International Exchange Program 2019 Terror Museum

By: Hannah Jeffers

Opened on February 24th, 2002 the House of Terror Museum was founded to establish “a museum in or order to present these two bloody periods of Hungarian history”.

The former building, before renovations, was the Nazi headquarters and then the ’s after WWII. Both regimes used the basement as a prison. We were able to walk through the cells and go into the small, dark, damp quarters.

You rode a slow elevator down to the cells while a video of a survivor shared his grueling experiences.

Outside of the Museum stood a piece of the Berlin Wall, as a reminder to the perils of communism. Outside faces and names lined the building of victims of terror. There were even faceless names, and nameless faces.

Once inside guests are greeted by the faces of victims covering the walls. A tank sits atop a small water exhibit.

According to Our Hungarian Guide, Andi, the chain represents ’s history with communism. A reminder to never be chained again.

This monument was outside of the Terror House Museum.

Visit http://www.terrorhaza.hu/en for more information. By: Hannah Jeffers

As we walked along the Danube River there was a memorial of numerous metal shoes. These shoes come in all sizes and is in remembrance of the individuals who were forced to take off their shoes as they were shot into the River.

There was an array of items such as pebbles, bracelets, and flowers left all around the memorial site.

3,500 people are said to have died this way, 800 were Jews, During 1944- 1945 Dohany Street Synagogue,

By : Hannah Jeffers

This is the Largest synagogue in Europe and the second largest in the world. The largest being in New York, Temple Emanu-El. The history in the building was profound. When you look up inside it was breathtaking and the Star of David was found everywhere. In the lighting and paintings. All male visitors where provided with a Yamaka to be worn while taking the tour unless you had your own head covering.

This history dates back to the 19th Century and it is still an active Synagogue. There is also a Museum inside which housed artifacts from all different time periods. We were lucky enough to Have a Guide show us the other memorials and exhibits on The Synagogue grounds. My Favorite is the metal Willow Tree dedicated to the individuals who were a victim or survivor of the Holocaust.

Family Members can contact the office and get a name added still today.

There also is was a Jewish Cemetery located in the courtyard of the Synagogue where nearly 2,000 victims are memorialized from the year 1944-1945. This area was called the “Jewish Ghetto” and was targeted as until the Russians liberated.

Language Barriers By Shannon Thomas

A különböző országokban való látogatás során fontos figyelembe venni a nyelvi akadályokat…

This translates from Hungarian to English as, “language barriers are important to consider when visiting different countries.” On this exchange program, most of us had not been previously exposed to the Hungarian or German language or culture. It was an intense, yet insightful learning experience for all of us to be wandering around without a known means of communication with the community. We had to interpret common amenities like signs, directions, instructions on laundry machines, transportations, and some menus (if there was not an English copy available). This was a stressful and engaging experience because we were forced to critically think and use our best knowledge to get the results we wanted. Luckily, we had a wonderful tour guide in Hungary who helped us figure things out. The language barriers brought our group together, as we tried to experience the countries the best we could. Dachau Concentration Camp By: Caroline Wallace Dachau was the first Nazi concentration camp opened in 1933 and the longest in operation until 1945. I was prepared for our day at Dachau to be intense but being in the same place that thousands of Jews died from malnutrition, disease, being overworked or execution was something I could have never imagined. It was a gloomy, rainy day when we went which added to the uneasy feelings. Walking through the gates that read “arbeit macht frei” or “work sets you free” was sad to see because it was like a false promise to so many of the people that walked through that same gate. The memorial site/museum offered so much information and I think that we all could have spent hours walking around and reading about the history of the place and all of the individuals and families affected by the Holocaust. It was hard to try to rationalize how something like this could possibly happen or why so many people believed this was the right thing to do. The size of the roll-call square and the amount of barracks was overwhelming but really put into perspective how many people went through these events. Walking through the crematory and gas chamber was probably the most difficult part for me. I couldn’t help but to imagine what these people could have been feeling or thinking when they were forced to take these exact steps. Overall, I feel like this experience was very touching and one that I will never forget. Although it was tough to imagine all of the terrible things that happened at Dachau, I am glad that we got the opportunity to witness and remember all of the individuals who lost their lives here. Periféria Association Laura Farkas

The Periféria Association does amazing work with the homeless population in Nyiregyhaza. Katalin Szoboszlai, founder of the Periféria Association, talked about how under the socialism regime, the state punished those who did not have a home and lived on the street which made it more difficult to be homeless. After the regime changed the rules changed. The Association was founded in 1995 as a way to do street work with the homeless population. They provide mental support, in-kind donations, information about homelessness, homeless care, provisions, crisis intervention, case management and a help-line service. They have a crisis car for emergencies and can transfer clients to needed services. With this car they are able to go do outreach for clients twice a day. I was lucky enough to go on one of these outreach trips with the staff there and was able to get an inside look into what they do. While out on this “adventure” we went to three camp sites to check in on some individuals and families that live there. Our host informed us they have a specific route they go to initially then if any crisis arises, they can go to transport and check on clients while out. It was amazing to see the relationships the Association has built up with the homeless population and to see what they are able to do for this population. I was eager to learn as much about this population in Nyiregyhaza so I could bring back ideas for changes to my own place of employment, a homeless shelter in Louisville. Nuremberg: Germany’s Most Historic City By: Taylor Shaw

Nuremberg (Nürnberg) is Bavaria’s second largest city, with records dating back to 1050. In 1470, the city was the first renaissance north of the Alps. In the 1500’s, the first world globes were manufactured in Nuremberg, along with the first pocket watch (referred to as the Nurnberg Egg). The city is home to Christkindlesmarkt, Germany’s most famous holiday market. Other highlights of the city include the Imperial Castle. The castle was built here as early as the 11th century and hosted gatherings of the court, Diets, and juridical sessions of all German Emperors and kings of the Holy Roman Empire. St. Lawrence’s Church, Frauenkirche (The Church of Our Lady), St. Sebaldus Church and artist Albrecht Druer’s House are also main tourist attractions in the city.

In more recent history, Nuremberg is known for its role in the rise of the National Socialist Party in Germany. In 1927, the first Nazi rally was held in this city. In 1935, the Nürnberg Laws were the first of its kind to rob the Jewish of their place in society and state. Towards the end of the Nazi reign, the last Nazi party rally was held in Nuremberg with over 1 million people participating. Not only did Nuremberg play a role in the rise of the Nazi party, but it also played a major role in their decline. In 1946, the Nuremberg Trials were held with the purpose of bringing Nazi war criminals to justice.

Personally, Nuremberg was one of my favorite highlights from the entire trip. The medieval architecture and culture were truly breathtaking. You could not ignore the rich history of the city while strolling through its cobblestone streets. For lunch, the group enjoyed Nurnbergers (the local take on bratwurst) at the famous Bratwursthäusle, which was the best Bavarian meal I ate during my time in Germany. Architecturally, I was most taken by the beauty of St. Lawrence’s Church. However, the views of the old city from the top of the Imperial Castle were equally as breathtaking. I hope to get the opportunity to visit the city again someday, especially during the holidays to see the famous Christkindlesmarkt!

Munich, Germany By: Jayme Waddell

This unique opportunity allowed us to see and do so many amazing things, but my favorite part of this trip was experiencing Munich. The sightseeing was incredible. I was blown away with the intricate, medieval-type architecture. Marienplatz is where most of us spent the majority of our free time. This is the city’s most famous square and located in the heart of old town. The New Town Hall is the impressive 300-foot-long building that will likely first catch your eye in Marienplatz. This building is exquisite with its elaborately decorated façade with statues, turrets, and arches. One of the towers contains a large clock that puts on a show twice a day. When the clock chimes, 32 life-sized figures reenact historical Bavarian events. Marienplatz is within walking distance to so many interesting things to see and do. There are numerous shops and restaurants as well as a large farmer’s market. The market included options for fresh and prepared foods, souvenirs, handmade gifts, and a beer garden. Not far from the market, we found a small chocolate shop called Sama-Sama. There were so many options to choose from but each piece of chocolate was elaborately decorated by hand and everything we tried was amazing. Being a picky eater, I was initially concerned about the food options that would be available on this trip; however, I experienced some of the best foods, pastries, and chocolates while in Munich. I certainly was not disappointed and I cannot wait to go back and experience even more of what Germany has to offer. By: Christie Yontz

The Invisible Exhibition was an experience in Budapest, Hungary to participate in everyday activities the way visually impaired people do. We were matched with a blind leader who would lead us through this exhibition. In the waiting room, our leader gave an introduction to the Braille alphabet and allowed us to play games which have been modified with Braille for those who are blind, such as Rubik’s cube, checkers, and other activities. Our leader typed us cards of our names in Braille to take home.

As we entered the Invisible Exhibition, we were guided into a completely dark space by our guide. He was very helpful in leading us through each room and eased our anxiety. My initial reaction to this exhibition was to be scared, but learned as time progressed how to adapt to the darkness. There were six rooms in the exhibition meant to simulate different landscapes. We visited a kitchen, bathroom, restaurant and bar, marketplace, crossing the street, and nature. The experience in each room was different and required you to use other senses such as touch, smell, and sound. Each room had different sounds to simulate the environment. One room had statues which we were required to touch to figure out what the statue was. Our leader described each of the statues as we were leaving the room.

During this exhibition, I realized how difficult the daily life of an individual who is visually impaired must be. Specific tasks I may not even think about and complete on a daily basis take blind individuals extra time during their day. This exhibition fostered great respect for working with those who are blind and helped to understand how to help Blind individuals within our own community. Local Food By: Mariah Likens

Overall, the local food in each of the places we visited were unique to the culture and delicious. The food in each place seemed very fresh. There were fruit, vegetable, and bread markets throughout the city. We saw them while walking down the street, in the train station, and also in a town square where there were all kinds of different store stands in tents. They had fresh fruit, dried fruit, typical farmers market vegetables but also olives of all sorts, breads, pastries, and pretzels. These were nice to grab a quick bite or snack. Another type of food I saw a lot were different type of sausages and bratwurst.

Water was another thing that was a bit different. Most people drank sparkling water which I didn’t really care for. I quickly learned the difference by the color of the bottle caps and labels. I also learned that if you order water at a restaurant and don’t specify for still water, they automatically bring sparkling. This is when I realized that this was a norm in both Hungary and Germany. Since there aren’t any public water fountains, we would buy bigger bottle at the store to have and fill up our water bottles before we left for the day.

While eating out it was helpful that in some restaurants, they had English on the menu. This was not everywhere and more so in Germany. We did experience going to a restaurant with just a few of us and no one in the restaurant spoke any English. This was pretty difficult, but the staff were very nice, and we got lucky that they had pictures for all the dishes as their menu did not have any English.

The hotel’s complimentary breakfast was different. Across all the ones we stayed at I saw meats like salami and ham, different kinds of cheese, fresh fruit, hard-boiled eggs, bread and croissants, plain yogurt, granola- type cereals, jams, espresso, and juices. This is quite different as when I think of a complimentary breakfast I think of cereal, bagels or bread, and waffles. START Rehabilitation Company By: Te’Ara Davey Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg County Association of the Disabled founded the START Rehabilitation Company more than 19 years ago. Today the company has more than 2,700 workers and 80% of the population have a changed ability to work to less- more extent or they are disabled. The company is the largest employer in Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg County that supplies consumer goods to multinational companies and clothing manufactures. The company provides multiple programs/jobs such as the Visiting the Disability Center was a Centre of Chances, Boot and Shoe great experience, allowing me to get Factor, Rehabilitation Center, Nyirseg an understanding on how Print Works, Vinegar Plant, help the special needs Catering/Commercial Department and population. When comparing the a Mini Bakery. Start program with New Hope Services in the U.S. they share some of the same services such as employment, manufacturing, vocational training/work and supported living services. It was shocking to find out that Behavior Management Services are not implemented within the SMART program, hopefully one day it will be added giving everyone with special needs and behaviors the opportunity to succeed. Why I fell in love with Budapest, Hungary By: Janyla Lathon

Budapest was absolutely stunning and was the perfect mixture of beautiful historical buildings and the modern lifestyle that we have in the United States. You better put on your running shoes if you plan on catching one of their underground trains. The escalators are as steep as a 5 story building, and you better move aside if you aren’t in a hurry! The culture is so fast paced and it makes the adventure of being in a new country all the more exciting!

One of my favorite sculptures was the Holy Trinity Column outside of the Matthias Catholic Church. My photo just barely captures the statues beauty, it is truly something that you would not forget if you saw it in person. The golden cross shimmers in the sun light and reflects the halos of the trinity, it is breathtaking.

The has enough detail that it would take a full day to look at all the detailed craftsmanship, painted wooden walls, stained glass and chiseled statues. The church was the scene of several coronations, including that of Charles IV in 1916 (the last Habsburg king). It was also the site for King Matthias's two weddings (the first to Catherine of Poděbrady and, after her death, to Beatrice of Naples). During the century and a half of Turkish occupation, the vast majority of its ecclesiastical treasures were shipped to Pressburg (present day Bratislava) and following the capture of Buda in 1541 the church became the city's main mosque.

The view from the castle is absolutely breathtaking as you can oversee the Capital and the river bed. Overall the historic artifacts in Budapest are those that you must see in person to truly experience the magnitude of these creations! School Social Work and Supporting LGBTQ Youth By: Kelly Weaver While in Nyiregyhaza, I learned about methods of supporting children and teens through school social work. Much was the same as in the United States--social workers are one of the first lines of defense for children who may be experiencing violence in their homes, at school, etc.

Something that I did observe was the attitude towards LGBTQ youth from the social workers we talked to. When asked about various methods of violence and suicide prevention, we were met with responses communicating that LGBTQ youth are not experiencing targeted discrimination or violence and therefore did not require specific interventions.

This did not align with the conversations I had with a resident of Nyiregyhaza, who stated that LGBTQ Hungarians are not encouraged to be “out” and can be very private about their identity and relationships. They pointed out that it is changing with the younger generation, who are more open. This would suggest that preventative efforts at cultivating a safe and supportive culture towards LGBTQ youth is a necessary task for school social workers.

This is not to say, however, that we do not struggle with the same issue in the U.S. The availability of supports for LGBTQ youth varies depending on the community--and a culture of silence is certainly still an issue for many. Social workers must ensure that marginalized populations are provided preventative support before safety concerns escalate. Labor Cafe Olivia Given Labor Cafe is a youth led “experiment” that encourages young people in the city of Nyíregyhàza to engage in volunteer activities, like working at the cafe, to experience social engagement, and to build a local community together by being a part of programs.

The cafe’s manager, Eva, had created an interactive game geared toward social service professionals on how to design a creative plan using limited resources as a group. Each group picked an organization issue based off of a set of cards and then were randomly given cards that offered one potential/ability, one possibility/connection, and one means/resources.

Once the cards are distributed, each group creates a SWOT analysis and strategic plan for their organization and must then present their presentation to the “board”, people who have been assigned to respond to each team’s presentation with different personality styles like skeptical, money focused, disgruntled, etc. This game was incredibly beneficial and related to assignments we have all done during our time at Kent. What Hussar Slum Taught Me By: Ellen Martin

I want to preface this article by saying that this is my personal account and experience in relation to our visit to the Hussar Slum and the racial relations we learned about through this experience. To start, before boarding the plane to Hungary I had little, to no understanding of the Romany, or as many Americans refer, “gypsy” community. I had a stereotyped vision of this community and honestly did not know what to expect. I wasn’t even aware that the term “gypsy” was a derogatory racial slur when used by outsiders to address Romany people, a historic, and current oppressed and marginalized group. That being said, I feel many of us entered Hungary with a lack of knowledge, but a fair amount of curiosity about the Romany people and how exactly this racial divide came to be, and what implications were evident for both the Hungarians and the Romany. It became evident to us, through those we encountered in Hungary, that there were some deep-seated feelings about this particular population from the reactions we received to our blatant questioning. Some we talked to, hesitated to name the population after talking poorly and generalizing, using vague terms like, “certain people” don’t want us there. We picked up on subtleties, where I felt people were trying to sensor their opinions for us, until we pressed for more information. Then, we heard statements such as, the Gypsies are trouble makers, they just have children to get more welfare, they’re lazy and don’t want to work, they destroy everything they’re given, etc…As American social work students, these are not uncommon statements or beliefs held about certain oppressed and marginalized populations within our country. As social workers, we are taught to fight against these stereotypes and look at these situations through a systemic lens, considering historical oppression, as well as policies and systems set in place by racial and economic bias to keep people marginalized. To top it off, it is not uncommon for Americans to take a snap shot of impoverished communities today and blame these individuals for their lot in life, equal opportunity and all (total bologna). The great American motto, “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps!” Well what if you have no straps, let alone boots? (continued on next page) The first few days in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary we continued to gather tidbits of information from different agencies and government officials about the Romany people in Hungary. All of this gathering happened prior to our planned visit to the Hussar slum on the outskirts of the small town in northeastern Hungary. We learned that there were three slums on the outskirts of this city, each with hatred towards those who lived in the neighboring slums. City council members explained to us that the issues between the Hungarians and the Romany, as well as between Romany groups had been going on for a very long time. We were also informed that now that Hungary is part of the European Union, it is one of the EU’s priorities to settle differences and integrate the Romany within dominant society throughout Europe. The project we were visiting within the Hussar slum was funded through the EU. This project was run by social workers who worked hands-on in the community trying to help community members with education and entering the workforce, among many other objectives. We also learned that The EU’s plan for solving this ghettoized current situation was to forcefully merge mutually-hating slums and create building projects. Yet another eerily-similar scenario and approach that has failed miserably in the United States. Later in our trip, when as a group we visited the concentration camp in Dachau, Germany we learned that in addition to the Jewish community, the Romany people were also targeted for extermination by the Nazis in large numbers. Fast forward to our visit to the Pogascsas Project within the Hussar slum. We, and by we I mean 17, majorly white individuals pull in to this old military complex, that now houses a fairly large impoverished Romany community, in a bus. We pile out and are then met by two former students from the sister university who had been hosting us and walk to the agency’s building a fair distance from the bus. Meanwhile, receiving understandably confused and probably annoyed looks from community members. We crowd into the small waiting room and hear a little bit about what they do and are then escorted out of the little building, (pictured beneath the article title) to take a tour of the community. At that moment, from what I could assess, we were all feeling extremely uncomfortable walking down the streets in this massive group peering into people’s homes while they were there and looking at the conditions of this community as if we were walking around a zoo or amusement park. One of our guides said something to the effect of isn’t it shocking? They were referring to the conditions, but inside I was screaming yes, it’s shocking! The way we were interacting with this community is so against the way we’ve been taught as social workers to join with communities, not looking upon them as separate or lesser groups of people that are in so much need of our help and fixing. To make things worse, our group’s arrival to this town was somehow major news, landing us in the newspaper on multiple occasions. In our already uncomfortable position, press was added to the situation. (Continued on next page) A reporter and her photographer came to interview us about why we were here and what our experiences had been. This really blew the lid off and some in our group got very overwhelmed and vocal. Social work teaches us to advocate against oppression and discrimination, as well as mistreatment of marginalized and vulnerable population. Silence is seen as condoning a behavior. I feel we were caught is this limbo between, we need to say something, but also, we are guests in a foreign country here to witness a different approach. In all reality we aren’t going to change anything significantly in 5 days. This was the point in the trip that I realized that we had been coming into this country not recognizing that at times we had this American attitude that our approach was the best and your standards need to jump to meet ours. We’ve learned about ethnocentrism, but until that moment I had been oblivious to the fact that I had been doing just that. Immediately after this experience, I was a little upset that this was part of the planned trip and had been for many years. However, as time passed, and the experience really sank in, I realized that this was the most eye-opening, and thought-provoking experience of the whole trip for myself. It was such a real-life, in-the-moment experience that I don’t think it could have been taught to me in a classroom setting. Whether or not that was the intention of that particular experience, no matter how shocking or uncomfortable, I value that experience as part of my social work education and believe that it has played a role in shaping my view of human relations. History Repeats Itself Across the Ocean

By: Ashley Langen

Throughout my time in Germany and Hungary, we constantly heard things about the Gypsy population. A few days after being in Hungary, we visited the government building in Nyiregyhaza, where we were told that Gypsy was a derogatory term for them. All of us were shocked. We had been using that term for several days when we asked questions about them. We learned that the word ‘gypsy’ has the same meaning to them as the ‘n-word’ does to African Americans.

Everyone on the trip was dumbfounded because all the social work agencies that we had been to used the same terminology. After learning about the meaning behind the term, everyone continued to use the term, even those in social work agencies. We later learned that because the Roma people embrace the term ‘gypsy’ it is okay to refer to them like that. Someone told us that the Roma term is usually only used when they are in a political setting. I still think Roma is the proper term that should be used. The more I learned about this group of people and the way they were treated, the more I wanted to know why. In America, we have minority groups of people, but they all have histories which show the reason for them being marginalized.

As I began to ask more and more questions, it became clear that for at least 30 years, the Roma people had lived their lives away from the rest of Europe. In every country, they had their little communities and were separated from the rest of society. At every agency we went too, they had a poor view of these people. Some thought they had lots of kids to live off the government. I learned that they couldn't do this. That’s a false assumption that is made of these people, but we do the same thing in America. There are plenty of people who feel that people choose to live off the government, but it’s impossible. Same is true in Hungary, which I suspect is true for all of Europe. Roma people have lived isolated away from the rest of the Hungarian people for nearly 30 years. Recently, the EU gave each country money to integrate them into other communities. This would make it so Hungarian and Roma could live together, but they are surprised at the push back that they get from the Roma people. If you have lived a certain way for 30 years, and people who have been saying bad things about you, came to help, why would you want them there? Wouldn't you be resistant to change? Why would you want to accept their help when they have been calling you thieves, lazy, etc.?

The way these people have been treated for the last several years, has caused them to live in poverty. People won’t hire them because they are prejudice of the Roma people, just as we (Americans) have been of other minorities and ethnicities. Roma people are put into this position where they have no choice but to steal, prostitute, or find other means to support their family. It is not their fault that they had to make these choices when there was no other way, to begin with. Then the Roma people gained this reputation that they are lazy and thieves. Well, they are stealing to provide for their family because we were prejudice and wouldn’t give them a job. Sometimes we can give people all the help in the world, but we forget to ask ourselves what happened to them. What caused them to be in that circumstance. When I was determined to figure the answer out for the Roma people, I learned that hatred and prejudice have been at work in Hungary and all of Europe for many years. The Roma people have endured so much marginalization since the end of WWII; it will take a very long time for them to understand and accept that we were wrong to treat them that way. It won't be tomorrow, but eventually, I hope that the Roma people experience equality of life in everything. I hope that the EU continues to fund to support these people, and I hope that social service agencies will begin to take a look at their prejudices and choose to set them aside so that they can be helped.