Xpat Interview: Graeme Crampton

Graeme Crampton is the operations director for International House Language School and teacher training centre. With a background in language teaching and business management he found himself in the right place at the right time when International House was looking for someone to reinvigorate the business.

Originally from Wigan a small mining town in North West England his career has taken him around the world, living in Korea, Japan, Australia, Spain and Switzerland before settling in Buda.

Graeme is 38 years old and married to a Hungarian with one child and another on the way. In his free time he enjoys writing and playing music, reading, swimming cycling and following Liverpool football club.

Interview:

1. When did you arrive in Hungary and what brought you here?
I guess the simple answer is that I came here to study for a DELTA in English language teaching in 2005, but that's not really the story, about six years ago I came here on holiday to visit a Hungarian woman I met on my travels. I was walking down Andrassy one afternoon on a crisp sunny winter day and something inside me just clicked, I felt at home, relaxed, like I belonged. From that day on I always knew I'd be back.

2. Have you ever been an expatriate elsewhere?
Oh yes! My career in EFL made me something of a nomad, I lived in South Korea and Japan and for a while and spent a number of years in Barcelona and Geneva before coming here.

3. What surprised you most about Hungary?
How colourful and diverse the country and the culture is and how beautiful Budapest is, it's open spaces and great architecture. I guess like most people I grew up with we didn't really know much about the countries behind the wall, we imagined they were grey and dull with long bread queue's. How wrong we were!

4. Friends are in Budapest for a weekend - what must they absolutely see and do?
A stroll around the castle district, a dip at szechenyi baths, Sunday lunch at Gundel and a couple of unicums at potkulcs.

5. What is your favourite Hungarian food?
Tough call, I love it all!

6. What is never missing from your refrigerator?
Milk! I can't function without a cup of milky tea in the morning

7.What is your favourite Hungarian word?
Gy?ny?r? - it rolls off the tongue and it sounds nothing like it is written.

8. What do you miss most from home?
Tea and crumpet, oohh-err. My mum sends me huge boxes of yorkshire tea over monthly but I just can't get crumpet -  the edible variety! You can take the Englishman out of England...

9. What career other than yours would you love to pursue?
Actually I'd love to be a gardener, my mum and my grandad both had incredible gardens, I never realised how much I loved them till I found myself in a city centre flat! It's like a jungle in there now with all the houseplants.

10. What's a job you would definitely never want?
Tram and Metro ticket controller, what a thankless task.

11. Where did you spend your last vacation?
Actually my last vacation was my honeymoon, Plitvice lakes in Croatia, really beautiful Then on to Zadar, which has a lovely marble paved old town and on to Dubrovnik which is amazing, beautiful walled city, warm Adriatic to swim in and lovely people and finally we went to Sveti Stephan in Montenegro. That's the island town on the end of the beach peninsula, you always see it on the Montenegro ads. It was nice and the people there were really friendly, inviting us home for a shot of Raki.

12. Where do you hope to spend your next holiday?
I?d love to visit Istanbul; I?m a real history buff and anywhere with loads of history interests me.

13. What was your favourite band, film, or hobby as a teen?
I?m a musician, not a great one but I have a passion for funky music, then and now! My favorite film has always been The Jungle Book, I love the soundtrack. Ooh be doo,

14. What can't you resist?
Funky rhythm, ice cold beer and my wife's beautiful eyes.

15. Red wine or white?
I love wine but wine doesn't like me at all, I have to drink it in moderation but a glass of bikaver goes down well with dinner.

16. Book or movie?
Book definitely, I'm a sci fi junkie and I'll read any old rubbish as long as there aliens, inter stellar travel and cool technology in it.

17. Morning person or night person?
Always been a night owl! Mornings kill me.

18. Dog person or cat person?
Neither. I'm allergic to fur! Can I be a goldfish person?

19. Buda or Pest side?
Buda to live, Pest to play.

20. What would you say is your personal motto?
Happiness is not a destination, it's a way to travel.