Internationalmatt's Blog

Memories from Romania- a Special Gift from my Students

a Portrait of the Casino area by the Black Sea

My first trip to Romania was in June 1997 which also happened to be my first trip to Europe. The portrait in this post is of the Casino Area by the Black Sea in Constanta Romania. One of my most treasured memories is of Sunday evenings standing at the corner of the boardwalk area close to the Casino and singing with college and high school aged students. What was significant about it was the fact that we were singing worship songs to Jesus out in the open. The reason it was poignant was that it was only 7 years after the revolution that overthrew their brutal communist dictator. Under communism there was no freedom for open expressions of faith and there I was standing with my fellow Christians- Baptist, Evangelical, Orthodox and Pentecostal- singing worship songs. Those were among the most wonderful experiences I have had in my life.

My second trip to Romania I taught a conversational English class. I spent time in the afternoons with students and taught my class in the evenings. The afternoons were marvelous opportunities to spend time with my students and learn more about them and their culture. We did things like go to the Aquarium, go to the beach, and go the Supermarket Tomis. One afternoon I went to Supermarket Tomis with two of my students Cristina and Georgina and walked around for a few hours. They kept asking me what I thought of different things in Tomis. What I did not know is that they were secretly trying to find out for my class what to give me for a gift. When I saw this portrait I told them about how special that spot along the boardwalk was to me and why. Our last evening of class my students showed up with some bread, food and wine to celebrate. They then told me they wanted to thank me for the class and presented me with this portrait. It is one of the best gifts I have ever received because of what it reminds me of and who gave it to me.

I have numerous poignant memories of Romania and hope to return someday to share time with friends and meet new ones. Until then I have my memories and know that I will see some of them again. I also have this portrait to remind of a very special place for me. It also serves as a reminder of how blessed we are in America to have freedom to worship freely.

June 17, 2011 - Posted by internationalmatt | Education, international fashion and crafts, International Friendships, Romania, summer, Travel experiences