IASI, ROMANIA, Fall 2018
Catalin Ivan, Member of the European Parliament for Romania, discovered Montessori for his children and soon realized it would be good for his country, especially the education of the poor. Visiting the AMI office in Amsterdam it was recommended that he begin by getting Montessori birth to three information to parents by translating The Joyful Child: Montessori, Global Wisdom for Birth to Three. and then focus on training Montessori teachers.
Here is the story of presenting Montessori in Romania, exploring the cultures, and then speaking at one of the most famous Montessori farm schools for adolescents, in Sweden
It was an honor to have this book translated into Romanian. The first three years are the time when the basic personality and all attitudes are formed and parents who experience Montessori during these years understand the power of supporting the potential of their children from the beginning. First stop, a book signing and public lecture based on the book.
Although Catalin was responsible for this work, he credits his wife Catalina (pictured in the middle above), and the teachers and parents of the school, for all of the hard work necessary to make this dream a reality.
There is no international AMI school consultation program yet, but I try to help bring existing Montessori practices to the very highest level. At the school in Iasi I was able to observe and help two infant communities, 3 primary (2.5-6) classes, and one elementary class. Some comments from teachers that I received later:
First I want to thank you again for the extraordinary experience that I had, having you here. I feel that I learned so much and you answered me to some questions that I had for long time. Thank you, thank you!
To begin this exploration all I had to do was look out of the window in my hotel room. Here is the view, The Palace of Culture.
OPERA
There were no ticket left to see La Traviata but we received permission to attend a rehearsal, which in my experience is just as interesting in different ways than a final performance. And to see the gypsy (Roma) dances here in Romania was very special. Here we are all together for a pre-opera meal followed by a 75th birthday cake for me.
ART
When I first began to research Romania to prepare for this work I found that the ‘painted monasteries’ of the north were among the most beautiful buildings in Europe. I assumed they were too far away from Iasi. Imagine my surprise when finding that we were going to drive to see them and spend two days seeing several painted churches.
BUKOVINA, ROMANIA
After one last goodbye dinner with the staff Catalina, Simona Nicolae, and I headed to the Bukovina area next to the border with the Ukraine..
This picture of Romanian musicians and dancerS is from ”Souvenirs of Bucovina”, a DVD I watched at home. There are at least 18 ethnic groups in Moldavia and hundreds of dances celebrating births, weddings, and deaths. Klezmer musicians, like the one in this picture, keep alive the tradition. During WWII the Nazi’s in this country killed thousands of Jews and Roma (the gypsies who migrated to Europe from India). Before working as a Montessori teacher Simona worked for a project to provide a measure of justice for holocaust victims.
All monasteries are painted inside but in 1530 painting the exteriors began. This movement lasted only for a short time but it is amazing to see the brilliance of the paint. Notice the Turkish invaders in this detail of one of the walls. This is how people learned their history.
CLICK: PAINTED MONASTERIES
In the monastery cemetery there is a large garden plot in front of most of the stones, and stork nests everywhere. It is considered very lucky to have a nest at one’s home.
As in many Eastern European cultures painting Easter eggs is a fine art in Romania’s villages. Painting these beautiful eggs is a skill very few master as the process is long and meticulous. Some Romanian artisans have transformed these hollowed-out eggs into unique works of art, exhibited all around the world. The colors and symbols used to decorate the eggs vary according to the region, usually three-four colors are used, each with its own meaning. Red symbolizes love and solar light, black is the eternity, yellow is about youth and rich crops while green relates to nature and blue to health and sunny skies.
BUCHAREST, ROMANIA
My last two nights in Romania were spent with a friend and her artist husband in the Armenian district of Bucharest. Theirs is a tiny apartment filled with artworks, paintings, prints, and sculpture, part of what used to be a large and beautiful Armenian mansion. The cat and I slept on the sofa and I felt very much at home, like San Francisco on the ‘60’s. We spent the day on the open top of a tourist bus to see the whole city quickly, and then wandering around the old part of the city. Water pipes and music everywhere.
Miruna Paul is a translator and we met as she was translating for the French students in the Montessori course in Casablanca last summer.
To see more about our work together on this course click here: MOROCCO
We made use of our few hours together seeing Bucharest from the top of a tour bus and walking through the old part of the city. We had lunch in an open central courtyard of the oldest inn in the city, Manuc’s Inn built in 1808 by a wealthy Armenian, and tasted the traditional homemade “dalinka” back at her home. I think it is like straight vodka.
For more about the inn click here: MANUC
For more about Bucharest click here: BUCHAREST
MY 75th BIRTHDAY
On October 29, 2019, I celebrated my 75th birthday with Miruna. We had perhaps the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted. The next morning arriving at the airport I found that my flight to Sweden through Germany had been cancelled so I was able to fly through Poland! It was too dark to see anything but it was my first time in Poland and it was so nice to hear music by my favorite composer at the Warsaw Chopin Airport!
MONTESSORI ADOLESCENTS, RYDET, SWEDEN – THE ERDKINDER
Next I visited the Montessori Farm School and spoke at the second summer of the AMI Adolescent training program, for teachers of young adults from age 12-18. More information on this trip here, CLICK: Sweden
For more information about the books in this series, including a link to the titles that have been translated into the Romania language, CLICK: Romanian translations
Blessings,
Susan
Home page, CLICK: Susan