Hungarian Rhapsody (4) 奨学金試験の巻っ！
♪ ハンガリー Kodaly Intezet (Instituteのハンガリー語)から合格通知を受け取った7月半ばから出発前日9月8日までのことを順序だててきちんと説明するのは不可能に近い。
毎日 予定表が黒く埋まるほどの過密予定だった。今の私だったら、このスケジュールをこなす前にダウンしてしまうかもしれない。
23歳という若さ、体力があったからこそこなせたのではないかと思う。
♪ 平日は毎日JACIでの授業を5時間受け（英文タイプは修了していた）、
自宅で週3回の音楽レッスンの仕事、6月から、5月に手伝いに行った後、
ひょんなご縁で正式入団してしまった東京の西部、立川のオーケストラにも通い始めており、これだけでも相当多忙だった。
それに加えて留学準備を急ピッチで進める必要があり、
どうやって時間のやりくりをしていたのか思い出せない。
♪ けれど夏の大きな出来事のひとつは「奨学金試験」である。
USAなど留学生の多い国なら 話は別だったかもしれないが、正直なところ、ハンガリー留学のための奨学金については、家族、私も全く無知であり、その存在すら知らなかった。
とにかく私の留学費用は父が用意してくれるつもりで話を進めていた。
♪ ところが、入学許可がおりた直後、ある晩（若い方の）T先生から電話があり、私の奨学金試験のことを教えてくださった。
もちろん これは朗報。
もし奨学金を受給できれば、両親の負担をグンと軽くすることができる。
♪ T先生のお話では、以前からあるハンガリー政府の奨学金に加え、この年に新たに設立された、ハンガリー文化省（日本ハンガリー友好協会とのコラボレーション）からの奨学金もあるので、ぜひ二つとも申し込んでみるとよいと言われた。
ただし、どちらも募集締め切りが迫っており、
急ぐように、とも付け加えられた。
♪ 私は早速行動開始。手間がかかるのはハンガリー政府の奨学金の方だった。まず文科省（当時、文部省）へ行き、申請書類をもらってくる必要があった。
♪ 私は初めて霞が関の省庁をひとりで訪れ「留学生課」の
いかめしい古いドアをノックしたが
・・返事がない。
♪ 恐る恐るドアを開けると・・・何のことはない、内部は雑然とした事務机が並ぶ、ごく普通の役所風景。
きれいなカウンターのひとつくらいはあるかな？ と期待していた私はがっかりした。
♪ ドアを開けたにもかかわらず、室内にあまり人の気配がなく、誰も気づいてくれない。
少し歩くと、近くのロッカーでゴソゴソ作業している男性をみつけ、声をかけた。
♪ 彼は「何？」と ぶっきらぼうな口調で私に訊く。
私は「ハンガリー政府の奨学金、申し込み用紙をいただきたいのですが・・」
丁重にお願いした。
が・・その男性は、少し遠くにいる別の担当者らしき男性に向かって、
少し笑いながら叫んだ。
♪ その口調は何だかハンガリーを小馬鹿にしているように聞こえ、
さすがに腹立たしかった。
そして担当者が山積みの書類の中から 苦労して出してくれたのは、
コピー用紙1枚の申請書と、もっと紙質のよくない（わら半紙というヤツ）健康診断書用紙の2枚だけ。
♪ たったこれだけのために、緊張してここに来たのか？ と思うと
何だか情けない。そんな気持ちを抱えたまま、文部省を後にした。
♪ 申請書は自筆の英語で記入する。健康診断書は実家近くの内科ドクターにお願いして英文で記入していただいた。この2枚を都内、ハンガリー大使館に提出。
試験日は7月31日だった。
♪ 朝8時30分に集合なので、早めにハンガリー大使館（この時は目黒区）へ出向く。
文科省で ハンガリーはマイノリティらしいから、試験を受ける人もさぞかし少ないであろう、という私の予想は 見事に外れ、
せいぜい10人くらいかな？と思っていたら、私が到着した時点で、
ざっと数えて40人以上！が 既に大使館の門の外に列を作って並んでいる。
♪ 午前9時から3人ずつ 大使館2階の部屋に呼ばれ、面接諮問が始まった。
試験は英、独、露、またはハンガリー語のいずれかを選び、参事官と書記からの質問に答える。
♪ 自分がハンガリーに行って、何をどのように学びたいのか説明を求められた。
私のすぐ直前の若い男性は、東京外語大学のロシア語科卒とかで、すごいスピードのロシア語でまくしたて、
参事官も「あなたのロシア語は素晴らしい！」と褒めたりするので、
次の私はますます緊張した。
♪ ひと通りのことは言えたつもりだが、面接諮問の最後に「もし、この奨学金が取れなかったら、あなたはハンガリーへ行くのをやめますか？」という質問があり、わたしは「いいえ、奨学金がダメだった場合は自費（父が用意してくれる資金）で行きます」と答えてしまい、後から「しまった！」と思った。
♪ 自費で行かれるなら、自費で行ってもらおうと思われたのではないか？
反省するも、後悔先に立たず。だめでも仕方ない。開き直って帰途についた。
♪ 一方、ハンガリー文化省＋友好協会の奨学金試験は、一次が書類選考で、これは通過できた。
♪ 二次の面接試験は かなり遅く、8月末に都内で行われた。
一次の書類審査で人数が絞られていたためか、大使館ほどの「にぎわい？」はなかったが、私と同様、ふたつかけもちで受験している人が多く、
「また お会いしましたね」と言葉を交わしたり・・
順番がきて部屋に入ると、日本ハンガリー友好協会の理事長夫妻と某大学のS教授がにこやかに迎えてくださる。
♪ この面接諮問は 私にとって意外な展開になった。
とにかく私に対して、とても丁寧な口調、態度で接してくださり、
驚いたのは最後の質問だった。
「あたなは、政府の奨学金も申し込んでいますね。実は政府の奨学金の方が、私どもの奨学金の月額より少し金額が大きいのです。
けれど、政府の方は、奨学生決定が遅く、おそらくあなたの出発には間に合わないでしょう。
それで・・・もし私たちが政府より先にあなたを奨学生に選んだら、あなたは政府の方に合格しても キャンセルしますか？」 と尋ねられた。
♪ 私の答えは もちろん Yes！だった。
理事長夫人の「あなたのような若い女性は、特にハンガリー男性に気をつけないとダメよ」という言葉に 笑って頷きながら 丁寧にお礼を述べて退室。
♪ その後、何となくいい予感が的中し、嬉しい知らせが出発直前、9月4日に電話で届いた。
理事長夫人が「おめでとう！ よかったわね。あなたが現地に着いたら、ハンガリーの対外文化協会の人からコンタクトするように手配しますからね」と言ってくださった。
♪こうして、私は もう一人のSさんという男子学生と共に、ハンガリー文化省＋日本ハンガリー友好協会からの初の奨学生に選んでいただいた。
（注：ハンガリー文化省＋友好協会からの奨学金制度は廃止され、政府奨学金のみになっているようです）
（続く）
[Scholarship Examination]
♪ From mid-July, when I received the acceptance letter from the Kodály Intézet in Hungary ("Intézet" being the Hungarian word for "Institute"),
until the day before my departure, September 8,
it was nearly impossible to clearly and systematically explain everything that happened.
♪ My schedule was so packed that my daily planner was filled with appointments.
If it were me now, I might collapse before even completing such a schedule.
I believe I was only able to handle it because I was 23 years old, young, and full of energy.
♪ On weekdays, I attended five hours of classes at JACI (having already completed my English typing course).
♪ Additionally, I worked three times a week giving music lessons at home.
From June onwards, after having assisted an orchestra in May, I unexpectedly found myself formally joining an orchestra in Tachikawa, in western Tokyo.
♪ Even with just these commitments, I was already extremely busy.
On top of that, I had to rush to prepare for my study abroad trip, and I can no longer recall how I managed my time.
♪ One of the major events of that summer was the "scholarship examination."
♪ If it had been a country with many international students, like the USA,
the situation might have been different.
However, to be honest, neither my family nor I knew anything about scholarships for studying in Hungary—
we were completely unaware of their existence.
My father had planned to cover my study abroad expenses, and we proceeded under that assumption.
♪ However, shortly after my acceptance was confirmed, one evening,
I received a phone call from Professor T (the younger one), who informed me about the scholarship examination.
♪ Of course, this was great news.
If I could receive a scholarship, it would significantly reduce my parents' financial burden.
♪ According to Professor T, in addition to the existing Hungarian government scholarship, a new scholarship had been established that year by the Hungarian Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the Japan-Hungary Friendship Association.
♪ She advised me to apply for both.
However, she also warned me that the deadlines for both were approaching quickly, so I needed to act fast.
♪ I immediately began taking action.
The more cumbersome application process was for the Hungarian government scholarship.
♪ First, I had to visit the Ministry of Education (then called the Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture) to obtain the application documents.
♪ This was my first time visiting a government ministry alone in Kasumigaseki.
When I knocked on the imposing, old door of the "International Student Section," there was no response.
♪ Cautiously, I opened the door, only to find an unremarkable bureaucratic office with desks scattered in a cluttered fashion—just a typical government office scene.
♪ I had hoped there would be at least a neat reception counter, so I felt disappointed.
♪ Even though I had entered the room, there seemed to be few people inside, and no one noticed me.
♪ As I walked a little further, I found a man fumbling around a locker nearby. I called out to him, and he bluntly responded,
"What?"
I politely asked, "I would like to obtain the application form for the Hungarian government scholarship..."
♪ However, the man called out to another staff member in the distance, laughing as he said,
"Hey! This person is applying for Hungary!"
♪ His tone sounded as if he were mocking Hungary, and I couldn't help but feel irritated.
♪ Eventually, the official who was supposed to be responsible struggled to pull out the documents from a massive pile of papers.
♪ What he handed me was a single sheet of application paper and another lower-quality piece of paper (similar to coarse recycled paper) for the medical certificate.
♪ I thought to myself,
"Did I come all this way and get nervous just for this?"
I left the Ministry of Education feeling somewhat disheartened.
♪ I had to fill out the application form in English myself.
The medical certificate was completed in English by a doctor at a clinic near my family home.
These two documents were then submitted to the Hungarian Embassy in Tokyo.
The exam date was set for July 31.
♪ Since we were instructed to gather at 8:30 AM, I arrived early at the Hungarian Embassy (then located in Meguro Ward).
♪ Given that Hungary was a minority destination according to the Ministry of Education, I had assumed that there wouldn't be many applicants.
♪ I had guessed around ten people at most.
However, when I arrived, I was completely wrong—
there were already more than forty people forming a line outside the embassy gate.
♪ From 9:00 AM, candidates were called in groups of three to a room on the second floor of the embassy for an interview examination.
♪ The test required candidates to answer questions from a counselor and a secretary in one of four languages: English, German, Russian, or Hungarian.
♪ We had to explain what we planned to study in Hungary and how we intended to pursue our education there.
♪ The young man just before me was a graduate of the Russian language department at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
♪ He spoke Russian at an incredible speed, prompting the counselor to praise him, saying,
"Your Russian is excellent!"
♪ This made me even more nervous about my turn.
I believe I managed to express what I wanted to say, but at the end of the interview, I was asked, "If you do not receive this scholarship, will you cancel your plans to go to Hungary?"
♪ I answered, "No, if I don't receive the scholarship, I will go at my own expense (with the financial support my father has prepared)."
Immediately after answering, I thought, "Oops! That was a mistake!"
Would they decide that, since I could afford it, I should just go on my own?
♪ I regretted my response, but there was nothing I could do.
If I didn't get the scholarship, so be it.
I accepted it and went home.
♪ Meanwhile, the scholarship examination for the Hungarian Ministry of Culture and the Friendship Association had two stages.
♪ The first was a document screening, which I successfully passed.
♪ The second stage, an interview, was held much later, at the end of August in Tokyo.
♪ Since the document screening had already narrowed down the candidates, the interview was not as crowded as the one at the embassy.
♪ Many of the applicants, including myself, were applying for both scholarships, so we greeted each other with, "We meet again!"
♪ When my turn came, I entered the interview room, where the president of the Japan-Hungary Friendship Association and his wife, along with Professor S from a certain university, welcomed me warmly.
♪ The interview took an unexpected turn. They treated me with great respect and spoke to me in a very polite manner.
The most surprising part was the final question:
"You have also applied for the government scholarship, haven't you?
The government scholarship actually offers a slightly higher monthly stipend than ours.
However, the government scholarship selection process takes longer, and it is unlikely to be finalized before your departure.
So, if we select you as a scholarship recipient before the government does, will you decline the government scholarship even if you are accepted?"
♪ My answer was, of course, "Yes!"
The president's wife smiled and said, "As a young woman, you especially need to be careful with Hungarian men!" I laughed, nodded, expressed my gratitude, and left the room.
♪ A few days later, on September 4,
I received great news over the phone just before my departure.
♪ The president's wife cheerfully said,
"Congratulations! I'm so happy for you.
When you arrive in Hungary, we will arrange for someone from the Hungarian Cultural Association to contact you."
♪ Thus, I became one of the first two recipients of the Hungarian Ministry of Culture + Japan-Hungary Friendship Association scholarship, along with another male student, Mr. S.
(*Note: The scholarship program from the Hungarian Ministry of Culture and the Friendship Association has since been discontinued, leaving only the government scholarship program.)
(To be continued)