CEA CAPA's Support Through the Start of My Study Abroad Journey in Budapest
As the wheels of the plane finally made contact with the tarmac, “Budapest” by George Ezra blasted through my AirPods. After spending hours at the airport, a twelve-hour flight to Vienna, Austria, a three-hour layover, and a final short stretch to Budapest, Hungary, the last thing I wanted to think about was how to then navigate my way through a brand-new city. Luckily for me, the moment I exited the one-way doors into the lobby, I was met with the sight of a shiny sign reading ‘CEA CAPA’.
The Before
Even before I packed my bags for my semester abroad, the support I received from CEA CAPA came as such a relief. Countless emails about registration, messages of assistance regarding the visa process, and webinar sessions for both myself and my parents all helped me to prepare for my adventure overseas. Whenever I had a question or needed some assistance, a representative from CEA CAPA was always just an email away and extremely attentive to my inquiries.
Especially when I had questions about classes, CEA CAPA was so helpful in getting me in contact with my host university. That’s something rare about my program in Budapest: rather than studying only with fellow US students at a CEA CAPA Study Center, my cohort and I have been placed at a Hungarian school, Corvinus University, where we get to take classes with students from all around the world and immerse ourselves in the local culture even more! CEA CAPA not only made this possible, but helped to facilitate all of the communication between myself and the university. Things like registering for classes, setting up my student email, and securing my housing would have been so difficult without the support of CEA CAPA!
View of Corvinus University campus from a river cruise!
The Social
It felt like just as quickly as I’d landed in Budapest, the festivities had begun. The very next morning after my arrival, our CEA CAPA program coordinator, Károly, took me and the rest of our cohort on a tour of Budapest. From our dormitory, we used public transportation to explore the entire city, stopping at numerous famous monuments and sightseeing locations, including our beautiful Corvinus University campus and the Central Market Hall across the street, outfitted with overflowing stands of Hungarian foods, textiles, ceramics, and more. The tour wasn’t complete without the most fabulous lunch, where we tried chicken paprikash, one of the most famous dishes in Hungary, which highlights the paprika spice, integral to Hungarian cuisine.
Paprika stand at the Market Hall!
Chicken paprikash from our program lunch
In the following days, we got to meet the second cohort of CEA CAPA students in Budapest, who we get to explore the city with through program activities, but who attend a different university. As one big group, we went on guided tours of both the Hungarian Parliament Building and the Hungarian National Museum. The Parliament Building is not only an architectural masterpiece, but the seat of the Hungarian government to this day. The tour was just as fascinating as the building is stunning.
Next, on our private tour of the Hungarian National Museum, a curator led us around the many exhibits and taught us about Hungary’s vast history by highlighting some of the most culturally significant pieces in the collection. We got to learn about over a thousand years of Hungary’s historical evolution, from its establishment as a kingdom in the year 1,000, to its time as a part of multiple powerful empires, to its unique experience as a communist state under Soviet control. Getting to learn about all of these historical milestones alongside the rest of my fellow CEA CAPA students was not only extremely interesting, but special, as we got to know both Budapest and each other.
My friends and I at the Parliament Building!
The Academic
There is study in study abroad, so while our first few weeks were undeniably filled with fabulous fun and exciting memories, CEA CAPA also helped to ease the weight of our academic experience as we adjusted to university life in Budapest. We attended several orientation sessions where we received additional help finalizing our course schedules and learning about the resources Corvinus has to offer.
Especially significant was our visa process. Different from many study abroad programs in other countries, those of us in Budapest did not need to secure our student visas ahead of departure.
Rather, both CEA CAPA and our universities in Budapest helped us through this process once we were actually here. The experience was made so smooth by the assistance we received from our CEA CAPA program coordinators. The visa website was laughably complicated, but another one of our coordinators, Adam, held numerous informational sessions where he helped us gather documents, translate key terms, and submit our applications. It’s hard to imagine how difficult the process would have been without Adam’s help.
A rooftop view of the city
What’s Next?
As I plan my next few months out, I still feel the same amount of excitement as I did the moment the wheels of my plane touched down in Budapest for the first time. Moving to a new country is no easy feat, and I know that I will be met with new experiences and challenges, but I’m prepared and confident knowing that I have CEA CAPA supporting me every step of the way.
