Field Excursion #3: Question- What’s the best was to scare a bunch of 20 year olds? Answer: Bring them to a prison in Eastern Europe.

           On Wednesday the gang and I woke up early and boarded a train to visit the famous Hungarian city of Eger. After a two hour ride on a train that smelled like an outhouse and only looked slightly better, we made it to Eger and visited the city’s prison. We were met by a giant of a man who had one the best goatees I have ever seen, and he introduced himself as the Governor of the prison, which is the American equivalent of a warden. After a brief introduction we were brought to a meeting room where he showed us a slideshow with facts about the prison, the Hungarian legal system, and different projects the prison uses to help prisoners prepare for life after jail. What really stood out about his presentation was the fact that he seemed to genuinely care about the well-being of the prisoners and considered himself an important part in their eventual entrance back into society. Since in Hungary there is very little violent crime, most of the prisoners are serving short to medium length sentences, meaning they will eventually be returned to society. The Governor felt that if he and his co-workers made the lives of the prisoners miserable and did not help them change their ways, they would be returning to society with the same mindset that brought them to jail in the first place. Maybe I’ve seen Shawshank Redemption too many times, but when I think of a prison warden I think of a stone-cold angry man who couldn’t care less about his prisoners. Yet, here was a man who has to deal with convicts on a daily basis yet had a positive attitude towards them, which I found very uplifting.

                       Red and Andy would be pleased to know that the prison guards at Eger Prison are not abusive like the ones at Shawshank. 

         To continue The Clash theme from last blog, I think this song is perfect for a blog post about prison. It is also a really good song.

         

                  When our meeting was done the governor took us on a full tour of a prison. To be honest I have never been inside a prison before so I have no frame of reference, but I have a gut feeling the prisons in America look like the Four Seasons compared to this place. The governor explained to us that it had been built over a hundred years ago and due to a lack of funding it has not been renovated for a long time. He brought us around and showed us both male and female cells, and the saddest part is that due to over-crowded prisons (sounds like the U.S) they have to shove 12 prisoners in a room that probably should only have three or four at most. As if there weren’t enough motivation to stay out of jail in one’s life, this was the icing on the cake. When we left about an hour later I really didn’t know how to feel about what I had just experienced. In one regard it was good to see a well-managed prison with a staff that cares and it’s always fun to see things you would normally never see in one’s everyday life. On the other hand the mental image of twelve people crammed in this old USSR-esque prison made me feel a little uneasy. I guess the take away point is that although no one wants to give money to help prisons, sometimes it is a necessity that should not be ignored. If the state wants these people to be productive members of society when they exit, they cannot make them live in the worst conditions possible even if it seems like the best possible punishment.

                        This is the view of Eger from the outside. It is located in a very nice part of Eger, and from the outside the building is quite impressive.            

     

            After leaving and having a nice (tree-nut free) lunch, we then set out to the beautiful wine/castle district of Eger. We visited an ancient castle that was breath-taking. From the top we could see the whole city and the view was beautiful. I was lucky enough to get to fire an arrow at a target, and everyone else was lucky enough to get to see me hit that target square in the chest! After exploring the castle we were able to walk around the city and we learned about this famous Hungarian red-wine called “Bull’s Blood”. Apparently people will travel great lengths just to have a glass of this famous wine. Call it a hunch but if there was a product called “Bull’s Blood” on the shelf of a store in America, I have a feeling it might remain on that shelf for a long time. After the hour was up we boarded the train back home and concluded quite an eventful day.

     

                                 This was the view from the castle to the beautiful city of Eger.

                      This is the target that I struck right before I delivered the crushing blow to his chest.


Also, on a more serious note we are still looking for the culprit who turned Evan’s backpack inside-out on the train. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated, and if caught you will be send to Eger!