17 March 2003

Todays session was opened by the head of the English Department here in Budapest, Dr. Zsuzsa N. Tóth. In her warm welcome she also mentioned the sponsor: the Fulbright Comission and then the active participants of the first half of the conference were enumerated.

The first presentation entitled "On the Importance of Institutional Co-operation" was given by Péter Medgyes (Deputy State Secretary of Foreign Affairs, from the Ministry of Education). He pointed out that using the internet-given opportunities to establish intercultural relations has many advantages. Eg:The number of participants is much higher than in the traditional type of intercultural program, it is a revolutionary way of comparative learning and also learning is made interactive through communication on the Discussion Forum. It is in itself a new way of learning: learning through personal experience.In addition to the main source of informtion available to students which are teachers and books this program offers a complementary way of learning about the history and culture of a given country. It's AIM is to bring people together so they themselves can be sources of first hand information. This American and Hungarian cultural project can serve as a model for cultural awareness programs through which students learn to be more tolerant and less stereotypical-

The presentation of Damon Anderson (Regional English Language Officer, a member of the American Embassy in Budapest) followed: The presentation -On Hungarian-American Cultural Contacts- had a personal side: An experience showing how we too (students) are part of a changing culture: we are in the midst of a transition from the culture of youth to the culture of adulthood, and personal experience as an American living in Hungary about the interesting differences for eg. how people in Hungary say 'Viszontlátásra' or 'Szia' when stepping in or out of an elevator, cab or store, and how this gesture would not be understood by americans- (which had a good effect: the majority of the audience being hungarian imagining the situation). The presentation was ended with two powerful quotations, one by Winston Brombeck and one by Mahatma Ghandi.

This was followed by an interesting presentation by Theresa Buchmeier (Deputy Director of the Institute of International Education /IIE/). U.S. Doors Remain Open to Foreign Students gave a brief overview of the Institute with highlits of its most interesting aspects: according to latest figures 572000 foreign students had the chance to visit the U.S., and approximately 112000 american students were helped to travel abroad. The Institute of International Education aims to serve the Educational Community through its Fulbright program (Academic exchanges and research grants to the U.S. for professors.) This presentation was very effective in getting the information accross, in shedding light on the possibilities available to students (for eg: Fellowships, exchange programs). For more information visit the IIE homepage:: www.iie.org/europe

The second to last presentation was given by Tibor Frank (Professorof History, Department of American St6udies, ELTE University) gave his audience A Historical Perspective on the Changing Image of America in Hungary. Interesting facts and historical events were evoked starting from days of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution up to 1928- an important date regarding Europe for this is when the idea of a United States of Europe was born. This was naturally based on the American model: a territory united in peace, economical prosperity and in democracy. Thoughts which are coming to life-, which are being realized in our day.

And last but not least the Project Director: Miklós Molnár gave us a Brief Evaluation of the Project. This brought animation into the conference room, especially when highlits of the Discussion Forum were evoked. The Project Director stated that as a result of participation in such a program one gets a less romantic view of the other country and the new information – infromation coming from the comparison of the educational system, minority questions, patriotism, media and carreer opportunities- all contribute to the formation of a more balanced picture.

About 40 students gathered together for the afternoon session. The Media team gave us a carefully planned, Power Point illustrated presentation about Talk Shows in Hungary and in the USA. They basically compared the Hungarian and the US talk shows. Hungarians usually copied a famous show and this is for instance how Monika, and Claudia Show came to life. I did not know that Sandor Friderikusz, a famous Hungarian entertainer and showman was a disciple of the first Hungarian Talk Show Host, Tamas Vitray, actually he used to be his "tapsmester" (responsible for setting the
audience's mood). The Jerry Springer show is the only american talkshow available for Hungarian TVviewers. But we do not watch it as often as to be able to decide whether those fights and serious issues ("I did not know that my girlfriend is really a man") are real or not. Many thanks to Nate, who shared the secret: now we know, they are fake. The round-table discussion following the presentation was ok, but the Hungarians were a bit shy.
The program continued at 6 o'clock in a different place and in a different
style: Miklos cooked the most famous Hungarian dish, babgulyas. Everybody had great fun with the quiz about the US and the Activity game. We listened to some Kispal music (famous Hungarian alternative band) and learned Hungarian folk dances. It must have been a great party, because Kriszta said after it that she would not be shy tomorrow and she will participate in the discussion forum. We will see...