Interview Questions

Made by Anna Vadas & Dorina Lang

 

1. Why did you choose to study in Hungary? What was your motivation?

Elisabetta: To be honest, Hungary wasn’t my first choice. I decided to study here because I had more chance to become part of the program if I choose a country which isn’t as popular as France or Spain.

Ramy: I decided to come here because one of my seniors in my school in Thailand had also come to Hungary before and he recommended to me. Moreover, I wanted to step out of my comfort zone to go somewhere I had no idea about so…I did.

2. How is your day like in Hungary?

Elisabetta: Firstly, I wake up and get ready for the school. Then I take the bus and at the school I usually attend 3 or 4 lessons. I have lunch there which I don’t think is the best. Usually, I finish the school at 12 p.m. However, on Mondays and on Thursdays I have Hungarian lessons. Sometimes I hang out with my friends or have programs with my host family.

Ramy: Well…I usually start my day running to catch the bus and go to school. After that it’s the same as Betta’s day like I attend some lessons, have lunch etc. Although, I think the Hungarian lessons are quite hard and at first it was horrible. Later I started to get used to it but it remained one of my challenges to deal with.

3. What was the biggest cultural shock?

Elisabetta: I think for me it was the food. It’s really different from the Italian ones. I will give you an example. In Hungary you eat sweet pasta like diós pasta, túrós pasta etc. and it’s horrible. However, there are a lot of excellent Hungarian dishes especially when my host mother prepares them. Another thing is the dinner time. You eat quite early, around 5 or 6. In Italy we eat at 8 or 9. Moreover, I eat salty food for breakfast here while in Italy we prefer sweet breakfast like biscuit with milk or bread with jam. The last thing is safety. I mean I usually leave my stuff in the hall when I go to eat lunch in the school but nobody steals them. In Italy if I put my phone next to my leg just for a second, in the next one it’s gone. They do it in the school as well as in the streets so fortunately pickpocketing is not common in Hungary.

Ramy: For me it’s probably the toilets. In Thailand we cannot flush toilet paper or tissues on the toilet but here we can and it’s very weird. Also, the food portion is huge in Hungary and usually I cannot finish eating it due to its size. 

4. What was the most surprising thing you have experienced here but not in your country?

Elisabetta: There are many thermal baths here. I often go there with my host family but in Italy just once in a blue moon. I truly adore it. In addition, I went to Hortobágy which was amazing and I saw a lot of empty fields. You call it „puszta”. It was spectacular since in Italy I didn’t see that many empty lands due to construction works.

Ramy: Actually, a lot of people have come to me and said 你好 (nihao) which means hello/hi in Chinese. It occurred almost 10 times which is crazy. In Thailand it obviously has never happened to me. I guess people here really know Chinese.

5. What is normal in your country but isn’t normal in Hungary?

Ramy: You guys eat dinner quite late especially my host family. It means we have dinner at around 8 or 9. In Thailand I eat at 4.

6. Was it easy to make friends here or did you find it hard?

Elisabetta: At first it was hard because the lifestyle was quite different so I needed to get used to it. Also, Hungarians are really shy and many of them can’t speak English. However, I made friends and I am grateful for it.

Ramy: In the beginning it was hard because the thing is that Hungarian people don’t come to you if you don’t go to them. It’s not typical. And I didn’t know how to approach people so I was glad when you started to talk to me.

7. What was your first impression of Hungarian students?

Elisabetta: They are shy and calm. That’s it.

Ramy: Everybody looks so grown up and old in a good way. In addition, they usually mind their own business which I really appreciate sometimes. About the school …. I don’t like the toilet I am sorry. There’s no toilet paper. But apart from that it’s okay. It’s quite a new experience which I didn’t really expect but it’s good.

8. What was your favourite Hungarian food you’ve tried?

Elisabetta: I like rakott krumpli and hortobágyi húsos palacsinta. They are the best. Also, the kalács. Nokedli with pörkölt. Actually, I love a lot of Hungarian food.

Ramy: I like palacsinta. It’s my favourite so far.

9. As far as I know, you have been to a lot of cities. What was your favourite? Why?

Elisabetta: It was Hollókő because it felt like the time stopped there. Also, the people there were super helpful and hospitable. It was like a city from a fairytale.

Ramy: Probably Budapest because it’s the most similar to Bangkok. There’s many people in Budapest and the city is pretty cute, the architecture is fascinating and I like the whole vibe of it.

10. Tell me a bit about your school in Thailand/Italy. What do you think is the biggest difference between the education here and the education in your hometown?

Elisabetta: Firstly, I go to school on Saturdays as well but I have less lessons a day compared to you. The second thing is that the teachers here are more helpful and more kind than in Italy. Moreover, as I heard the teachers have a curriculum which they have to follow. In Italy it’s different in every school since the teachers don’t really pay attention to it. Also, we can get grades from 1 to 10 and it’s sufficient if you reach 6 out of 10.

Ramy: In my school we have tons of presentations to do. It means we have to prepare one for every week but here just once or twice. Also, you study especially hard here. You have many tests and lots of materials to study which is not typical in my school. Moreover, you can learn and understand things quite fast which is good for you but I just like…okay whatever.

11. What do you think about Hungarians in general?

Elisabetta: I think they can be divided into two groups. There are the kind and hospitable people and the others who are not really open-minded. Fortunately, most of them are friendly. In addition, here everybody says hello to everyone which I really like. For example, people say Jó reggelt or Jó napot to me even if they don’t know me. It’s crazy. In Italy people ignore each other. Moreover, you share a lot of time with your neighbours.

Ramy: They are nice but sometimes they go crazy in my opinion. They are chaotic and wild but in a good way. Also, people in Thailand don’t wear mustache and beard because it’s considered untidy, unhygienic and scary. And at first it was scary since our classmates have mustache but I got used to it. Moreover, a few months after we had met you invited me to your house which really surprised me since in Thailand you have to be extremely close to each other to go to their house. For example, my friends there have never been to my house. It was crazy but it was really good and I spent a lovely time there.

12. Would you recommend other foreign students to come to Hungary? Why? Why not?

Elisabetta: Well…yes. You just need to get a good host family. There are a lot of beautiful place to visit in Hungary. It’s a good culture to get to know. I would definitely recommend it to others. But not the winter time since there were less things to do.

Ramy: I mean…if you have a better option then go there but Hungary is not a bad country to be honest. Do I regret coming here? Before I would have said maybe but now I would definitely recommend it. If you want to experience something unique you should come and visit Hungary. Oh…and one more thing. If you plan to come here, please find out about the language. It’s very hard. I didn’t do so and it was the dumbest thing I have ever done. I mean I am not that type of person who doesn’t research anything. I do. But when I had to choose the country I don’t know what was going on in my mind but I said ’Oh Hungary…yolo’ and I didn’t research anything. My father was like ’Are you sure?’ and I was like ’Yeah…go for it.’ And…here I am…

13. Are there any stereotypes about Hungary you’ve heard before you came to Hungary? Was it true?

Elisabetta: One of the things I have heard was that people in Hungary are not really open. Someone even said that people here wouldn’t talk to me which was scary to think of.  Also, a lot of people said that Hungary is still a communist country and it’s poor. I don’t think it was completely true. I mean there are some villages which are poorer than others but this country is still spectacular and truly amazing.

Ramy: I have heard that you guys like parties. I think it was true.

14. I know you’ve learnt Hungarian for 8 months now. What was your first impression of the Hungarian language? What was the most difficult word to pronounce? What do you think was the finniest word you’ve learnt?

Elisabetta: In the beginning I thought it was an impossible language to learn. Still I have a lot of difficulties with it. However, I have improved a lot and realized it’s not the hardest language to learn in the world. At first it was hard to say ’Viszontlátásra’ but now I think I can pronounce it quie well. About the funniest word…’kukorica’. In my opinion, ’kukorica’ and ’fuvola’ are really funny words.

Ramy: My first impression was ’What is this?’. It has nothing in common with any other language. About the pronounciation…I think it’s hard to pronounce every single word. I just can’t say them properly. And I find the word „puszi” quite funny to be honest.