Five months ago I left Hungary to join fellow Scholars in London. Packed for a whole year, I boarded the usual 6:15 flight equipped with three weeks worth of clothes, my diploma and the little book written by dear friends for my 18th birthday. I was ready to move to China any time. Now, I am back to Budapest for the Chinese New Year. I doubt I will set foot in Beijing this year. And yet, I am very optimistic.
Cover photo: Staring into the magnificient sunset at Patara over the Mediterranean. I kept marvelling at the clouds. How could something be so randomly beautiful?
What happened?
The last 150 days was probably the most condensed adventure of my life so far. A good indication is the number of articles I posted since September: 1. Our programme kept me busy non-stop, quite literally. Some lectures started at 4AM, others finished at 10PM, there was always something going on between them too. And the repertoire has been rich.
If you click here, I shared four brief takeaways from academics, one paragraph each (four and one are the lucky numbers of the Ox). Originally, I wanted to elaborate on them, but after 400 words on the first one I was still only halfway with the story. Maybe I should follow up with standalone articles. So think of these as teasers.
But the most exciting part – as always – has been the people. Despite the pandemic, we sought ways of connecting in person, and were lucky enough to find some. During these months I connected with 36 scholars from over 20 countries. Some in the pubs of London, a handful in the hills of the Scotland, many on the shores of Southern Turkey, and a few in the deserts of Egypt. How on Earth could I complain?
I have been given opportunities I always craved. For example, living my own version of Friends. In the sleepy town of Kalkan I had the luck of sharing a home with five other weirdos: a Chinese-Slovenian energy ball, an Azerbaijani badass, an American goofball, a Kurdish-Turkish life artist and a Kazakh princess. We cooked for each other every night, shared stories and heated arguments, went crazy dancing on our terrace rapping in Chinese, even dressed up as each other at one point.
Then the adventures. Once, we lost our rental car’s key on the beach. But we didn’t panic or blame each other: we got to work and while didn’t find it, ended up having one of our best nights. In November, I watched the Sun rise in Cappadocia from a hot air balloon. Even better, I got to check out the steep ridge where David Schafer and I almost succumbed to our demise the day before. By the way, death. Galloping around the Great Pyramid of Giza I really thought I was going to die. If you don’t believe me, try going full speed with a fast horse on your first ride. Thanks god, both Andrew and I are alive, so now it’s one of my most treasured travel experiences.
Of course, it was not always that fun. I had to realise that if I can’t get “me-time” away from my folks, I get pretty neurotic. Especially if the constant buzz is complemented by construction noise twelve hours a day or the pressure of submitting 15,000 words of assignments while your friends at home celebrate Christmas and New Year’s (not a thing in China). Still, a small price to pay for the incredible experience. I returned with the feeling of having a second family of sorts.
There were moments of serene reflection too. Watching the sunset atop a monastery’s ruins on the Northern edge of Skye. Looking up mesmerised below the tall colonnades of Karnak Temple in Luxor. Or listening to my friend David Ross reciting Shakespeare in the old necropolis of Tlos. From Macbeth. “And this our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.” Indeed, there is good in everything - even this pandemic.
What’s next?
Right now, even the short-term seems daunting - although quite exciting. In a few days, I have a research paper due on Lethal Autonomous Weapons. I will examine how different scenarios of drone proliferation would shape global affairs. Long story short: it could even upset our fragile nuclear balance. My capstone thesis is also in the pipeline. I will discuss if ancient theories of “just hierarchy” could provide inspiration for the neighbourhood and enlargement policies of the EU. The jury is still out on this one.
In the meantime, term 3 is about to commence. The last one with teaching and ostensibly the most interesting. Besides our core classes, I will take four leadership courses: diplomacy, international organisations, public organisations and NGOs. The faculty is stellar: a retired US lieutenant general, a former UN Under Secretary-General, one of the best Dutch governance experts and a previous International President of Doctors Without Borders. Boredom will not be an option.
We are also planning to set up new Schwarzhouses. Some scholars are in Mexico right now, others went to Ghana. I am not sure if could join either but my feeling is that reunion is coming soon. One thing is certain: after April, I am ready for new adventures. If China will not open, at least we could get closer to it. Taiwan is not an option anymore, but Southeast Asia would not be half bad. By all means, it is really the people that matters.
Beyond this, I follow the policy of only crossing the bridge when I get there. Nevertheless, conversations in Turkey have inspired me to think about setting up a consultancy that would offer global affairs services to emerging cities on a private basis. 80% of the world’s GDP is produced in cities, over 55% of our population lives in them. Isn’t it weird that their say in politics is quite marginal? I say we could adjust that a little, building coalitions, strengthening their lobby and attracting investment.
Right now, my brain is overflowing with ideas. And thanks to this year, I have a much better understanding of my strengths, weaknesses and desires. But finding the right, most beneficial application is still a bit of a riddle. My callings are not linking up with clear opportunities yet. Maybe they never will. Maybe, once again, I will need to forge them myself. I should heed the advice of the Analects: “I have spent an entire day without eating, and an entire night without sleeping, so as to think. It was of no use. It is better to learn.” I will carry on!