I love Romania

I can’t say enough to recommend that you consider a trip to Romania via IVHQ and their local partner at least once in your lifetime (although it is possible that the experience will be so lovely that, like me, you will long to return).
The preparation and attention to detail provided by the partner team mean that your comfort, safety and opportunity will always be foremost. The accommodation on a quaint pedestrian-only main street of the city of Csikszereda provides a place where you immediately become family with a cast of international characters. Mine were from Brazil to the Philippines, New Zealand to Malta. They included 18-year olds in search of adventure, a young couple in love, and a 68-year-old woman who returned to revisit the joys of a previous visit. I have a new “brother” from Texas, who may be one of only a few people who love Romania more than I do. New “sisters” include a bubbly obstetrician and a woman from nearby New Jersey who shared my own sense of belonging.
I chose to do the extra orientation week which gave me not only a chance to climb ladders 72 feet into the crown of a Jesus statue for incredible mountain views and to go 2700 meters below the earth into the Praid salt mines which host a bar, a cinema and an adventure park, but to also avail myself of extra Hungarian lessons, learning phrases specifically suited to my upcoming teaching project.
When Murphy’s Law reared its head and the teacher I was to work with in Bankfalva became suddenly ill, Peter, the director of the program quickly adapted the program to include me in the afterschool program in another village for that week. I was seamlessly included in a project that allowed me to spend longer hours and more play time with kids than the teaching offered, and I made lots of new friends.
Teaching resumed the following week at Bankfalva school with Peter himself standing in as a substitute, and my translator for classes. T think we made a great teaching team. Even though I had no formal teaching experience, I was able to interact with kids in grades 4 -8 by asking and answering questions and playing word games. The high point in my teaching experience came on my last day when I volunteered to participate in a service-learning project, helping the students pick up trash throughout the village. The kids delighted in teaching me new words, including the one for horse poop, and even pointing out their own houses. I delighted in setting an example as a 66-year-old American woman reaching into streams and gutters to retrieve garbage right alongside the students. We collected about 30 full bags of trash that morning.
When asked how much value the communities receive from short term volunteers like me, Peter answered that even one chance for a student to be successful in a conversation with an English speaker can foster enthusiasm for the whole class to understand the benefits of learning English. His explanation gave me comfort in understanding my role and value here.
I also had the chance to visit the animal care project when one of my flatmates generously took time on her day off from that project to walk there with me. We spent time socializing and playing with puppies. There’s nothing like some puppy time to fend off homesickness!
One last treasured opportunity this program gave me was the ability to participate in the local community. Through both quiz night and weekly English Club I met and was befriended by locals who taught me so much about the Hungarian heritage of this part of Romania. It was not unusual for me to meet one of these locals on a walk through the city and to be invited for coffee or a beer as if we were old friends. I’ve never had such a rich 3 weeks in my life.
So…. come with an open heart and an open mind to volunteer in Romania. Through this program you will share who you are and be given so much more in return, no matter your age, background, or ability. Take the first step on the journey of a lifetime. Fall in love with a place that will let you into its heart, with people who will remember you always.
I, for one, can’t wait to return.