Study Abroad All Over Again
I’m in Budapest for a teaching fellowship that promises lots of cool professional and personal experiences.
BUDAPEST—Mea culpa for not posting anything since the flurry from Israel more than three weeks ago. That trip was exhausting and overwhelming (and fascinating and inspiring) and I still haven’t fully written it up, though you should check out the work of my friends and travelmates David Marcus, Karol Markowicz, and Guy Benson. When I returned, there was an important Supreme Court argument and the amicus-brief and book-editing deadlines never stopped. Nor did the travel, including a panel on DEI and academic freedom at Harvard’s ethics center (not an oxymoron), spring break in Arizona and California with my older sons, and a quick trip to Florida to interview the finalists for the presidency of Florida Polytechnic University. So it’s been a whirlwind.
But now I’m sleep-deprived again on another continent, having flown overnight to Hungary’s capital, via Zurich (which airport is nice, but perhaps too on the nose with all the watch and chocolate on sale). I’m here for a 10-day teaching fellowship through the National Public Service University, colloquially known as “Ludovika.” This will feature a series of classes, public lectures, and faculty workshops, as well as meetings and meals with academics, judges, and public officials. I’m also hoping to attend a soccer match and water polo match of the storied Ferencvaros sports club. I can’t believe it’s been a year and a half since I was last here, doing a similar fellowship for the Matthias Corvinus Collegium (MCC).
Here’s a rundown of my official events:
April 10 lecture on “The New Supreme Court and the Politics of Judicial Nominations”
April 11 lecture on “The US and Election 2024”
April 11 faculty workshop on academic freedom and the crisis in higher education
April 15 opening remarks to students participating in moot court, at the MCC
April 15 “Budapest Lecture” panel on federalism, also at the MCC
April 16 lecture on “Antisemitism and the Limits to Free Speech”
April 16 lecture on “Challenges and Changes to the Administrative State”
I’ll try to post highlights, if not the full lecture notes, to Shapiro’s Gavel over the course of my time here. You’ll notice, by the way, that there’s nothing here about nationalism or “illiberal democracy” or any of the other Viktor Orban-related tropes that thrills some on the American Right and infuriates others on the Left. All of that, however good or bad you think it is, is (1) overblown and (2) not particularly relevant to the very different country that is the United States.
A few hours ago, after arriving at Ferenc Liszt International Airport—how great is it that they named it after a classical musician?!—I took a taxi downtown to a charming studio apartment I booked through AirBnB a couple of months ago. It’s in District IX, walking distance to everything, and with a great workspace, high-speed WiFi, and balcony terrace. It’s perfect for my needs this trip and only cost $54 per night including fees. After unpacking, I set off for the Great Dohany Synagogue, the largest one in Europe. I would’ve saved this visit for another day, but today marked six months after the barbaric pogrom in Israel. I didn’t see any special commemoration—it may have happened earlier in the day—but, as I posted on X, we must keep the victims’ memory alive and avenge their blood. Bring the hostages home, end the Hamas regime, then reeducate the Palestinians akin to what happened in post-WW2 Germany and Japan. Plus ignore the feckless Biden/Blinken two-step and the terrorist-supporting United Nations. Not that I have strong feelings about any of this…
On my way back to the AirBnB, I came across plenty of outdoor cafes, the stereotypical European squares with tables set out as people enjoy their drink of choice. Spring has finally arrived after a long, cold winter, and locals, expats, and tourists alike were there for it. Walking through the historic streets, trying to make sense of foreign signs, and anticipating the academic adventures I’d be having, my mind wandered to my study abroad experiences as a student. Reader, I got nostalgic.
I had done a semester in Buenos Aires as a sophomore, then gone back there and also to Moscow for a month each to do thesis research. After graduating college, I interned in Vienna for four months—I’ll be back there for the first time in 25 years on my way home from Budapest—then went to London for my master’s, using these cities as bases for exploring central and western Europe, respectively. Study abroad is a magical time of endless possibilities, opportunities for personal and intellectual growth, and largely consequence-free fun (particularly in the pre-social-media age).
As I nursed my White Negroni (replacing Campari with Lillet Blanc), I thought back to the culture shocks and youthful escapades I had experienced. I also thought of the wonderful movie L’Auberge Espagnole, the first of the “Spanish Apartment” trilogy that follows a group of friends who met during their Erasmus (European study abroad) year in Barcelona.
Anyhow, I better end this jetlagged reverie and hit the sack. More to come, though probably with fewer nightclub outings then when I was in my early 20s.