Cluj-Napoca, Draga Mea
So I finally returned to Cluj. 3 years after I first went there on a 4 week study abroad. It’s safe to say, I’m still in love with the city and the people there. I think it is impossible for me to not have a good time there, though, I’m an optimist so I would probably have a good time no matter what! Cluj is a special place for me though. I don’t know why, but there is just something about it that sets it apart from other places that I’ve been to (for me). I don’t think that everyone who goes there would have the same feelings towards the city as me, but for me, it is special. Maybe it is because it was the first place in Europe that I went to? And I’ve spent a total of about 5 weeks there, which is one of the longest lengths of time I’ve stayed somewhere. Could it also be that I have some great friends there? I have 2 great Romanian friends there (Gratiela and Mihai, Gratiela you saw a few posts ago when she visited me in Moldova) and I just made at least 1 more on my last visit. Though maybe it’s not that, as I seem to make friends wherever I go–though, as you have seen with Gratiela visiting me, some of my best friends on the planet live in Cluj. It could also be the diversity and history of Cluj and Transylvania/Romania. Cluj has something like a 20% Hungarian population, and I’m 1/8 Hungarian and it is incredibly cool to experience the diversity of Romanian and Hungarian populations. 100 years ago the % was flipped and Cluj was 80% Hungarian, but over time this has changed. Transylvania is an interesting place as a whole for Romanians, Hungarians, and people like me. Incredibly, incredibly interesting and beautiful place.
It was absolutely fantastic to be there again. I got to spend time with Mihai after 2 years, as he came to the US on a Fulbright scholarship right after my study abroad experience, and with Gratiela, though she visited me in Chisinau a month or so ago, and with Becky, my professor for the study abroad and International Social Work. I know such wonderful people! I also made new friends with the current Rutgers students who are there on the study abroad, as I stayed with them. Aaaand of course I made 2 new Romanian friends as well. 🙂 It was really cool to see the current students and see that they are going through the same experiences that I went through 3 years ago with making friends with the other students, and being exhausted from Becky’s tight and busy scheduling, and trying to find the energy to go out and have fun at night. Was very cool.
I loved being able to speak Romanian to people and to understand and be understood (and also to show off to the Rutgers students 😉 )!. Here in Moldova, the accent is different from in Romania and they do not speak Romanian cleanly here–kind of like if you visit different parts of the US where the slang/dialect is very different from ‘average’ or ‘normal’. Peace Corps teaches us clean Romanian and my host mother has had volunteers before so she speaks it fairly cleanly and without a very strong Moldovan accent. Some of my Moldovan friends poke fun at me since I speak Romanian with a “American” accent, while sometimes random Moldovans I talk to will think that I am Romanian due to my cleaner use of the language!
As I said before, the history of the Hungarian population is incredibly interesting of Cluj. I am 1/8 Hungarian as some of my Great-Great Grandparents came to the US from Hungary about 100 years ago. As I’ve stated before in this blog, I’m eligible for Hungarian citizenship through my ancestry and it is my dream to attain it. So, being around Hungarians was just a cool, cool experience! The language is incredibly difficult and unlike any other language. It is related to Estonian and Finnish, and it comes from the Huns, but all 3 languages are different from one another and not mutually intelligible. If anyone wants to get me a gift, finish getting all my documents for Hungarian citizenship (I only need 1 more I believe), get them translated to Hungarian, get the required seal, etc 🙂 Much better and more important to me than sending any sort of care package or giving me money!
Oh yeah, and since I love Cluj so much, I plan on going back through on my way to Poland in a week 🙂 (flying out of Budapest). I mean, why not? I know such amazing people there and it is only slightly more expensive for me to fly out of Budapest (plus I LOVE Budapest), so it makes sense to try to spend as much time with the people I know there. Most of my vacations in the Peace Corps will be to visit my friends in Europe rather than to take “vacations”. I don’t rest on vacation. I prefer active vacations. In Cluj I explored the city all day, partied at night, got only a few hours of sleep a night, and had tons of fun. I definitely do not like vacations where I am just lying around all day…though I do love the beach..but if you ever go to the beach with me, you know that I spend nearly the whole time swimming. So, even there I’m not just relaxing and sleeping…
Viața Mea: Cu Capul în Nori 