"a different Europe"

Francesc Aromir

University of Girona, Spain




The country
For me, the brand Romania means Europe (from European Union since 2007), but still a different Europe, modern but old at same time. When we hear it’s from East it reminds us of near Russia, next to Russia, maybe more than Europe. So it inspires me a poor country.
At same time, I usually hear it’s a country where there is much corruption and prostitution.
Romania has rivers and also sea, the Black Sea. I know its capital city is Bucharest, but not Budapest.
The tourism
I know that Spanish tourists are increasingly in its interest to go to Romania. There are more and more Spanish tourists that want and travel to Romania as destination. And I know that at same time Romania is one of the origins/countries that bring more and more immigrants to Spain. So we both countries share a common feature –even though because of different reason whys–, which is the influx of tourists between both countries, so it’s mutual.
The people
I think that people in Romania are more cold that people here in Spain, but that’s the same comparison with other countries. We are hotter because we are Mediterranean, and Romanian are colder because it’s also colder because of its temperature and also because of its culture, its geography... So I think that people in Romania, in general, are less sympathetic, physically stronger, and more or less with the same intellectual level.
What I have just said is a general idea, and I can say that Romanian people are famous by being stronger, with big bodies, and maybe colder talking about personality; but I think that like talking about anything, there are different people in every place.
I also can say that young people in Romania know more languages and better than young people here in Spain, and I think it’s like this because they are in a poorer country and they have to study hard, in order to ‘go out’ of its country and travel over Europe looking for a better investment.
The contacts
I met three students this year at University (Universitat de Girona; Catalonia, Spain) that were from Romania. They three were good and hard workers, sympathetic, friendly, but one of them seemed shyer than the others.
I also know a Romanian couple in my village. They are very sociable, at least at first contact, but then they seem to be a bit angrier and more stubborn.
Erasmus
For me, Erasmus means going out of home, practicing a lot English and making new friends. Of course, it also means studying in another country, so knowing another culture and people. All of this is the most important for me.
So in the Eastern Europe, it would be an opportunity to know it better the people and culture near to the East/Orient. For me it would be an opportunity to see and touch snow closer, and also to see and visit its museums and sculptures and cities and streets I know it has at least because of a student of those three that said once to me.
Offer
Of course if I had it I would accept the opportunity to visit Romania at a student for one or two weeks during the summer."