By Kailey Costa, Contributing Writer
I jumped from my seat working 9 to 5 at the Food Bank for New York City, worked another final shift at the pub back home, packed a bag and two days later, I was in Budapest. In Budapest, the architecture takes you aback. You are certainly not anywhere near the small New England town you grew up in, or New York City, a city you adapted to live in.
(Photo Courtesy of Kailey Costa)
Tones of yellows, red roofs and iron gate smoking porches make the streets of this eastern European city lively. The hustle and bustle of the colorful long-standing market halls and speedy transport is a nuanced means of living that contrasts my old commute from Patty to Breidenbaugh.
In Gettysburg, I could barely get to Walmart without a car, but now I can jump on a Flixbus and be in another country surrounded by the Swiss Alps in hours. Everyone around me may be speaking in a tongue I don’t understand, but I am working through the basics with a smile, Bocsanat (sorry) and Kosonom (thank you).
Survival in Budapest is possible, and it is an experience I wouldn’t trade for the world. With the help of CGE grants and scholarships, I was able to make travel possible. I was able to visit numerous countries I never thought I would be able to, including Croatia, the Hungarian Countryside, Slovenia, Malta, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Ireland, Spain and Sweden… etc.
Being abroad, I spend a bit of time by myself in this city, at coffee shops, in hostels and even at times traveling alone. The journey of coming to terms with being alone in a foreign city is sometimes difficult to wrap your head around. We as humans often underestimate how burdened we are by expectations. Going abroad can diverge your brain from those anxieties and the often stressful community expectations we become accustomed to in everyday life.
Abroad has allowed me to connect not only with myself but also with others. Attending a school with peers from all over the world, I have come to learn the value of those relationships and how they shape the way I view the world. Some of these friendships may be lifelong or just for the semester, but I am nonetheless grateful for the knowledge I have gained from the relationships around me or the home-cooked meals or the family-made palinka. I appreciate every door or couch I have surfed over the last few months to see as much of Europe as I could afford.
(Photo Courtesy of Kailey Costa)
Sharing a border with Ukraine has definitely been influential in my experience during my time here. Whilst abroad I have spent some time teaching English/American Courses with the State Department and Next Step, a nonprofit aiding migrants from all over the world and providing them with resources to attain a better livelihood than where they have migrated from. It has really opened my eyes to the level of horror that stems from war and its direct impact on families and children, such as seeing children go without basic necessities like proper footwear for the winter because they cannot go home. War has also been a divisive factor within the city regarding the War in Ukraine as well as the active conflict in the Middle East. Regardless of people’s attitudes and opinions, everyone deserves accessibility to human rights and basic necessities for a fruitful life.
I am glad I was able to utilize my study abroad experience to help others. Through my study abroad in Budapest, I have grown as an individual as I have come to learn more about the ever-changing world around me and help others in extreme need. I can draw from the experiences of traveling and my work at Next Step or the State Department to continue to work for a better life for myself and others.
This article originally appeared on page 22 of the December 2023 edition of The Gettysburgian’s magazine.
