Interview with Ruth Levai

by Dániel Kovács

My name is Dániel Kovács. I made an interview with Ruth Karin Lévai. She is a teacher at the University of Miskolc.

How are you today?

Ruth: Today I’m feeling a little bit under the weather as I’ve got a cold.

When did you decide to move to Hungary?

Ruth: I moved to Hungary in the fall of 2002.

What were your main reasons to do it?

Ruth: I had met my husband in Munich in June of 2002, so I moved to Hungary to be with him.

Do you like it here?

Ruth: Yes, most days.

Have you ever experienced culture shock and if yes explain it?

Ruth: I experienced some culture shock during my first year in Hungary, especially with my in-laws. The family relationships were closer than I was used to in the US. I saw that even adult children were very emotionally dependent on their parents.

Did you struggle a lot when you came to Hungary?

Ruth: The first year there were a lot of struggles, yes.

Can you recall any awkward situation because of the language difficulties here in Hungary?

Ruth: Once when I wanted to buy water in a store, the salesman asked whether I wanted “szénsavas” or “szénsavmentes” and I stuttered “szénsavasmentes”.

How long did it take you to acquire the Hungarian language?

Ruth: It took a little over a year before I felt comfortable having a simple conversation.

Do you consider it easy or difficult?

Ruth: I think the Hungarian language is fairly difficult for native speakers of English to learn. The grammar structures are totally different from anything that we are used to (post-positions instead of prepositions)

Do you speak any foreign languages besides English and Hungarian?

Ruth: Yes, I speak German, French, and Russian.

Did you always want to be a teacher or there were other plans?

Ruth: Well, when I was little I wanted to be an actress, a singer or a writer. But I have wanted to be a teacher since I was about sixteen.

Have you ever regretted that you became a teacher?

Ruth: No.

Did you achieve your goals? What were these?

Ruth: Well, I don’t think any of us can ever say that we have achieved all of our goals. Otherwise, we would have nothing left to strive for. I have almost completed my Ph.D. I still have to pass my oral comprehensive and my defense. But I have other goals, like I always wanted to get married and have children. Thankfully, I have a beautiful family. I also wanted to have an adventurous life, and my life has been and continues to be pretty adventurous, although the important things are stable. I also wanted to do volunteer work with orphans, which I do here at Gyermekváros.

Do you planning to go back to your hometown, or do you want to stay here in Hungary?

Ruth: That is a hard question for me right now. For many reasons, I would like to stay here. I like a lot of things about my life here. I do regret being so far away from my parents, though, as they get older. I would like to be able to care for them when they are no longer able to care for themselves.

What do you do in your free time?

Ruth: I like to swim, and I also attend fanatic jump classes once a week. I volunteer at the pediatric hospital in Miskolc and also, as I mentioned above, at Gyermekváros. My family and I also enjoy hiking in the Bükk and Tátra mountains in the fall. And of course, I love to travel!

What are your future plans?

Ruth: Well, I have a lot of plans, but lately I’ve been thinking about getting an advanced level language certificate in the languages that I speak: French, German and Russian.

What is the most memorable moment of your life?

Ruth: That is really hard to narrow down to just one, but two of the most memorable moments of my life are the births of my two children.

This is the end of our interview. Thank you for your answers. I hope you have a beautiful day.

Ruth: Thank you! Same to you!