Asociația SUPER TINERI (ASIRYS)

This is my second-to-last monthly report. I am a little bit behind because we spent the last week traveling, but let’s start at the beginning. In January, we were working on the Rroma museum by facilitating workshops at Ion Creangă School. In my workshop, I worked on Rroma history and painted a mural. It was a bit different from my previous workshops and definitely a challenge, but I am glad I did it and proud of the result. For the museum, I also created a wrap skirt and top inspired by Rroma clothing. This was my first time sewing pieces of clothing since coming here, and I'm very happy that I finally did it. I really appreciated that the final exhibition had a large and pretty diverse group of visitors. This exhibition also showed me how much all of us have grown since the first exhibition. The day after, I tried dyeing my hair for the first time. It didn't turn out pink as I wanted, but there's definitely a difference to before, and I like the result. We also had the ch

4 months volunteering. 4 months in Romania. Technically a little bit less since I was home over Christmas. Still, more than half of my experience is over. We still don’t know exactly when we’re going to finish but right now I expect it to be the end of March. So two and a half months or one and a half museums remain. A lot has happened in this 4th month just as in the months before and probably also in the ones that are coming. As I said already, I went back to Germany over Christmas. It was definitely good to see friends and family again. I missed them and we spend good time together. Being home and also not having to work was really relaxing. But it was also weird to be back. I fell into old routines almost too easily and it kind of felt like I never left and all my experiences never happened. I think that’s because my life here and my life in Germany have basically no connection, like I’m living to separate lives. Before going back for Christmas we finished the Cucute

Now I have spent three months in Romania. Meaning that half of my time here is up. We try to extend the project until April so maybe I’ll have a little more time. But I don’t want to think about leaving now. Even though I miss home and my friends and family it feels like every day I am arriving more. Slowly and hesitantly, I started growing roots also in this place and the thought of leaving forever, of this opportunity and experience ending is haunting. But right now, I am here and I want to stay in the present or for this report look into the past month. My last report left of near the end of our Folklore Museum. Since then, we said goodbye to Petru Rareș high-school and had our final exhibition in the ACT House as well as a Caravan in another village. Even though my final product was different than I might have pictured it in the beginning and the process was sometimes chaotic, I am proud of the result. Together with Petru Rareș students we embroidered on eight pieces of clothing in

Now I have already been part of this project for two months which means 1/3rd of my time here is over. That is crazy to think about. It simultaneously feels like I have been here forever and like I just arrived yesterday. My second month started with us participating in an event in Ruginoasa. We did some workshops but also got to watch and participate in dances and other traditions. Also, we visited the castle there. The next day we visited the location of the Folcloristica Festival. I especially liked that we got to experience part of a church service there. An even bigger highlight was the fact that the wood for our oven got delivered so we knew that we would be warm and comfortable in winter. For that we gladly dealt with stepping over wood slices and passing some men cutting the wood for a few days. The next week we spent two free days in Constanța. We walked barefoot on the beach and saw the sunrise but also visited museums about art and Folklore. I really loved spending time at t

When I arrived in Târgu Frumos on the evening of the 12th of September, I was greeted by Mihaela and Wasan, my roommate who arrived on the same day. Arriving at the youth center I also met the other volunteers, Federica, Sara, and Yavuzhan. They all made me feel welcomed and at home. The next day we immediately started working, preparing workshops about Cucuteni culture for a group of 50 international students and teachers. It was a bit hard because I didn’t know anything about that topic before but I’m happy with the result and the positive feedback from the group. During that time I also got to meet my mentor, Larisa, and learned my first words in Romanian. The next week Cihan arrived and we had our On-Arrival training. We would have preferred to have it in person but still, we not only learned about ESC but also got to know other volunteers from other projects. Later we even visited two of them in Sovata. On that trip, we also stopped by Lacul Rosu and Sibiu (or Hermannstadt), where