04/08/2025
These sentiments on this story explain how I myself came to embrace my Heritage, Hungarian as well as American. I live in America, and I love everything about it, the good the bad and the ugly. As I continue on my journey of what short life that may be left, I wake up each day being grateful. In a very convoluted way I reflect on my past. On my family who I love so dearly, on my adolescence that was luckily filled with innocence and mischief, and my journey that brought me to where I am today. Not a day goes by where I don’t think about my parents. And lastly, every day I think about those who I’ve met on my path, my classmates, neighbors, colleagues, fellow Hungarians, and now~ customers of Huszár !
Please don’t think this is a moment of narcissism, it is instead a celebration of life!
———————————————————————-
From Hungarian Treasures
In memory of my sister Sylvia Keseru May 23, 1964 - April 2, 2024 , who was the creator of this amazing group, here is her beautiful experience with Hungary in her own words ...
My Hungarian Heart..
It had been 27 yrs since I last saw Hungary..I always referred to it as my parents, grandparents homeland.
A small country far away where I had relatives, deep in history, rich in coulture..this was my thoughts of Hungary.
When I arrived I saw my mother , grandparents as I strolled in Pest..Walking is the beautiful countryside I saw my father by the Kis Duna and in his charming Majoshaza..I saw my parents smile in relatives, felt like their daughter was being welcomed.
Hungary embraced me from the moment I landed...it was as if she(and yes Hungary is definitly a woman) took me by the hand and welcomed me home. There is a magical energy in Budapest, everywhere you turn stands a monument, a statue, wrought iron gate doors that rival the masters in artistry..I drank in every morsel of my ancestry, the beauty & the history..proud , brave and strong are the Hungarian people, they have endured and not only survived but, prospered. This is a country that was built not only on hope and honor but also blood and tears.. I learned listening to relatives, reading the monuments but, most surprising of all, I felt so connected.
Heroes Square..The Uprising by Brave Hungarian Youth, Oct 23 1956. I stood there on my last Friday and wept..a silent vigil for those who had died, for my parents and grandparents and the family they left behind. This is when the decision to leave their homeland was made..
Nothing could have prepared me for the beauty of Budapest, as I gazed upon the Danube by moonlight..she is magnificent, I was dazzled by her elegance. The stunning countryside, the Kis Danu, the quaint old homes..no brochure can capture the charm that is Hungary.
I spent hrs walking the streets, adirming the historic sights, made sure to see each bridge up close ((they are works of art) enjoying the charms of Vaci Utca..yet I did not feel like a tourist, for every step was immersed in history, this is where my family walked, this is what they looked upon. I did not walk alone, I knew and I felt them walking with me.
As I visited family members I did not feel like the long lost relative, strange how after a few moments I felt like I have known them for yrs, my whole life. There was no pretense or awkwardness..my family is rich in love and abundant in character, they range in age, careers and personalities..so different are we all yet, so similar. Perhaps it is in our genes, bloodline or maybe we are just blessed..this is a family filled with a generosity of spirit and heart.
I truly believe every experience and person has an impact on our lives..This visit has not only changed me, it has healed something deep inside of me. I found myself in the smiles beaming back at me, as I looked into my cousins eyes, they were my own..I was one with all of them. Relatives became family, what I once saw as my parents heritage, became my own.. After three short weeks, I am overwhelmed by emotions..this is MY homeland, this is my family.I felt grounded, like pieces of a puzzle had been found, Dearest Magyarorsag, I am your long lost daughter and I will be back !!!
