I love to Read. I love to learn. I read to learn... but no lesson derived from a book can replace those that come from experience. Last week I was reminded about life-long lessons, real values, and just how wrong some stereotypes can be. This is my insight into my last destination: Romania
Sunday 10th May
"Tears are waiting to burst from my eyes as my train pulls out from Suncuius moving deeper into the mountains and countryside. My short trip to Romania was nothing like I expected it to be
It left a mark in my heart.
I was strangely at odds with the idea of going to Romania, it intrigued me but also made me thinkand reflect on all that has been said about the country recently in my life in Rome... not just by the people I know but by the general public in Italy and well to be honest also back home...The truth is that I was dying to get a glimpse of the country that is regarded by Italians solely as a source of problems and criminality.
I am so grateful that I got to visit 2 cities and return to tradition while taking a deep dive into one of the most breath-taking countryside settings I have ever seen
First Stop: Timisoara is a small gem in need of a bit of care but it's a decadent sister off Hapsburg Cities - little Vienna they call it, full as it is with liberty and 18th century architecture, the inheritance of the Austro-Hungarian empire . Littered with cafes and bars, exchange offices, churches (from all ends of the world) and an opera which makes you feel the size of an ant, Culture is definitely the word to associate with Timisoara..
I can't forget my night trip with Ana through the town and into the main square at around 1am. AI gazed at the vast parks, quaint streets and grand buldings, until I was guided to have a glass of mulled wine in a small student bar called "Papillon"(see my facebook pics)... butterflies follow me everywhere!
In the morning I set off for a lonesome walk and went straight to the Cathedral. The peace that the building emanated was unique, the ongoing traffic of people simply surprising. I never recall going into a place of worship and standing in the midst of this viavai unless it was a tourist mecca. All kinds and ages of Romanians walked in, prayed, kissed a reliquia, lit a candle, stood in silence, and left... all this while I gazed in awe at the golden walls and ceiling. Just a regular tuesday morning, but the church was fulll of faithful,, myself, the only tourist with my little trolley bag contemplateing the images to the soundtrack of constant murmur which echoed through the structure.
My mesmerised self was then rather hungry so I set off to eat a traditional meal...honestly one of the best I'd ever had...just think of the combination - pork medallions in Cherry sauce... sublime!
...that same Wednesday my trip brought me to Cluj...a six hour train ride in total absence of communication with those around me, except for sporadic hand gestures! It made me think...Lanugage is the key to our lives, to our identities, to ourselves.. be it verbal or not it is what guides us through the day. One girl that happened to know italian helped me find my place in the train.. she spoke perfectly, as well as I did, the lanugage of her favourite place in the world:. She told me about her raging desire to leave Romania and work overseas in the bel paese where she had worked for the past 7 summers doing random jobs just to earn enough t o put her through university. She was itching to flee from the ignorance that swamped her. How to blame her? Somehow I could relate as I felt similar things when I left home at 16... now I dont think that way anymore, now it's time to change things not flee them,. I wonder if with time she would ever think that way.
In the train my initial travel companion was a middle aged woman who was the first to make me realise that the all so different languages we spoke bore a strong similarity, and that with care and effort I could actually gather the sense of phrases... just with a bit of effort.
......
On my arrival in Cluj I was welcomed by three EB members from AIESEC Cluj-Napoca, who in no time I came to like. Off I went to the 3-roomed apartment of Lupo, a curious yet astounding character: slim-looking yet emanating strength, independence, and courage .. who took great care of me with his flatmate, both showering me with smiles, questions and kindness. Patient in supplying me with all I needed to get a good nights rest, including her own bed (thanks Roxi), before the day it would all begin.
The long day ahead started, bright and early we got into a cab and plugged ourselves into the morning traffic. Up the hill towards University together with Ral with whom I had shared my first boiled coffee of the week :)
In one day we ran a meeting, I ate Cluj stew - next dose of typical food, I saw the city in a dash, bought ear-rings (obviously) fled to the station ready to leave...again... this time for Suncuius... A little natural haven 3 hours from Cluj.
What a journey!!! and I don't mean the train ride, but the conference. I spoke to some of the most wonderful people : so beautiful, so ambitious, so genuine, so full of hope and dreams.
This country is on the road to growth, but it's people are definitely taking a fast track - at least those I met. The 100 or so students I had the pleasure to meet are racing upwards, surpassing many I have met in the past couple of years.
The cities I saw were brimming with students who created a non-stop pulsation, coloured with the spirit and energy of youth. One of the reasons I love the countries East of Italy is the sheer amount of children and students that populate them. We're used to the aging populations where people have less and less young, although surrounded by wealth and goodness we bring fewer children into the world every year. I notice this mainly because each time an elderly person crossed my way, clad with headscarf and unfashionable clothes my neck whipped right their way. I was stunned by the fact that there were less elderly than I was used to, and also by the fact that the vitalty they possessed was rather unparalled. I watched amazed when they climbed the 1m distance between the "platforms"into the trains, the same trains that I took 6 times in a week through which windows I watched the country scroll by.
Each station was different, yet most had no platform, and people simply stood on the ground near the tracks, sometimes crossing trains to get to the other tracks!!. Somehow worryingly they walked with nonchalance across the 5 tracks (in some cases even in stations where there was a subway passage...go figure!)
In the one train I wrote my notes, the door of my compartment wouldn't slide shut and had to be lifted across.. interesting that trains so battered somehow were still more punctual than the kinkiest italian eurostar! Oh yes, another important fact worth noting, is that the conductor always passed....twice!!!
As we "sped" through the endless green plains and hills I felt serene and in awe, my heart was pounding at an irregular speed, much like it did over the past few days as I exchanged anecdotes with Szili, Adi, Anda, my piccola (silvia), Ral and Rei... etc. These people are a few of those that will pick this country up on its feet making it stand tall and tower above others at some point, surely. I'm somehow always deeply touched by those, who although live humbly and in more adversity than others still plough through strongly and in many cases are happier than those that swim in wealth. I met smiling, strong, happy, determined and most of all, passionate people.
Thankyou for letting me bring back to life my ability of seeing things in perspective, it had hibernated for a while.
Thankyou for reminding me the true values of life.
Thankyou for showing me the real Romania.....thankyou for showing me you.
Stay tuned for my Curious facts and characters from this wondrous trip!
Sunday 10th May
"Tears are waiting to burst from my eyes as my train pulls out from Suncuius moving deeper into the mountains and countryside. My short trip to Romania was nothing like I expected it to be
It left a mark in my heart.
I was strangely at odds with the idea of going to Romania, it intrigued me but also made me thinkand reflect on all that has been said about the country recently in my life in Rome... not just by the people I know but by the general public in Italy and well to be honest also back home...The truth is that I was dying to get a glimpse of the country that is regarded by Italians solely as a source of problems and criminality.
I am so grateful that I got to visit 2 cities and return to tradition while taking a deep dive into one of the most breath-taking countryside settings I have ever seen
First Stop: Timisoara is a small gem in need of a bit of care but it's a decadent sister off Hapsburg Cities - little Vienna they call it, full as it is with liberty and 18th century architecture, the inheritance of the Austro-Hungarian empire . Littered with cafes and bars, exchange offices, churches (from all ends of the world) and an opera which makes you feel the size of an ant, Culture is definitely the word to associate with Timisoara..
I can't forget my night trip with Ana through the town and into the main square at around 1am. AI gazed at the vast parks, quaint streets and grand buldings, until I was guided to have a glass of mulled wine in a small student bar called "Papillon"(see my facebook pics)... butterflies follow me everywhere!
In the morning I set off for a lonesome walk and went straight to the Cathedral. The peace that the building emanated was unique, the ongoing traffic of people simply surprising. I never recall going into a place of worship and standing in the midst of this viavai unless it was a tourist mecca. All kinds and ages of Romanians walked in, prayed, kissed a reliquia, lit a candle, stood in silence, and left... all this while I gazed in awe at the golden walls and ceiling. Just a regular tuesday morning, but the church was fulll of faithful,, myself, the only tourist with my little trolley bag contemplateing the images to the soundtrack of constant murmur which echoed through the structure.
My mesmerised self was then rather hungry so I set off to eat a traditional meal...honestly one of the best I'd ever had...just think of the combination - pork medallions in Cherry sauce... sublime!
...that same Wednesday my trip brought me to Cluj...a six hour train ride in total absence of communication with those around me, except for sporadic hand gestures! It made me think...Lanugage is the key to our lives, to our identities, to ourselves.. be it verbal or not it is what guides us through the day. One girl that happened to know italian helped me find my place in the train.. she spoke perfectly, as well as I did, the lanugage of her favourite place in the world:. She told me about her raging desire to leave Romania and work overseas in the bel paese where she had worked for the past 7 summers doing random jobs just to earn enough t o put her through university. She was itching to flee from the ignorance that swamped her. How to blame her? Somehow I could relate as I felt similar things when I left home at 16... now I dont think that way anymore, now it's time to change things not flee them,. I wonder if with time she would ever think that way.
In the train my initial travel companion was a middle aged woman who was the first to make me realise that the all so different languages we spoke bore a strong similarity, and that with care and effort I could actually gather the sense of phrases... just with a bit of effort.
......
On my arrival in Cluj I was welcomed by three EB members from AIESEC Cluj-Napoca, who in no time I came to like. Off I went to the 3-roomed apartment of Lupo, a curious yet astounding character: slim-looking yet emanating strength, independence, and courage .. who took great care of me with his flatmate, both showering me with smiles, questions and kindness. Patient in supplying me with all I needed to get a good nights rest, including her own bed (thanks Roxi), before the day it would all begin.
The long day ahead started, bright and early we got into a cab and plugged ourselves into the morning traffic. Up the hill towards University together with Ral with whom I had shared my first boiled coffee of the week :)
In one day we ran a meeting, I ate Cluj stew - next dose of typical food, I saw the city in a dash, bought ear-rings (obviously) fled to the station ready to leave...again... this time for Suncuius... A little natural haven 3 hours from Cluj.
What a journey!!! and I don't mean the train ride, but the conference. I spoke to some of the most wonderful people : so beautiful, so ambitious, so genuine, so full of hope and dreams.
This country is on the road to growth, but it's people are definitely taking a fast track - at least those I met. The 100 or so students I had the pleasure to meet are racing upwards, surpassing many I have met in the past couple of years.
The cities I saw were brimming with students who created a non-stop pulsation, coloured with the spirit and energy of youth. One of the reasons I love the countries East of Italy is the sheer amount of children and students that populate them. We're used to the aging populations where people have less and less young, although surrounded by wealth and goodness we bring fewer children into the world every year. I notice this mainly because each time an elderly person crossed my way, clad with headscarf and unfashionable clothes my neck whipped right their way. I was stunned by the fact that there were less elderly than I was used to, and also by the fact that the vitalty they possessed was rather unparalled. I watched amazed when they climbed the 1m distance between the "platforms"into the trains, the same trains that I took 6 times in a week through which windows I watched the country scroll by.
Each station was different, yet most had no platform, and people simply stood on the ground near the tracks, sometimes crossing trains to get to the other tracks!!. Somehow worryingly they walked with nonchalance across the 5 tracks (in some cases even in stations where there was a subway passage...go figure!)
In the one train I wrote my notes, the door of my compartment wouldn't slide shut and had to be lifted across.. interesting that trains so battered somehow were still more punctual than the kinkiest italian eurostar! Oh yes, another important fact worth noting, is that the conductor always passed....twice!!!
As we "sped" through the endless green plains and hills I felt serene and in awe, my heart was pounding at an irregular speed, much like it did over the past few days as I exchanged anecdotes with Szili, Adi, Anda, my piccola (silvia), Ral and Rei... etc. These people are a few of those that will pick this country up on its feet making it stand tall and tower above others at some point, surely. I'm somehow always deeply touched by those, who although live humbly and in more adversity than others still plough through strongly and in many cases are happier than those that swim in wealth. I met smiling, strong, happy, determined and most of all, passionate people.
Thankyou for letting me bring back to life my ability of seeing things in perspective, it had hibernated for a while.
Thankyou for reminding me the true values of life.
Thankyou for showing me the real Romania.....thankyou for showing me you.
Stay tuned for my Curious facts and characters from this wondrous trip!
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