Szentendre & Pilisszentlászló & The Waldorf School

Our day began bright and early, meeting up downstairs at 7:40 to journey over to a town north of Budapest called Szentendre. With a rush of excitement, we were greeted with a "Sorry if I'm walking to fast, but please catch up" by our Program Director and menu translator. I swear...every 3 steps I take is equivalent to her one step.

We made a series of connections from the 61 BKV to the beginning of the Red Metro line on the Buda side of town, until the 2nd stop at Batthyány tér, where we took the Helyiérdekű Vasút (HÉV) trains to Szentendre.

We arrived at a quaint and quiet train station with a few people meandering around. Our next connection was on a van taxi to Skanzen Múzeum, which is an open-air Museum which hosts the setting of a bygone era of Hungarian village life in different regions of the country. Our taxi there was quite adventuresome with our lovely driver running two red lights.

When we got off the taxi with approximately 15 minutes to spare, we were met with a large group of many old women and men who were awaiting their own 9:30 time slot for their own tour into the Museum. We met with our tour guide here and he led us into the Museum. There was even an xbox game set up where you could move around a 3D model of the area. All the descriptions were in Magyarul, however.

All the buildings and structures were either transported over from the specific region of Hungary, or they were rebuilt as replicas, with either genuine or replicated parts/furniture included inside. It was interesting to understand how people lived in a much simpler time period and the materials they used and with such efficiency they used them with. Many of the stories which our tour guide relayed to us were also quite interesting, such as the one about how children needed to run their feet under a cow's urine in order to keep warm during the biting cold winters. It truly put things into perspective, especially for those of us who have grown up as city dwellers in a very much accommodating society.

This particular image to the left is of a windmill, which had a rotating top and two entrances on either side of the base building, compensating for the prevention of death by windmill blade should it have been rotated to swoop over one of the entrances. The technology of that time is quite remarkable and very impressive.

Further touring brought us to a bygone farm, with the famous Mangalica pigs that I had never seen before. Curly haired pigs...they are like the Bichon Frisé of pigs. Their description labeled them as "lard pigs", having much more fat than the normal babe we see in America, and as such more...tasty? Hairy Bacon anyone...???

Here are some very happy people on the taxi.

We took the bus from Szentendre to Pilisszentlászló, a small village and our Social Enterprise destination north east of Szentendre. When we arrived, we were greeted by Andras Lang who spoke with us about the Waldorf school there. A lively character with a lot to say, he showed us around in the school and introduced us to how the Waldorf School system works.

The inspiring Waldorf schools were started in Germany and uses an artistic method approach to teach children important life skills emphasizing imagination in children. They learn interesting and fundamental life skills through the implementation of "creating their own books" through drawing and other forms. As such, they don't have textbooks from greedy textbook makers that make you pay hundreds of dollars for books that come out with new editions each year with minimal updates; and instead, they make their own. They learn to build houses and grow vegetables, rather than learning mathematics and literature.

This particular Waldorf school started out with only 8 children and now, have grown to almost 200, with over 140 involved families. Because of the success and incredible growth of the school, they have been forced to expand and have begun building a new school in order to accommodate all the children. Another result has been the influx of hundreds of families into the village, which have as well had other results of increased village prices in common commodities.

Our day included some heavy duty fence building for their school and Andras stuffed us into his van and drove us to their building site. We were greeted first with a hearty lunch which started out as potatos/meat stew and nice toasty bread, but then they brought foccacia bread biscuits which were so crunchy on the outside and warm and fluffy on the side. Then from their amazing last century stone oven, they popped out amazing homemade pizza that was too hard to resist and pretty much made us all gain about 10 kilos in only one sitting. I'm still trying to work it off :p

The beautiful view with someone deliberately trying to block it :(

Amazing Stone Oven-fresh Pizza

After we loosened up our belts to make way for our newly increased belly sizes, we strolled up the hill, avoiding trees being dragged down the hill, for our very important task of compacting dirt around fence posts. It was very tough.

Afterwards, Andras stuffed our fatter bodies into his van again and took us to meet with Anna. She is a supporter of the Waldorf school and had started her own social entrepreneurial ventures with an Art Therapy center, catered towards helping disadvantaged children. We first note the magnificent view atop the hill and looking down at the village, and then we see a few children, finished with their therapy sessions and about to go home. She tells us about her history and realizations with her own child and her passionate speech shows us her dedication and devotion to the children in the village, whom she refers to as the future. Her therapies help children through many forms of artistic media such as drawing, painting, dancing and drama, to name some.

Our journey ended here as we had glazed through many inspirational stories and coming abouts from the hard work and determination of the parents and teachers in the small village. Even through our massive work contributed to their fence building and the enduring of roasting in the sun all day, it was a most fruitful venture and enlightening experience for everyone.

Excuse my wordiness.

Sweden. No, jk, Denmark.

Not even one week in Budapest, we're already unsettling ourselves and moving on to another country to explore, unravel and conquer. After hours of planning by our Itinerary-Making Queen Chelsea, Michael finds an incredibly cheap deal on the budget airline Wizzair to Malmö, of all places, in Sweden, land of blonde hair and blue eyes, Ikea and Swedish Fish (candy). Except we didn't see any Ikeas, and we only found Swedish Fish in Denmark. As Chelsea micro-blogged earlier about the incredible hilarity of the entire booking of the trip, our connection after connection after connection of taxi to plane to bus to train, took us to the Central Station of København. (So actually, we were not going to Sweden, but actually Denmark.) Unfamiliar signs and an exchange rate of 5 dkk to 1 usd with a cup of coffee at 30 dkk already provided for a much awaited surprise to the allure of a cheap plane ticket. When we met up with our "left on Thursday" group mates, we were greeted with disdainful faces to discover that Denmark, ranked #2 as happiest country in the world, was not only land of bicycles, happy people on bicycles and more pretty people, but also one of the most incredibly expensive countries we had ever set foot in.

Denmark, land of luring unsuspecting travelers to obsolete places in Europe with cheap tickets and seemingly cheap hostel rates where, unbeknownst to us, the fine print is very, very fine. The moment I saw Dan's face, followed by the bland expressions of Michael and Jordan (Michael Jordan!), I was slapped in the face by Denmark's greedy economy that we had to not only pay for the rental of sheets, but also pay extra "fees" of International Hostels...what...? I knew Europe was expensive, but I did not realize it was expensive because of hidden costs...

Aside from that, Copenhagen was really nice. It was clean and there were literally bikes, everywhere.

There's also an incredible amount of diversity there, which is really surprising. Their Latin American population seemed to be of a vast amount, which we saw celebrated at the Copenhagen Carnival 2011. Lots of Brazilians and their street performers often consisted of melodious Peruvian Flute bands -- Don't see that very often in...well..anywhere! Its also the most amount of Asian people I've seen since I've been in Europe, but I haven't been here very long so....

The Carnival was probably the most eventful part of the trip, aside from our strange singing habits in the room to stave off our brokitude in the room. Lots of feathers and lots of drums. We walked over 10,000 steps each day since we neither had bikes to blend in with the locals, nor could we have afforded any public transportation. But we were so delirious from the high prices of things, (even BK and Mickie-D's were 8 USD for a simple hamburger+fries), that we mainly stayed on the Stroget mile of Shopping and around Nvhavn.

Sadly, we never had the opportunity to truly taste Nordic cuisine. We mostly had 7-11 bread and pastries, expensive coffee, waffles, cheap sandwiches, disagreeable Thai food and lots of ice cream. But I'm sure Nordic food is good.

Honestly though, Denmark is beautiful. The weather seems to vary quite a bit from relatively hot to very, very cold and the time there is extremely odd. At 9:00 PM, it still looked like it was 4:00 in the afternoon. It never truly got dark and the sun was already bright and shining at 4:00 AM. The happiness survey, according to the Persian Sandwich Shop Owner, was most likely conducted when Denmark was experiencing summer time, when most people are in their happiest moods. In winter, the biting cold and 17 hours of darkness literally suck the happiness out of life, apparently. Really Forbes, how was this survey conducted...?

The rest of our trip was spent just walking around and looking for cheap eats. As cheap as you can really get in Denmark anyways. Nvhavn was nice and this was when we made the discovery as to why the people in Denmark really ARE happy. Everyone owns a bike, a boat and they take lots of money from poor tourists. The place is incredibly safe too. They don't lock up their bikes, they leave their children in strollers outside shops and the police (politi) don't even need to do their jobs; instead they stroll around and because there's nothing to do, they stop, grab an ice cream cone and listen to the Peruvian flute bands.

I love Budapest.

Notes From a Program Director

Welcome again to our Georgia Tech Budapest Study Abroad Program blog. We are at the end of our first week on this very exciting journey – the inaugural year of our Hungary/Budapest bound program on social entrepreneurship.

The students gave a good overview of what is going on so far and now allow me to trace back couple months to the beginnings of this experience, when Bob Thomas and I decided to put together a new study abroad program that would be focused around leadership and social entrepreneurship.

Why study abroad? We believe that offering students a comparative and global outlook on the third sector is the value added, something that they wouldn’t be able to get out of taking the same classes on campus, in Atlanta.

Why Hungary? We selected Budapest, Hungary as our headquarters because we both have strong ties here – Bob worked in Eastern Europe with various foundations after the regime change, and I am a native of the region. In addition, thematically, Hungary is an ideal site. The country is located in the heart of Central-East Europe, has a strong and dedicated civil sector, highly innovative entrepreneurs (with the highest number of per capita Nobel laureates), a fascinating history and culture, hospitable people and last, but not least, the best cakes and pastries in the world (the little shops that sell them are called Cukrászda – if you are on a diet close your eyes when you walk by them).

 Starting a new program from scratch is not a simple task, but with the support system we have at GT – the Office of International Education (OIE), Amy Henry and her team (with special thanks to Lorie Johnson Paulez) – we were able to get our act together fairly quickly, and after the OK of the Study Abroad Committee we could start planning the day to day details of a six week/9 credits program.

What is the curriculum? The three courses that make up the curriculum all focus on the topic of social entrepreneurship (SE) and leadership in this sector. The subject is explored from a theoretical angle (MGT4161), as well as through the study of its practical applications. The latter is achieved a)through site visits to various social enterprises (SEs) and conversations with practitioners in the field (MGT4191/92, and b) through traineeships with SEs that  provide students an up-close insight into how SEs function, and requires them to be contributors to positive social change in the service of these SEs.

What is the practical component? When we first envisioned the practical component of the program – 6 weeks-long volunteer internships with organizations in the social and civil sector (non-profits, civil organizations, NGO’s) it seemed like a proposition that would be easy-to-sell and implement. The mutual benefit – volunteer help from bright and motivated students for the SEs, and the opportunity for practical learning for our students – seemed to be the main requirement for this plan to work. As a wise, old Hungarian saying goes (we have many of these- one to fit every situation, and then one to explain the opposite situation): ‘the plans you have when you leave the house to go to the market (to sell your chicken, pig, horse, etc.- or in modern times, and in this situation – your ideas) will change as soon as you get to the market (where you learn the actual conditions of the desired exchange).’ So we learned, very quickly, that there are many other factors that need to be considered regarding these desired traineeship, some more obvious –like the fact that language is a barrier (although majority of SEs we got in touch with had at least one English speaking member, so this was the least of the obstacles), and the 6-weeks’ time of the involvement, is not long enough to work on complex projects (this is a limitation on our end given the length of the program), but some were less obvious – such that the SE’s that might need help the most, are so busy keeping their operations going that they just simply don’t have the time to accommodate an intern. Being of added value, and not a liability, to our SEs partners was/is one of our main concerns (the other one being that the students have a valuable experience in their internships). Hearing these concerns and considering our limitations were very helpful in selecting and establishing meaningful partnerships.

During this initial search we received tremendous help from influential individuals and organizations (listed on our website) from the Hungarian social sector. They guided our steps, connected us to their network, generously offered their time and expertise, agreed to speak to our students, and invited our group to participate in their events, and to visit their headquarters. We are deeply grateful for their collaboration as we could not have a meaningful program without them.

The four organizations that invited our students to work with them on various projects this year are: Fruit of Care (an SEs that is part of NESsT’s portfolio where the main stake holders are people with disabilities); Rural Workshop Foundation (working for regional development in the Roma populated areas); CEEwebb (an environment and biodiversity advocacy group); and Habitat for Humanity in Hungary (providing housing for the economically disadvantaged). The projects the students were given range from analysis of enterprise scalability; assistance with the English speaking components of the organization’s website; research for scientific evidence in support of the ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change; and planning activities for the annual Outreach Day. The students have their task cut out for them, we, program directors, will advise and provide them feedback, and they will keep you updated of their progress. Students are also required to summarize their learning and recommendations to their host organizations in a presentation at the end of the program.

And now, in closing of this very long blog (this is my first of sorts, so forgive my lack of proper blog etiquette) let me list some of the highlights of my first week in Budapest.

On Friday, June 3, with the invitation of the NESsT Hungary team (whom I personally owe a big thanks for all their help with our program), I was at the first Social Enterprise Day conference in Budapest. It was a wonderfully organized event, with high quality speakers and presentations, hosted in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Here I met a number of wonderful entrepreneurs doing amazing work in addressing pressing social issues, and searching for solutions. At this conference I also met Malcolm Hayday, CEO of Charity Bank in the UK, who kindly accepted my ad-hoc invitation, and came to talk to our students on Monday. On Tuesday we travelled to Etyek to visit the Rural Workshop Foundation (the students posted details on all these so I am merely summarizing here), Wednesday we had a lecture on the European Union and the Hungarian Presidency, and Thursday’s guest speaker talked about the pro’s and con’s of working for a big foundation versus being a self-employed social entrepreneur.

Now we are enjoying a long weekend (Whit Monday is a bank holiday) and will resume classes on Tuesday morning. More to follow…

Post by: Dori Pap

On Wednesday morning we had some lecture time at the college. Dr. Thomas and our group discussed the legal framework and systems that affect the non-profit sector in Hungary and the financial implications of endowments. We then heard a lecture by Fullbright scholar Dr. Eszer about the history and functioning of the EU and Hungary's current presidency. It was really interesting learning about the formation of the European Union and how exactly it functions.

Our 4-day weekend was sneaking up on us, and by the end of the day we still hadn't chosen which country we wanted to head to after class on Thursday. Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland? At 2:30am Wednesday night we finally made a decision. Sweden! We found a cheap flight, so why not? Daniel was the first one to book the flight. When Sarah tried to follow, she was told that the last ticket had just been purchased.... Daniel was going to spend 5 days in Sweden by himself! We all died laughing, and for five awful minutes Daniel faced a pretty bleak trip. Thankfully we eventually found that if we paid a little more, we could go too. So now we are all headed to Sweden this weekend!

Posted by: Chelsea

After our day of tours it was time to begin classes and go in depth on the topic of Social Entrepreneurship. Monday's class started with a brief introduction to Hungary and its history by a local Hungarian university student. After discussing the history of Hungary we took a brief break before meeting with Malcolm Hayday. 

Malcolm Hayday is the CEO of Charity Bank Limited which is based in the UK. Charity Bank is the first bank in the world that is not for profit and lends only to NGO's (Non-Govenment Organizations). Malcolm explained how even though people are not receiving the same interest rates as a high end commercial bank it is because of the knowledge that the money is helping people that the company has been so successful. 

We were off to a great start to the week and it continued that night when we had dinner with Sandor Koles who is the co-founder of Rural Workshop Foundation. Sandor spoke to us about the work that Rural Workshop Foundation is doing to improve the lives of those in need throughout poverty stricken communities. It was great getting to hear stories of how the smallest things can change the lives of those who are less fortunate, examples to come. 

Tuesday started off with an early morning train ride to Etyek. Etyek is a small village about 45 minutes outside of Budapest by bus. We arrived and were greeted by a member of the Rural Workshop Foundation who led us to the headquarters which was a re-purposed country home with amazing historical detail in each wing.

Once in the home we sat down and were greeted again by Marta Marczis, Sandor's wife and co-founder. Marta gave us a presentation on the Rural Workshop Foundation and told us stories of her personal experiences helping the less fortunate. Once story she told us involved a gift as small as a soccer ball and cleats for a small village. This gift was thought of as useless and a waste of funds but after 6 years that small village has experienced increases in people working outside the village and education levels. The reason is that something as simple as soccer was able to teach people to work together and led to the openings of schools and groups to help establish the community. Once we were finished meeting we were taken to lunch in the village at a local restaurant. Below is a picture of the village as seen from our table. 

Needless to say it was an amazing experience and we are all looking forward to what the rest of the trip has in store for us.

Posted By: Micaehl

Budapest Bound!

After a long journey and much anticipation, our adventure in Budapest has finally begun. Most of our group arrived on Saturday, and spent most of the day adjusting and getting settled in. After a relaxing morning, we headed out for a tour of the city. We were all very excited to experience Hungary's rich and sometimes devastating history firsthand. We started at Matthias Church, the Gothic-style church named after King Corvinus Matthias. Surrounding the church were all sorts of amazing statues and structures, including the Fisherman's Bastion and a statue of Saint Stephen I, Hungary's first and most popular king. There were some absolutely gorgeous views from the terraces of Matthias Church. It looked down upon the Danube river, Paliament and the expansive view of the Pest side of the city. For those of you who don't know, Budapest was split into two different cities, with the west-bank of the Danube named Buda and the east-bank named Pest. These two sides were unified in 1873, but people still refer to them as "the Buda side" and "the Pest side". 

Saint Stephen I

Matthias Church

GT group in front of the Holy Trinity Column

View of Parliament

After we finished up on the Buda side, we jumped on a bus headed toward the Pest side. We started in the Jewish Quarters, learning how severely Hungary was impacted by the Holocaust. It was obvious how much emotion there was behind our Hungarian tour guides voice, but she was so hopeful and proud of where her country has come from and where it is going, which is starting to seem like a common theme among Hungarians. 

Next, we continued to Heroes' Square, where the Millennium Memorial stands along with statues of the leaders of the seven tribes that founded Hungary. It was a really exciting experience to be surrounded by so much history. 

Millennium Memorial

Heroes' Square

After hours of walking around the city, we were definitely in need of a short break. We stopped at this pleasant little cafe to get off of our feet for a few minutes, and more importantly, to get dessert. After our delicious break, we walked around downtown a little longer, then made our way back to our new home for the next six weeks. If our first day is any indication of how the rest of the trip will go, then we a surely in for the trip of a lifetime! 

The group with the "Statue of Anonymous"

Everyone at the cafe

Opera House

More posts to come soon! Enjoy!

Posted By: Jordan