It may sound funny or weird, but although I came home almost 3 weeks ago (Oh my… already?), today was the first time that I was heading into the centre alone to run some errands. I felt strange, I felt out of place from the very moment I got on the tram, and the fact that I used my ticket made me the immediate feeling of being a tourist. Hungarians usually don’t use their ticket right after getting on vehicles – they would rather wait for the controllers to save money.

This was the first sign; then came the slight unease when the tram left the station – slowly and with small jumps as always –, and I spotted myself looking for the seatbelt. I almost even moved my hand to find it, my brain was faster to stop my limbs, though. Luckily. Even the thought is utterly ridiculous, but that is what 5 months of biking makes to people, I guess. I even got to the point when I started to miss biking, although I mostly merely accepted it, but never really got to love this type of transport – except for a few cheerful night rides with the sparky red lamps of the others, but that was different, that was community. And still, now I'm missing biking because it gave me the freedom I never felt at home when using the public transport: the freedom of actually going anywhere anytime, and quite quickly and easily actually. It was not only the bike, though; a town for bikes is another necessity for that. I could hardly start biking today in the snow in Budapest. Would have probably died myself quite quickly…

Anyways, by the time I reached my uni and started taking photos of the buildings and my favourite bridge for some dear-dear people to show them to, I realised that I became a tourist in my own city. Not because of the selfies and not because I bought a ticket. But because I was calm and walked slowly, while the whole city was rushing and running around me. Only tourists walk like that in Budapest – Hungarians are always in a hurry, but running late anyway. It’s not their fault, it’s the mentality of work ethic here: kind of “work until you kill yourself by doing it”, but hey, you won’t have enough money for your funeral, either. Okay, I’m exaggerating – or not that much? –, but it was such an experience to see people with an insider-outsider view. Usually I’m one of them, running crazily not having time to actually notice them or analyse because I’m too busy figuring out how to save time to be able to do more. My last spring is the perfect example for that: school, work, driving lessons, Italian and technical English courses stimultaneously, teaching, proof-reading…  and I was not a crazy exception, most of my classmates - the smart or the nerdy ones, who knows? - were doing the same. Or the amount of courses I chose to take in Lund.

But this time, I was calm and had time to look around. I definitely didn’t want to focus on myself, so I opened my eyes and ears and absorbed the environment. Realisation nr. 1: Budapest is much smellier than Lund – the fault of much much more cars. I definitely didn’t miss that part. Nr. 2: It’s actually colder – it was -8 degrees today and snowing. Funnily, I never felt that cold in Sweden, but it may be nostalgia already. Nr. 3: my city is still pretty, and my bridge is still the coolest one ever. Budapest in snow is even prettier. From practical point of view, on the other hand, it’s ridiculous, a bit of snow (or rain, as a matter of fact) can kill the whole transportation routine.

I also noticed people. An old man as he, without the slightest feeling of unease dropped his tissue after using it – it’s as white as the snow, so invisible, right? – and then crossed the street when it was still red for pedestrians with the confidence of only those who have taken that road a million times before. A true citizen. A cute little girl at the underpass who mistook the handrail for a ballet handler and made a whole enthusiastic performance – speaking of which, the very existence of underpasses are again something I didn’t miss at all. And of course, the ticket machine was only partly working, and only one of the two. I didn’t mind waiting, though, I queued without anger, I got on and off trams and metros, checked out a few shops and still walked slowly and stayed calm. And I cought the Christmas tram and accidentally bumbed into a friend while admiring it. Instead of an unexpected hill, it was a nice unexpected meet-up.

This attitude is definitely one of those I wanted to bring home with me and keep from things I learnt in Sweden. Being more patient, staying calm, and not killing myself from overstressing and running after work all the time. There has to be time for the important things. This difference I noticed on myself hit me already at the airport. Hungarians have to learn some patience and also the ability to form a queue. Please, at least at those occasions, when you do have a seat for 100% like on a plane. Why would you squeeze yourself through all the others just to be the first to get on the plane? Oh, yeah so that you can be the first who gets rid of the seatbelt even before the plane actually stops and jump up to get your luggage and leave board first, very mature and wise. I loved the Swedish family who left the plane as the very last ones: they were cheerful and played all the way their white-blond haired little girl. No annoyance, no stress, no hurry. That’s what we have to keep in mind, practice and learn. And that’s what I hope to be able to keep with me. Together with being cheerful and looking at the glass half full as we always did in dear Bauta.