Kelli Grissom: Student Report from 2014 Alternative Summer Break in Romania
My trip to Valea Screzii, Romania was my first visit to Europe and was definitely an unforgettable experience. Once we arrived in the village I felt a similarity to home. We were surrounded by mountains everywhere we looked and it reminded me of the Smoky Mountains back in Tennessee. Life in Valea Screzii was very different than what I have experienced in the United States. They live a much simpler lifestyle; they were always laid back and relaxed; they never seemed to ever be in a hurry. If they said we were to leave at 9 a.m. in the morning, we might leave then or we might leave at 10 a.m.
Volunteering at an orphanage was very eye-opening. Around 200 people lived in Valea Screzii and it was heartbreaking to see so many woman and children who have been left behind or abused in the past. It was definitely a great experience to interact with them. Everyone was super friendly and most even spoke great English. It was amazing to see that everyone who lived there each had different jobs or chores to do. This included the children and the older people with learning disabilities, who all seemed to be happy to work with no complaints.
For two days we traveled to Valea du Munte to help construct a building for the village for high school students to live in. This building was much closer to their high school, therefore it will save them time and money from having to take the 3 hour long bus ride to school everyday. We were glad to help, and got a lot of work done making concrete. We also helped make concrete in Valea Screzii, for a basketball court.
One memory that will take a long time to forget would be the bus rides. Our driver’s name was Marion, and if you don’t know what driving is like in Romania here is a hint: it is like trying to play chicken with the car coming the other direction. Marion would drive really fast and pass other cars, along with a few horse and buggies, so it was definitely something hard to forget. Also what made it even better was that gas was about $12 a gallon so Marion would try to pack as many people in the van as he could.
Towards the end of the week most of the village residents were going to go on a two-hour long hike to the Lonely Tree, so we tagged along. They were building a church on the very top of the mountain so we actually walked up there, had a small church service, and a picnic. It was impossible to drive up there, so we had to carry this huge pan of fish up the side of the mountain. But it was definitely worth the trip and the view was spectacular by the Lonely Tree.
On the last two days of the trip we traveled to Sinaia, Bran, Brasov, and Bucharest, to visit different castles and the Peoples’ Palace, also known as the House of Parliament. I was sad that we had to leave the village, because I had grown very fond of the people and the place, but these excursions were absolutely amazing. We visited Peleș Castle, which was the summer home for the royal family and Bran Castle, which is also known as Dracula’s Castle.
We were very grateful for our tour guide, Ana, because she knew everyone there, and she got us to get in for free and to skip the lines. The next day we traveled to Bucharest to visit the Peoples’ Palace. This building is the second largest government building in the world, right behind the Pentagon. The second largest chandelier in the palace weighed 2.5 tons and was just as big as a school that was being built in Valea Screzii.
My alternative break in Romania has been my most cherished memory in college so far. All of my experiences that I have had and shared with other engineering students have been unforgettable and truly amazing. This trip has inspired me to want to keep traveling and exploring different parts of the world, and to learn more about different cultures every chance that I get.
