My Love Letter to Romania

Hi friends 🙂

It has been quite some time since I have posted a blog. A few quick updates: I finished the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, I turned 18, I graduated high school, and now I am heading back home. 

I was texting one of my squad mates the other day, talking to her about Romania and answering her questions when she asked me this… “If there were an artist who had never seen Romania in their life and you could only use words to describe what they should paint, what would they be?” I thought to myself, oh gosh, how do I answer this. So I just started typing.

“There are these giant trees that are just massive and beautiful and make up dark forests everywhere. But then you also have the city where it’s a mix of old and new. So one street has skyscrapers and the next was built in the communism era and then the next is classic Romania. I also think that the villages are so unique and traditional. Think horse and buggy, traditional clothing, old school tools. It’s like stepping back in time. And then of course the castles. Those are truly incredible and breathtaking. My favorite is Peles Castle in Brasov. It’s colorful and intricate and so unique to the country.”

Also, I know you didn’t ask this question, but I feel I need to mention it. The people in Romania are so kind and welcoming. They want to be hospitable and greet you and feed you, etc. Seriously, I have met some of the kindest people here and even with a very tough language barrier they are still so understanding and loving. And the kids, oh my goodness! They are so funny! They just want to show off their skills and be praised and loved by you.”

Now what I wrote to her was so informal and seriously lacked some academic language, but no amount of primping and perfecting could ever truly describe my experience in Romania. To be honest, I am having a lot of feelings right now, thinking about leaving Romania, reflecting on all of the relationships I have here and things I have gotten to do and the people I love and the places I love. And it makes me really sad.

Saying goodbye is really hard because you grow to love something so much and you (well really me) just think…

“Oh my goodness my heart cannot not get any more full. I cannot take more love, there is no way!” 

or even “If I leave here now, I will lose this love. I am going to love something else and I am going to lose this love.”

This is absolutely crazy because God made our hearts capable of loving and loving and loving. He made them endless; we can love into infinity! We can just keep adding new people and places and things and moments and memories and feelings. And it never, our love for those things, never ends, it never runs out. Much like God’s love for us. And when you really truly think about that, how much we *claim* to love some things, just look at how much we KNOW God loves us. Think about your heart and how you just need to dance around or yell or shake your body senseless because you are so jovial over something. Think of the massive smile on your face when you remember a moment with a friend. 

Putting it into perspective, that is human love. That is a “I am of this world, I am happy right now, I need to achieve this feeling all of the time” kind of love, not God’s love. God’s love is indescribable. It’s incomprehensible. But I think by reflecting on how we act and think when we love can show us just a sliver of how heaven celebrates over us.

Now, I have no idea how I started this blog writing a love letter to Romania and then ended it talking about God’s love, but I guess that’s just how it goes sometimes. I will end with this. I just turned eighteen, I have a lot of life to live, a lot of places and people to love, so if you want to comment some advice or a word of encouragement or just say hey, feel free to do so. 

All the love,

     Caroline