Teaching - ROMANIA Daily Life

A Day in the life of a Romanian teaching assistant

The alarm clock rings at 7:30 and I look out of my window to the grim-looking but character-filled Brasovian communist buildings and I smile. There is something about these apartment blocks that shows the spirit of the Romanian people. To start with, each apartment looks identical, indeed, when I arrived I couldn't tell one from another, but on closer inspection all these flats have been made into their own; people's possessions sit neatly on the windowsills and pet dogs look out onto the street below. I get up and immediately the scent of breakfast hits me. Ever a surprise (one morning it was peppers, I kid you not), I was thankful that it was omelette this freezing April morning. Glad that the snow has melted, I jump in the shower which is surprisingly powerful, get dressed, normally in woolly clothes as it's still rather cold outside, eat breakfast together with my roommate Lindsay, say a cheery 'goodbye' to Olga, my host and head off to School 22.

As I live in the suburbs, I walk to the tram stop and catch the tram to school. As all the warning signs are in German (apparently the trams were imported from there), I can't understand a word but it isn't long before I arrive at school. People on the trams mistake me as Romanian and ask me things, but as the weeks pass I begin to understand them rather than just look at them blankly.

I get to school at around 9am, some mornings I start later but today it's 9. I meet Aura, one of the English teachers in the staff room, together with my teaching buddy Angela and we head off to classes, wondering what's in store for us today. My favourite class to teach are the younger children, around seven years old. They show such a willingness and desire to learn which is so rare in an English school that it amazes me. As it is nearly Easter (Romanian Orthodox Easter is later in the year than the traditional Christian celebrations back at home), we teach the children Easter songs and get them to talk about what they like most about it. Unsurprisingly, the hands-down winner is the amount of chocolate they will receive! We get to learn from the children about their Romanian traditions, such as painting hard-boiled eggs and having candlelit processions from the church. It gets to lunchtime and Angela and I sit outside to eat our packed lunch, made for us by our host families. We get strange looks from some of the children, but the ones we recognise always come over to show off their English skills.

Lessons carry on into the afternoon and once we've finished we head off back home or into town to meet the other volunteers at the office. A member of staff will always ask how the day has gone, and there is often someone on hand to offer a cup of coffee (usually black). Volunteers come and go to the office all through the day, and it is a good time to chat with the journalists who do their work in the office.

Nights as a volunteer in Brasov are usually fun-filled, even if the temperature is below freezing. We all meet in town after tea to socialise and for a good old gossip. One of my favourite places to go is Opium (not nearly as dodgy as it sounds), as they make the best lattés in town. Radu the waiter knows us as the regulars, and brings our drinks over with a smile as we mumble a quick "multumesc" (thank you). As it gets later we say our goodbyes and head off home, making sure we catch the last bus or arrange taxis. I climb up the 72 stairs back to my communist pad thinking how quickly the day has gone and hoping the next few weeks don't disappear quite so fast. Life as a volunteer is challenging and sometimes hard, but it's so worthwhile and the memories I have after only a few weeks will last with me all my life.