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A trip to Pécs - short story by Nurul Alam
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Here you can read a short story of Nurul Alam, Bangladeshi student about the trip to Pécs organized by the International Relations Department for the foreign students.
A trip to Pécs
by Nurul Alam (a Bangladeshi student - BSc eng)
The area is full of sun and burled
The fresh are sparkled clearly,
Remembrance wakened in my heart
And I know I loved her dearly.
In my steel heart the thoughts awake
Come lone by lone together,
Say bird and sun and spring, is love
A mere affair of weather.
A spring morning, 21 April 2007. I was playing this song with my heart and slowly walking to our college. Spring has sprung, and the flowers are in bloom, the grass is green and the birds are singing, I am having a beautiful day dream silently, although the winter disappeared, and the weather was quiet cold but comfortable, it is a warm embracing for all of us. In front of our college we are waiting for the others, though until now they have not yet reach, now 7.55 still have five minutes. Our bus will start at eight o'clock. So we are relaxing and taking vitamin "D" from morning sunshine, hip hip hurray, maybe everybody want to fly like me, really an unknown pleasure are making us very happy.
Katalin? Yeah Ms Katalin, slowly she is coming to us, some papers and a grey colour hand bag with her, soon a crowd gathered around her, how are you all? Is everybody here? 'asked Katalin' we are fine, most of the students came already, now we are around thirty three, laughed somebody. What about others five, maybe they are sleeping in hostel, 'I think they are not interested', one of our student informed Katalin.
Now eight o'clock, so we can take our seat, bus in front of our student hostel. Ms Katalin is leading us and we are following her, everybody took their seat already, now we are just waiting for Ms Monika, the responsible person for our international student. A bright face and a balance physical fitness young lady. We respect her very much, she is a symbol of an active, polite person and she is rather a friend then an administrative person. After a moment we discovered her with another girl in front of our bus. Ms Monika, Katalin and the other girl sat behind the driver, as a tour guide, yes, really they are our guide, we are foreigner here, for explain everything nobody is better then them. Bus was slowly moving to our final destination pace.
We are thirty three students from different part of the world; they came from Ukraine, China and I am from Bangladesh. It is a multicultural environment. Different language, different habit, different life style, different culture and different believe. But we are all friends. Our activity and helpful mind made us a family member. Lalla lalla lalla hey. Lalla lalla la. Sound came from behind the bus, there sat Boris, Artem, Ivan, Petrova Anastsiya, and Nepodobna Tetyana. They came from Ukraine, and right hand side I see Riotously, Pietro, Galina, Pavlova Natalya, in front of them Wang Tianjin, Chi Thanh and Zedong Ha. They are Chinese and talking to Olga Levkova Natalya and walkover Oleksandra, they are very happy; maybe they are talking about some interesting topic. Middle of the bus Allo, Lee, Karen, Jimi, Teresa, and Sun were busy with there own language. I like to sit beside the window during the travel. The bus travels with the speed of a Bullock.
Art allows me to enjoy the surrounding. I sat behind Ms Monika, Katalin and the other girl, who came with them, but until now I don't know anything about her, not even her name. With me there is a beautiful!! yes a very beautiful and pretty girl, Obukhovska Alina, an Ukraine beauty on my left hand side. And the other side there are another beauties Olga and Katerina, usually in my observation all girls in our class are really beautiful. Myroshnikov Artem and Lubenchenko Alina sat behind them, they are happy friends. Behind me Sunny, Hanny, Leo and Wadi, sometime we are sharing our opinion about our travel today.
Both sides of the rood, there are different kinds of tree's green leaf and flower gardens that are talking with us silently. Hi! Crazy travellers, do you know why we are so beautiful now? Ha Ha, you don't know? Ok, we tell you, this is spring, the King of the four seasons. Now you guys understand? When we were ready to answer them, they disappeared already because our bus was so speedy. All of us we were talking about different topic, in the meantime, for a moment I sent my heart to my country without my body, and I was summing for reminding some thing from my country life, yes still I am hearing now a murmuring sound from my dreamy river, my mind remind me a "bangla" song, if I transfer it in English, it is like this. "Spring come again and again in flowers, love come only one time in life for lovers". Suddenly I surprised, if I remark it from the sky view, it is like a piece of yellow land, how beautiful it is! Really I am unable to explain my emotions about its beauty; yellow is a colour of pleasure, happiness, and romance in my country. In any wedding yellow is the main aliment. No yellow bath no feeling in wedding. It was a crop land, this crop use for oil and honey. Ms Monika briefed me as like a short story; usually in the whole journey Ms Monika tried to tell us so many interesting things about our surrounding. Some of us hearing music, small talking, laughing, lauding, sleeping and some others like me are reading some information about Pécs, its given by Ms Katalin at the beginning of our journey.
Suddenly all of us heard, 'hello guys, welcome to Pécs, we arrived already. So we can go down' Ms Monika's voice. Everybody followed Monika. After a moment we reached a place, its Pécs' Széchenyi square. Near we found McDonald's. We heard some instruction by Ms Monika about planning the visit.
Pécs is a hill-based city. It's one of the most important intellectual, spiritual, cultural and economic of southern transonic, combined with its priceless heritage sites, its lively cultural scene, theatres and museums, and the surrounding are as decorating, building. The city plan makes it a dreamy land. Most of the part of the city is situated on the hills. By crossing "the ancient Roman and early medieval city, the Hungarian city of Pécs in the middle age, Pécs under ottoman time, now Pécs is in its modern time.
We started our visit from Széchenyi square, the heart of the city. The Early Roman name is "Spinx". Waao, there are a lot of visitors, Ms Monika and Ms Katalin, are explaining us about our question, so many school and college student are there, also there are many tourist from different city and different country, in the meantime we entered inside of an attractive Church, I was surprised when I saw inside of the Church a painting, it is the first Aiat from holy Quran, "Ekra Beisme Rabbicall laji Khalak" the meaning is "Read, the name of your Rab (Allah) who created you" Ms Monika understood my surprising, she told me about this building: in the ottoman time it was a Mosque, its name is "the Mosque of Gaza Nazism". Now it's a Christian Church. Inside the Church there are different type of painting about Jesus, Mary and their followers. Some quotes from Holy Bible, we visited around area really it is a grate cultural combination between golden past and modern age of Hungary.
After visiting this area, we are going to another place, in the meantime we saw a crowded area, there are a lot of lock, Ms Monika explain us, it is a symbol of grate love. Long time ago a boy and a girl came to this city and they sat up this lock for there love life, love forever, love everywhere, from that day until now so many crazy lover come and put there love lock, my opinion maybe it's a message against of broken love.
What is love? If I ask anybody this type of question, maybe somebody feel interest about it and they will join me for discussion, but others? I am sure they will take it as a funny question. But I strongly believe, meaning of love, it is not easy, even not funny. If anybody can understand the meaning of love, relation can't brake. Hi!, why you so quiet today? Kateryna asked me. What you are thinking? Olga's sound. Are you ok? No problem. Everything is alright. I told them. Alina, Olga, Kateryna crossed me. Although I told them I am ok, but still I am trying to make a definition of love. LOVE, if I say like that, L for logic, O for opinion, V for victory, and E for emotion. So we say "According to the logic and opinion it is a victory of emotion in human life" we already came near of" early Christian necropolis of Pécs (Sopianae). It's a historical monument in Europe; nowadays it is UNESCO world heritage side. Anett Petren made a lot of photographs around us.
Anett Petren is a professional photographer, who came with Ms Monika, and also works for international student in our college, although I didn't see her last time. And I don't have any idea about her job, but within short time I discovered her, she is an active, professional, friendly and a helpful Hungarian beautiful young girl. During our travel she gave me a lot of information about her profession, photography, and different photo exhibition, how a picture becomes alive. By her intellectual discussion really I realized a photographer life how painful and also enjoyable is.
It is twelve o'clock, now Ms Monika brings back us for our lunch. With our chose we took different type of McDonald's food and drink. It was a crowded and busy lunch time. Sitting facility was not available. Ms Monika, Ms Katalin and Anett Petren, we sat on the same table, I took a fish burger and sprite, Anett came with salad including meal. Katalin a small sandwich and ice cream, and Monika a small burger and Pepsi, we enjoyed our lunch happily.
According to our plan and instruction after lunch until three thirty is our free time, hi guys where you want to go, whatever you want buy or whatever you want see, it's up to you. There are different groups run away to different areas. And I planed to give somebody new! nick! name for that day. Moroshnyhor Artem (have a different personality), Lubenchenko Alina (always smile face), Troyan Olga (active and very emotional), Kateryna (deep thinker and responsible), Obukhovska Alina (symbol of nature) made one group and went to visit museum. Troyan Olga bought a beautiful dress also. Iven (active), Artem (determine), Nepodobna Tetyana (A silent beauty), Petrova Anastasiya (helpful mined), Lozova Anstasiya, and Petro (busy) are one group, preferred walking on the street and shopping. Sunny, Hunny, Leo (friendly) and Awdi are one group. Karan (pleasureful), Allo (Musical voice), Wang Tianjiao (friendly), Lee, Jimi (friendly), Sun, Cha Tianho, Zhong Haono (not yet), and Teresa (a symbol of Chinese beauty), Levkovs Nataliya, Kopayeva Olga, Galina (busy and active) Volkova Oleksandra ( pleasureful) and Shapovalova Natalya ( friendly) are one group. They went to see the surrounding area. Silently I disappeared from them alone, I believe "The traveller sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see". I wanted to see the city from nearly, after visiting the Csontváry Museum, I also walked on the street and observed the people's activities, really Pécs is a friendly, humane-scale city from every point, walking along the circulations streets I realized that I can't get out of touch with nature. There are few possibilities in the confined area, nevertheless, wherever I walk in the historic centre, some time of the vivid nature is always apparent, at the end of the streets there is always a piece of the Mecsek Mountain, the Calvary hill, Maker hill, Havi hill or St Jacob's mount visible. So it is really a hills-based dreamy city.
Three thirty we are all in front of Széchenyi square. Our next destination is Pécs TV tower. The TV tower stands 176 meters tall of the 535 meters Misina peak. Our bus is going to the TV tower as like a snake. Because it is around 600 meters tall from sea level, road made of as a snake. After arriving on the top of the tower I found myself on the roof of the titanic, I felled in my down a green sea and I am flying on the open air,
"Witch witch, where do you fly?
Under the clouds and over the sky".
Not only I but also all of our friends enjoyed it, they took a lot of photographs from different angle, it was an extraordinary feeling for us, we stayed there around 40 minutes. Finally, now it is time to go back to Dunaújváros.
After come down we took our sit almost same place like beginning of our tour, but suddenly I couldn't see our photographer, Anett Petren. After asking, Ms Monika told me she went back to Budapest, if she follow us to Dunaújváros, after that she have to go to Budapest again, its so late for her. So we prepared for return back with our Anett Petren.
For every journey, the ending time make some sorrows for a real traveller, today also same for me. I think not only me but some others also. Nature and beauty it is pleasure for human and the other hands its make us sorrow. It's a universal truth. I am trying to remind about Pécs and its history and beauty, somebody are tired, they look like sleepy, a spring sunny day going to be disappear after a moment. I asked myself when we are getting a chance again like journey to Pécs. I am thinking so many different things; in the meantime we came back to Dunaújváros already. Our journey ended for that day. We gave a lot of thanks to Ms Monika, Ms Katalin, and especially for our host "college of Dunaújváros" Hungary. And I played from Shakespeare silently.
"come hither, come hither, come hither
here shell he
No enemy
But winter and rough weather" again and again.
a_silent_traveler@yahoo.com. |
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