Up to know I have spent lot of time in different communities where our volunteers are all around, living and organizing activities.
Abrud - my first home in Romania. I was living my first month in Abrud, with 2 Germans girls: Rahel and Maria. But my project brought me in Arad as I have to travel around communities and make a documentary of volunteers life in Romania and its better to travel from Arad inspite of Abrud what is very far away from other communities. Actually distance is not so long, but as it is up in the mountains it takes long time to drive there.
Abrud is very small village center of the mountains, with a population of 7000, and there is a beautiful landscape of villages, farms and stunning mountain views. For me it was real pleasure to make jogging in this beauty. From Arad to Abrud it takes 6 hours with bus. Also there is possibility to go with train to Brad and from there to take bus. But this takes even more time.
In Abrud volunteers are living in Youth Center. There are very spacey and nice. The house is 200 years old with very long walls and in the room we even could play indiaca :D Volunteers have their own rooms. One big and another small one. And actually there could live 5 volunteers, at the moment Rahel and Maria is the only one. Internet connection makes us sometimes nervous as it is sometimes up and down but then we are playing the darts and we feel better again :D
In Abrud the atmosphere is very good, all the time there are lots of activities. In my time we were organizing the Summer Camp in Rosia Montana what was really nice one week even. Also we made co-operation with other volunteers from Sintea Mare and Suplacu de Barcau to exchange the ideas and experiences. It was really good decision as we supplemented each other very well.
Volunteers from another communities got some new ideas which games they can organize on their community and we got very good idea how to make stick bread on the bonfire what Rosia Montana's children very loved. One week later volunteers from Sintea Mare organized the 'olympic games' for their community' children which was inspired from summer camp in Rosia Montana.
Now volunteers are giving the German lessons at school, sport classes after the school and they are travelling almost in every weekend :) People are very happy there and full of ideas.
Rosia Montana is very close to Abrud, around 14 km from Abrud.There are 3 volunteers from Georgia, Maia, Kakhaberi and Ia.
I have spent in Rosia Montana 1 week working with children and I must to say that children are very nice and its real pleasure to work with them.
Rosia Montana is even more up to the mountains. There are goldmines and if you find some gold, its yours! .D
Up to know I don't know what activities are volunteers doing, as I haven't visit them but i will do it as soon as possible.
Suplacu de Barcau is another community where are at the moment 2 volunteers. Sigrid from Germany and David from Spain, who is actually ex volunteer and now he is working as a local facilitator.
I'm amazed how people are living middle of oil platforms. My first question was in Suplacu: "Dose something is burning?" The answer was: "No, its Suplacu smell." Village is surrounded with oil fields and people are living center of this smell and quiet noise. Inspite of that there is very nice and you can see lots of Hungarians. It was really funny if one Romanian guy wanted to ask way to school and old lady started to speak Hungarian and he didn't understand nothing. In Romania they have 10% of population Hungarians.
Volunteers are living in apartment, but very soon they will move out but up to know they don't know where.
From Arad to Suplacu de Barcau it takes 4 hours with bus.
One of my favorite place is Sintea Mare, a commune in Arad county. I had great opportunity to visit Sintea Mare, as volunteers were making the bonfire there, Daniela and Juliane. Daniela is from Austria and Juliane is from Germany. In bonfire were around 40-50 people. It was second time than volunteers organized bonfire and it seemed that first time volunteers gave very good impression with it and this time there were more people. People were making the tick bread on fire and singing. Very nice evening with very friendly people.
Life in Sintea Mare is very peaceful and nice. Host, where volunteers are staying is very nice old lady, Florica. She has own pigs, chickens and she makes own tsuika and she gives it to every guest, whats out! :) If you want to take time off, go there. Its best place to charge batteries, practises Romanian, as Florica wants to speak all the time. By the way, she is 60 and she is studying English. And she is already very good at it! :D Good time with good people.
Now volunteers are working in kinder garden and they are organizing different kind of events: for instance music workshop, language courses to elder people and much more.
Sintea Mare is 50 km away from Arad. To get there you have to take bus to Chişineu-Criş and from there you have to hitchhike as they don't have connection between those communes. Its about 7 km and then you are there, in this paradise:)
This was my short overview what is going on in communities. Of course its not all what I wrote, there is so much more, just have to go and see yourself.
In Romania I feel like I have 5 homes and very big family what to visit.
See you guys very soon in communities!
And all the best in your activities and life in Romania!
