The Idiot

After final exams, Svetlana asks Selin to accompany her to Paris for two weeks on very short notice. Originally, Svetlana was meant to go with a close friend, Robin, Robin’s boyfriend, Bill, and another friend, Fred. However, Fred cancels his travel plans. All the living arrangement and even the plane tickets are already taken care of. Svetlana knows Robin and Bill from before they became a couple and seems to have unresolved feelings or, at least, to feel sexual attraction to Bill. She does not want to be the third wheel on the trip, so she asks Selin to accompany her.

All four young people meet at the airport in New York. While waiting to board the flight to Paris, Selin and Svetlana see a girl from Russian class standing next to a man who looks like Ivan, but has much shorter hair. Eventually, Selin works up the courage to approach him and realizes that it is Ivan. She is surprised since Ivan’s original plan was to fly to Budapest from Boston. They continue their conversation on the airplane and Ivan tells her he plans to stay a few days in Paris, go to Geneva to visit a friend, and then hitchhike to Budapest. Their previous disagreements and anger seem forgotten.

At the airport in Paris, Selin and Ivan part ways. Selin spends time sightseeing Paris with Svetlana, Robin, and Bill. Eventually, they end up staying with Svetlana’s aunt, Bojana, who has a large apartment in the center of Paris. Bojana wants to help Svetlana become more attractive by giving her an expensive haircut and buying her high-end clothing. However, her efforts are also accompanied by comments implying that Svetlana is overweight and not attractive enough as she is. Svetlana is insecure about her appearance, and suffered from bulimia in high school.

After two weeks, Selin flies to Budapest where she meets up with Ivan, Peter, and the rest of the Harvard students who will spend four weeks teaching English in various Hungarian villages. On the first day, Ivan takes Selin on a picnic with his high school friends in a forest on the outskirts of Budapest. They return very late and Selin is unable to enter her hostel. Ivan takes her back to his home where Selin meets his mother and two of his sisters.

The following two days are spent sightseeing Budapest and its vicinity. Selin calls her mother a few times from payphones on the street. Selin’s mother thinks that Ivan wants to marry Selin as he has introduced her to his mother and sisters. Selin does not think that is true, but is secretly happy about it, nevertheless.

Finally, on Monday morning, the Harvard group leaves for their respective villages. Selin contemplates calling Ivan the night before, but decides against it as she would feel even worse after talking to him.