Bulgaria and Romania. Both eastern European countries on the Balkan Peninsula. Both trying to make their way in this world after the fall of communism in the ’89. Separated primarily by the Danube River you would think the culture and atmosphere would be very similar but in fact in the little bit of time I have spent in Romania I have noticed more than a few differences.
When you first arrive in Bucharest your senses take over and you see the beautiful and old architecture that very much resembled what I saw in France. The narrow cobble stone streets and the abundance of bakeries also give you a western Europe feel. Even the language finds its roots among the romantic languages and is strongly influenced by the French language so soon even your ears are convinced you are in an western Europe country. Then your smell kicks in and again the bakeries catch your attention. Finally taste gets its turn and you indulge in the breads and the wines and the cheeses…and of course the chocolates. You really are in a western place you tell yourself. But as you spend my time there you start to pick on things that you missed at first glance. At least that is how it was for me.
My squad spent 5 days together in Bucharest doing month one debrief. And while we definitely had a busy schedule by the end of the 5 days I was starting to pick up these differences. Then we piled on a bus to the village of Draganesti-Olt where we will be doing ministry this month and away from the French influences the differences were stark. While the people are initially a lot warmer and eager to say hello and smile at you, you begin to notice the culture is a lot more aggressive and in your face. An overly simple illustration of this is traffic in Bulgaria was far more laid back, yes it was scary at times to be in a car there but when you were crossing the street they stopped for you. You never heard honking…I have hear a lot of honking here in Romania. A more drastic example of this is the sense of safety. Bulgaria was very safe even for me as a woman. I never felt uneasy. But here in Draganesti I have had men leer at me in the grocery store and then follow the group I was walking with. And it wasn’t because he was going to the same place, when we stopped moving he stopped moving. What started out as me thinking ‘oh what a nice man smiling at us and wanting to practice his English’ turned to me wondering what his intentions were. Children run to you in groups eager to hug you and say hello before you even have a chance to respond. While you may think ‘what a sweet child and so bright that they know English’ but then you are told they are in fact hugging you for the purpose of pick pocketing you. It’s not just children who think they have the right to touch you without asking. There has been more than one occasion where girls on my squad have been walking down the street and guys have out of the blue walked by and grabbed their upper thigh for no reason.
Again the orthodox church is the predominant religion here in Romania but in southern Romania especially there is a lot of superstition mixed in with that and the pastor we are working with said this region of Romania is actually known as the graveyard for missionaries. Not because they literally die here but because many give up and leave. He told us most emphatically that witch craft is real here, he encounters it often, and there is literally a witch on every street of most towns here.
Another story of similarity and contrast that exists between these two bordering nations is the Roma (gypsy) people. In Bulgaria they were very marginalized, poor, and looked down on. Here in Draganesti they are not secluded to the outsides of the village but rather interspersed throughout. Also instead of poor as a general population there are classes of Roma including upper, middle, and lower. The upper class people live in these ornate huge gated houses in the village that look wildly out of place and they drive expensive cars, while the middle class lives in run down apartments on one end of town. I do not know what the lower class area looks like but that is because we have been told do not go there. All I know of it is that it is on the opposite side of town as the middle class near the train station. Many people on my squad like to run and we have been told not to run in that direction because they are more aggressive and have known to throw things at runners in the past and be very confrontational. I wondered how the upper class got to be so wealthy and had my worst suspicions confirmed that it was in fact due, at least in part, to human trafficking.
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From the moment I got here to Draganesti something didn’t feel right but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Others have felt it too and we have come to refer to it as a darkness that sits over this place, but like in Bulgaria where we came to learn that while the overall feel was that of hopelessness it wasn’t the reality for everyone or everywhere. I know there are good things going on here in Romania. We have been in Draganesti for three days now. Yesterday we spilt into groups with a Romanian guide for translation (I more think protection) and we went out and picked up garbage. I know other groups met some people genuinely interested in what we were doing there and were able to invite them to church.
Tomorrow our team get to start our ministry work. Again we will be doing a variety of things. Helping with different kids clubs and after school programs. Doing kids church. Helping bring food and wood to widows. Decorating a kindergarten classroom. Spending time with and encouraging workers who are already doing great work here.
Lastly I thought I would give you an idea of what this month looks like in terms of living as it is ‘all squad month’ and all 36 of us plus are 2 squad leaders are living under the same roof! Hope Church who is our main partner this month has a large house they call Mission House. Upstairs are a whole lot of bedrooms filled with bunk beds. This is where the girls sleep. Downstairs is a small sitting area and washing machine. A large room with about a dozen bunks in it where the guys are sleeping. A large kitchen with everything we need like pots and pans and dishes. The only drawback is the bathroom. There is one guy and one girl toilet and one shower for each as well. With 9 guys that is doable but with 27 girls that is a lot of people trying to share but we make it work…thankfully they have a fairly large hot water tank. For cooking we have assembled the best cooks from each team to make up our amazing cooking team and they have been keeping us well fed throughout the day.
