Before I begin, here is one of my favorite songs.

My name is Alexandra Szilagyi, and as you have probably guessed from my last name, I am not in any shape or form American. In fact, I am a first generation immigrant from Hungary, a tiny country (compared to the USA) found in central Europe. Throughout my life, I have traveled to countless places, and I got to live in several of these amazing places. These include Hungary obviously, where I lived until I was around eight years old, South Africa, where I lived for three years, the United Arab Emirates, or more specifically Dubai, where I unfortunately got to spend only one year, and of course the United States where I have lived for about seven years now.

With each of these places comes an array of cultures and languages that to this day fascinate me. I personally love exploring the different aspects of different religions, cultures, and languages. As a result, I have been to several religious institutions as a child: churches (which is the main institution of my religion, as I am a protestant), synagogues (which I got to explore upon my arrival to the United States as I moved to a town where Judaism was the primary religion and as a result I attended countless Bar and Bat mitzvahs), A Hindu temple (Which I got to explore when I was merely a child, as one of my best friends in South Africa was Indian), and last but not least, my religious endeavors lead me to enter a mosque as well (since one of my best friends since childhood is Muslim, and since living in Dubai generated a lot of interaction with Muslims from all over the world).

 

I also thoroughly enjoy learning languages. I currently speak four- English, French, Spanish, and Hungarian- however I hope to expand my horizons and learn a couple more. I would love to be able to speak Arabic, as my love for the language has only grown throughout the years. Not only do I find the alphabet beautiful, the way of speaking is melodic as well. It’s as if the language were a form of art in itself.  I got to experience the learning process of the Arabic language during my time in Dubai, however it was not nearly enough for me to learn the language- the alphabet was as far as I got. I would also learn Japanese if I had the capacity for it,  and I often wonder whether I should just start a course in the Japanese language.  I would also love to learn Italian and Portugese- two languages that I find similar to French and Spanish, and as a result, I find that they are already often times understood by my ears as they strain to hear more conversations in foreign languages.

 

Throughout my travels, I also got to know so many amazing people from all over the world. As of right now, I could literally travel anywhere in the world, and I’d most probably have a friend living there. Well, I guess that’s stretching the truth just a little, but it never hurts to dream, right? I know for a fact that I have friends located in Holland, Belgium, Hungary, Germany, Austria, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, South Africa, Japan, England, France, Spain, Italy, China, the Philippines, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Poland, and several other countries just to name a few.

 

But enough about my travels. I also have several hobbies that I spend my time with.  I love to read as I guess most of us in this program do. Books are my everything. I remember first learning English, and reading Winnie the Pooh in two different languages simultaneously just trying to figure out what the page said. I also love sports: Name any sport and I’ll probably either love it, or have played it at least. My absolute favorites include Soccer (or football for all of you Europeans out there), volleyball, Badmington, and Netball. Unfortunately for me, very few people in America have heard of netball. As a result, I find myself trying to explain the beauty of the sport, without coming off as a little overly passionate. But I have come up with a short summary of the sport: it is much like basketball and ultimate frisbee combined, for girls. Only you can’t dribble or even move with the ball, and the team consists of seven players instead of five. And one other main difference is that the hoops don’t have backboards making it a lot harder to get the ball in.

 

I don’t really know how long I should make this, because I could honestly continue for a couple more pages, considering I have so many things that I’m passionate about. I guess I can just mention them without going into major details, and if you’d like to learn more, you are welcome to ask me about it- or if any of you share the same passions, maybe we can talk, or even form a club.

 

I am a Hungarian Scout- yes, it does exist, I am a Hungarian Pre-school teacher, I love to draw, people watch, listen when everyone thinks that there is nothing to hear. I love animals, particularly the clouded leopard and the Maltese tiger, two creatures that I find immensely beautiful. Interestingly enough, though my favorite animals are big cats so to speak, I do not get along well with domesticated cats. I guess you could say that I’m more of a dog person. Sorry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love to write, though I’ve only recently began to write, and I like to cook, because it amazes me how one can create something from raw materials. My favorite colors are turquoise and red, and I have one little sister who is twelve years my younger.

 

I guess that is a good introduction of me for now. I tend to be a shy person, so I often find it hard to start talking to people I barely know, and therefore I encourage you to come talk to me too. I do try my best to be outgoing, but it isn’t always easy. I love meeting new people, regardless of my introverted nature, so I look forward to reading everyone’s introductions.

 

And that, ladies and gentleman, is a short (or perhaps not so short depending on your point of view) introduction of me: Alex(andra) Szilagyi.

Picture Citations:

Kramer. Alissa. “Budapest” (photo). 08/28/2013. http://www.gooverseas.com/study-abroad/hungary

Angford. Julie. “Maltese Tiger” (photo). 04/08/2010. 08/28/2013. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maltese-Tiger.jpg

Clouded Leopard Gallery. “clouded leopard” (photo). 08/28/2013. http://www.lionking.org/~sichi/cloud1.htm