I spent an entire academic year in Romania last year as a Fulbright grantee teaching English (and the like) at two universities: the University of Craiova in the southwestern geographical region of Romania called Wallachia and the University of Transylvania in the central mountainous area around Brasov. Stepping back into the city felt almost like stepping back in time; as I wandered around the city once again and met with familiar and friendly faces, I felt somehow as if I never left. A strange feeling considering I left Craiova last February.
Over a couple of Silvas at a local pub, my friends and I once again reconsidered Romania. As relative outsiders (as Americans, Spaniards, and French) and insiders who had recently spent time abroad (in England, Scotland, France, and the U.S.), we pondered the marketing of Romania to the outside world. What do people know of this place? What should they know? How is it presented? How should it be?
What do people know of this place?
We agreed that people are generally aware of only a few facets of Romania, some of them closer to the truth than others. There are the well-known persons and features such as the famous gymnast Natali Comeneci and the coach Bela Karolyi. There's Vlad Tepes or Dracula and the legends he inspired. The name of Ceausescu rings a dark bell to most outsiders as well. And then there are the images presented by the press about abject poverty, the large number of gypsies living in Romania, and abandoned children living in horrible orphanages. I, for one, have seen two documentaries on Romania in the news since arriving in Estonia. Perhaps the world is taking note or investigating what this place really is about as Romania plans their ascension to the EU. These residual pictures the world retains about Romania are, in a global sense, none too positive.
What should they know?
In my opinion, the world should also be aware that Romania's history has deeply affected what it is today and to understand anything of the contemporary environment, one has to delve a bit deeper into what it was and has been in the past. (This is no less true of any other place or people really, I guess). There are undoubtedly current issues and serious problems with employment, sanitation, education, health care, corruption, and child welfare. They are not so hidden -- you can see them easily when you visit or live there. More difficult than identifying them is understanding why they exist and are perpetuated; I am not sure that I do.
However, there is also a kind of joyous embracing of life, the good and bad, that can be infectious. On my visit, I was struck by laughter and loud, excited talk in the streets, markets, and bars. People are passionate and open about their perspectives -- much in contrast to the Nordic stoicism of Estonia! There is also a kind of unbridled reaction to life that can be contemplative (if a little fatalistic) and rendered into a creative or artistic look at life. At least this was true amongst many of the Romanians I came to know well while I was there.
The landscape varies considerably and the contrast amongst regions is considerable. The breath-taking mountains of other parts of the country are hardly at all like the flat, fertile plains around Craiova. Industry with all of its ugly concrete and smoke towers abuts wide open spaces just as modern technology is often juxtaposed with crumbling building facades and the use of old-fashioned horse-drawn buggies.
How is it presented? How should it be?
After spending some time in Romania and recently returning, I think that it is often presented pretty accurately to the outside, but it is not presented completely. There are rough edges in the country -- some of them are quite unpleasant and some of them are downright frightening. However, there is also life and there is also beauty. Last year, while I was traveling in Slovenia over the holidays, I saw an advertising campaign poster plastered to the back end of a bus that read "Romania. Land of Contrasts." I don't think that I could capture it any better and I am thankful that I returned once again to be reminded of some of its more colorful aspects.
Good friendships anywhere are amazing and I was comforted by visits with former students, colleagues, and friends over the three days I was in Craiova. I love it when you can renew a friendship by picking up where you left off. Wonderful conversations and fellowship warmed my heart and made me wish I could transport all of those lovely people back to Tartu with me. Long conversations on train rides or over coffee, trips to my favorite gypsy market, games of monopoly, chilling out at a jazz concert, enjoying a lovely meal or cartofi praziti, and catching up skew my vision of Romania in a positive direction. I have posted below a web album containing a few pictures from my recent stay so that you, too, can enjoy the contrasts.
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