On October 29,
2003 Aruna Hall and I left Winnipeg for the 27th
International Conference in Budapest, via Minneapolis
and Amsterdam. The journey was not without excitement
when our plane had to turn back to Amsterdam with
faulty hydraulics. However we landed in Budapest
a little late but in one piece.
We found our hotel and then
went over the Danube to the Buda side to register
for the conference and take part in the welcome
reception, dinner and opening ceremonies. We
were up bright and early for breakfast and then
headed in to the opening plenary session.
Susie Smith made opening remarks
and introduced FFI staff members and also the
keynote speaker Dr Sandor Striker. Dr Striker
told a wonderful story about a student in the
1970s who left Hungary, against all communist
rules and stayed away in England for a year
to prove his freedom and then was allowed back
grudgingly and with great difficulty. He said
one has to leave home to understand one’s home.
The student was of course Dr Striker who is
now a professor at ELTE University in Budapest
and was previously director of the Hungarian
Cultural Institute in London.
The rest of the day was spent
in workshops on “Managing an FFI Club” and a
presentation, again by Dr Stryker on “Hungarians
– How We See the World and the World Sees Us”
and in the evening we attended
a Folklore Dinner at the Ladik Czarda with food,
wine, singing and dancing in the Hungarian folkloric
tradition.
The next morning was the presentation
of annual awards and we attended a wonderful
workshop given by a world renowned photographer,
Laszlo Tam who presented the Hungarian Culture
through Photographs and Sound, complete with
harmonica playing and singing by the presenter.
In the afternoon we went on
a tour of the beautiful city of Budapest and
ended the day at the gala dinner on board the
MV Europa, cruising on the Danube in the moonlight
and dining in style.
The next morning there was the
World Bazaar and the closing plenary session
and then we all boarded buses or taxis to go
to the home stays, tours or the airport and
home. Aruna and I went on a tour of Hungary
arranged by FFI and so were able to experience
the real Hungary in historic places like Eger,
Kecsemet, Szeged and Pecs and to appreciate
the relics of Turkish rule still visible in
mosques and museum artefacts.
The international conference
was a great way to meet old friends from around
the world and to visit new and interesting places
Joan Hodgson