My papa lived in Hungary when he was just a young boy. But in 1956 during the Hungarian Revolution he was given the choice to escape to either Australia or the United States. He went with a priest and a few other young boys. He would never get to see his family again. When he left, he saw some of the others get killed by land mines. He came to the United States and learned the language by watching T.V. inside bus stations. Many years later I came along and he told me all about his history and he has also taught me some of the Hungarian language.

My aunt Katy and I visited Hungary this past summer. We wanted to explore and see the place that my papa always talks about. Ironically, my papa is from a town called Papa, Hungary. We didn't get to go to that exact town but we drove past it on the highway. I met many people in Hungary and I talked to them about my Papa and what he had to do when he was just a young teenager. The Hungarians were impressed by my knowledge of their history and also thought my Hungarian language talent wasn't that bad either. They said that they were fascinated by my papa's story and told me about when the Russians came and communism was enforced. I understand now why my Papa wanted to leave so badly.

Katy and I really enjoyed learning about Hungarian culture. We went to a Gypsy dinner show and we got to try traditional Hungarian dishes like Goulash. I watched the Gypsies dance and their dancing looked like the dances that my papa has taught me. We went to a little town that was similar to Papa, Hungary. My aunt and I shopped and explored for hours! We bought spices, recipe books, postcards, shirts and other little treasures so that we could bring little pieces of Hungary back to my papa.

I look back at my trip to Hungary and I think about how much I learned and experienced. I gained so much knowledge about my papa's history and about his culture. I felt like I was walking in his shoes when I was there because I was the exact age as Papa was when he left. I adore my papa very much and learning about all that he has accomplished makes my love of him even stronger.