1. Zsolt (duh)

2. Chinese Shops
Chinese products in Hungary are in general considered to be low quality—my guess is because they are so cheap. I have no clue as how come they set their prices that low, yet it is funny that many manufacturers feel the urge to fool the customers by changing the labels on their products—just to avoid the “Made in China” tag.

Nowadays, what is not made in China? Even when I checked the battery on my good old Siemens mobile which I bought in Indonesia five years ago (it is still working, in case you wonder); it is written there “made in China”. I doubt you did not know that it was at that time a German manufacturer. Computer parts are also mostly made in China.

I had a funny experience once after buying a pair of socks on a normal Hungarian shop. On the label was written “Made in Germany” and they cost 1,000 Ft (US$ 5). When I opened the plastic, I found another label which said: “made in China”. What’s with that?

Furthermore about the darn socks, later I found the exactly same ones at a Chinese shop nearby: they were only 400 Ft (US$ 2). How I love Chinese shops! The only silly thing is what was written on their items. They wanted to wish “Merry Christmas” by writing “Boldog Káracsongi” instead of “Boldog Karácsony” (Mery Christmas). But I let them pass!

3. Getting Resident Visa
Have you ever heard of how difficult it is to get a visa to the USA? A few years ago I read about Leony—an actress, model, singer—who was furious after her application was turned down by the US embassy in Jakarta without any reason. And her US$ 100 was not even returned. She applied for a visitor visa.

Leony might only have too much money to spend. But I have also heard several other cases. A friend of my friend—I don’t know how else to put it—had to struggle for two years before moving in with her American husband.

Leony

In Indonesia, to get a visitor visa is a lot easier as there is Visa on Arrival for foreigners at the airports. But to get resident visa is perhaps as difficult as in the USA, although the rules are more definite: You cannot get it unless you have an employer which would sponsor your working permit; in which then you can use it to get your resident visa. The visa, however, cannot be lengthened in Indonesia once it is expired. You must go back to your home country to renew it—that is once a year. To make things more difficult, an Indonesian wife cannot sponsor her foreign husband and relatives to live in Indonesia.

That is not the case in Hungary. I am grateful that since the beginning I had no difficulty to be with Zsolt—and I even got the right to work here with no delay. Quite the opposite of how the Hungarian shopkeepers serve their customers, the Hungarian embassy in Jakarta was very nice. I applied for my visa in private. But the Counsellor, Mr. Ferenc Gémes, constantly emailed Zsolt about how it was going and informed him when it was ready. It took less than three weeks. I paid US$ 50, whish is worth it.

4. Traffic
While it is true that traffic in Budapest is not always friendly, you might think otherwise after spending most of your life in Indonesia. Here you can hardly find stupid impatient motorists who constantly blow their horn. People do cross on the zebra crossings. And the best thing is that Budapest is equipped with an underground crossing to connect the busy streets: one thing I would really like to see in Indonesia instead of the crossing bridges which have grown useless. Trams and city buses stop only on bus stops—which are supposed to be normal, except in Indonesia.

5. Turkey Ham

I never ate turkey in Indonesia but here in Hungary pulyka sonka (turkey ham) is definitely my favorite food. A reminder for Muslim friends, though, be careful to read the ingredients first. Some of them may contain pork fat or bacon. For a quick guide, all you have to do when you visit Hungary, avoid eating any of the food that contains these: sertés (trans. Pork); sertés zsir (trans. pork fat), szalonna (trans. Bacon). Bon appetit!

6. Distance
What is good to live in a small country is that for a few hours of traveling we can be in another country. Austria, Poland, Romania, Greece, ex-Yugoslavia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, all are accessible with only a few hour trip by car. Compare this with the distance between the biggest cities in Indonesia: Jakarta and Surabaya, which is only 45 minutes—by airplane.

7. Safe from Natural Disaster
It is sad to read the news about all the disasters around the world, such as tsunami, earthquake, landslide and flood only because the place is close to the sea, mountain, or river. Nobody could do anything against such things. Hungary is blessed that the place seems to be safe enough from natural disasters. Flood is a constant threat each year as the snow melts, but so far it never goes as far as to claim one’s life.

8. Greeting Habits
Despite of the not so smiley people, Hungarian do respect the greeting habits—one thing which is starting to fade in Indonesia. Jo nappot (trans. good day), köszönöm (trans. thank you), and viszonlátásra (trans. goodbye) are mostly said when you meet others.

9. The Genius People
I remember the feeling I had when some sport events like the Olympic Games were held. Even in Indonesia all TV channels broadcasted it. What for? We were never good enough in any of them—except for badminton, perhaps. For me, to read the results on the newspapers were enough. But not here in Hungary. Many of the delegates returned with medals for the nation’s pride (although in the last Olympic it was tainted with a few doping scandals, mind you). There was the golden boy, László Cheh who finished third in the Men’s 400m Individual Medley in the 2004 Olympics. On December 2005 he set the new world record. Remember the legendary Ferenc Puskás? He is also Hungarian.

Puskás Ferenc stadium-Budapest

In case you had not noticed, Hungary’s Ernő Rubik was the one who invented Rubik’s Cube. Among the awards which have been given to Hungarians, they are including: Academy Awards, Nobel Prize, and Time’s Man of The Year.

10. Internet
We pay US$ 60 (almost 12,000 Ft) for our cable internet. It is awful compared to other EU countries. In Sweden, for instance, internet with 10 Mb/s is only about US$ 48, and what we have in Hungary is only 2.5 Mb/s—that is four times slower, yet more expensive.

But I am not complaining. What’s that saying? If you don’t have anything to say, don’t say anything, I say—but not always. But this time I really mean it, considering that it is at least easy to get internet connection—unlike in Indonesia. I spend most of my time on the internet, as TV here doesn’t help too much. CNN and BBC constantly repeat the same news which could have been said in an hour for the next 24 hours, making them not so reliable for the latest news. Inthernet is the only way. OK there are also free newspapers (Metro Budapest) like in Sweden, but I cannot read Hungarian—yet. Shame on me!

Related Article: Ten Things I Hate about Hungary