Sociology

I grew up in a little Romanian city called Timisoara. I was the second of three children and I learned pretty early that my father did important work. He was a doctor at the County Emergency Clinical Hospital of Timisoara and so we did not see him much. He worked really hard to make sure we were taken care of, though, and so it was easy to forgive him. My mother was a frail woman who stayed home and fussed over my two sisters and me. We didn’t mind, though. The extra attention made up for my father not being around as much as we would have liked. We had our share of friction but for the most part, we were a happy family.

My sisters and I attended the American International School of Bucharest because our parents wanted us to be fluent in English. They used to always tell us that our lives might take us all over the world and most of the world spoke English. It was a very good private school and we had lots of fun there but by the time I reached 16 I was just concerned with traveling outside of the school. It seemed I had spent my entire life there, and in a way I had because AISB is the only school in Romania authorized to offer the entire International Baccalaureate program. This means I spent my primary, middle and high school years on the same campus! I just wished sometimes that I didn’t see the same faces all the time. My mother used to always tell me I have a restless spirit and maybe that’s why I was so anxious to start the next phase of my life outside of AISB. Imagine how excited I was at the prospect of attending university!

Working and Studying in Romania
I didn’t start university immediately, though. About a month after leaving AISB, my father died of a heart attack and even though he had done his best in providing for us, I still felt I had to do my part in making sure our little family survived the loss. As a result, I decided to work instead of going straight to university.

Hotel Timisoara is surrounded by historic buildings, ancient parks, riverside walks and cultural diversity and for three years, it was where I worked as a Customer Care Representative at the front desk. This was a very exciting time for me because I got the opportunity to meet all kinds of people. On my days off, I spent a lot of time at the nearby Opera House where I fell in love with the theatre. I also started to date a lot and Romania has never been more beautiful. It all came to an end, however, when my little sister became eighteen. At my mother’s insistence, I went back to school.

Northern University is situated in the municipality of Baia Mare, Romania. I enrolled in the Faculty of Science and was determined to enjoy every minute of university life. I was granted a room on campus and was soon partying up a storm with my best friend and roommate, Camelia. It was good to be carefree after three years of responsibilities. At first it felt strange not having a strict schedule, but I quickly fell into the easygoing nature of university life. I was a good student. I got involved in the debate club, fiddled around with theatre in honor of my memories of the State Opera House of Timisoara and made my mark with photography. I was excited about being on my own for the first time. I missed my mother and my sisters terribly at first but I was having so much fun at the same time. My sisters sometimes came to visit on weekends but my mother never came. On other weekends, I made the trip to Timisoara to be with her.

Northern University provided me with the perfect opportunity to find myself. The hotel went a far way in helping to shape my values, goals and so forth; but there were boundaries. At the university, there were no preset rules for conduct. Of course, there are always consequences to decisions I made but I felt freer to make choices. Unlike the hotel, I didn’t have to pretend to be having a good day even if I was not. It seemed like a whole different universe and I relished it. Due to my newfound freedom, I did miss my share of classes due to parties the night before but I was always careful to make sure I got caught up, since my parents had always made it known exactly how they felt about our successes. Plus I felt I owed it to my father to do well.

I majored in medical technology and I suppose it was to feel closer to him in some strange way because it definitely wasn’t my passion. I didn’t hate it though, and I enjoyed the challenges of some of the courses. By the time I graduated, I was as anxious to explore as I was at AISB. The difference, however, was that I wanted to explore outside of Romania. At the time I didn’t know where to go, exactly, but I once again felt my excitement brimming at the thought of discovering something new and unfamiliar. I graduated in 1999 and was proud of my accomplishments. I was one undergraduate degree and a husband richer.

Coming to America
    I came to the US nine years ago and came straight to New York. First I lived in Westchester County with my ex-husband and immediately gravitated toward the theatres. It was very different from the Opera House in Timisoara but all theatre I suppose maintain the same basic principles. Westchester County was perfect for living comfortably but the culture wasn’t much diversified and it made me miss Romania so much more. We lived there happily for four years, but after the divorce in 2004, I moved alone to Queens.

New York has the largest Romanian community in the US and I enjoy the Romanian Day Festival every year since I have been here. Like many other places in New York, Ridgewood is home to many European immigrants and has a large Romanian population. As a result, I immediately felt at home and got an apartment quickly. I made use of my medical technology degree and started working in a medical office in my neighborhood and soon settled into my daily routines. I was thankful for having found Ridgewood since my ex-husband and I were the only ones from our families to move to America and I was glad to have something familiar. Having lived there for five years, I find I sometimes miss my family but I’ve grown to love the US and only go to Romania for visits. My sisters come to visit me as well, but they love Romania too much to leave like me.

I look back at my arrival in the US and I remember having a little trouble adjusting in Westchester. Don’t get me wrong, I was still excited about new discoveries and I had heard so much about the opportunities available in America, but the cultures were so different! I was so glad, at that point, that my parents had the foresight to send me to AISB because, with everything else, I was glad I didn’t have trouble adjusting to the language. My move to Queens was very different, however. The Romanian community has done so much to give me a sense of being closer to home, especially with my Polish and Slavic neighbors. As time went by, I started figuring out what I ultimately wanted to achieve with my life and decided I might very much enjoy being a teacher. So came the decision to go back to school.

University in Queens
    Two years after moving to Queens, I finalized my decision to go back to school and enrolled at Queens College in 2006. This time, I didn’t have the luxury of concentrating solely on school but I didn’t mind the added responsibilities. I was looking forward to becoming a teacher and even though my jobs in the medical field were fruitful, I was glad I had started the process to end that phase of my life.

I started a degree in Linguistics and Communication disorders, which will be ending in 2010. I chose this because I don’t plan to be just any teacher; this degree will provide mea solid background in linguistics, speech, hearing, and language science. I think there is much I can offer within the educational system. Plus, I think I may be able to identify with those children who aren’t able to communicate properly since, without AISB, I would have had issues communicating myself. This degree may also allow me teach English to speakers of other languages, which is something I am contemplating as a non-native English speaker myself.

This experience is quite different from the one I had at Northern University. The primary one, I believe, being as a result of not being able to party all the time because I am older, and more focused. Like Northern University, Queens College (facilitated by the move to the US) has granted me the opportunity to once again find myself. I have discovered how determined I am when it comes to realizing my goals. There are many times I wish I had my family with me, but I’ve also discovered my strength and persistence.

My program will be ending in 2010, as I mentioned earlier and I have no intention of stopping there. I plan to continue my education and will be starting the Elementary Education Teaching program in spring 2010 which will end in spring 2011.  I am barely two years away from realizing my dreams and I can’t wait! I have had many changes to make on my journey from Timisoara to Queens but I’m grateful for having the opportunity to explore and to discover.