I love couchsurfing because you never know what experiences will come your way. Well, yesterday I was privy to a traditional Romanian funeral gathering in a small village.
I'm couchsurfing (or in this case - bewelcome.org) with a German fella who is doing voluntary work at a local guesthouse. The owner/manager had to attend a funeral yesterday in a village about 25 km away and offered to bring us along. Luckily I had something black to wear in my arsenal.
Romania has a strong mourning culture, so the moment we stepped into the family's home, people began wailing and hugging each other. Meinhard and I just stood awkwardly to the side with the flowers we brought. Despite initially feeling totally out of place and invasive, the family quickly embraced us (figuratively and literally) and included us in their celebration of life. We feasted on roasted chicken, potatoes, olives, homemade bread, etc... and the mood turned rather jovial. It was a very international gathering too. In addition to the Romanians, there was a German, two French firefighters, and myself. There were all combinations of languages spoken, and I even tested out my pitiful high school French.
I'm couchsurfing (or in this case - bewelcome.org) with a German fella who is doing voluntary work at a local guesthouse. The owner/manager had to attend a funeral yesterday in a village about 25 km away and offered to bring us along. Luckily I had something black to wear in my arsenal.
Romania has a strong mourning culture, so the moment we stepped into the family's home, people began wailing and hugging each other. Meinhard and I just stood awkwardly to the side with the flowers we brought. Despite initially feeling totally out of place and invasive, the family quickly embraced us (figuratively and literally) and included us in their celebration of life. We feasted on roasted chicken, potatoes, olives, homemade bread, etc... and the mood turned rather jovial. It was a very international gathering too. In addition to the Romanians, there was a German, two French firefighters, and myself. There were all combinations of languages spoken, and I even tested out my pitiful high school French.
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