After 2 years, German Greta Hansen is leaving our team. In an interview we talked to her about her time here, the differences from her home country and her future plans.
For what reason did you move to Hungary? What was your first impression of the country?
I moved to Hungary about 4 years ago to study medicine here. At first I started in Szeged and stayed there for two years. Since it is a very small city it was a big difference to my hometown Berlin but I adapted quickly. I kind of knew what to expect from Hungary because I’ve been here a few times already for competitions with my previous team. Then I changed universities and moved to Budapest and was finally able to start skating again.
When and how did you join the Team Passion? How did they welcome you, as a foreigner?
I started in September 2020 and everyone in the team was really sweet. It was a bit difficult for me at first because despite some Hungarian lessons that I had in szeged I never really got in touch with the language before. I only speak German in university so it really didn’t understand anything at the trainings at first. But all the skaters and coaches always did their best to translate for me and they also supported me as much as they could outside of skating at appointments, etc.
What was the biggest difference compared to Germany?
It actually turned out that the trainings and traditions in Passion are almost the same as the ones we had in Germany so it actually felt like same just with different people and a foreign language. For me personally I think the biggest difference was that it is a team that I was completely new To. I didn’t know any of the people before I came here. In Germany I’ve been in the Team Berlin „family“ since I was 8 so I knew a lot of girls and the coaches my whole life. But it was a great experience to meet so many new people.
What were the most memorable moments during your time here?
For once it was our competition in Germany. It was amazing to skate In my home country with my Hungarian team and to know that my family was there to watch us. The second thing was at the worlds in Canada of course where the team made the biggest step forward in its history and ended up at the 8th place. The moment we saw our score was just unbelievable.
What are you taking home with you?
During the past two seasons that I’ve been with passion, we had to face a lot of difficulties and challenges. But the team always found a way to pull through those and somehow we were always able to solve our problems by sticking together. So I know that no matter how hard something seems it’s always possible to reach your goals.
Are you ever planning to visit Hungary again?
I will study here for one more year and of course I will watch every competition the team has here. And after that I will try my best to visit as often as possible because this place has given me some of the greatest moments ever and I definitely want to see the friends that I’ve made here.