Journey into Mystery: Pálinka
Sunrise and Hungarian Grumpiness
By Adam Kling
If
there are truly typical features to be discovered in our culture, then without
exaggeration, the best approach to gather detailed ethnographic data on
Hungarians is to travel with them for longer distances. A nation’s behaviour
during a longer journey or every day commuting can reveal many interesting
facts about their cultural background and especially their attitude.
Interestingly, it is crucial to our ethnographic research to distinguish
Hungarian city-dwellers from those Hungarian people who were born and raised on
the countryside.
First
of all, it is of great significance to state that city-dwellers of our country
are in general the “grumpier” ones and tend to be more hostile. In my opinion,
life in the city can turn even friendly villagers into impatient, grumpy and
rude people. Looking at the daily commuter it is no wonder that everyone
becomes ignorant or impolite towards the others. The crowd especially in the
morning hours on the tram, metro or bus can easily make people uncomfortable
and extremely nervous, and if we add Monday and the usual Hungarian pessimism
to the mix, then we get a clear view on the grey weekdays a city-dweller has to
suffer through.
However, the working class
villagers are only a little different in this respect. According to my
observations, the biggest distinction we can make is between the senior members
of our society. Elderly city-dwellers are exceptionally rude while travelling;
whether this happens on the tram or on one of the metro lines it does not
really matter. The grumpiness is especially strong with them and they react in
a remarkably strange manner towards politeness. They are offended if a seat is
offered to them, but also if they cannot sit down for any reason. You are not
really able to figure out what is best for them and of course this leads to becoming
rude and impolite just like them.
Therefore, it is rather easier to
be a Hungarian in the countryside or even in the suburbs. It seems as if life
was more relaxed, mostly because while you are travelling you encounter less of
the impoliteness and pessimism. I believe train journeys are best for
ethnographers who want to take notes on both city-dwellers and people from
other parts of the country. It is an interesting gathering of various Hungarian
communities. If everything goes as planned, meaning that there are no delays,
then a journey like this can serve as a brilliant opportunity for research.
Undoubtedly, the most amusing and
compelling people one can encounter while travelling by train in this country
are the workers of the Hungarian train company known as MÁV. Every time I go home
I witness the wit and creativity of this part of the working class. While
sitting in the last wagon I always witness how the workers of the company spend
their free time before they finally leave the train after a long shift. Card
games where all of them offer a small amount of money to play with are a must.
Their most common topics always revolve around problems with the “unfair” MÁV,
family affairs, and most importantly alcohol, preferably (making and especially
consuming) pálinka. Those conversations are rich in all kinds of data, whether
you want to know more information about changes in travelling by train or the
making of fine wine or the Hungarian trademark pálinka.
Finally, one might ask: what kind of
conclusion can be drawn from this ethnographic tale? The answer is: you can
only understand what it means to be a Hungarian if you travel to the countryside,
most preferably by train, and see for yourself.
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