What exactly do you like so much in Romania that you can't find anywhere else? – is the question answered by dozens of Romanians from Great Britain, Canada, Germany, Sweden, etc., who want to return home. The answers are true declarations of love towards Romania.
An image from Romania that many Romanians abroad yearn for. PHOTO: Boredpanda
Many of the Romanians who left for the West in search of a better life remain nostalgic for life at home.
A very interesting discussion started from a question posted by a Facebook group of Romanians abroad who want to return home:
“For those who have returned to the country and for those who wish to return, what exactly do you like so much in Romania that you cannot find elsewhere?”
Dozens of Romanians commented, declaring their love for the country that represents their home.
“The climate, freedom, socialization (people like us), the church, the traditions, the tasty food, the possibilities to spend free time, the comfort of speaking, working, learning, making friends in Romanian and. although it seems strange, if I used to hate the Romanian education system, I came to prefer it instead of the lazy system in my adopted country. Ah! And there was the energy of the earth from which we draw, we can't find that until we spin the earth, I think we all feel it in a way, but we can't translate it“, claimed Alexandra.
“My soul is happy here at home”
Florina claims that it's about feelings that you can't really explain rationally: “I returned from Denmark, after seven years, from a very good job, from great colleagues and friends, from a good school and kindergarten for my children, without knowing exactly why I am leaving Denmark for Romania. And I'm not sorry, although if I thought concretely, pragmatically, it would probably give me a minus in theory. Fortunately, life is not just theory, but a set of experiences, feelings, moments that for me pass filtered through the soul. And my soul is happy here at home”.
Alina, a teacher in Sweden, returns home after 26 years abroad: “Nothing in Romania is like anywhere else: the smell of autumn in the forest, the sun of Bărăganu, our markets full of everything, the moral values that most people in the country still have, a hand outstretched when a neighbor is in need, humor and intelligence the Romanians who fight in all the countries of the world (most of them) and the innocence of the children at home who still know how to say “thank you” and “please”… just a few of the things for which we will return home after 26 years of “abroad”. I'm a teacher in Sweden after years of study and giving up and at one point I lost my chair because I don't have “their values”. And yes, even if I succeeded with my “values” in the end, the MISSING that does not go away even if we come home 3-4 times a year and we are not strangers to what is in the country returns home. And there are many others that connect us and call us.”
Alex, from Canada, claims that he did not leave Romania, 25 years ago, for money, but because of corruption, which was everywhere. “I'm in Quebec, Canada. When I came, corruption was at a high level. Now it has come down and is affecting the common people. And the winters even if they softened, I'm tired of them. We're still fine here, but I've had many moments where I wonder what the hell made me emigrate. I miss the landscapes in the country, the air from home, the fact that you can still grow what you want in your yard in the country. Here the freedoms are more and more restricted. That's it for me and I count the AMR”.
Seven reasons to love Romania
Călin listed seven reasons why he loves Romania:
1. Warmer human relations based on solidarity, communication and empathy (especially in smaller communities).
2. A certain spirituality that does not exist in Western societies.
3. Romania is a beautiful country with diverse regions and landscapes, of course there are many spectacular countries in the world, I do not claim that Romania is the most beautiful, nor would I be able to because I have not seen them all to be able to make such assessments. I'm not a nationalist who claims that we are the best… and the country is the most beautiful… that's not what I mean. But it is a beautiful country with a great diversity of landscapes gathered in a territory of such size, a country where you have something to see. I think that many people who underestimate their country, actually know very little about it.
4. A fascinating country through the contrasts it offers, alive, located at the intersection of several civilizations, in the place where the West and the East meet, at the confluence of several cultures that enrich our souls, even if we are not aware of it.
5. Romania is not only a country that in recent years has changed a lot for the better and has evolved economically (even if some do not want to see this), but our country is a country with enormous development potential, with huge economic opportunities due to and the varied resources it has, but also the still unexploited possibilities and perhaps the country's geostrategic position at a time when interest in this area is growing, unfortunately also because of the war.
6. The richness and variety of traditions that still exist in Romania, despite the modernization of society and technology that has penetrated even the most remote village, unlike in Western Europe where we meet traditions much more sporadically, usually only in organized festivals.
7. No matter where in the world our home is, home can only be in Romania and wherever we go, as long as we have not completely lost our identity, the thought of returning to our origins always makes us dream as long as this return does not it will be done.”
“It's strange that we, being Romanians, always accuse the country where we were born and where we were educated, always being dissatisfied with it as if if something goes wrong in the country it's not our fault. Romania is all of us and it is the way we built it. And if something goes wrong, we are responsible“, Călin also said.
“I lived in two western countries, but only in Romania did I have a life”
“The feeling of “The home“, which in nine years in the UK I did not feel. The familiar places, the food, returning to a job with a normal schedule (In the UK I always worked very, very much), so that you still have time for yourself“- Roxana.
“Because she's mine, ours, and only when I'm there do I feel like I'm really alive! Because it's beautiful, simple, warm and welcoming and with great potential. Because it “smells” like childhood. And no other corner of the world, however beautiful, can replace it“- Adina.
“I lived in two western countries, but I only had a life in Romania. I don't know if you understand me but that's the only explanation I have– Oana.
“In Romania you belong, anywhere else you are an emigrant” – Aneta.
“Romania is the only place where I feel that I don't have to struggle to qualify myself in the eyes of others. That is, I am already viewed positively from the start in most interactions. In other places I always felt that I was starting below zero, and that if I wanted to grow in the eyes of the viewer I had to make an effort to convince him that it was worth getting to know me or giving me a chance” – Andrew.
“Home is our roots, our memories, and without them we are lost in a foreign world” – Desire.
“It's home…I think for all those who are out there, that sense of belonging never leaves you” – Alina.
“I long for peace of mind”
Valentina has been away from Romania for 13 years, but she longs for the peace of mind she has when she goes home, the extraordinary food: “I talk and get along with everyone. I love it for its beauty, for its traditions. I'm tired of feeling like a stranger among them, of always crying when it's December 1 or when I hear the Romanian National Anthem. I am tired of learning a language that is not mine and I don't like it at all, but the need is great. There are many things that weigh on your soul, but sometimes you are so small and helpless that you sigh a little longer and think: I can't wait until the children finish school, I can't wait because I'm afraid, I can't wait because etc. Wishing you could be at home for Easter or Christmas but you can't. There is still a lot to change about it and people's mentality, but nothing is perfect.”
Carmen loves Romania “for everything… places, people, customs, the sun rises differently… no one has the kindness and warmth of the Romanian, where in what country, can you go to your neighbor and ask him for something? I don't say anymore that there are places where you don't know your neighbors and never talk to them. Where are the summer evenings in Romania? With children's laughter, with the smell of warm pies or sausages. As the Romanian is no one, it's not for nothing that the song is about..”
“That's why we're leaving our country, for these money-grubbers”
Carmen admits that there are also problems in Romania, “droughts”, “but if you call a friend at midnight, he will help you, even if he doesn't have money (because that's the Romanian's problem, that's why we leave our country, for these money-hungry people) he'll do his best to help you, on when outside, after 5:00 p.m. don't you dare disturb someone, without them knowing beforehand…”
Besides, only at home are you near your parents and you can help them or hold them in your arms.
“He who speaks ill of his country is not worthy to live in it, and he speaks spitefully, because he knows that he can never return home. Although… at least on the last road, he still wants to be brought to Romania“, she concluded.
