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ROMANIANTIMES
“The soul is healed by being with
children”,
isnotjustamarveloussayingby
one of my favorite writers, Dostoyevsky,
in my case, these words represent an
attitude that I try to live by day by day. My
daughter is no longer a child, but I never
lose an opportunity to be around children,
their candor, laughter, inquisitive minds
and innocence are perpetual reasons that
forever draw me to their company.
Afewdaysago, Ihad thepleasure
of being invited to the International
Montessori School inAuburn, Georgia to
participate to their International Day, and
tosharewith the studentsof thiswonderful
school a little bit of our Romanian culture,
traditions and heritage. Miss Gabriela
Talpes, one of the Romanian teachers at
the InternationalMontessori School was
kind enough to invite me in the past to
participate to similar events; however, I
have to say, being able to talk about one
of my great passions, Romania, with
children that in many cases do not speak
the language or do not know much about
our wonderful country represented a
pleasant challenge.
I donned my most colorful
Romanian blouse, and with a basket
full of Romanian artifacts, I braved a
rainy day, and met the young and bright
children of Montessori School that were
eagerly waiting for me. I found them
around Miss Nora, listening attentively to
one of our most beloved Romanian tales,
The Little Purse with Two Halfpennies,
by Ion Creanga. If today’s children still
find joy in these tales the way we did
while we were growing up in Romania,
here inAmerica, their parents and teachers
definitelymust be doing something right!
Romanian for a day,
by Mara Circiu,
Atlanta, Georgia
…It was such a joy to see how fascinated
they were to learn more about Romania! I
was delighted to tell them about our flag,
surprised to learn that they already knew
the symbolism of the colors, they were
curious to know about Vlad Tepes, our
beautifully hand-painted Easter eggs and
the colorful Romanian folk costumes.
There were so many inquisitive faces, so
many questions, so much pure joy and
delight on sharing our history and heritage
with the young minds present, I really
wanted to stay around them longer! I was
impressed to find out that they already
knew a few Romanian words, and they
were all eagerly anticipating the delicious
Romanian dishes that were about to be
served for lunch on that day!
An old African proverb tells us
that “It takes a village to raise a child”,
I could not agree more! We are all part
of a big family, a smile, an encouraging
word, a piece of good advice when we
see someone struggling, these are all
simple gestures and we cannot afford not
to do them! The children of today, are
tomorrow’s men and women, we owe it
to ourselves to be a positive influence and
a worthy example, we are the present, but,
let’s not forget, they are the future!
I will always cherish my brief
encounters with the wonderful students
“Do not educate your child to be rich. Educate him to be happy,
so that when hegrows up he knows the value of things not the price.”
and teachers of Old Peachtree Montessori
School, I was impressed to see the quality
learningenvironment offered, the great
atmosphere in which these beautiful
children have the opportunity to learn and
develop.
Thank you again, Miss Gabriela
Talpes, for inviting me! Your students gave
me suchanamazinggift, beingaround them
lifted my spirits, and infused me with their
own special kindofmagic!Thankyou, dear
students, for being such a great audience, it
was a delight to be around you! Just like we
teach our children, they teach us! A child
can teach an adult the most invaluable
thing, a thing which we, as adults, often
forget, to be happy for no reason! I invite
all of you, regardless if you have children
or not, observe them, pay attention, learn
from them, and teach them, above all, teach
them to be kind, the ingredient that today’s
society needs the most!!