Each month in Home From Home we ask someone to compare Dublin with another city in which they have lived. Sometimes they are Irish who have lived (or are still living) abroad, sometimes they are expatriates in Dublin. This month we spoke with Mónika, who is a Hungarian who originally hails from the southwest of Slovakia, part of a sizeable Hungarian diaspora in that area, spending her youth between Senec and Mosonmagyaróvár, before moving to Vienna for eight years.
So Mónika, you’ve been here for while; the first year was, to put it mildly, challenging. Five years later and Ireland is still your home. What draws you to Dublin?
Because the first year was not easy, it taught me to fight for what I wanted. I learned not to be afraid, so while I was living alone and working in Limerick (for the first two years) I decided I was not going back, I was going to stay here and move forward with my life. I was 20 years old with no work experience and little English but I decided to stick by my decision! I started applying for jobs, and things started to fall into place. Two years later I found a job in Dublin, continued my business studies and stayed. I stay here because of the people. Cities for me are the people that live in there, not the buildings, not the modernism; it’s the culture, the atmosphere, the welcoming sensation. I felt at home when I arrived at the airport with no idea what to do and I still feel home now.
A Hungarian and an Irishman walk into a crowded bar, how does the night ends?
They will probably spend the whole night discussing Hungarian women, competing for the weirdest first names and then the conversation will lean towards drinking a lot of pálinka, typical Hungarian alcohol – if they serve it. And nobody will remember anything the next morning!
Before coming to Dublin, you lived in Vienna for eight years; what is the easiest to spot difference between Viennese people and Dubs?
I think an easy difference is during a game season, The Dubs unite more, there’s a great community feeling. I wouldn’t see that in Vienna. The Viennese people are very straight, to the point and by the book. Another huge one is the taxi drivers, I think half of them know my life story in Dublin by now; in Vienna? not a chance, they take you to your destination and that’s the end of it.
Your mother is visiting this week. What would you say if she asked you to leave Dublin?
No, I am happy here. I continue to get more and more satisfaction from Ireland. Who I am today I owe partially to this country and the people I have met. It’s funny, if I am in Vienna after two or three days I get homesick… for Dublin.
Words: Yahaira Reyes
