Hungary, eh

The story I am about to tell began 2 years ago (well actually 5 with Americorp, but for the sake of the story, let’s call it 2) with my first trip to Szarvas, Hungary to build houses with Habitat for Humanity. The experience was amazing and memorable enough that when the team leader Dennis emailed the group saying he was going back again this June, I jumped on the opportunity to go. Due to my travel schedule and planned trip home for my sister’s bachlorette party, I was only able to help out on the last 3 days of the 8 day build. However, Dennis thankfully allowed me to join the group halfway through.

Coming in late in the game created a completely different experience…I was the new girl amongst a group of fast made friends and whose relationships with the families were already established. And did I mention that I was the only American amid a group of 16 Canadians, my favorite neighbors to the north. Oh, and the ages of the group were either 22 or 42 leaving me smack dab in the middle (as compared to being the youngest by far on the last build….this new dynamic caused me a temporary mid-life crisis as I tried to make friends with everyone with out appearing to be in denial of my actual age. The last thing I wanted was to think I was young and hip enough to hang out with the college age group after hours. This fact was jokingly pointed out to me as I managed to talk about not only my 401k but also my current addiction to WWII and history in general with one of the youngsters… yes apparently I am an old fart, not an old soul like I had previously thought). That aside, the group welcomed me wholeheartedly both those I knew from before, the new additions to the team and the local organizers Gaby and Levy who surprisingly remembered me

The build was great, I helped to dig trenches for the plumbing on a new house and worked with a team to make a concrete sidewalk (including shoveling, framing, pouring concrete and leveling the sidewalk) to finish up another. But the best part was being able to see the completed house I had helped out on two years prior. Outside of the build, I was able enjoy Szarvas and explore different parts of the town that I hadn’t seen on my last visit, including the local swimming hole where we went to cool off after the 41 degree Celsius weather.

We ended the build with traditional Hungarian dancing and heartfelt goodbyes from both Gaby and Levy. Levy, the site foreman, summed it up the best (whether intentional or not) he said “when you are at home in your own bed, I hope you feel this (the experience) in your muscle, your heart and remember how much you did.” I left on Thursday with bruises and cuts on my legs, blisters on my hands and a promise to both Gaby, Levy and Dennis that I would be back again.