From Quito to Pécs: Finding a Second Home in Hungary

"I took a flight to the other side of the world."

For Valentina Ochoa, that is how one of the biggest chapters of her life began. At 17, she left Quito, Ecuador, for Hungary to study International Relations at the University of Pécs. Until then, she had spent her entire life in the same city. Suddenly, she was moving thousands of kilometres away from her family to a country she had never visited before.

She knew she wanted to study abroad. What she did not yet know was how much the experience would change her.

Choosing Pécs

Valentina's interest in International Relations began when she joined the UN Club at her school at the age of 12. Model United Nations soon became an important part of her life, introducing her to diplomacy, politics, history and public speaking.

"I wanted a career path that could help me keep in touch with all the things that I did in MUN. With diplomacy, trying to be part of the people who make a change, to speak up."

Choosing International Relations was easy. Choosing where to study was harder.

Valentina knew she wanted to go to Europe, but she also wanted somewhere different from the destinations most familiar to students at her school. Hungary came up through her college counsellor, and she remembered receiving a University of Pécs flyer at a university fair.

As she researched her options, Pécs began to stand out. It offered the programme she wanted, an international environment and, importantly for her family, an affordable option. She applied to universities in Spain, Prague and Pécs. When she was accepted to all three, she and her parents compared them carefully.

Pécs felt like the right choice.

Still, moving abroad for the first time was intimidating.

"I was very scared because it was my first time being this far away from home. And I'd never experienced anything different."

Learning a new culture, one "Jó napot" at a time

Some of Valentina's first experiences in Hungary quickly showed her how different everyday life could be.

Before leaving Ecuador, she had learned a few Hungarian phrases, including Jó napot kívánok. On her first day, she walked out of her apartment and enthusiastically greeted someone on the street.

"Jó napot kívánok."

The person looked at her strangely and continued walking. She tried again with the next person, with much the same result.

When she got home, she called her father.

"Dad, everyone here hates me!"

Of course, nobody hated her. She had simply discovered one of the many small cultural differences that come with moving abroad. In Ecuador, greeting strangers is part of everyday life. In Hungary, it is less common.

Over time, those differences became part of the adventure.

Coming from Quito, Valentina had never experienced four distinct seasons. When the leaves changed colour, she called her parents: "Look, it's like in the movies, all the trees are red." When it snowed, she called again. Spring brought another excited update when the flowers appeared.

She also discovered things she came to appreciate about life in Hungary, from public transport to the sense of safety she felt walking around Pécs.

And she discovered that first impressions do not always tell the whole story.

"Maybe Hungarians are not that warm with strangers, but as soon as you meet them, they are very nice and very welcoming."

"They weren't just my friends. They were my family."

Ask Valentina what she remembers most strongly about her years in Pécs and the answer is not a building, a class or an exam.

It is the people.

Her friendships brought together students from Colombia, Jordan, Brazil, Guernsey, Costa Rica, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kenya, Guatemala, Ecuador and many other countries.

"They weren't just my friends there. They were my family."

Living in such an international community also changed the way she understood the world.

"Before them I literally didn't know some of these countries existed, and now I can't wait to visit those countries because of them."

For an International Relations student, those friendships also became part of her education. She could study an international issue in class and then talk to someone who had experienced it from a completely different perspective.

"It's not the same to read about Georgia than when you speak with someone from Georgia. You read about Palestine and then you speak with Palestinians. You read about Russia-Ukraine and then you speak with Russians, you speak with Ukrainians."

"I think it opened my mind a lot."

Bringing an old passion to Pécs

One of the most meaningful parts of Valentina's university experience was helping establish Model United Nations at PTE.

When she heard that a group of students was planning to create an MUN, she immediately wanted to join. The group started with only five students, all bringing different MUN experiences from their home countries.

For Valentina, it connected the passion she had discovered as a 12-year-old in Ecuador with her new life in Hungary.

It also showed her what an international university could offer beyond the classroom. She was not only studying diplomacy and international relations. She was experiencing them every day through friendships, discussions and student activities.

A student city that became home

Studying in Hungary also gave Valentina the chance to discover Europe. Before coming to Pécs, she had never been to the continent. During her studies, she travelled to Prague, Vienna, Greece, Italy, Spain and Paris. Her international friendships even took her further, including a trip to Jordan.

Yet some of her favourite memories happened much closer to home.

She remembers the centre of Pécs, where she would go when she felt overwhelmed. She remembers long study sessions with friends, and a day at nearby Orfű, staying until the last train, making videos, laughing and jumping into the lake.

"I saw almost all my favourite people and it was a very nice day."

By the time graduation arrived, leaving Pécs turned out to be harder than arriving.

The students who continued the MUN club organised a goodbye treasure hunt for Valentina and her friends, complete with letters, sweets and a cake. For her, it was proof that something they had helped build would continue after they left.

"I think it's so nice that the hardest part of those three years was to say goodbye, because I met so many amazing people that made it so hard to say goodbye."

Would she do it again?

Valentina does not pretend that studying abroad is always easy. There can be homesickness, cultural differences, practical challenges and moments when being far from home feels overwhelming.

But when asked what she would tell a student in Ecuador who is thinking about taking the same step, her first answer is simple:

"Do it."

"You're going to meet amazing people, you're going to have so much fun."

She also encourages future students to think carefully about what matters to them. Cost, academic opportunities, student life, travel, international experiences and community may all play a role.

"Put your priorities in order."

For Valentina, the University of Pécs offered the combination she was looking for: an international environment, a strong student community and the chance to experience life abroad in a university city.

When she first received a University of Pécs flyer at a fair in Ecuador, Pécs was simply the name of a city she knew little about.

Three years later, it was the place where she had learned to live independently, met people from around the world, travelled across Europe, developed her understanding of International Relations and built friendships that stretched far beyond Hungary.

"I don't think I can choose just one spot in Pécs because Pécs as a whole became a very, very important place for me. It is literally my second home."

She left Quito hoping to discover more of the world, only to find that her definition of home had expanded far beyond its original borders.