I left to Targu Jiu with the night train from Bucharest. Took the bike with its luggage, along with some things i wanted to donate, and waited for the train to arrive at 5 o'clock in the morning. But the train was late. No problem, i said. Nobody will pick me until 7, so i waited in the train station. I saw people passing, i looked at people-they looked back as i was an interesting item for them. It is not every day you see a girl with so much luggage and an unusual bike. I liked their curiosity and precaution. People there are not very talkative unless they really have something to say - wise people.
The campaign manager arrived, took the luggage surplus and said that the activity starts at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. What to do next? I went to visit Targu Jiu. I found a wealthy town with nice squares and parks, also a big city compared to what i have imagined. The Central Park was nice; it is the symbol of the town with Brancusi's sculptures like "Table of Silence", "The Gate of the Kiss", and "Endless Column"; the last one i like the most. While cycling along the streets of Targu Jiu i've noticed that there are a few important ones that go from one side of the town to the other and, because the terrain is flat, it seems like they are never ending. Especially one, Victoriei Street, witch had a bridge at the end and seemed like it was leading to the sky.
The social campaign consisted of us, volunteers, to raise food and materials-even small donations- for a few poor families in that county. It was a local campaign, more about raising awareness about the situation of these poor families, sometimes with up t 12 children, than about raising itself. I think that the campaign wanted to inform people about what's happening in the surrounding communities. I saw what they mean when i went to the place i was hosted, in Rovinari, wich is 23 km from Targu Jiu. The difference is huge. Comparing to Targu Jiu, Rovinari is a poor town. Few people work either in the coal mine or at the thermal and many of them have no workplace. When visiting the family from Rovinari i was shocked. I was expecting to see poorness but i couldn't imagine how people are living there(i can't describe that here..) and felt scarred for the first time in my life. There was a strange thing about that town: in the night it was smelling strange and i could hear strange sounds. I discovered the next day that all came from the coal mine; the miners were working during the night and the smell was hot coal or coal dust and the sound was made by a big wheel that was taking the coal out and putting it in train compartments to be sent away.
The campaign went well. I want to thank all the nice people I met this way, volunteers and hosts, project managers and even the people for having learned something from them.
The second part of my stay was in Musetesti, also close to Targu Jiu, 23 km opposite from Rovinari. The experience in Musetesti was wonderful because I had the possibility to cycle there and to nearby places(like Sacelu - a treatment complex with natural rich in minerals water and mud; they have 4 pools with different mineral concentrations and a spring with "eye water" witch is used to wash the face and eyes as a cure). I've rediscovered the countryside I love, with amazing things, like: seeing the sky full of stars surrounded by complete darkness , chasing a rabbit through the garden, bringing water from the spring and drinking the best local wine. Life is peaceful there. Nothing spoils the archaic way of life people have lived for years now, even though they come into contact with new ways of life from the volunteers they host in Musetesti( i guess it is the language barrier). Again, another picture, different from what I've previously seen. This trip brought a lot of good things/experiences into my life, for which I am grateful.
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