Budapest!
Hi everyone!
Wow... my time in Budapest is almost over! I'm glad I came to Hungary, because admittedly I was a bit nervous to do so when it seemed like there wasn't going to be enough for me to do here or people to spend time with. But it's been such an interesting time. I've spoken to a bunch of different people that do some kind of version of adventure therapy, or enjoy spending time in nature for therapeutic purposes. I visited a high school psychology class and led a workshop about mental health, went hiking with psychologists in the (very few) wooded and hilly areas that the area around Budapest has to offer, and even attended a day-long workshop about the nature of motherhood. Hah! I was originally told it was more about nature than motherhood, but then even after I received clarification that it was really about being a mother, I decided to go anyways because hey, I had no better plans for my Saturday. And it was lovely! It actually did have a lot to do with connecting to nature and the importance of that for a mother's mental health, and connecting your child with nature, plus I learned traditional Hungarian folk songs. And then from there I met an odd but lovely woman who invited me to her home further out in the country to visit her and learn about her sustainable lifestyle, join her on a walk through the local woods where she practices a shamanic ritual, and then sing some more Hungarian folk songs to the pine trees.
I've also learned a ton about how hard it is for non-profits and people that do adventure therapy to thrive here, because of the lack of government support and just generally poor system of healthcare. The government doesn't see the value in taking care of foster children's mental health, so no programs get funding, like at all. Hungary is very different from the other countries I've traveled to so far in that regard. Each country has its own challenges, but none like Hungary. I originally chose to come to Hungary for precisely this reason, to learn about how people do adventure therapy in a place where it isn't easy to do so, and I'm glad I stuck with it even after I thought it wouldn't work out. I wrote this in my 2nd Quarterly report for the Watson Foundation in the beginning of January: "I’m now in Budapest, Hungary. It feels good to be back ‘on schedule’, because even though I chose to detour from my original itinerary for good reasons, I felt more pressure to make sure things ‘went right’ in the new countries so I could be sure I hadn’t made a mistake in changing my plans. I know that I’m making each decision with good intentions and lots of thought, and I’m letting this year take me where I need to be taken. I’ve gotten better at embracing the unknown elements of the year. I had almost given up on going to Hungary because it seemed like there wasn’t enough for me to do here, but it's working out really well. Hungary was always supposed to be my most ‘challenging’ country, so now I’m just going to embrace it." Everyone I've met here is very kind and eager to share their perspectives with me. I also probably wouldn't have made it to half the cool places I did visit without them, because they took me along!
I've visited the Hungarian National Museum, the House of Terror (the actual headquarters for the Nazis and later the Communist Party in Budapest- thousands of people were tortured and killed in the basement. It was an extremely sobering experience, to say the very least), the Shoes on the Danube Bank installation (marking the place where Jews were put into lines and executed into the Danube by the fascist Arrow Cross party. Horrifying.), Gellért Hill, and the labyrinth under Buda Castle- aka the place where Dracula was imprisoned and tortured until he died. I didn't even know Dracula was a real person until I came to Budapest, I thought he was just a myth, but man he was a sadistic, evil dude who was married to a member of the Hungarian royal family that enjoyed the taste of human flesh and drove nails through the heads and helmets of Turks- that's why he was called Vlad the Impaler. I also went to a ruin pub, but I found it to be too touristy and I'm not here to go clubbing and drink a lot, which is apparently why many people come to Budapest.
Having my own apartment here in Budapest for a month has been so nice for lots of different reasons- I have a place to go back to and decompress at night, I have been cooking new healthy and delicious recipes using local ingredients from the nearby market, and having a routine has helped me maintain an exercise habit that feels really good! I even ran a 5k the other day, which I don't think I've ever done before...
Also, I read the book "The Overstory" by Richard Powers and it's my new favorite book. Seriously. It's changed my life. It's about a bunch of different characters' relationships to trees and what they learn about the earth and themselves because of how trees have played an important role in their lives, and then all the storylines come together and just make you feel a lot of feelings. It was beautiful, informative, gut-wrenching, inspiring, and many sentences just made me stop and think. At least two or three people I've met this year had recommended I read it, and eventually I found it and I'm so glad. It was published in 2018 and won the Pulitzer Prize! Friends, brethren- read this book. Cherish it. Be grateful that you can read it for the first time and feel your feelings, because now I'll never be able to read it again for the first time. This is like how I felt after reading the last Harry Potter book way back in 4th grade. So glad I did but sad that I'm never going to be able to turn a page and read something new about that beautiful journey again.
I'm now trying to get into a book on environmental ethics, it's not clicking just yet but I'm sure it will eventually.
I'm not sure if I've talked about this yet, but another reflected from the quarterly report I figured I'd include here:
"Something I’ve started incorporating into my year is the idea that food is medicine. What we consume is directly related to how we feel, and eating food that’s healthy and grown sustainably during this year has made me feel much better than when I ate food simply because I was craving it. It’s a new element to my project, that sure, doing therapeutic activities in the outdoors is good but it’s still not going to do as much good for your mental health if you’re not 1) eating well and 2) getting a good night’s sleep. That doesn’t mean only eating fruits and vegetables and whatever, cookies can be medicine too! It’s about listening to your body and what it needs. Many of the people I’ve spent time with this year have inspired me to pay more attention to what I’m eating and where it’s coming from."
Next Tuesday I'm going to be in Tokyo! Crazy, right? I'm looking forward to being in a new culture but also dreading how expensive it's going to be there. And my brother is coming to visit me in about a month which will be wonderful!
Wow... my time in Budapest is almost over! I'm glad I came to Hungary, because admittedly I was a bit nervous to do so when it seemed like there wasn't going to be enough for me to do here or people to spend time with. But it's been such an interesting time. I've spoken to a bunch of different people that do some kind of version of adventure therapy, or enjoy spending time in nature for therapeutic purposes. I visited a high school psychology class and led a workshop about mental health, went hiking with psychologists in the (very few) wooded and hilly areas that the area around Budapest has to offer, and even attended a day-long workshop about the nature of motherhood. Hah! I was originally told it was more about nature than motherhood, but then even after I received clarification that it was really about being a mother, I decided to go anyways because hey, I had no better plans for my Saturday. And it was lovely! It actually did have a lot to do with connecting to nature and the importance of that for a mother's mental health, and connecting your child with nature, plus I learned traditional Hungarian folk songs. And then from there I met an odd but lovely woman who invited me to her home further out in the country to visit her and learn about her sustainable lifestyle, join her on a walk through the local woods where she practices a shamanic ritual, and then sing some more Hungarian folk songs to the pine trees.
I've also learned a ton about how hard it is for non-profits and people that do adventure therapy to thrive here, because of the lack of government support and just generally poor system of healthcare. The government doesn't see the value in taking care of foster children's mental health, so no programs get funding, like at all. Hungary is very different from the other countries I've traveled to so far in that regard. Each country has its own challenges, but none like Hungary. I originally chose to come to Hungary for precisely this reason, to learn about how people do adventure therapy in a place where it isn't easy to do so, and I'm glad I stuck with it even after I thought it wouldn't work out. I wrote this in my 2nd Quarterly report for the Watson Foundation in the beginning of January: "I’m now in Budapest, Hungary. It feels good to be back ‘on schedule’, because even though I chose to detour from my original itinerary for good reasons, I felt more pressure to make sure things ‘went right’ in the new countries so I could be sure I hadn’t made a mistake in changing my plans. I know that I’m making each decision with good intentions and lots of thought, and I’m letting this year take me where I need to be taken. I’ve gotten better at embracing the unknown elements of the year. I had almost given up on going to Hungary because it seemed like there wasn’t enough for me to do here, but it's working out really well. Hungary was always supposed to be my most ‘challenging’ country, so now I’m just going to embrace it." Everyone I've met here is very kind and eager to share their perspectives with me. I also probably wouldn't have made it to half the cool places I did visit without them, because they took me along!
I've visited the Hungarian National Museum, the House of Terror (the actual headquarters for the Nazis and later the Communist Party in Budapest- thousands of people were tortured and killed in the basement. It was an extremely sobering experience, to say the very least), the Shoes on the Danube Bank installation (marking the place where Jews were put into lines and executed into the Danube by the fascist Arrow Cross party. Horrifying.), Gellért Hill, and the labyrinth under Buda Castle- aka the place where Dracula was imprisoned and tortured until he died. I didn't even know Dracula was a real person until I came to Budapest, I thought he was just a myth, but man he was a sadistic, evil dude who was married to a member of the Hungarian royal family that enjoyed the taste of human flesh and drove nails through the heads and helmets of Turks- that's why he was called Vlad the Impaler. I also went to a ruin pub, but I found it to be too touristy and I'm not here to go clubbing and drink a lot, which is apparently why many people come to Budapest.
Having my own apartment here in Budapest for a month has been so nice for lots of different reasons- I have a place to go back to and decompress at night, I have been cooking new healthy and delicious recipes using local ingredients from the nearby market, and having a routine has helped me maintain an exercise habit that feels really good! I even ran a 5k the other day, which I don't think I've ever done before...
Also, I read the book "The Overstory" by Richard Powers and it's my new favorite book. Seriously. It's changed my life. It's about a bunch of different characters' relationships to trees and what they learn about the earth and themselves because of how trees have played an important role in their lives, and then all the storylines come together and just make you feel a lot of feelings. It was beautiful, informative, gut-wrenching, inspiring, and many sentences just made me stop and think. At least two or three people I've met this year had recommended I read it, and eventually I found it and I'm so glad. It was published in 2018 and won the Pulitzer Prize! Friends, brethren- read this book. Cherish it. Be grateful that you can read it for the first time and feel your feelings, because now I'll never be able to read it again for the first time. This is like how I felt after reading the last Harry Potter book way back in 4th grade. So glad I did but sad that I'm never going to be able to turn a page and read something new about that beautiful journey again.
I'm now trying to get into a book on environmental ethics, it's not clicking just yet but I'm sure it will eventually.
I'm not sure if I've talked about this yet, but another reflected from the quarterly report I figured I'd include here:
"Something I’ve started incorporating into my year is the idea that food is medicine. What we consume is directly related to how we feel, and eating food that’s healthy and grown sustainably during this year has made me feel much better than when I ate food simply because I was craving it. It’s a new element to my project, that sure, doing therapeutic activities in the outdoors is good but it’s still not going to do as much good for your mental health if you’re not 1) eating well and 2) getting a good night’s sleep. That doesn’t mean only eating fruits and vegetables and whatever, cookies can be medicine too! It’s about listening to your body and what it needs. Many of the people I’ve spent time with this year have inspired me to pay more attention to what I’m eating and where it’s coming from."
Next Tuesday I'm going to be in Tokyo! Crazy, right? I'm looking forward to being in a new culture but also dreading how expensive it's going to be there. And my brother is coming to visit me in about a month which will be wonderful!
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| Found this lovely frost-covered field out in the countryside right before running down a hill, doing qi-gong type movements, and rubbing my body with snow (part of the shamanic ritual I mentioned). |
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| The Széchenyi Chain Bridge, first permanent bridge across the Danube in Hungary. |
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| Lots of birds. I sat on a bench along the Danube and watched these birds for 20 minutes. |
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| Nighttime view of Széchenyi Chain Bridge |
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| Hiking with Dóra and Édit in the Matra Mountains. |
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| Made it to the highest point in Hungary! |
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| View of the Pest side of Budapest and the Liberty Bridge, which I ran back and forth across this morning! Oh yeah- I should mention in case you didn't know, Budapest is actually 2 different cities combined, Buda and Pest, and Buda is along the western side of the Danube and where the castle is, and Pest is along the eastern side of the Danube and where the Parliament building is. I live in Pest. |
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| One of the accompanying statues of the controversial Freedom Statue installation on the top of Gellért Hill - -Andi |
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