Mentality/Behaviour of Hungarians

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Levo
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Mentality/Behaviour of Hungarians

Postby Levo » 2013-04-03, 12:08

Hi!
Sorry for contaminating the thread with a cultural topic, but I know no-one would get to see it if I put it into the general cultural sub-forum :)

My question is: How do Slovaks see the mentality and behaviour of Hungarians, otherwise? Do you guys have some opinion about it in general?
I mean it, over the political-historical attitudes. This is not what I am interested in now.
I would like to know if Slovaks, putting aside these ones, have, otherwise a general view of the behaviour&mentality of Hungarians. Either about the mentality of Hungarians living in Slovakia or about the ones in Hungary.

Just to name one for a start: Do some think that culturally we are we "more Southern", like the Italians or the Serbs? :)

Any comments are welcome. I'm interested, because we never hear anything about this one.

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Re: Mentality/Behaviour of Hungarians

Postby Levo » 2013-04-04, 22:03

Ah, okay, it's not really popular.

Maybe as a response or a start I can tell what we know.

Well, actually we do not know anything about Slovak mentality at all. There are only news about politics and stuff. But no-one has a Slovak friend. And as for what Hungarians living in Slovakia say, it is also only that "Slovaks are fine and nice people".
Nothing more detailed.

As for a personal experience, the only differences I saw when I travelled there some times, that Slovaks are more slim and athletic (than Hungarians in Hungary). But nothing more. Also I didn't feel anything special at local people's behaviour that would've been worth mentioning.

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Re: Mentality/Behaviour of Hungarians

Postby Garethw87 » 2013-04-05, 3:46

Nothing at all to do with Slovaks...

I find Hungarians seem to think you are 'better' then you actually are? For instance we have discussed about all the snow/skiing shops in downtown Budapest and the obssession with the West and what not. All I found was the majority of Hungarians just wanted my money! but at the same time didn't want me in their country.. Although I did have a good time and most people were unbelieveably rude for no reason whatso ever.

And for the record I'm not one of them, getting totally wasted, go to all the bars, hit on all the girls type people. Just simple things like trying to buy some snacks at the local store!
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Re: Mentality/Behaviour of Hungarians

Postby Varislintu » 2013-04-05, 7:59

Garethw87 wrote:Although I did have a good time and most people were unbelieveably rude for no reason whatso ever.

And for the record I'm not one of them, getting totally wasted, go to all the bars, hit on all the girls type people. Just simple things like trying to buy some snacks at the local store!


Can I chime in? I'm not Slovak either... :lol:

I think in Hungary you can still get two types of customer service -- absolutely wonderful and friendly, and the well... more socialist type. :P I experienced both of these the first time I went there right at the airport. My luggage was not on the conveyor belt in BUD. So I asked a supervisor in English if that was all the bags from the flight. She looked at my shoes with an annoyed frown and gave me a dismissing yes. So I went to the lost baggage counter. The woman there was like a spoiled teenager (she was middle aged), kept loudly sighing and frowning and even rolled her eyes once when she took my description of my bag. She hated dealing with me and let it show. Then I was directed to another counter where they keep bags that have been found. There I was met with a young, remarkably cheerful and friendly woman who gave me the biggest smile and pointed my bag out for me. She smiled with me in my happiness to have found it, and gave me some friendly comment.

I walked away thinking I had probably already seen a lot of Hungary in a nutshell. I realised that the women sitting at the counters in the airport probably don't get paid very much. In practically unionless Hungary, their jobs could be really unflexible for all I know. So I understand that excellent customer service is not necessary something they feel like giving. I also realised that the grumpiness was probably some kind of attitude remnant from the socialist era. And I realised that the younger generation would probably be very different, more customer-oriented.

Now after many visits, I don't think it's so much of a generational issue, it's just random. And most customer service is friendly. I do notice that many Hungarians get very, very shy when they realise I can't spek Hungarian. It's like they don't want to look at me. They turn their comments to my Hungarian boyfriend and then they don't look at me again, or say goodbye when I say it (in Hungarian).

But I think customers themselves can also be a bit rude. This is also probably a cultural difference, so I'm not sure. But in grocery stores or supermarkets, people don't always greet the cashier. If the cashier greets, they don't always greet back. They don't even look at her/him. This was a bit of a shock to me, as here in Finland it is a kind of obligatory ritual to greet the cashier and she is trained to look at you and greet you as well (usually with a smile). It's very rude not to do it as a customer. On the other hand, I'm sure many customers also do greet back. I'm just saying that, if you work all day and many don't greet back, you understandably loose your cheer and stop making the effort.

On the other hand, greeting the personel in shops (like bookstores) when you enter is something not done consistently in Finland, whereas in Hungary, I've understood that shop keepers expect it. My boyfriend sometimes has to remind me, saying "you didn't greet back?", and usually that means I've forgotten to look towards the cash register desk at the other end of the store and completely missed the greeting in the first place. :oops: I must seem rude in those situations.

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Re: Mentality/Behaviour of Hungarians

Postby Levo » 2013-04-05, 10:22

Gareth, as for your first few sentences, you mean, you met Hungarians and discussed these?
I'm sorry you had a bad experience :)

Varislintu, interesting and very realistic mix of experience here.

I'm very shocked Slovaks have no experience about their local minority living there. Or not even stereotypes going around about Hungarians. :) I'd be interested.
Though, I must say, Hungarians in Slovakia are different from us, they are more down-to-earth and less the complaining-type than us. Maybe closer to Slovaks already, and not much difference. I don't know.

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Re: Mentality/Behaviour of Hungarians

Postby Mikey93 » 2013-04-05, 17:44

Hi!
From my point of view, I do not see any difference between Slovaks and Hungarians. I have three classmates with Hungarian nationality and we are just fine. The only difference I can tell is that they have advantage of speaking two languages. I live in the southern part of Slovakia so there are many Hungarians living here and mostly we get along fine. In past, Hungarians felt superior to us (there was some "Magyarisation" as well), so now some say “Hungarians (go) beyond the Danube”, but mostly the patriots. Regarding the culture, we have many same “elements” . For example like food or celebration of some holidays (during the Easter we also water and whip the girls :D ) and I guess much more that I cannot think of.
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Re: Mentality/Behaviour of Hungarians

Postby Levo » 2013-04-07, 17:52

Mikey93 wrote:Hi!
From my point of view, I do not see any difference between Slovaks and Hungarians...

Good, or not good. We have lots of negative habits nationwide, I hope Slovaks don't have those. :)
Thank you for the comment!

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Re: Mentality/Behaviour of Hungarians

Postby Levo » 2013-04-25, 9:08

ÍÍÍ! :D

Yesterday a Slovak guy stepped to us to ask where he actually is (we were sitting at a square). We answered in English and he asked, if this is xyz in Hungarian? And yeah, he had a good pronounciation :) He was interested in the sights in Budapest and repeated all names in Hungarian. So I asked him where he was from. When he said he is from Slovakia, we both started smiling with my friend.
He reminded me of when I was in Slovakia alone and no-one recognised I am Hungarian. And everyone was smiling :D

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Re: Mentality/Behaviour of Hungarians

Postby mōdgethanc » 2013-04-29, 1:42

Regarding the culture, we have many same “elements” . For example like food or celebration of some holidays (during the Easter we also water and whip the girls) and I guess much more that I cannot think of.
What the fuck?
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Re: Mentality/Behaviour of Hungarians

Postby Bijlee » 2013-04-29, 1:47

mōdgethanc wrote:
Regarding the culture, we have many same “elements” . For example like food or celebration of some holidays (during the Easter we also water and whip the girls) and I guess much more that I cannot think of.
What the fuck?


Oh like my favorite Polish celebration! Śmigus-Dyngus- cutest name ever :P

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Re: Mentality/Behaviour of Hungarians

Postby silmeth » 2013-08-11, 14:33

More on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9Amigus-Dyngus

In most Polish teritory these days it’s just throwing water on other people, mostly boys on girls, on Easter Monday morning. I suppose in other countries in the region it looks similar.
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Re: Mentality/Behaviour of Hungarians

Postby Levike » 2013-08-11, 18:00

We Hungarians from Transylvania have some negative stereotypes of Hungarians from Hungary.

Unfortunately some of my relatives went there on holiday
and they told me that some of them are quite true.

You guys in general are very "cold" or at least compared to us,
I mean that you don't seem very friendly like you're always in a bad mood.

And we also think that you're very pessimistic.

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Re: Mentality/Behaviour of Hungarians

Postby marique » 2013-08-12, 11:19

Culturally you are Huns I think. Nothing similar to Serbs or Italians.
And my view is that Hungarians think that they are better than Slovaks.

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Re: Mentality/Behaviour of Hungarians

Postby Mikey93 » 2013-08-12, 20:52

In Slovakia we have negative stereotypes of Hungarians, Germans, Polish, Russians, Czechs, Jews... and I found few of those to be „true“. I mean, surely, there are people that could squeeze into these stereotypes, yet to judge the whole nation by that, seems ridiculous.
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Re: Mentality/Behaviour of Hungarians

Postby ling » 2013-08-13, 3:36

Varislintu wrote:On the other hand, greeting the personel in shops (like bookstores) when you enter is something not done consistently in Finland, whereas in Hungary, I've understood that shop keepers expect it. My boyfriend sometimes has to remind me, saying "you didn't greet back?", and usually that means I've forgotten to look towards the cash register desk at the other end of the store and completely missed the greeting in the first place. :oops: I must seem rude in those situations.

Customers making a point of greeting shop staff seems to be a Slavic cultural thing, and I could see Hungary being influenced by its neighbors in this respect.
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Re: Mentality/Behaviour of Hungarians

Postby unistudent » 2015-12-08, 22:01

:para: :|
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Re: Mentality/Behaviour of Hungarians

Postby Levike » 2015-12-08, 22:07

unistudent wrote:I have been living in Hungary for a year going to school.

Mind if I ask where exactly in Hungary? (I'm supposing Budapest)

And what do you mean by cold? Cold as in not wanting to interact with people?

Also, weren't you a bit harsh, just a bit, maybe? :whistle:


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