First Meeting

Note: All names have been changed, just so people stay anonymous and I confuse everyone. :)

I have just finished my meeting with the first Roma family. I felt so excited at first, I had to tell myself, it is not an interview, you are not being assessed, I should be calm and relaxed since I should see it as fun and educational.

I went to the court where they live and started calling Mrs. Hornau. Since there was no response, I just knocked on the first window I saw... and there appeared a little girl, smiling at me through two rows of windows. That instant I felt relieved, as if that smile took away all anxiety and told me, it is just chatting. The mother appears, I ask her about family Hornau and she tells me they are the neighbours. I should go inside the court and her daughter will call Mrs. Hornau.

After a brief presentation of who I am and what I want, I have been invited inside. Everyone was smoking. A few minutes later, all cigarettes were put out and everyone was listening. I told them why I came, presented them the gifts and started chatting about education. Quickly though, the conversation became less rigid, they started talking about the other daughter, which is in grade eight and currently at choir practice (not quite the stereotype of a Roma girl). The thing they wanted was information. They would like to send their older daughter to high school, but were unaware of the possibilities, as well as the places reserved for the Roma. I told them I will try and find out and let them know, the only problem being that I no longer live in Romania and thus cannot contact them often. They then pointed towards the possibility of email communication, and then to their bright new computer with a large LCD display and internet connection looming in the corner. I said great, we can keep contact over the internet and I shall inform them if I hear anything.

The parents are both unemployed and they live off child allowance, that is what I have been told.

Then I asked if it is okay to take a picture. They said yes, we all sat down on the sofa and the uncle (i guess) took it. We then concluded that I will send the pictures and my findings about Roma places in high school through email. I have been invited to come and stop by another time and I told them I will try to, at least the next time that I return to Romania in spring.

The grandmother asked me what my name was, I wrote it down, Razvan. Then she asked, what's your family name and I said 'Sandru', which she immediately wrote down in a very nice and traditional hand-writing. And I was thinking about all the statistics which tell that most elderly Roma, especially women, are illiterate. However, the grandmother proved that she is one of the great exceptions.

That was the first visit. I think it went well, even though, looking at the computer and the fact that everyone was smoking (but the children), I think they did not really need the stuff that I have brought. Anyway, I consider that the presents are both material and metaphorical, because together with the notebooks and pencils, I bring my support for them and their chances for education.

Now I am off to visit family two!