Welcome Natalia, nice to meet you! I would like to ask you to introduce yourself in a few sentences!
My name is Natallia, I am 23 years old, I am from Belarus and I am still here, living in Minsk. I studied at the Minsk State Linguistic University, I wanted to become a linguist and work as an English-Japanese teacher, and I also studied English Literature. But in the end I didn't graduate and didn't get a degree.
You did your mobility programme in Hungary, can you tell us why you chose Hungary and which city and university?
My university program was 5 years long. I was at the end of my 4th year when I felt I needed a change, I wanted to do something new. There is no Erasmus in Belarus, but it was possible to apply for ESC volunteering. I applied for Hungary and Italy, the Hungarian programme was in Nyíregyháza, in radio and podcasting, which was the focus of the programme. I really liked it and they got back to me that I could go! I went to Nyíregyháza in the summer of 2022 and I was there for 10 months, mainly doing podcasts, it was a really nice time.
Did you have another opportunity to participate in an ESC volunteer programme in Hungary and chose Nyíregyháza or was the Nyíregyháza programme the only program available in Hungary at the time?
I didn't really know much about the programme, I didn't know much - almost nothing - about ESC itself. I applied to a couple of other programmes, but it's not so easy to get admission to most of the places. Only one coordinator answered me out of all the applications and that was from this programme. If I had known more about ESC, if I had applied to many other places and had the opportunity to go to another country, another city, another volunteer program, I think even then I still would have chosen the program I did in Mustard House!
Did you know anything about Hungary or the Hungarian language before you applied or came here, were you particularly interested in it or did this opportunity just come up by chance?
It's an interesting story, because as a teenager I really liked Japanese animation, and it was my goal to study English and Japanese at the State Linguistic University. But they didn’t offer Japanese as an option, but instead there was Hungarian, Arabic and Finnish. I had no idea which one to choose, I didn't know much about Hungarian to be honest and I just randomly chose Hungarian and Finnish in the end. I started to learn German, Hungarian and Finnish at the same time, but then I found Hungarian very funny and I found the grammar very interesting. I found German too difficult or I don't know what the problem was, but it was challenging and after all I continued learning only Hungarian. Since I started it in the first year of university, I studied Hungarian for a total of four years. It wasn't easy, it's true... But both my teachers were very nice and there weren't many of us who studied Hungarian, but maybe that's why the community was so close-knit!
It's very interesting for me to hear that you could choose between these languages and I'm glad that you chose Hungarian and that more people studied Hungarian! Overall, what does language learning mean to you and why is it important for you to learn new languages?
This is an interesting question because I just love learning new languages. At the same time, I think it is easier to communicate in a foreign language than in your mother tongue. I mean, you can make mistakes along the way, you can learn something from every mistake, but that's not necessarily the case in your mother tongue.
(That's why people are more understanding and tolerant while communicating in a foreign language. In much fewer occasions then you can be misunderstood as being weird or rude. I find this feeling of mutual sympathy and care among foreigners very appealing. And in general, making grammar mistakes)
In Hungarian, it's a bit different, because the grammar is so difficult and so many things are not decided yet, even the rules, that every native speaker makes mistakes very often and we correct ourselves or each other many times a day.
Interesting! The situation is a bit similar here in Belarus, as not everyone in the country speaks the Belarusian language.
I didn't know that! When you came here, what was it like for you to get used to the language? Did you speak Hungarian well then, was it strange or different in person, or was it easy to get used to?
This is a very nice memory for me. I remember coming by bus from Slovakia to Hungary and of course all the signs were in Hungarian: Gyógyszertár (Pharmacy), Library (Könyvtár)... I almost couldn't believe it. It was the first time I saw Hungarian words written not only in a book, but in real life. I wasn't fluent back then, I spoke it at about an A2 level, but not very confidently. However, I managed to buy my train ticket in Hungarian, which I was proud of!
That’s very nice! After the programme, how did you feel, did your Hungarian improve?
To be honest, not really. Because my Hungarian teacher in Minsk was very professional and in the last year, year 4, we spoke and learned a lot, actually with a communicative approach. But then I did my volunteer work in Hungary in English, all my colleagues spoke English.
But I suppose you had the opportunity to use Hungarian here as well?
Of course! Mainly in the local places like shops and the library. I had and still have Hungarian friends and I could practice with them.
I am glad to hear that! For someone who is just starting to learn Hungarian, what advice would you give?
I think it's important to listen to the language a lot - you can watch Youtube videos for example and of course find Hungarian friends and practice with them! Naturally, going to Hungary is a great way to practice! Where you can not only practise the language, but also eat kürtőskalács and lángos and see and do lots of things!
Yes, it is worth it just for the food already, we agree. By the way, do you feel that OLS has helped you to improve your Hungarian? Have you used the platform for this?
I just did the tests in Hungarian, English and German, that was useful. I think I didn't like the Hungarian course, but I can't remember why.
What do you think about the OLS platform itself? Do you find it useful, would you recommend it to other volunteers?
To be honest, it is not that easy for me to use, I don't understand everything about the interface and it is not easily accessible from my phone, for example. Otherwise I think it would be a useful tool to practice, but the accessibility issue makes it difficult.
I understand and I hope you also had some good experience with it. Coming back to your Hungarian volunteering programme, was this the first time you lived abroad?
I've been abroad before as a tourist, but this was my first experience living and working far away from home. It was exciting, and also quite a challenge, but at the same time very rewarding. It was great to live with another volunteer, as I went there completely on my own. I used to live with my parents during university years, and then I went volunteering and I had to decide everything by myself, live my life on my own, manage my time on my own, do everything on my own. This was the first time, there, in that programme, that I fully experienced this kind of independence as a young person and it was very educational.
What did you like most about the volunteering programme and was there anything you didn't like? Anything that was surprising, either in the programme or the culture?
It seems easier to just name the few things that weren't perfect, rather than going on and on about previous memories of mine. Everything was great, the peer volunteers, the organisation, the activities… On-arrival and mid-term trainings! I still keep in touch with my peer trainees and look up to my trainers from there. One of my favourite things was making little trips on my own: you just rely on MÁV railway company, go to a cozy little town or a bigger city and enjoy the weather.
As for less pleasant things - and this is probably going to be funny - but there was only one really surprising thing and that was the fruit soup! It's a very strange dish, because it's cold and very sweet...so it would be ok as a dessert, but it's not a dessert, it's the first course! And then after that it's some meat dish with pickles, so they start with something sweet and then it's salty and pickled! That was surprising. I liked it very much in Nyíregyháza, by the way, because it's not so small, not too big. The foundation where I volunteered, the Mustárház, is very nice and very well-organized, I liked the way they work. My apartment was good, the pocket money we got was enough for me, but for some others it wasn't. Another thing I just remembered! In Belarus winters are very cold, I don't like that too much. I think that winters in Hungary are not cold, but very windy! It was unexpected, I was not prepared for it.
What about the challenges? Did you encounter any difficulties with either culture or language?
I would say that Hungarian and Belarusian cultures are very similar, we are the so-called eastern europeans, and many things were intuitively clear for me. Communication older/younger, male/female and boss/employee have similar traits throughout our region. But additionally I was treated with more care as a foreigner, so no challenges arose here.
Also I was happy to find similar foodstuffs on the market shelves, and similar recipes for home cooking. Here I mean cottage cheese, turorudi, stuffed cabbage and bell peppers, potato pancakes and many more things. So Hungarian cuisine was both home-like and exotic!
Among the mentality similarities I find rather unfortunate is quite a big gap between the younger and the older generations. And in general it's a pity that a lot of people in eastern Europe avoid open and assertive communication. It is believed to be polite not to mention negative things, conflicts and problems at all. But, if I did something wrong, I would like to get honest feedback about it. If I don't know about it, how can I change it? The other person will remain frustrated, and I won't know why. This has been my experience in Belarus and Hungary, but to be honest in China too. In comparison to my Spanish and Moroccan peer volunteers, Hungarians and I were rather cold and aloof - and still not many challenges arose here either, because everyone was diligently playing their part at creating a friendly environment.
That's interesting to hear! Do you have any advice for people who are preparing for a mobility programme?
Believe that everything will be fine! It will be an interesting journey that will change and shape your personality, and that's absolutely fine! You'll learn more about yourself, there will be challenges, but it will be okay! Try to use the opportunities, it's very easy to travel from Hungary for example, and don't forget that your mentor can help you a lot. Mine, for example, was extra nice and kind and helped me a lot when I was going through a bit of a rough patch during the programme. He also lent me knitting sticks, because there was no need for me to buy new ones just for a couple of months. In short, take advantage of the opportunities you get during the programme!
What do you think are the biggest challenges in a mobility programme, whether Erasmus or volunteering?
The end of the programme, that's for sure. I, for example, was crying for two weeks at the end of mine. My heart was almost broken, you could say. Since the programme I have friends in Hungary, Poland, Italy, Spain and many more countries. It's fantastic, but I'm not sure we'll ever meet again. I mean, we can see each other, but very rarely. I often see familiar faces on the streets of Minsk, I stare and I want to believe it is someone from the youth exchanges I did, or from Mustard House, but then I realise it isn't - and it can't be.
It can be very difficult indeed, I think everyone who has been on a mobility programme agrees with that. How do you think the programme has helped your personal and professional development?
Yes, it was very useful for me in that respect as well. When we recorded the podcasts, we had to talk a lot. Before that I was rather quiet, so it helped me a lot to express myself and therefore understand myself and others better. A lot of cultures, a lot of topics - that was my everyday life. There were youth exchange programmes and I had the opportunity to participate as a facilitator. At the end of my volunteering, in February 2023, I asked my coordinator to help me apply with such a youth exchange myself, so together we created my own youth exchange programme. Yesterday, I received my first Erasmus+ grant approval - for the very one project that was thought of at the mustard-coloured walls of my second home, and it is going to take place exactly there next summer. I was able to do this only because I went to this ESC programme in Nyíregyháza back then. It helped me to find my professional path, and I am where I am today because I went to volunteer. I really fell for this whole Youth work back then, working with young people and events, it showed me how to use my creativity and ideas and how to make them happen.
That sounds super, congratulations! I don't have any more questions, but if you have anything else to share or that I haven't asked you about, feel free to say!
I just wanted to thank you for the Hungarian Speaking Session you hosted, because it was great! The platform for me is honestly not the most manageable, the forum format… I know that I can write to anyone and post topics in the forum, but I don't know the other users, I wouldn't know what to say… So it was really a great opportunity to meet and see each other, to talk and to practice Hungarian, so I hope there will be more in the future, because I will definitely be there!
Thanks so much for your kind words Natalia, it was my pleasure! Of course, thank you for your answers as well, it was nice chatting with you! Hope to see you again, for example at the next Speaking Session!
If you' also like to talk about your Erasmus or ESC volunteer program experience and would galdly share your story with the community, feel free to comment here or send me a message!
My name is Natallia, I am 23 years old, I am from Belarus and I am still here, living in Minsk. I studied at the Minsk State Linguistic University, I wanted to become a linguist and work as an English-Japanese teacher, and I also studied English Literature. But in the end I didn't graduate and didn't get a degree.
You did your mobility programme in Hungary, can you tell us why you chose Hungary and which city and university?
My university program was 5 years long. I was at the end of my 4th year when I felt I needed a change, I wanted to do something new. There is no Erasmus in Belarus, but it was possible to apply for ESC volunteering. I applied for Hungary and Italy, the Hungarian programme was in Nyíregyháza, in radio and podcasting, which was the focus of the programme. I really liked it and they got back to me that I could go! I went to Nyíregyháza in the summer of 2022 and I was there for 10 months, mainly doing podcasts, it was a really nice time.
Did you have another opportunity to participate in an ESC volunteer programme in Hungary and chose Nyíregyháza or was the Nyíregyháza programme the only program available in Hungary at the time?
I didn't really know much about the programme, I didn't know much - almost nothing - about ESC itself. I applied to a couple of other programmes, but it's not so easy to get admission to most of the places. Only one coordinator answered me out of all the applications and that was from this programme. If I had known more about ESC, if I had applied to many other places and had the opportunity to go to another country, another city, another volunteer program, I think even then I still would have chosen the program I did in Mustard House!
Did you know anything about Hungary or the Hungarian language before you applied or came here, were you particularly interested in it or did this opportunity just come up by chance?
It's an interesting story, because as a teenager I really liked Japanese animation, and it was my goal to study English and Japanese at the State Linguistic University. But they didn’t offer Japanese as an option, but instead there was Hungarian, Arabic and Finnish. I had no idea which one to choose, I didn't know much about Hungarian to be honest and I just randomly chose Hungarian and Finnish in the end. I started to learn German, Hungarian and Finnish at the same time, but then I found Hungarian very funny and I found the grammar very interesting. I found German too difficult or I don't know what the problem was, but it was challenging and after all I continued learning only Hungarian. Since I started it in the first year of university, I studied Hungarian for a total of four years. It wasn't easy, it's true... But both my teachers were very nice and there weren't many of us who studied Hungarian, but maybe that's why the community was so close-knit!
It's very interesting for me to hear that you could choose between these languages and I'm glad that you chose Hungarian and that more people studied Hungarian! Overall, what does language learning mean to you and why is it important for you to learn new languages?
This is an interesting question because I just love learning new languages. At the same time, I think it is easier to communicate in a foreign language than in your mother tongue. I mean, you can make mistakes along the way, you can learn something from every mistake, but that's not necessarily the case in your mother tongue.
(That's why people are more understanding and tolerant while communicating in a foreign language. In much fewer occasions then you can be misunderstood as being weird or rude. I find this feeling of mutual sympathy and care among foreigners very appealing. And in general, making grammar mistakes)
In Hungarian, it's a bit different, because the grammar is so difficult and so many things are not decided yet, even the rules, that every native speaker makes mistakes very often and we correct ourselves or each other many times a day.
Interesting! The situation is a bit similar here in Belarus, as not everyone in the country speaks the Belarusian language.
I didn't know that! When you came here, what was it like for you to get used to the language? Did you speak Hungarian well then, was it strange or different in person, or was it easy to get used to?
This is a very nice memory for me. I remember coming by bus from Slovakia to Hungary and of course all the signs were in Hungarian: Gyógyszertár (Pharmacy), Library (Könyvtár)... I almost couldn't believe it. It was the first time I saw Hungarian words written not only in a book, but in real life. I wasn't fluent back then, I spoke it at about an A2 level, but not very confidently. However, I managed to buy my train ticket in Hungarian, which I was proud of!
That’s very nice! After the programme, how did you feel, did your Hungarian improve?
To be honest, not really. Because my Hungarian teacher in Minsk was very professional and in the last year, year 4, we spoke and learned a lot, actually with a communicative approach. But then I did my volunteer work in Hungary in English, all my colleagues spoke English.
But I suppose you had the opportunity to use Hungarian here as well?
Of course! Mainly in the local places like shops and the library. I had and still have Hungarian friends and I could practice with them.
I am glad to hear that! For someone who is just starting to learn Hungarian, what advice would you give?
I think it's important to listen to the language a lot - you can watch Youtube videos for example and of course find Hungarian friends and practice with them! Naturally, going to Hungary is a great way to practice! Where you can not only practise the language, but also eat kürtőskalács and lángos and see and do lots of things!
Yes, it is worth it just for the food already, we agree. By the way, do you feel that OLS has helped you to improve your Hungarian? Have you used the platform for this?
I just did the tests in Hungarian, English and German, that was useful. I think I didn't like the Hungarian course, but I can't remember why.
What do you think about the OLS platform itself? Do you find it useful, would you recommend it to other volunteers?
To be honest, it is not that easy for me to use, I don't understand everything about the interface and it is not easily accessible from my phone, for example. Otherwise I think it would be a useful tool to practice, but the accessibility issue makes it difficult.
I understand and I hope you also had some good experience with it. Coming back to your Hungarian volunteering programme, was this the first time you lived abroad?
I've been abroad before as a tourist, but this was my first experience living and working far away from home. It was exciting, and also quite a challenge, but at the same time very rewarding. It was great to live with another volunteer, as I went there completely on my own. I used to live with my parents during university years, and then I went volunteering and I had to decide everything by myself, live my life on my own, manage my time on my own, do everything on my own. This was the first time, there, in that programme, that I fully experienced this kind of independence as a young person and it was very educational.
What did you like most about the volunteering programme and was there anything you didn't like? Anything that was surprising, either in the programme or the culture?
It seems easier to just name the few things that weren't perfect, rather than going on and on about previous memories of mine. Everything was great, the peer volunteers, the organisation, the activities… On-arrival and mid-term trainings! I still keep in touch with my peer trainees and look up to my trainers from there. One of my favourite things was making little trips on my own: you just rely on MÁV railway company, go to a cozy little town or a bigger city and enjoy the weather.
As for less pleasant things - and this is probably going to be funny - but there was only one really surprising thing and that was the fruit soup! It's a very strange dish, because it's cold and very sweet...so it would be ok as a dessert, but it's not a dessert, it's the first course! And then after that it's some meat dish with pickles, so they start with something sweet and then it's salty and pickled! That was surprising. I liked it very much in Nyíregyháza, by the way, because it's not so small, not too big. The foundation where I volunteered, the Mustárház, is very nice and very well-organized, I liked the way they work. My apartment was good, the pocket money we got was enough for me, but for some others it wasn't. Another thing I just remembered! In Belarus winters are very cold, I don't like that too much. I think that winters in Hungary are not cold, but very windy! It was unexpected, I was not prepared for it.
What about the challenges? Did you encounter any difficulties with either culture or language?
I would say that Hungarian and Belarusian cultures are very similar, we are the so-called eastern europeans, and many things were intuitively clear for me. Communication older/younger, male/female and boss/employee have similar traits throughout our region. But additionally I was treated with more care as a foreigner, so no challenges arose here.
Also I was happy to find similar foodstuffs on the market shelves, and similar recipes for home cooking. Here I mean cottage cheese, turorudi, stuffed cabbage and bell peppers, potato pancakes and many more things. So Hungarian cuisine was both home-like and exotic!
Among the mentality similarities I find rather unfortunate is quite a big gap between the younger and the older generations. And in general it's a pity that a lot of people in eastern Europe avoid open and assertive communication. It is believed to be polite not to mention negative things, conflicts and problems at all. But, if I did something wrong, I would like to get honest feedback about it. If I don't know about it, how can I change it? The other person will remain frustrated, and I won't know why. This has been my experience in Belarus and Hungary, but to be honest in China too. In comparison to my Spanish and Moroccan peer volunteers, Hungarians and I were rather cold and aloof - and still not many challenges arose here either, because everyone was diligently playing their part at creating a friendly environment.
That's interesting to hear! Do you have any advice for people who are preparing for a mobility programme?
Believe that everything will be fine! It will be an interesting journey that will change and shape your personality, and that's absolutely fine! You'll learn more about yourself, there will be challenges, but it will be okay! Try to use the opportunities, it's very easy to travel from Hungary for example, and don't forget that your mentor can help you a lot. Mine, for example, was extra nice and kind and helped me a lot when I was going through a bit of a rough patch during the programme. He also lent me knitting sticks, because there was no need for me to buy new ones just for a couple of months. In short, take advantage of the opportunities you get during the programme!
What do you think are the biggest challenges in a mobility programme, whether Erasmus or volunteering?
The end of the programme, that's for sure. I, for example, was crying for two weeks at the end of mine. My heart was almost broken, you could say. Since the programme I have friends in Hungary, Poland, Italy, Spain and many more countries. It's fantastic, but I'm not sure we'll ever meet again. I mean, we can see each other, but very rarely. I often see familiar faces on the streets of Minsk, I stare and I want to believe it is someone from the youth exchanges I did, or from Mustard House, but then I realise it isn't - and it can't be.
It can be very difficult indeed, I think everyone who has been on a mobility programme agrees with that. How do you think the programme has helped your personal and professional development?
Yes, it was very useful for me in that respect as well. When we recorded the podcasts, we had to talk a lot. Before that I was rather quiet, so it helped me a lot to express myself and therefore understand myself and others better. A lot of cultures, a lot of topics - that was my everyday life. There were youth exchange programmes and I had the opportunity to participate as a facilitator. At the end of my volunteering, in February 2023, I asked my coordinator to help me apply with such a youth exchange myself, so together we created my own youth exchange programme. Yesterday, I received my first Erasmus+ grant approval - for the very one project that was thought of at the mustard-coloured walls of my second home, and it is going to take place exactly there next summer. I was able to do this only because I went to this ESC programme in Nyíregyháza back then. It helped me to find my professional path, and I am where I am today because I went to volunteer. I really fell for this whole Youth work back then, working with young people and events, it showed me how to use my creativity and ideas and how to make them happen.
That sounds super, congratulations! I don't have any more questions, but if you have anything else to share or that I haven't asked you about, feel free to say!
I just wanted to thank you for the Hungarian Speaking Session you hosted, because it was great! The platform for me is honestly not the most manageable, the forum format… I know that I can write to anyone and post topics in the forum, but I don't know the other users, I wouldn't know what to say… So it was really a great opportunity to meet and see each other, to talk and to practice Hungarian, so I hope there will be more in the future, because I will definitely be there!
Thanks so much for your kind words Natalia, it was my pleasure! Of course, thank you for your answers as well, it was nice chatting with you! Hope to see you again, for example at the next Speaking Session!
If you' also like to talk about your Erasmus or ESC volunteer program experience and would galdly share your story with the community, feel free to comment here or send me a message!