feeling more touristy now that we are no longer going to work all day, but this was not the case. I have traveled a lot, sometimes on educational programs, sometimes purely for fun, but I have never felt so much a part of the community before. During the course of this week we have had the chance to visit places like the Opera House and Memento Park, to take pictures, and to post selfies on Facebook. Yet the overwhelming feeling is one of having really gotten to know a new city on a deeper level than I have experienced before. We didn’t just sight-see, we visited an old-age home and a community center. We didn’t just meet locals out at a bar or restaurant, we got to have real conversations with people and brainstorm ideas with them for improving the lives of those in the city. We have barely looked at souvenirs, we have not lounged around, we have not stayed out late. There are many things to do in this city that I know we will not get to, and we will not be traveling around the country. But all of this has made it a more authentic, more interesting, more rewarding trip. I have every intention of coming back to Hungary in the future to do all of those touristy activities that are not a part of this trip, and I plan on finding some souvenirs before I leave, but I feel so lucky to have gotten to know Budapest the way that I have. There is no doubt in my mind that, without a trip like this, I would never have understood the city or the country the same way. I mentioned yesterday the bittersweet experience of watching children prize their education as a way out of their country. This is certainly something that I could have been told without having visited the school or the community center, or even Hungary. But I know that I would not have felt the same sadness about it. I would not have understood what that really meant, and what people in this country are truly experiencing. It makes me wonder what I have missed in all the traveling I have done before, and it inspires me to look differently at travel in the future.
