Most people never have the opportunity to visit a foreign domain, much less reside in a new country. Bucknell tennis player Anna Lajos can claim to be one of the select few to do both. The junior has lived in five countries and visited multiple more during her short existence. Her globe-trotting is a testament to the power of athletics and her determination.

Beyond journeying to multiple countries, Lajos hails from a bilingual family; her mother is Russian, and her father is Hungarian. The story of how they met is a simple tale, but it contains a touch of cinematic influence.

“My father worked in hotels, and my mother was a banker. My father’s hotel was right across from the bank where my mother worked. He was actually her client. So that is how they met.”

Naturally, her household jousted with dual languages. Historically-minded readers will recollect many second-generation immigrants in America had the same experience. But Lajos knows more than just Hungarian and Russian. Her tongue can speak English and Spanish as well.

“I loved learning Russian growing up. I always replied to my mother in Russian. I read and wrote in Russian. From a young age, I refused to talk to my father in Hungarian. I understood everything he said, but I would reply with Russian. He would become so mad at me. If I asked for something, he would not give it to me until I asked for it in Hungarian. I was forced to learn Hungarian that way. I learned English when I started attending school at the age of four. My parents speak English with each other. So, English was in my household growing up. I picked up Spanish, my fourth language when I started visiting Spain in the summer. My coaches all spoke Spanish, so I had to learn it, and I chose it as my high school language requirement for an easy A. I am minoring in Spanish at Bucknell.

Lajos was born in Poland and moved to Russia when she was four months old.

“We moved around Russia a lot. I was first in Samara, which no one outside of Russia knows of, and then we moved to Moscow for four or five years. St. Petersburg is where I have lived the longest. It is my mother’s original hometown and my grandparents live there. I lived there for about six and a half years. I consider it my hometown.”

Russia is a land of natural beauty, but her constructed beauty keeps Lajos just as enthralled, especially the architectural marvels that dominate St. Petersburg.

“I remember just walking around the city and noticing all the buildings and all the little details. I love how the bridges open up at night. The whole city is gorgeous. Moscow is different. It is a huge city. You can compare it to New York City. So many people, so much traffic. Not as beautiful. St. Petersburg is where my heart is at.”

Despite her father’s Hungarian origins, she has never resided in the Kingdom of St. Stephen, but to pay homage to her roots, she visits for a couple of weeks every year. She spends her summers in Spain where her parents live now.

Her high school involved a plane trip. She attended a school in the United Arab Emirates. It was an American high school but it wasn’t a Saved by the Bell set-up. The cultural impact of the home region and the city of Abu Dhabi loomed large.

“It was fascinating. There were lots of Arabic kids, and military kids (since there was an American base nearby), and most of my best friends were American. The Middle Eastern influence was felt. We listened to the UAE anthem every morning, raised their flag once a week, and the Arabic kids wore their traditional garb to class, Ramadan was followed so we couldn’t eat or drink in class, but it was interesting. It is a progressive city since 80% of the population are foreigners. I didn’t feel like I was in the Middle East.”

She selected Bucknell for a host of reasons. Lajos always wanted to play collegiate tennis, combined with her interest in America, since collegiate sports are not a cultural force in Europe. Bucknell provided that opportunity to mold her desire to play tennis by attending an American school.