against all odds

Did I have an extraordinary day today or what! Where should I start? Well, to give you a little background: I was asked to give a workshop to a bunch of high school students about the effects of advertising. It is part of a Comenius joint project in which schools of Spain, Italy, Poland, France, and Hungary take place. I got this email one day that a certain lady from a certain high school (both unknown for me) kindly asks if I would be willing to share my expertise. I was suprised coz I cannot say I get a lot of requests like this, but I was also very enthusiastic. The project was a challenge, because it's one thing that I know a lot about the topic and present it to professionals and colleagues, but what kids know about it, I had the faintest idea. So I prepared a lot and was looking forward to the day to come.

Whatever, and I am not exaggerating, whatever could go wrong and test my nerves, did. I mean, really. The only thing that saved me was that I was soo damn prepared that probably nobody would have. 

As a start, I had to go out of Budapest to a town I've never been to. I checked the schedule, the stops and the locations of the stops on google maps. The coach stop, however, was not where it was supposed to be. Even though I arrived to the place 25 mins earlier, I finally found the right stop only 3 mins before departure! OK, sigh, I made it.

With that bus I was supposed to arrive to the town of Halásztelek at 10.05 AM. That would have given me more than half an hour to prepare the room, the speakers, the internet, the videos, etc, and familiarize myself with the school and the teachers, let alone with the students, before starting the class at 10.45. Nevertheless, at 10.05, when I was supposed to already be walking to the school at Halásztelek, the bus hadn't even left Budapest!! There was such a huge traffic jam, coz we had ice on the streets today, that we were practically crawling not driving. I was already giving it up to ever arrive. But just when I let go, the bus started to move and I arrived to the town at 10.38 and to the school at 10.45. Just on time, as they say. :-)

Physically I was there, but arriving like this meant I had no mental preparation of course. Well, let's get over that! Coz then came the next challenge. I looked into the room, and, instead of the promised 30 students, they were, no kidding, 80! All the students from 4 grades! That just means it was COMPLETELY inadequate for the type of tasks I had prepared for (like group discussion and project work). But no panic still. 

Then I went on stage -- literally, it was a theater hall -- and started to set up the laptop with the projector. I had asked the organizers at least 3 times in advance if they have internet, laptop, projector, and speakers. "Of course!" quoteth the lady. "Of course my ass!" replieth reality.

During the one-hour show, we replugged the internet 3 times, started my prezi 4 times, couldn't play the video only from a third source I brought, waited for the speakers to arrive for 5 mins, and had an electric shortage with complete darkness (!) in the room, and I could continue. And imagine this with 80 students staring at me and murmuring. Of course the whole thing was a chaos -- compared to, at least, what I am used to from unversity classes or conferences -- and I could interact only with, let's say, the first 3 rows of students -- the rest, the majority was just making noise. But guess what, in the end some kids came to me and asked stuff, and the organizers proposed that I should give more lectures for them in the future. So, I reckon, it was a strange form of success.

You know why it was a great experience? Exactly because nothing about it was perfect. And I didn't give up and freeze or panic. It was a mind-opening experience to feel that it is just about accepting the present and making the most of it that really makes one content. Not a perfect show -- coz there is no such.

t(o)urkey

It has a funny story. On the exact same day that I decided to quit my programmer job, a job that was just about to give me a significant raise, but a job that I started to feel as a misuse of my energy and time, I bumped into a call for a filming course in Turkey. I have just made up my mind to follow my dreams instead of following that of others (my boss wanted to prove that he can transform me into the next Zuckerberg). Having a long-time fascination for films, I knew this was the chance to start over. In the past, I already edited a couple of short and/or documentary productions and I simply adored both the process and the outcome. On that November day, I felt it was time to refresh and improve these dormant skills in me, bringing my creative storyteller spirit to the next level. So I quit there. And so I applied here. And two days later I was selected as the Hungarian participant. Unfortunately, I didn't have a lot of time to prepare, as November turned out to be an incredibly busy period for me. Before travelling, I even caught a massive cold, so for a couple of days I was considering to skip the trip. Finally I managed to settle all the inner and outer turmoil, thanks mostly to a large dosage of lemon and garlic (lemon for the germs, garlic for the jerks). :-)

..FYI: not just the ladies..

Before travelling to the location of the traning course, I had to stay in Istanbul for two days. OK, I didn't have to. I wanted to. And it was the best decision. Being an open-minded person and priding myself on being curious and tolerant, I have a hard time admitting that I did have some prejudice against going to an Islamic country. Not because of the typical Western reason, the fear of Jihadic violence. No, that I didn't have, as I had researched that area long before to know that extremists exist everywhere, killing in the name of anything. But what I couldn't accept (and in a way I still cannot) is the gender issue. Since lately I am quite gender-conscious -- actually I was even called the Equal Opportunities Officer a couple of times -- I view many things through these lenses. And let's accept, most of the established churches, Islam being one, perform quite badly in this respect. With all these preconceptions, I arrived to the banks of Bosphorus and I found myself fascinated by the city and the culture marked by mosques, minarets, and muezzin. Istanbul had such a unique atmosphere that simply mesmerized me. I must say, those two days took me on a spiritual, inward journey (and it was not just because of the large dosage of Turkish tea I was cleansing myself with  :-).

In this mindset, I had to continue my journey to Kars, a small town next to the (closed) Turkish-Armenian border. Seemingly, it was a completely uninteresting and unimpressive city, especially after Istanbul, but its relevance lies exactly in the ethnic conflicts, of the Turkish, Kurdish, Armenian,  Russian, and Azerbaijani inhabitants, that resulted in the very decadence we see today. The city had too much history to cover and we had too little time to explore, so the filming part of the training was not as successful and effective as I had expected. (We started to make short films about antiracism, about local relations, about the torn down monument of the Armenian-Turkish friendship, and so on, but nobody really completed their projects in those 7 days.) There was, however, a lot to learn on a different level. We were a multi-ethnic group of 30 people, just like a school class. As a teacher and coach, it was an eye-opening experience for me to be on the other side.

We were representing quite different cultures, backgrounds, and world views. Occasionally, I was the only one in my group of 5-6 that was not religious, let alone, not Muslim. Nothing really was self-evident, like on what grounds I (and Western mainstream ideology) think it was debatable why Muslim women have to cover their faces, or why LGBT (what? who?) are not unnatural to claim rights, or why is given so much space in politics. All the group projects were challenging, because we needed to reach a group decision. It was rare when two people were on the same side. The reason that I (we) felt frustrated so often in these group processes made me (us) realize how bloody difficult it is to live in real democracy, one vote meaning just one vote. :-) Also, as a teaching method, I came to view groupwork a bit differently. Previously I had glorified it, considering it more effective, in most cases, than individual or frontal methods. Now I was reminded that it should not be overused though, because it does have its social-cooperational value, but as far as work-efficiency is concerned, it heavily depends on the personality of the members, which only occasionally is free of conflict.

We had a funny task once. As a social-cultural experiment, we had to draw our countries on a blind map. The Netherlands started, then came a miniature version of Germany (to correct the size problems set by Holland). This is when I was supposed to put Hungary on the map. It was hilarious to see how I placed it so damn far from Western Europe (yes, my mis-perception of the position of Hungary :-). To mend the situation, the Italian girl decided to draw her country reverse, as if Italy was "kicking" Hungary away. This is how we ended up with a new, very welcomed, neighbor: Sicily. Bella Taormina! :-) On the East, then, Azerbaijan became our new border-country, which again is a very fortunate change if you bear in mind that it will become a lot easier like this to travel to the European Games next year. :-)

All in all, it was a successful 11 days. We reshaped borders, brought cultures together, and had a lot of fun. 

distraction

Sorry, folks, I will be a bit less active in the following months. No, I didn't get sick. No, I didn't get pregnant either. What? Thesis writing? Well, of course, who isn't? But that's not my reason. What happened is that I took a full-time job. Or rather, the job took me. It really has an incredible story how it happened. Out of curiosity, I applied to an online editor job in an IT company, didn't get a lot of effort into many resume, sttil, to my greatest suprise, I was called to the interview almost immediately. I arrived quite tired to the office, because the previous day I had just returned from an overnight trip and I was still knocked out (you know, I am not 20 anymore). I didn't expect a lot, you can imagine. But guess what, the interview turned into something else (no, not a menage a trois): into an inspirational professional discussion, centering on the revelation how much this IT company and I thought alike as far as research and science are concerned. The boss told me that they really want to hire me because they need people like me in their team. Actually, not so much in the editorial group, but in the core, research, team. I said, it's very nice but I have no background whatsoever in informatics nor programming. He said, in a couple of months I can learn into it and he believes I am a better, long-term investment, due to my open-minded character and my wide knowledge in science, than a programmer, who is less flexible and less likely to stay. I was truly flattered, and, although I did have my doubts (me a programmer? oh, com' on!), I accepted the challenge.

So here I am a programmer-to-be. Gee, I used to be a nerd, now I am becoming a geek? Ew, another social stigma to overcome. :-) I must admit, it is unbelievably challenging to find my way in this new world. It is not just the mindset -- to see everything in code -- that poses a challenge but also the community -- my colleagues need to be reminded to _sometimes_
- open the window - drink water - or eat something else than hamburger.  
Sounds awfully stereotypical, I know. Can't help it..

But from challenge comes triumph, the wise man says. And indeed, when I wrote my first code [print("Hello, World")], or when, after days, I solved Fibonacci with recursive functions, or when, after weeks, I put together an algorithm to count the days of your life, taking leap days into consideration, that was heaven. I learned that trying was the only way of mastery. And perfection is just an illusion.

Still at the doors of computer programming, with one foot in and one foot out, I am giving you now something inspirational (beyond this fairy tale of mine :-). Let's watch this short film together and find out who this weird species we like to admire and ridicule...

 

"...who a computer programmer is..."

chinatown

Recently I had a clearly extraordinary experience both professionally and culturally. I was contacted by a Chinese woman whose friend's child, a teenager, wanted English classes. That fact that her English in the email was understandable but very awkward (and I figured, she must be the one that speaks the best English, which is why it was her that wrote to me not the parents) should have been a wrong omen. Even more so, because when we spoke on the phone to arrange a personal meeting, she wanted to change to Hungarian, as something she spoke better. Chinese are known to have this very specific accent when it comes to speaking European languages that few natives understand. Unfortunately I wasn't among those few. It was a real challenge even to agree on the place and time to meet. But then I still thought I liked challenges.

The next day I found myself in a café with a jury of 6 Chinese staring at me. They were very nice and offered to buy me a tea, and then the negotiations started. The first question they made was whether I speak Chinese. Of course the question is valid, but it was a long shot. Then, they were wondering how I was planning to teach the boy who speaks no Hungarian, nor English. Well, to be honest, I had no idea the boy had no prior knowledge, given that I was informed he wants preparation for an all-English high school. I figured, that means a weak intermediate level, at least. Despite my surprise, I managed to wing it, explaining that with pictures, videos, and demonstrations it is not impossible. Surprisingly I convinced both my future clients and myself. The next question of the committee was where the classes could be and whether it was possible to have them at my place. As I confirmed, they went on with the interrogation: how big is my apartment, who lives there with me, what is his or her gender, etc. In my complete surprise, I kept answering but felt rather  puzzled where this would lead. Finally, they spat it out: they wanted the boy to stay with me for the nights as well, kind of like at a boarding school. I was speechless. To try to convince me, they kept repeating: money was not a problem. I felt as if being in some dream: I was offered a job which would make me filthy rich if I was willing to swallow a definite amount of awkwardness. I didn't give an answer then; we only arranged the first session of classes for the next day.

I was very stressed as I was preparing for the lessons. Never before was I faced with such a challenge that I need to teach someone without any common language. I realized, it was an added difficulty that he was Asian, probably not even knowing the Latin alphabet, which for us Europeans is at least a sound basis. It took me at least 4-5 hours to think of the tasks, find out bridging tools, and build a structure to a class (or rather three classes one after another) which I couldn't even imagine how it would go. 

Finally, the hour came, and the real difficulties arose from something I hadn't thought. They didn't know where my place was (despite the fact that the previous day they seemed to know, and I even sent them the address), so they called me on the phone three times for instructions, but neither of us got what the other said; it was a mess. Finally, they made it arriving 30 minutes late. But once we could get down to business, the class itself went very good! He indeed didn't know much English, had problems with the alphabet and writing, but his pronunciation and his will to learn was impressive. After two hours, we started to bond and like each other. I felt triumphant and proud to have met my challenge.

Then, the twist came. I got a call 45 minutes before the end of the class. It was one of the Chinese. I didn't get anything of what she was saying, so I gave the phone to the boy. It turned out the woman was standing in front of the door and I needed to let her in. She brought lunch. I was puzzled why she came at that moment. Was the class over? Otherwise how did she imagine she just comes and interrupts? There was no clear communication to me. In 10 minutes, the whole family arrived and invaded the apartment while speaking over my head in Chinese. I felt undescibably awkward, uncomfortable, and helpless. 6 people spread in my personal space and I had no control. At one point, the one that kind of spoke English said they wanted to stay for the last 30 minutes. I said, it was not a good idea. They still wanted and I still opposed. Eventually, the parents left and the "interpreter" stayed. It was still uncomfortable because she was sitting behind my back, either talking to the boy in Chinese, or laying down on my couch, or walking in my flat. I couldn't concentrate neither on him, nor on her. At the end I just wanted them out.

Overwhelmed by the whole experince and thinking that we mutually didn't like each other (I mean, with the student-teacher interaction there was no problem, but that's the least important factor when it is the parents who are the clients), I let go of the idea of getting rich. Amazingly, the next day they texted me at 8 AM that they are brining the boy in an hour. "No way", I said. When they asked if the next day was OK, I decided to give them another chance. In the evening, though, they cancelled, which was the end of the story. It turned out that they went to France. I figure, they sensed I am not the one that was going to board their child and they wanted him badly to learn English in just a couple of months. Money (and the child's comfort) didn't matter, so they just wanted to find a host, wherever.

To say the least, it was a tremendous culture shock for which I didn't even have to leave my home.

it's all about the money -- or not

One of the monthly columns of the blog is dedicated to present to you what kind of career paths strong English language skills can bring you. So far we have focused on teaching jobs, from high school positions to university professorship, and from private employment to public institutions. We have not dealt with teaching in general, though. After half a year of interviews, I thought to dedicate this article to a more general consideration of being a teacher.

 

Today I brought you some short excerpts from interviews with (public school) teachers, who reflect not only on what they feel about their job but also on what materialistic matters like finances mean for them. I have picked professionals from a wide variety of countries, so to give you a more objective and extensive picture about what it really means to work in education. You will see that many of them address the issue of money, not only because capitalism made money our god but also because the profession of teaching is often linked, typically negatively, to capital. Let us see whether and how much they support the general claim that teachers are underpaid.

 

 

“I am happy with my income and think I earn a fair wage. I am unhappy with the public’s perception in Canada that teachers are overpaid. I’ve never met anyone that teaches for money. It’s never about the paycheck; it’s about loving the work we do. However, I do feel that our politicians, media, and therefore the general public feel that we are overpaid and lazy because we get more vacation time than many other professionals.” (Canada)

 

 

“I feel like I am providing a valuable service — and I do love my job at times. But teaching also has unfortunate downsides such as the money and administrative load, which can significantly detract from my core job as a teacher. While my income could be worse, I would argue it still is not fair for the qualifications I hold and my job performance. Often it’s hard work with little thanks.” (South Africa)

 

 

“I’m content with my income, but that’s because I don’t have a family to support or bills to pay. As a teacher, I do more administrative work than teaching. Sometimes the children are unsatisfied with our performance, but there’s only so much I can do with all the administrative work I have.” (Macedonia)

 

 

“Sometimes I wonder if the stress I put myself through is worth it, but then one of the kids or parents will tell me a story about how I’ve made a difference and it all seems worthwhile.” (England)

 

 

“I’m worried my income won’t be enough as my daughter gets older. I really like being a teacher — I just wish I was recognized for it every now and then, whether in pay or just a pat on the back. But it beats being a lawyer.” (US) 

 

 

“I am happy but financially strapped. I don’t eat at restaurants; I can’t afford it. I am not a demanding guy, so my income seems sufficient for now, but I can’t sustain my life on it.” (Nepal)

 

 

“Teaching is like volunteer work that nobody recognizes as such. I’m deeply dissatisfied, and I think the great victims of our system of education are the pupils.” (Romania)

 

In short, teachers consider their job as a profession and a calling, to which they dedicate their entire body and mind. But the dreadful financial issues the majority has to live with make it godd@mn difficult to persist. It is not for the faint-hearted..

Read the whole article on TED's page.

 

the path of a TFA teacher

In the last couple of months, the interview series on English-related professions was focusing on high school teaching. We started with Edit, a veteran private school teacher in Buda, then came beginner Orsi from an elitist public school, and last month it was Bogi, a teacher assistant from a Hungary-based American private school, who gave us an overview to her educational experiences. This month it is my pleasure to introduce to you Sirena from New Orleans, who will talk about the American school system and her experiences in low performing schools.

Hey, Sirena. Nice to have you here. Could you tell us where you work and for how long you have been there? 

Thanks for having me Anna! I work at J. E. High School in Louisiana on the West Bank of New Orleans. I just wrapped up my first year of teaching (woo!) and was teaching Spanish I. 

What is an American high school like? Previously we got some insight into the Hungarian system and last month into a special institution, an American school near Budapest, Hungary. How is an American school in New Orleans? 

One thing I certainly know about American high schools is that no two are alike! I attended a large public school in a very rural small town in Kentucky with very little racial or ideological diversity and my experience was vastly different than most of my collegiate peers. All of the schools I’ve worked in thus far have all been public schools, so that’s what I’m most familiar with, but within the US there are also charter and magnet schools, which differ from public and private schools as well.

New Orleans actually has a very unique educational system since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The hurricane devastated the New Orleans area with over $100 billion in estimated damages and over 300,000 homes destroyed. Before the storm nearly 30% of people in New Orleans lived in poverty and Katrina left many of the city’s poorest citizen even more vulnerable than before. With over 2,000 deaths and hundreds of thousands of evacuees Katrina certainly forced some big changes within the city. Education reformers came into the area and essentially (what can best be described as) swept away what remained of traditional public schools, replacing them with charter schools controlled by the Recovery School District. 

My school, being across the Mississippi river, remained relatively untouched by the push to charter schools, and in fact many schools on the West Bank of New Orleans remain public. My school was actually one of the first schools to reopen after Katrina and opened its doors to any student in the area who wished to immediately return to school. 

Indeed, New Orleans sounds quite unique. Is this your first school? How did you get here?

I graduated from the University of Louisville in 2013 as a political science major actually, so teaching wasn’t really on my radar until my junior year of college. During the time I became interested in education and education policy I had just begun mentoring at a local middle school and working in an after school program at a high school as well. Both schools were of very low socioeconomic status and categorized as “low performing” schools in the state of Kentucky. I quickly became very curious as to how these schools were falling so far behind other schools in the exact same city – one being the number one school in the state. This led me to the program I’m currently in, Teach For America (TFA). The vision of TFA is that “one day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.”

Teach For America yearly recruits a diverse group of leaders with a record of achievement to work towards expanding educational opportunity, starting by teaching for two years in a low-income community. We often speak of the “achievement gap” in the United States, examining the disparity in educational achievement of students based on grouping by race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status. Since as early as 1966, studies from the US Department of Education consistently showcase a gap in achievement between low income minority students and middle to upper class white students. After studying all of this and learning more about TFA I just overall got fired up about education and wanted to dive right in! TFA places teachers all around the United States and it’s also through this program that I ended up in New Orleans!

TFA is a great way for people who may not have studied education during college to become impactful teachers so that’s the option I chose and was fortunate enough to be chosen for the program. There are so many other options as well, from the different types of schools in the US (public, private, charter, magnet) to adult education and English as a secondary language programs.

Great initiative! As I hear, you enjoy your teaching path. What do you exactly like about being a high school teacher?

I really love being a high school teacher because I can really talk to and get to know my students on a personal level. I feel so invested in them not only as students but as people. High school aged students are making hugely important decisions almost daily that impact the rest of their lives. Being able to serve as a mentor, cheerleader, educator, and friend all at the same time is something I find truly rewarding about teaching this age group.

Plus my students are absolutely HILARIOUS and not one day passes that I don't either laugh at something they've said or laugh with them about myself.

Can we also talk a bit about the downsides of the profession? What are the main challenges for you specifically and for teachers generally?

Well I've been told that the first year of teaching is generally the most difficult, so hopefully it only goes up from here but the biggest challenge for me was simply learning how to balance all the things that go along with being a teacher. Juggling grading, lesson planning, tutoring, forging relationships with students, disciplining, making copies and charts, connecting with my coworkers, reaching out to families, ALL while maintaining my friendships from college and forming new friendships with people in my new city was a LOT to handle all at once. I'm also very very competitive and goal-oriented, so I would find myself working a lot on weekends and in the evenings after school trying to figure out the exact ways to make my students the most successful. Overall this led to a lot of naps after school and stress. Luckily by December I had sorted a lot of the juggling out and was able to get into more of a routine for my second semester teaching!

As for teachers in general I think the systems that are used for evaluating what makes an effective or ineffective teacher are becoming increasingly difficult to manage. For example, Louisiana has recently made some changes and new developments in the way it evaluates teachers and many veteran teachers at my school were upset with its inequity and the ways in which it was proving to be an inaccurate measure of teacher success.

Education is a highly debated political topic in the US as well, so when federal measures are attempting to be taken to solve this re-occuring issue of the achievement gap with little success, one must question what can be done to address this challenge? 

The problem you raised is a very important one and actually not country-specific. But are there any specificities of being a teacher exactly where you are? How do you think it's different to be a teacher in Louisiana, or in the US, than anywhere else?

Teaching in Louisiana has certainly been an experience! Having worked in schools in Kentucky, and taught summer school in Atlanta, Georgia - I, again, must emphasize that every state and school has such a unique identity. From the students, families, communities and faculty, each place I've worked has its own charms and struggles.

One thing that’s unique to public schools in the New Orleans area is the intensity that comes with athletics. In general American football is a huge fulcrum for schools in the southern region of the US and our school is no exception. Myself and another teacher began a spirit club this past year to harness all the schools energy and enthusiasm for our amazing student athletes! It’s just incredible to see the way something as small as a football or basketball victory can boost school pride!

I’ll be teaching abroad for the first time at a summer program at the American University of Bulgaria during July and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to experience the similarities and differences of teaching in the United States vs abroad.

Well, then, soon I will get back to you on this. :-) As a closing question, who would you recommend to be a high school teacher for?

I’d recommend anyone who is patient, willing to connect with students and truly passionate about impacting kids lives to be a high school teacher.  It doesn’t hurt to be strong willed and not offended easily along with that patience because high school students are moody and emotional at times ... haha!

Thanks a lot, and good luck in Bulgaria!

living with and as a local

Last month I talked with Eszter, a European vagabond, who went on a 3-month-long trip in Latin America. Inspired by her story, I decided to host a fellow-traveller from Asia, who arrived from a far-far land to see our continent. In her itinerary, she had Hungary as well, so I offered her accommodation during her stay in Budapest. We talked a lot about her home, the Philippines, my home, Hungary, and the benefits of cultural exchange, like CouchSurfing. Here is a short interview with her, in which you will learn about her journey, her view about Europe and Europeans, and about a set of dazzling islands called the Philippines.

Hi, Myca! What kind of tea can I serve you?

It doesn’t matter, everything is new for me. We mostly drink coffee in the Philippines.

Really? Then I had a funny misconception, thinking that the Far-East is all about tea. 

Well, I also had my misbeliefs about Europe, like that there is no traffic jam, no flood, and things like that.

Wow, yeah, we know a lot about traffic jams. And as far as flooding in concerned, the Balkan area just experienced its largest disaster in long years.

Yes, I know. This trip of mine around Eastern Europe taught me a lot.

So, where exactly have you been?

I landed in Germany a month ago, then moved on to Salzburg, Austria. From there, Slovenia came, with Ljubljana and Bled. My next stop was Croatia, where I checked not only Zagreb but Plitvice, Pula, and some surrounding sea resorts as well. After that, I came to Hungary, more specifically to Budapest, Szentendre, and Eger. From here I will move on to Prague, in the Czech Republic, and from Hamburg I will fly home to the Philippines.

Then, your trip is approximately a month long, right?

That’s right. That’s how much I can stay away from my job in sales. Of course, the journey had financial limitations too: it was partly because of the money that I decided to choose Eastern and Southern Europe as the destination of my first roundtrip. The other reason was because I wanted to see new things and less popular places.

What did you like the most? Any favorite spot so far?

Hard to pick one. There were amazing things everywhere. I couchsurfed most of the time and my hosts, local experts, took me to beautiful places. One of the best days of the trip was when we went around tiny little towns in Dalmatia. Also, to mention something strange I encountered, never before have I seen people so casually (un)dressed as around those beach towns. Men walking in light green trunks or women in monokinis.

Was this then the biggest culture shock?

Yes. I wouldn’t say I was too shocked by anything. If you ask how people in the Philippines are different from the Europeans, maybe what can be said is that there are much more of us (100 million). Really, one of the most populated lands are the Philippines! And there are many languages and tribes on the several islands that constitute the Philippines. Maybe because of this, people are very welcoming wherever you go in the country. They invite and host anyone no matter where they come from.

But in the end you were hosted by Europeans as well, right?

Yes, I stayed at people’s place most of the times, only 1 o 2 occasions in a hostel. I like to live with and live as a local and I was lucky with each of my hosts. I can only recommend CouchSurfing.

I also like the concept of it, but at the same time I think one needs to address certain risks too. Did you ever feel lonely and vulnerable during this relatively long journey of yours?

I would say that I enjoyed every day of it but sometimes I felt I just want to go home. I guess not because I couldn’t take any more new experiences, that is, it is not that I got filled. It is more that I missed my family and my home. I love the Philippines! I told a lot of stories about my country to most of my hosts. About the monsoons, the floods, the Chocolate Hills, the island transportation, the dialects, and a lot more.

Indeed, I learned a great deal from you about this land that I had hardly known before. You mentioned the language. How did you manage with communication on your trip?

In the Philippines the second official language is English, because the land was occupied by the Americans. As a lucky consequence, I (and many of my compatriots) are fluent in English. In the countries I visited, like Croatia, Slovenia, or Hungary, it was not so. Many of the people don’t speak English, but all in all I always managed. Language was not a problem if you want to get a message across.

Good to hear! What’s up for you now?

Well, I will go home soon, about which I am happy, but I will also be happy to work hard and save some money for my next trip. It is definitely to repeat! I will either come back to visit some of the places I missed this time, like the Balkans, or I will aim for Western Europe, but that will cost much more. I’ll see.

Good luck with that. And have a safe trip to Prague and to Manila!