classes!

So I figured since I AM here to study and all, I should give an update/summary of my classes. They’re all very different, but good.
History of Hungary: This class is giving us the basic history of Hungary from the 895 arrival of the early Hungarian people to the recent days and the entrance to the European Union. My teacher is a really cool guy who seems more focused on teaching us the basic ideas of what happened rather than knowing the names of every single battle and their exact dates (at least that’s what I’m hoping!) He also has a hilarious sense of humor that keeps class interesting. It’s nice to have this class to get a better understanding of what has happened here, in a country that so many people know nothing about but has such an intriguing past. It explains a lot about the people here and why they have such a foreign outlook on life. I feel like I should have known a lot more of this when I came here, but there’s no time like the present!
Introduction to Hungarian Language: Oh man, Hungarian is a bitch to learn. Hungarians like to joke that the best way to learn the language is to get a Hungarian lover, because there is no other reason to learn it (I’m still working on the Hungarian hottie part. The teeth…) The words are pretty crazy looking, and pronunciation is key. It can be frustrating trying to order something and saying a word exactly correctly in your head only to have them stare at you like you’ve grown another head. Then when, through a series of pointing and gestures, they do figure out what you’re trying to say, they say “ohhhhh” and repeat exactly what you think you told them. But I’m slowly getting better, and have even had a few interactions where I don’t make a complete fool of myself. My teacher is awesome, she does whatever she can to make sure we learn practical things to get by. Last week we learned how to order a pizza, we’ve learned how to order food in the market, stuff like that. I’m trying, but it’s not going to be an easy one.
Integration and Security: Honestly, I’m not really sure why I decided to take this class, especially after my torturous International Relations class that I took at Tulane last semester, but I’m glad I did. We’re learning a lot about the whole idea of Europe and how that has transformed throughout time (Hungary is NOT Eastern Europe I’ve learned, but actually Central). Then we’ve been discussing all of the different institutions that have been created, like the UN and NATO, and what directions they could go in. Later we’ll start with how the European national and international security has changed since the Cold War, and how Hungary has negotiated into European integration and the implications that will have. The professor makes it really easy for even the non-politically minded of us to understand and really makes us think. One of our projects in the class is to write a short paper taking a problem and writing a policy to fix it, which will be interesting for the Social Policy and Practice major in me
Social Change in the Era of Globalization: Not gonna lie, this class is basically boring as hell. It doesn’t help that it’s three hours long, but at least it’s only once a week. The teacher has the heaviest accent of all of them, so that can make things pretty challenging. It’s basically about the major sociological theories and how they relate to the development of a global society. Yeah, that’s about all I have to say about that one.
The New East European Underclass: This class is probably my favorite of the bunch. Since there are only 2 sociology majors in the class, the professor feels bad for us and goes out of his way to give us extra attention. We’re learning about how the underclass is put in situations where they have very little chances of getting wealth. We’re also taking tours of the extremely poor areas to see what kind of situations the poor are living in. We already went on one through the most concentrated gypsy, or Roma, area and saw the horrible conditions that they are living in. We went to the first gypsy radio station in the world (you can listen at radioc.com) and got to talk with the owner about the mission of the station and their programming. It’s a cool chance to see areas of the city that I wouldn’t normally see and see the way of life of people who I would never meet.

Speaking of class, time to head that way!