Comenius Project - Multilateral Partnership - Romania | 2010-10-04

 

“Multumesc,” (Thank you) was probably the first word that we, as a small group of 4 ISO students, accompanied by two teachers - Ms. Blahetová and Mr. Svoboda, learned during our exchange to Romania under the framework of the Comenius Program, which is aimed at bringing students and teachers from different European countries together.

 

This six-day trip started off with a visit to the Romanian capital, Bucharest. Despite our hopes for sunny weather, we got heavily poured on as we fought our way through the pools of water in search of a place to eat. But even after such a downpour, we kept our happy-to-be-here attitude, excited for the experiences ahead. Our appetites were then appeased as we entered a traditional Romanian restaurant where we tasted true national delicacies. The next morning, we set out on a six-hour journey by train en route to Piatra Neamt, our final destination. On the train, we met up with other Comenius participants, three teachers from Lithuania, and killed time by the occasional singing of national songs. Upon our arrival in Piatra in the late evening, we were warmly greeted by a group of Romanian students holding a sign “BIENVENUE,” (welcome), and the real Romanian experience was about to begin.

 

On the evening of the following day, we had an international banquet where all of the participating countries made a presentation and some of them shared a piece of their culture; the Romanians triumphed with traditional dance performances and we took a guitar and a clarinet and performed two songs of Jaromír Nohavica. Then, a common table offered a mélange of four national cuisines (French, Czech, Romanian and Portuguese), and hence, plenty of culinary specialties.


The hospitality of the locals was endless; we stayed at a nice hotel, which was part of the school, and saw that they desperately wanted to share with us as much of their culture as possible. Our agenda was tight and perfectly planned and among our other experiences were visiting the high school, attending a recital of one of the best young Romanian pianists, eating a grilled lamb for lunch, learning about the ascetic life of nuns on the grounds of an orthodox convent, and visiting a dam and a large mountain pass.

 

Before we set back out to our homeland, we were granted a visit to the Ceausescu Palace, deemed to be the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon, and a true emblem of Romanian patrimony. Although we saw only three percent of the edifice, we were astonished by its uniqueness and pomposity. However, we also witnessed some of the downsides of Romania. The mere sight of ubiquitous vagrants and abandoned dogs in the streets was a signal that Romania is truly grappling with poverty. The times are long gone when our parents or grand-parents used to visit Romania to buy goods, the prices of which were trifling. Considering its standard of living, the current prices are outrageous, and no wonder that a country with a GDP half of that of the Czech Republic is suffering economic hardship, especially when the salaries of its civil servants are to be cut by a quarter.

 

Overall, I am sure we all left Romania full of unforgettable experiences and memories. Reflecting upon the wonderful experiences contrasting starkly with the misery of many Romanians, I personally reaffirmed myself of one important conclusion; we should constantly remind ourselves of how fortunate we are, as students, to be able to travel and we should value and embrace the opportunities that lie ahead of us. Therefore, we look forward to hosting Comenius students next year and welcoming them in our country. Multumesc and Merci Comenius and ISO!!!

 

ŠtÄ›pán Ochodek

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