Just as some planned things won’t fit in the pattern. In July I spent a week as a 'native English speaker' at an adventure & language camp for children in Muntele Mic . I was not allowed to speak or understand Romanian for a week. The world upside down, but a good experience to see how my fellow volunteers have to deal with children. Out of the blue, Irishman John appeared with his bike on the last day. On his way from Budapest to Istanbul he passed the camp. You can find the result of our spontaneous meeting here.
Romanian alpinist & camp organizer Coco Galescu and me, picture taken by John Hennessy
I already wrote about Mostar. My trip to Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia was another example of an experience you wouldn't find in a random Romanian village. Another language barrier to cross. The visible past. The amazing seaside. The way people drink their coffee. One thing remained the same however: the ever-returning question why, for gods sake, I'm staying in Romania.
So far, my EVS stage has been quite a local project. This changed with one phone call from Millennium Center. Am I interested in going to Greece? Not once, but twice? Hmm... From the 6th until the 16th of september a youth exchange called Creativity 4: democracy & participation takes place near Thessaloniki. As a group leader I already had the chance to visit the place, and the countdown towards the project is running.
The group leaders of Creativity 4
Another clock is ticking as well. The official end of my stay is coming near. On the 20th of september I'm flying to Amsterdam. What will happen next? In october I'll return for another youth exchange. And then I just might stick in Romania. Who knows? I'm getting used to surprises.
