Lilla, Helsinki, Finland
Hungarian graphic designer in Finland!
Check out Lilla’s story and an amazing piece about her home city, Budapest, that she misses all the time. At the same time she watches helplessly as culture, education, freedom of press, the rule of law and healthcare has been degrading day by day in her home country.
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Meet Lilla, 28, originally from Budapest, Hungary, living today in Helsinki, Finland.
Lilla is married to Nikita, who was born in Tallinn, Estonia, but living in Finland since he was a child. They have a 1-year-old son. Lilla’s parents and siblings live in Budapest and she visits them as often as she can. Both of Lilla’s parents are art historians which has had a pretty strong impact on her life.
Lilla works as a graphic designer.
Mirka and Lilla’s husband are colleagues: that is how girls connected to Lilla!
EVERYDAY LIFE
In a normal Tuesday Lilla gets up at the same time with the baby and plays with him a little while her husband, who is now on paternity leave, prepares breakfast. In the morning Lilla reads the news resignedly and then, around 9, she starts to work. She reads her emails and starts the tasks beginning with the hardest one and sometimes when getting tired, switching to another. In the early afternoon, she returns to her baby to play with him. That is the very best in everyday life – playing with him. During baby’s afternoon nap, Lilla finishes her work tasks. Over dinner they have a video chat with her parents and then after putting the baby to sleep, she goes to the sauna. If still time, watching TV series together with her husband and off to bed around midnight.
During the day when need for a short break, she chooses a cup of matcha tea and just not staring at the monitor for a moment. And when, once in a while, having more time just for herself, she loves to go to massage. As a hobby Lilla names writing her thesis!
DREAMS & FEARS, PAST & FUTURE
What is your worst fear?
“I’m ridiculously afraid of snails.”
What has been the greatest global invention of your time?
“Social media – whether you like it or not.”
Where would you donate your time/money to?
“I regularly donate money to several independent presses in Hungary and plant trees to different parts of the world through One Tree Planted.”
Has the position of girls/women changed during your lifetime?
“Certainly, #MeToo was a turning point.”
If you could, what advice would you give to your 20-year-old self?
“Trust yourself and dare to be independent!”
Where will you be in 10 years?
“I have no idea. Who would dare to guess after 2020?”
STORY
“I was born and raised in Budapest. This is the place I return to any time, it’s like I left only yesterday, yet it’s always a culture shock. Budapest means to me my family, my friends, my youth, my alma mater and the city where I met my husband. The rumbling trolleys. My favourite bistro, where they know that if I arrive in the morning, cappuccino without sugar, if in the evening, rosé with soda. Sziget Festival, which was a defining experience of my teenage years (first at the age of 10 at a HIM concert with my mom). Exhibition openings with free wine and salty snacks. Going to Madách Square, where you can always run into a couple of familiar faces from the art university. Criticizing the system. National holidays, the names of which are now intertwined with the demonstrations of tens of thousands. Going to Lake Balaton with the stinky and slow train to eat lángos. Sitting on the banks of the Danube until dawn after a concert on the boat. Sitting on the terrace after a hot summer day. The weight of historical tragedies that left their marks on the streets and passed on from generation to generation. Where everyone knows of my name that it doesn’t mean ‘small’ but to refer to a poet’s love poems. Christmas fairs flooded with national kitsch but still with charm, as it was a miracle in our childhood. Crossing the Danube by tram and watching the city lights. Getting a stomach cramp from the ticket inspector, even if I have a valid ticket. Having teenage dramas, broken hearts a million times, running after someone and getting lost but finding comfort in the reassuring words of my best friend. Recognizing the streets and buildings that serve as a set for Hollywood movies (usually as Berlin or Moscow). Proving to the foreigners that everything was invented by the Hungarians (Didn’t you know that he was also from Hungary? No? Well, he was an immigrant...). Going to art cinemas several times a week. Going to cozy jazz clubs and eating good food. Relaxing in beautiful thermal baths. Preparing every food as breaded, eating sweet cottage cheese, chestnut puree and consuming an industrial amount of poppy seeds. Involving politics in everything. Keeping a list of the best cakes in the city. Talking to the homeless and realizing that anyone can end up there. Appreciating what we have. Diving into the Hungarian language so I can learn everything. Learning English so I can escape. Missing the city all the time and being grateful for my wonderful new place at the same time.”
QUICK ONES
Drink: rosé wine with soda (1:2)
Favorite food: homemade Hungarian broth soup
Delicacy: any sweets with poppy, e.g. strudel
Restaurant/Café: Dobrumba in Budapest
Spice: rosemary
Feeling: catharsis
Music: many different things from Nick Cave through Philip Glass till MIA
Scent: orange peel
Travel destination: Italy
Book: Journey by Moonlight by Antal Szerb
Movie: Night on Earth by Jim Jarmusch, Stalker by Andrei Tarkovski
Favorite public holiday: Christmas
Plant: all of them
Evening routine: listening audiobook
Favorite piece of clothing: Tomcsanyi Plants Print Jumpsuit
Animal: fox
Scenery: sea
Motto: ”Begin anywhere”