By Ioana Anghel
When I answer the question “Where are you from?” people seem very confused by the answer I give them. Reactions are very interesting and vary from “And that’s in Italy right?” to “Is that in Africa?” to “Do you miss Armenia?” People not knowing about Romania makes me feel like it’s my imaginary world, the idealized place where I grew up that cannot be changed by others’ negative perspectives.
I know Romania is far from perfect, but for me it’s a place that hasn’t completely lost its flavor to globalization.
Going back makes me feel torn. I love traveling to the places my parents took me to on vacation when I was little, but it also makes me realize that I don’t belong in either of the worlds I live in. Romania has changed and made a life without me, and America can’t ever become the Romania from my imagination. These are some photos from my trip to Romania two years ago.
