Jan. 18. Why are Hungarians so Depressed?

 Fermat's Little Theorem:

Today we learned about Fermat's Little Theorem, and had a great time filling out this chart, looking for patterns that we eventually discovered. There are quite a few!

Celebrations!

Today, Prof. Berliner told us about his upcoming expanded role at St. Olaf, and to celebrate, we enjoyed some sweet treats. Above is Peter thoroughly and adequately celebrating this wonderful news.

 

Guest Speaker: Anna, on the Geopolitical Climate and Political History of Hungary

In the afternoon, after a break for lunch, we welcomed another guest speaker! Anna spoke to us on our first day in the school building, and today she returned to give us a very informative presentation on the history of Hungarian politics, and how it changed the views and behaviors of Hungarian citizens. The foggy day set the mood perfectly for some heavier topics. 

We received great insights about why Hungarian people tend to act in the ways that they do, as well as how government has developed in the past few hundred years, and especially in the last 30 years.

The bodies of government in Hungary differ widely from in the United States, but it was not difficult to draw a surprising amount of parallels to the two political climates. This presentation definitely allowed us to view Hungary, as well as most of Central/Eastern Europe with a new lens.

Afterwards, people were getting tired after a dreary day, and the evening consisted of primarily homework, with a few Oles braving the dense fog to explore parts of the city. Overall, a very informative day!

Room 752 signing off (for now),

Harry, Andrew, and Peter