Volunteers' blog: Learning, teaching and learning to teach

One week has passed since our last post. Time flies here in Romania. It was only a week ago, when we enthusiastically announced our activities at the Hungarian School in Baia Mare.

Our visit to the Hungarian school was an unforgettable experience. We found ourselves in the middle of a noisy classroom. We dealt 11-year-old children that did not understand English. Our limited understanding of Romanian became clear, and pushed us to express ourselves with our hands and our feet. We also understood that we had a long way to go, before we could fully sympathise with young children. Words were to be learned, and manners of communication had to be understood before we could interact in a good manner.

We could not allow ourselves to dwell with one experience. More activities had to be prepared. We went to a Children’s House and made our acquaintance with the children that did reside there. Despite the differences of language, we could interact with help of the universal joy of games and other activities. We surely had a great time, and look forward to our next visit to these youngsters.

At this point, our week was far from finished. We embarked to multiple schools and tested our skills of improvisation and adaptability as well as our capacities of planning and organisation. Our last day brought us to Cavnic, and made us embark on a long journey by bus.

Apart from our activities with the schoolchildren of Cavnic, we were invited to the school ball organised by the town’s freshmen. A spectacle of Rock ‘n Roll, popular music from the Sixties and other performances were witnessed by us, and every single one of us was struck by the energy and efforts that had captivated the youngsters on the stage. It can be said without any doubt that, despite our tiredness, we repeated the Sixties’ music in our heads during the entire trip back to Baia Mare.

We really needed all the rest that the night could offer to us, because our next day would prove to be a long one. Saturday morning we went to Cluj-Napoca, and we wished to make most of our day. A local friend was so kind, to offer the keys to his apartment to us. This made our weekend in Cluj all the more spectacular. At day we walked in the city, in the evening we enjoyed Moldavian wine, during the night, we spend our time in the many diverse bars that can be found in the city centre. A local contact showed us around and notified us, of what was and what was not worth visiting.

With a new week, work had to be done! The organisation of activities becomes more and more easy with every day. As a team we become more and more used to each other, and a strong connection of trust and reliance has appeared. The days of the week were productive ones, and the outcome of the long office hours are significant. We are well prepared for a next week.

Suddenly, a week had passed. Time flows so quickly! It only seems yesterday, the day of our arrival. We have come a long way, and have an even longer way to go. Next week, a new blog post will appear, and we will share more of the adventures we live here in Romania!

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