In St. Mary’s Basilica in Krakow, Poland
Author: Aryan Prabhudesai | Major: Applied Mathematics | Semester: Spring 2023
I recently spent the second semester of my junior year in Budapest, Hungary. I took part in two study-abroad programs. Budapest Semesters in Mathematics (BSM) was my main program, but I was also part of the Aquincum Institute of Technology (AIT). My goals for this semester were to take courses that I couldn’t take back home, meet like-minded people, learn some Hungarian, and travel throughout Hungary and Europe. I can happily say that I achieved all this and more.
I sank my teeth into Hungarian culture right from the beginning, as we took an intensive three-week language/culture course before the academic semester started. In addition to learning basic Hungarian, my program was exposed to Hungarian culture early and often. One time we all went to a táncház or traditional dance-house where we learned folk dances and practiced them for hours. We also had a cooking day where we split into three groups, went to the market to buy ingredients ourselves, and cooked traditional dishes! Additionally, we made three trips to other places in Hungary.
During BSM, I took Hungarian Language and Hungarian Art & Culture. I also took “Hungarian+,” a not-for-credit class just for the interested. Know that there were also students who took none of these, and some didn’t even participate in the crash course beforehand—you can choose what kind of experience you want! These classes let me experience Hungarian culture firsthand through field trips: we visited the National Gallery to see the best art Hungary had to offer (way too much nudity for my taste though…), and we went to the theater and watched a live performance, which was a sort of hybrid between a play and a movie—there was a screen above the stage that besides playing parts of the story, continuously ran English subtitles. We also went for a stroll through the city, as our instructors pointed out stories behind the architecture of various buildings and statues.
A post on Hungary would be incomplete without mentioning food! Two classic dishes are goulash, the famous beef stew, and chicken paprikash, which consists of noodles or rice with chicken in a sauce containing cream and lots and lots of paprika! But Hungarian street food is really where it’s at! One of my favorites was lángos, which is sort of like pizza—it’s deep-fried dough topped with sour cream and cheese, often with other toppings, like ham and bell peppers. I think I ate more of these than anyone else in my program. My other favorite was the sugary dessert kürtőskalács, or chimney cake—hot, sweet cake cooked on a spit, rotisserie-style, and cloaked in melted sugar and other toppings. You can also get them filled with ice cream!
A reliable source of nourishment in any corner of Budapest was the gyro. These Greek-Turkish wraps are all the rage, and due to convenience I relied on them for many meals throughout the semester. Last but not least, how could I forget McDonald’s? This American export is more high-end in Europe, and Budapest boasts The Fanciest McDonald’s on the planet, right behind the Nyugati Train Station.
On the academic side of things, BSM let me flourish in ways I hadn’t before. In addition to my language and culture classes, I took Theory of Computing (known at the U of A as Formal Languages and Computability) and Topology. Theory of Computing is one of the most interesting classes I’ve ever taken, and our professor was a prolific mathematician in his field. The class became quite challenging toward the end, and by the end of the semester, I had to prepare hard with my roommate for the final; it was my first time grinding multiple days for a class at that intensity.
On the other hand, though I didn’t end up grinding quite as hard for my topology final, I put tons of effort into that class over the course of the semester. Our homework would take lots of thinking and energy, and it was an extremely rewarding experience. Topology was my favorite class, and I also took it with my roommate; we spent hours at the blackboard together, working on problems while listening to music and chatting about life or other random topics. I’m not sure I’ll be able to have similar moments again, and I’ll remember them for a long time!
Due to an agreement BSM has with the Aquincum Institute of Technology, I was allowed to apply to take a course at AIT, a study-abroad program for computer-science students (Fun fact: Aquincum was the Roman name for the settlement that became Budapest). I was grateful for this, as I could take Deep Learning, a topic I’m really interested in. Unfortunately, AIT’s campus was forty minutes away from my apartment using public transport. The good thing was that the class was just once a week, but the downside of that is it was for four hours!
Traveling to other countries was one of the greatest parts of my time abroad. I went to the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Romania, Slovakia, and Poland. I could fill three blog posts of this size with my adventures, but I’ll just list the highlights: the strikingly magnificent Prague Castle, the delectable schnitzel and strudel I had in Vienna, the gas chambers at Auschwitz, the Taco Bell in the mall in Cluj-Napoca, and the guard dogs that chased us in a Transylvanian village.
In conclusion, I whole-heartedly recommend Budapest Semesters in Mathematics or the Aquincum Institute of Technology to any math or CS student who wants to study abroad. Going to Budapest was possibly the best decision I’ve ever made, and I absolutely had the time of my life there. I tried squeezing in a lot here, but there’s only so much space I have; there were so many friendships made, adventures taken, and experiences lived that I couldn’t share in just this one post! So I encourage everyone to write these stories yourself! If you get the chance to study abroad, go!