Fifty high school students and four teachers from the Transylvania region of Romania are getting a crash course on American culture during a two-week whirlwind trip that also takes them to Indianapolis and Washington, D.C.
The delegation from Bolyai Farkas Elméleti Líceum in Târgu Mureș, Romania, arrived in Evansville on March 30 after an exhausting 38 hours of bus and airplane travel. During their stay — spearheaded locally by teacher and Transylvania native Anna Gergely — students are bunking with host families and participating in classes at Reitz Memorial High School.
“I want them to participate in the so-called American experience,” says Albina Puskas-Bajko, who teaches English at Bolyai Farkas Elméleti Líceum. “They are exposed to mostly British culture, because that is what we teach there. … We want to enlarge our already existing knowledge of the culture and history of America.”
There’s hardly a language barrier. The Transylvanian students and teachers speak fluent English in addition to their native Hungarian and Romanian. So, the Memorial International Students Club’s March 31 presentation on life in the U.S. was easily digested.. The slideshow explained touchstone topics of American culture, like Thanksgiving, the Indianapolis 500, West Side Nut Club Fall Festival, and even Buc-ee’s and Taco Bell.
Tables turned the next day, when visitors addressed Memorial’s student body. A social exchange after school involved an American-style barbecue and a USA vs. Transylvania boys’ soccer game.
Visiting students were excited to discover the American school experience and home life. Hosts were encouraged to include them on grocery runs, dining out, and other regular activities such as attending church — timely, since the students’ visit is during Easter weekend. “I’m interested in seeing the everyday life, and that’s why I’m happy we get to be with the families,” says Boróka Szöcs, an 11th grade student.
The Transylvanian group’s itinerary is split between the University of Southern Indiana and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana on April 2 and the University of Evansville on April 6-7 . Then, it’s off to Indianapolis on April 8 for a tour of the Statehouse and visits with Secretary of State Diego Morales and his wife, Sidonia Nicolae, Honorary Consul of Hungary to Indiana. The group visits Monument Circle and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before flying to Washington, D.C., that night.
Students’ busy three days in the nation’s capital includes a walking tour around the White House, a guided tour of the Capitol, their choice of museums, and a visit to the Embassy of Hungary. They’ll depart Dulles International Airport the afternoon of April 11 after visiting Arlington National Cemetery that morning.
Student Zsuzsanna Bodoni, who turned 18 on March 30 while the delegation was en route to Evansville, says the group was “so tired” after their lengthy travel to the U.S. but ready for all of the experiences that awaited. Relationship-building is what makes the exchanges special, and Bodoni says the group has been warmly welcomed. “They are a lot more open, playful, and you can feel the freedom,” she says. “I really love how they were so excited to get to know us.”
