“Trucks, dogs and a bear” or “Me and Romania”

“Trucks, dogs and a bear” or “Me and Romania”

 Hi there!

You have already heard about me, I am the one from Czech Republic, the red head one. I am also the one who was a bit surprised, in the best way, by her new live in Romania. We were told we are going to live in a typical rural house. OK. I was prepared for dry toilets somewhere in the end of our yard, mice everywhere, hot water only from stove… sharing my room with all the other volunteers.

Nope. First of all, we have two bathroom inside the house, both. Well… almost inside. So far I have my own room just and only for myself. So far I have discovered the advantage of kitchen placed in yard – you eat when you need to, not when(ever) you have a sweet tooth. And so far I discovered how amazing Romanians are. Not sure when your bus leaves? No problem, somebody stops and takes you even if you are not hitchhiking, just stay in the bus stop and wait for a minute or two. (Well, we already know it does not work if you are French with dreadlocks or dark Italian. But it works if you are a nice person, especially girl. Sorry, boys.)

My first weeks were about discovering local… everything and everyone. I have been introduced to our adopted dog Fifty Shades, chickens, local volunteers (sweet young people with heads full of ideas, jokes and notions), to my/our activities, and, of course, to „my“ organization. Yeap, all of it in the same time. During the week we make interesting and entertaining lessons such as music, languages or handicraft, we play games with local kids, and show a movie. During weekends our programme is up to us, which means I am walking around the neighborhood.

Last time I wanted to see the nearest mountain, Moşa (1420). It took me 5 hours to get there, half the trip was just climbing through a forest, but it was worth it. I love crazy hiking with no road, so I would enjoy it anyway. I took some pictures and a snack on the peak, then it was time to come back. And I did a bad, bad choice to follow local „tourist mark“. I ended up in… nowhere, far, far away from home with only two hours of light left. I had to decide and to do it quickly. Fine, lets go across the forest, my GPS tells me the direction and I do not need to be afraid of bears, our boss claims they live only among the big mountains.

Well, it turned out he was wrong. We were staring at each other, two living statues on an animal path between bushes, one of them furry and four-footed, the other one human. I had to laugh when the bear ran away so, so fast, that it made me wander if he survived the speed. Next time I am more careful about my decision, 40 kilometers is quite a lot for one hike. Next time I am riding the bear!

See you soon in my next report! 😉

Anna

volunteer from Czechia

Anna se află în România pentru o perioadă de 6 luni, din august 2016 până în ianuarie 2017 în cadrul proiectului Building Youth Supportive Communities 2 (ref nr 2016-1-RO01-KA105-024246), proiect co-finanțat de Comisia Europeană prin Programul Erasmus+ și implementat în România de Asociația Curba de Cultură.