Our experience as volunteers in Hungary
We have been here in Hungary for almost five months, working in Bükk National Park's directorate. We are already a bit emotional about the last month, and the time we have left in our voluntary service. But above all, we look back with gratitude for the time we have already spent here.
The six-month voluntary service here in Hungary was the first long and, above all, first journey on our own abroad for both of us. Initially, we were worried whether everything would go as we hoped. If there is one thing we have learned, it is that the best way to learn is from difficult situations and that experiences - whether good or bad - make us grow as people. In our time here, we have been fortunate to have mostly good experiences: We have experienced the hospitality of many Hungarians, made friends for life and became a lot more independent. We travelled a lot in the last five months, did our best to learn Hungarian and met many new people.
Furthermore, we have gained insight into the nature of the Bükk Mountains and the diverse tasks of the National Park and Geopark. Especially when working with the rangers, it was exciting to get to know their view of bio- and geodiversity.
But not only did we learn to look at and understand the diversity of nature in a completely new way, but we also learned to listen. When we talked to friends and relatives from home on the phone, we were often asked what Hungary and its people were like. During our time here, we learned that there is no simple answer to these questions; it is not easy to say what a whole country is like or what all the people in this country are like. Because each person is an individual with their own history and view of the world. All we can do is listen and try to understand how individuals think without trying to generalise. And the more people we talked to, our views became more complex. Because, like in every country, people have very different ideas and perspectives on various issues - whether in everyday life, personal matters, lifestyle or politics.
The voluntary service taught us that many beautiful things can happen when you try something new, approach challenges with an open mind, and simply say "yes". When settling in, it helped a lot to make our home cosy and personalise it with photos, plants and candles and to get to know the city of Eger and its people as well as possible. At the moment, for example, we are taking part in a jumping course; doing sports with lots of locals is a highlight every week.
We have been incredibly enriched by this stay abroad as part of a voluntary service and can wholeheartedly recommend it.
We wish you all the best for your next trip!
Marei and Ronja
