It’s only the second day of the exchange and I’m already skiving off during lunch. While no one in the group normally struggles with truancy, all six of us are actively involved in skipping the group’s lunchtime to play a game of pickup basketball.
Yesterday, two of my new friends offered to show me the gym and weight room at SSG. Eager to stretch my legs after a long flight, I enthusiastically agreed. However, when I walked into the expansive gym for the first time, I saw that it was already filled with SSG students playing a tense game of full court ball. Luckily, my Hungarian guides diplomatically convinced the players to integrate us into the game. Even though the gym was well air-conditioned, I was already sweating more profusely than I ever had before during a basketball game five minutes into the contest. The chemistry that quickly developed between myself and my Hungarian teammates compelled me up and down the court at top speed in order to have their backs. Within minutes, I had connected to my Hungarian counterparts in a special way that I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to achieve. Even after that tense first game ended in a decisive victory, I embraced each player—both those on my own team and the opposing one—and they embraced me back as if I was a lifelong friend.
Aware that our group is already fifteen minutes late for the lunch period, my better judgement urges me upstairs to the cafeteria. Instead, however, I check the ball and continue playing. I can’t deny the unique sense of happiness and fulfillment I feel when playing with my new friends.
