Joao Salviano Carmo
Dear McDaniel Campus,
Spring seems to finally come our way and embrace us with the long sought and desired sunshine and warmth we so much miss.
After a very white and cold winter Budapest is slowly awakening from its dormancy of the last few months, new and exciting possibilities arise in the horizon as day become longer and outside becomes more appealing to us.
At present we are focused on our mid-term exams and we have been pretty much buried into our books and notes lately, so the thought of spring break coming fast our way and the possibility of enjoying being outside again turns into a very tempting reward.
Recently we organized an International Evening, an event where all students are invited to share their home cultures and flavors and mingle in a cosmopolitan atmosphere that is always present in the Campus here but rarely enjoyed amidst all our endeavors.
Among the delicacies on offer one could find the traditional Hungarian paprikás szalámi, the Spanish tortilla served with the customary Sangria, Humus and Falafel from Israel, Iranian stew, Norwegian waffles as well as Portuguese and American specialities. Besides the nourishment of the body we also were served wonderful sights to nurture the mind such as the Japanese Kimonos, the Nigerian colorful outfits, and the smiles of all the different nationalities present there. The night was concluded with an entertaining and amusing talent show with students from all over the place performing songs and music pieces from their home countries.
This year Hungary is hosting one of the European Capitals of Culture in the beautiful city of Pécs, south of Budapest near the borders with Croatia and Serbia. With a very rich and diverse cultural offer together with the architectural beauty of the city this for sure will be a charm to draw many of us there this Spring. You can find more information about this at http://en.pecs2010.hu/ (specially if you are considering coming over for the Fall semester this year).
Budapest is also a fantastic city to walk around and enjoy when the weather is fine. There are lots of small squares with cafes and bars who display terraces from April onwards and they are just perfect to end your afternoon having a nice cold drink, chatting with your colleagues and friends, or just watching everyone going about their lives at the end of another busy day. I am sure that we will make good use of such places in the coming months!
Anyway, I believe we are all looking forward now to our Spring break, having the chance to get our minds off our studies and enjoy a few and well deserved days of rest, doing the things we like the most, and for some of us allowing the brief return to our home countries to revisit the places we could only experience in our memories over the last few weeks.
We hope all is well over there and we are looking forward to hear more about what is going on over there in Maryland.
Happy Spring break!
McDaniel Budapest
