A surprising feature of the course this summer was that an unusually large proportion of the participants were present who got placed in the advanced-level groups. This development is particularly gratifying because it means that a significant number of students do not give up on learning Hungarian after reaching the beginner or intermediate levels. As a relatively large number of them this summer were also teachers or university instructors in their home countries, it is no wonder that there was a pretty high demand amongst them for the program called Társalgó, which was held every Wednesday for those who signed up for an opportunity to engage in a casual conversation with Director of DSS Péter Szaffkó in both Hungarian and English about topics such as Hungarian culture, Hungarian traditions, Hungarian history and famous cities. It was also the participants with more advanced language skills that showed greater interest in checking out local attractions. They visited the Magda Szabó Memorial House, while the more sportive among them got a taste of everyday life in Debrecen by attending a Loki soccer game.
The all-time favorite this summer was once again the series of folklore nights. Every Monday, participants had the chance to get familiar with different Hungarian regions. While the dinner menu featured local specialties of these, the evening meal was invariably followed by folk song learning and dancing. The evening program dubbed “beach party,” held every second Friday, was also a huge hit. Both the teachers and the students were dressed in colorful beachwear, and the bill of fare for dinner featured lángos (fried dough), a favorite dish choice at Hungarian waterside locations. The two weekend field trips were also equally thoroughly enjoyed by the students. At a farmstead near Sáránd, they tried their hands at making the traditional Hungarian pasta called csigatészta and braided sweet bread by the name fonott kalács, while they also got a glimpse into the preparations for a traditional wedding party. In the open-air museum of Nyíregyháza, they learned folk games, and each one of them got a chance to prepare their own special ointment in an old apothecary.
During the course of the past month, the organizers also hosted several quizzes and fun contests. At the “beach party,” the language learners could put their knowledge to the test concerning various bodies of water in Hungary and, after the closing dinner, they competed on general topics related to Hungarian culture. Since the organizers could not help noting that there was high demand for these contests, they decided to come up with even more of these competitive events next summer.
Emese Pogány