Asociația SUPER TINERI (ASIRYS)

In July we had the pleasure of meeting Elena, a retired school teacher who transformed her family home into a museum of traditional Romanian culture. At first she was quite shy to speak with us, feeling the burden of a language barrier and doubting if people from abroad would see the value in such a place. Fast forward a few hours and we were sitting on Elena’s childhood bed, sharing lemonades and laughing about the story of her first cross-stitch. History can often feel detached and distant, but the story of Elena’s family through the decades gave us such a particular insight into the recent past and made everything feel so much more personal. After all, what is history if not the stories of regular people? Once again, Romanian hospitality continues to impress and we have yet to visit somebody that hasn’t welcomed us with open arms. This month we hosted a youth exchange to discuss the topic of single use plastics. The IPCC’s sixth report painted a bleak picture of the climate crisis,

Dress tells us so much about a country’s history - what values they held, what techniques they mastered, how they structured society. On a rainy afternoon, we found ourselves in the Ruginoasa Cultural Centre; an ethnographic museum dedicated to traditional Moldavian life. The centre is warm and inviting, as if you’ve been welcomed into somebody’s home. Artefacts are scattered across the room; a baby's cradle full to the brim with intricately decorated blankets, a loom with an unfinished weaving, waiting for the right person to finish it, and handmade costumes standing proud.  The majority of pieces on display had been donated by local residents, giving a personalised touch to each artefact. In an age of industrialisation and fast fashion, the handmade almost assumes legendary status. At the front door of the centre, there is a traditional Moldavian blouse, embroidered with apple blossom motifs. As I was running my finger along the sleeve, admiring the delicate needlework I was told

I started my experience in the Asirys association on second of May when I arrived in the Iasi airport. Everyone were there to welcome me as one of their own, Mihaela, the coordinator and the other volunteers. During my first days I visited the organization's center and the other volunteers explain me the several projects that the association is planning and how it works. The next Sunday we went to the airport because Sabien, the Belgian girl, came to join us. After her coming we were six volunteers and our group was now complete. When the next week came everyone of us start their own workshop, I decided to coordinate the sport workshop, so we went in the Târgu Frumos schools to present and involve the kids in our work. They seemed very excited to participate to the games that I prepared for them. Also I started to meet the local volunteers and learning a lot about the Romanian culture, and it was very inspiring for me. Ştefana, an 18 years old local volunteer, said that since w