Asociația SUPER TINERI (ASIRYS)

Coming back from home got me feeling in a really strange way. I never felt like that. I found myself stuck between to realities, two worlds. I felt as an outsider coming back home, and I felt as an outsider when I came back here. Nevertheless, I felt really thankful that I was able to spend the Christmas time with my family and friends, to stay away from work and focus on resting and taking care of myself, which I sometimes found and still find hard to do here. In January we all worked really close for Cucuteni Alternativ project; we worked as a team. When I have been asked about how it was working on a local cultural heritage project, I said that it was a learning experience for me, in 3 different ways. First of all, being part of this project allowed me to get closer to Cucuteni culture, and Romanian history. This was really important to me as I feel we kind of owe to Romania, for being our home for the last 8 months, to learn about it. Second of all, as we finally got the chance to

The first snow of the year fell in December. At first, it looked like a postcard everywhere. It was very nice, it gave you a good feeling to have your coffee and look at the snow by the window. But things changed when I went out. In some places, the snow reached my knees and I was very surprised. Then I thought, how will I live if this happens all the time? Fortunately, the snow melted, the sun came out and I started to feel better. December has been exciting for us. Christmas and New Year excitement. We drew the lottery and everyone bought presents for each other. I was working in the ceramic studio that day and I was covered in dust. We gathered at the youth center to give each other presents. First, a very moving video was made for Krista. I was so excited about Krista's video that I couldn't help but shed tears. My secret Santa was Leire and when I found out, I had the shock of my life. I did not expect it. She made a collage of 600 photos that we took together and share th

During December time flew so quickly, that I even didn’t have a moment of realization that it is gone. While I have been here perception of time periodically switches to another rhythm, which is not so close to the real time frame. In the middle of December calendar was showing me that I have been here for half a year – did it actually feel like it? I can assure you that not.  There is no way how I could measure time here in a certain way, because most of the time it feels that I have been here for such a long, long time – memories, flashbacks, and emotional footprints are left on so many streets, corners, places and in other people’s minds.  Although at the same time it feels that I haven’t been here long enough to get to know everyone as much as they deserve. It's half a year a lot or not so much? I guess it depends on how big a cut of time it’s been placed. If it’s about the amount of time spent away from family and friends in Latvia – it’s too much, but if reflect in a cut of m

The first week of December, we celebrated Basque culture at the Act House. On Friday, we projected “Dantza” by Telmo Esnal, as an introduction to Basque folklore. The next day, the girls and I prepared food for the intercultural night. That day was really beautiful for all of us. We had so much fun cooking together, in our small kitchen, the girls were really helpful and showed interest in learning about Basque gastronomy and in making the dishes as accurate as possible. We spent the whole day shopping and cooking, and we were really tired by the end of the day. After we finished cooking, we had to run to the Act House to be on time (which we weren’t, by the way). The night was just as amazing as the rest of the day. Many people showed up and we danced, ate, and even did a Basque Karaoke. We did Secret Santa together on the 19th of December. This event brought all of us together, and we needed it. It was emotional and heartwarming. It was the last time we got to see each other before t

The farewell month of 2021 could only be this beautiful! I think I went through all the culture shocks and adjusted to them. An important moment of December was, of course, Christmas, and I had never celebrated Christmas before. In general, I knew as much as I saw from movies and TV series. For me was familiar that every place was bright and decorated. Instead, in Romania, I discovered a whole world: dance performances everywhere, singing Christmas carols, Christmas markets, gifts, mulled wine. I was really surprised by what's going on here. People in bear costumes danced on the streets, children started to sing all of a sudden in the trains, and people were walking around wearing deer crowns. Everywhere was so full of life that I felt very happy. I think I will remember these moments for the rest of my life. We organized a Basque night at the beginning of December, and I ate many traditional dishes, I danced and learned about a nation I didn't know much about. Also, the other

In November I realized that I feel completely adapted to Romania. I went to my country to visit my family  and I can say that I overcome my ''dor''. While I was in Turkey, I realized how I missed this place. My friends, town, ACT House.  After my return, we went to the workshop of the painter Gheorghe Ciobanu, like every week. He teaches us his own techniques and we spend a pleasant time together. The peace and atmosphere of the place is so different that I can't really describe it. We started going to a new school this month, Ion Creangă school. We met Roma children. I can say that this month has been quite busy.  There were 2 cities I was curious about and I had the opportunity to see it. We went to the Transylvania region, Sibiu and Braşov. Brașov has already become one of my favorite cities.  Leire held a basque night to promote her country.We continue to collect many memories together. We prepared Basque dishes and shared the excitement of Leire. We will also h