A few weeks ago, I turned on my computer after several months without touching it,and what I found surprised me. I had completely forgotten how most of my computer screen was full of miscellaneous university documents, things from tax law II practicalto a variety of drafts of my final thesis. This reminded me of how less than 9 months ago, i.e., less than the length of a pregnancy, I was still a student stressing about my last exams at university while spending countless hours searching for information so that I could finish my thesis in time to move to Budapest. I found this very amusing, and it made me think about how life can change in such a short period of time and how different I am from that stressed-out Irene at university, this is why I would like to reflect a little on this topic in this blog post.
I never thought my life could change so much in the last few months, but Budapest has done it. It has been many years since I have read as much as I have in the last few months, quite possibly I have read more books in the last month than I have in the last year. Plus, my usual group of friends is now made up of people of different ages and nationalities, which has proved to be a humbling slap in the face in many situations.
At the same time, with this variety of people I have learned that there is not only one way to live and understand life, and I have discovered with them new activities that are now my favourites, such as having a picnic in the park on a sunny day (because yes, although it may surprise many of you, it was something I didn't do before coming here), meeting my friends in a house to play board games or watch a movie with wine. I'm even starting to get used to meeting up for coffee in Budapest's many wonderful cafes from time to time, which is another thing I rarely did before as I thought I didn't particularly enjoy it, however, now it's something I love doing with my friends and I even had some of my most amazing conversations there. If someone would have told me I would change the libraries and exams for doing these things with my friends, I would have laughed and thought that person was crazy.
It is really curious how so many things can change in a few months, how a new environment can shape your habits and ideas even when you are not looking for it. A new adventure, like this volunteer project, would change your life in many surprising and unexpected ways, although you might not be looking for it, because you think you are already comfortable and happy with who you are, and it will show you how the world if full of unannounced events and astonishing people. I can´t help but think about how my life would be if I wouldn´t have decided to come here, Would I be reading this much? Would I have changed this much? I really cannot tell, but what I know for sure it´s that I love all the grow I am experiencing and all the new people that is surrounding me, and I cannot wait to see what else is going to change during my last months in this volunteering project. And I hope I will be able to share it with you.
See you in the next post,
Irene
