Reviewed by Don Beil (Somalia 1964–66)

To see the full listing of all of Virginia White's books go to the Bibliography of Peace Corps Writers.

This is not a book about the Peace Corps presence in Hungary, a wise decision by the author, as such works have, for the most part, found a limited audience. Since I’m an RPCV myself, and a part of that limited audience, I was hoping it would be about PC Hungary; but I was nonetheless well satisfied with what’s in Virginia White’s book Over the Hill in Hungary.
     White went to Hungary “at an age when most people are planning their retirement  . . .” She obviously loved her time there, as she stayed well beyond her tour, and now divides her time between Budapest and New York. If you haven’t traveled to this part of the world, specifically to Budapest (as I have had the good fortune to do several times recently), you may not be aware that living there is something to be envied, and it shows regularly throughout her book. Her quote: “When my Peace Corps service ended, I decided to remain a while since there was so much I had not seen and done in Hungary” rings true even for this country that’s the size of Indiana. (Hey, she reports that there are 192 museums just in Budapest.)

Post-Communism changes
Hungary is enjoying an enormous resurgence after 40 years of Communist rule ended roughly 10 years ago. The streets are filled with beautiful young people and stylishly dressed older ones. Ice-cream cones are licked everywhere you turn (as well as fingers from the Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonalds, Wendys, and Burger Kings, all of which are also everywhere you turn). Budapest has a new four-story mall, City Center, with 400 stores, a four-story waterfall, and a captivating ever-changing fountain that hundreds sit and watch for extended periods of time. The mall opened in November 1999, and was filled with people then – as might be expected – but it was equally crowded in February, 2000.
     Hungary has exploded with a democratic economy in an extremely short period of time, and White was there to see – and report on – most of the changes. “Hungary was the first socialist country to move directly from a collectivist to a free market economy and from a one-party dictatorship to a multi-party democracy . . .” Her book reflects both the old and the new, but perhaps it’s the effect of this rapid change that’s a principal topic running throughout the book. “The change in the past six years has been so complete that if I were not a compulsive notetaker, it would be easy to forget how it was when I arrived (in 1992).”

Some history
There’s also a continuing thread of the long Hungarian history of adversity played against its resilience. Those into history will find all they want here in great detail, and those looking for an oversimplified historical background may be satisfied to know that 80 years ago Hungary lost two-thirds of its land and people to its neighbors. (This type of nation creation is certainly nothing new to those who keep tabs on the world – especially RPCVs. My own country of service, Somalia, has a five-pointed star with each point representing a part of Somalia. However, only two of the five are now part of Somalia, a source of continuing strife for that part of the world.)

A breadth of insight into Hungarian life
Much of White’s insight into Hungarians comes from her early home-stay with a Hungarian family during training. No one in the home spoke English, a surefire, sink-or-swim way to learn a language.
     These insights cover a broad range of topics at enough depth to be interesting without being exhaustive. For example she discusses: family life, sexual harassment, the marketplace, gift giving, the place of women in society, domestic violence, wedding ceremonies, malls, churches and synagogues, Hungarian attitudes toward Jews, crime, and the impact of a Hungarian’s age upon his/her perception of the world and Hungary’s place within it. On each topic there’s the equivalent of a short essay woven into the context of the book.
I must discuss one of these – gift giving. I could only smile, and disappointingly so, when I read “One cultural hurdle that I completely mis-managed, however, and have not yet fully mastered, is the established conventions for gift-giving.” Unfortunately, I was hoping she would clear this issue up for me. I’m still uncertain of exactly what’s proper etiquette. All I know is that I’ve still not mastered the art and science of Hungarian gift giving. Although I’ve been paying close attention, and for quite some time have been trying to get it right, I’m still nervous and always have second thoughts before I give a Hungarian a gift. I’m nervous about the gift itself, nervous about the timing of the gift giving, and even nervous about the manner in which the gift is physically presented. Fortunately, and as White reports, my gifts have always been graciously received, but I still wonder if I’ve given the right gift at the right time in the right way.
     But nonetheless, White’s really managed to capture the Hungary I’ve recently been learning to love. Most reassuring in our technological age, and something that I still miss from my own Peace Corps experience, is the fact that in Hungary people spend an enormous amount of time simply visiting with each other. Her book repeatedly describes: group outings (while on short vacations or attending formal conferences); people visiting family members and friends; and long ceremonies (such as wedding receptions) with no one in any hurry to leave.

A Peace Corps book after all
As I reread the opening paragraph of this review, I’ve decided to retreat from the view that this is not a Peace Corps book. Perhaps a better description of this book is that it is not a book about the first two goals of the Peace Corps. However it is a book that succeeds in meeting the third goal of the Peace Corps – to help Americans understand other cultures of the world.