"For me, BSM was the perfect academic and social environment. Work and play blended seamlessly into each other among our group of 35, free from all but enjoyable responsibilities. We talked about math, about the city, about back home, or anything, and explored the city, country, and continent together. I have innumerable rich and vivid memories of concerts at the Liszt Ferenc Academy, of wanderings in the misty hills of Buda, of quiet train rides to small outlying towns, and of trams through the bustling city. Through all of this, the company couldn't be beat. Ours was a wonderful group to be a part of, full of generous and adventurous people.
"In my memory, and I think in actual fact, BSM was a leisurely life -- and yet I know I worked harder and learned more than ever before. We did not live by the calender, but we all knew that every moment of our four short months in Budapest was precious. Time expanded for us, it seems; these were among the busiest, most vivid months of my life. So I think that my perception of leisure comes with joy at my occupations. My math classes were superb and fascinating, and in other aspects of life, I felt an incredible freedom. The city was always alive, with music especially, but as well with long walks to be taken, dances to be danced, museums to be seen. Outside the city lay a great unknown also. And once the unknown had become known, it became home. In short, I loved what I was doing, and I had great company.
"The quality of the academic life was due to the professors, who were generous, brilliant, and gifted with marvelous powers of verbal expression. The last of these qualities is the easiest to explain: Previous to my time in Budapest, I had only rarely heard a professor explain a mathematical idea. I had sat through hours of mathematical reasoning, and had understood one by one the steps of many a proof, but often not the bigger picture. My professors in Hungary, however, took great pains to explain the ideas that were involved in proofs or constructions or computations, and thus to revea l the beauty of mathematics as an exercise in human creativity. At the same time, I never felt their lectures were lacking in rigor. All three of my math professors had a remarkable facility with language, using the simplest of images to make difficult ideas clear.
"It was always clear that the professors were interested in our development. I've realized that before Budapest, I thought that the study of mathematics was a progression through some corpus of material, collecting knowledge. BSM fixed me up. Through emphasis on problem sets and their classroom style, professors there taught me that the most important aspect of my education is that I be self-reliant. Professors corrected our homework themselves and commented on it in class, noting particularly problematic areas and adjusting their lectures accordingly. Foremost, they wanted that I have an active, questioning intellect. I learned to love the state of inquiry, not just its resolution.
"Participating in language school before the beginning of the semester was a definite plus. Can you really learn Hungarian in two weeks? No, but you can learn enough to help get around (including some really essential things), and depending on how much time you devote in the evenings to homework, you can really pick up quite a bit. To devote to language school as much time as it needs is exhausting, but during the semester it really pays off. Classes are well run and useful. Moreover, arriving before classes begin is helpful, to become acquainted with the city and new classmates."
Additional information about the program can be obtained by contacting
Professor Paul D. Humke
Budapest Semesters in Mathematics
Saint Olaf College
Northfield, MN 55057
e-mail: budapest@stolaf.edu
Telephone Number: 1-(800) 277-0434
Fax Number: 1-(507) 646-3549