"A BIG LEAP INTO THE UNKNOWN, INDEED" Until year 2012, I had had a couple of international experiences. All of them, easy-piecy ones, let's say; in the sense they'd been pretty close (to Chile and Uruguay / I live in Argentina). Those had been - somehow - "controlled", as they were fit to a certain schedule, with little room for unexpected crazy brackets: First, we travelled to Constitución, Maule. By bus, through Andes themselves, with local squad to attend a footy tournament. Years later, I would back up my father on his holidays to Colonia, both by car and RIver Plate ferry, to tour and witness, among others, MURGAS AND CANDOMBE, which are delightful uruguayan percussion and collective singing rythms, brought to the South American Cone by african slave population itself, when still chains had their days... This pair of flees turned out awesome - no surprise -, but I should honestly reckon them as lacking of self-managing competences adquirement, new language challenges and put into practice techniques, and of course, they were missing deeper and heavier components of cultural shock. All these last, and more, I would suffer and get when submitting an international voluntary service at Romania. Adventure would come; misadventure too. Following, this is what happenned. More important, what could YOU find there... THE BUCURESTI (The Bucharest) The capital is big, loud, nasty. It combines multiple interesting elements which make it not just another regular european major town. To begin, it's infested with gypsies, who street or public transport snatch but also share their energetical MANELE music and lifestyle. The Rroma ethnia celebrates their day on 6th April. As world nomads, we all carry a little wanderer errant gypsy in our hearts, don't we? Then don't miss indian origins explanations and programmes at OBOR subway station and / or Park Herastrau. It's fair to say Romanians hate Romanian Gypsies, since they stick bad fame to the country and create identity confussion. Therefore, it seems the tsigan culture in the whole Balkans to be enjoyed only by outsiders. Bucharest was also known once in Europe like "EASTERN PARIS", due to plenty of charming neoclassic construction buildings (which hardly cope with shoes-box communist monoblocks), enormous and majestic parks like PARLAMENTUL PARC, and a very generous scale replica of ARC OF TRIUMPH in one of its huge roundabouts. THE SECLARS After settling and volunteering for a couple of months in Oltenia region, neighbour to Danube River, Bulgaria and Serbia, I had the chance to address Brasov city and after Covazna County. I was invited by Armenian Gayane, who was teaching and developing there. I ended up discovering that region of Romania - such as many other Transilvania dots - was in fact Hungary II. In KESDIVARHELY town (TARGU SECUIESC), they were speaking, selling, praying and honouring hystorical heroes all in magyar. Churches were all catholic silhouette and not even one orthodox. By the time, I was already growing and flowering with my acquired romanian conversation, but for these 2 days I just stucked like child to Gayane's arm, hahaha, not being able to catch a single word in such a complex and multi-consonants argot. THE VAMA VECHE (OLD HARBOUR) Last must-visit I chose to describe is Vama Veche Summer Fest. When? During 1st. week of May. Where? 30 kilometres down from bigger city Constanta, at the Black Sea romanian coastline. Why? Because youngsters and not that young from all over Europe gather here to camp. At this beach, you can spend chill out days in restaurants or the sand; and crazy fun nights at electronic bare-foot parties or reggae-roots outdoor pubs. Now, sorry World Nomads T.W.S. Submission, but wanna ask map makers why did they call it Black Sea. I can only remember a BLUE water. An Intense dark blue one, that's true. Nice... so refreshing during daylight, and its floor feeling like a round rocks matress, when the sand interruptes. Experience is fuller by hitchhiking there; hords of cars make MANGALIA-VAMA VECHE all day-long. They're eager to help you and chat where are you from. NOURISHMENT Meaters, try MICIS/MITITEI (porc romanian hot-dogs)! Vegans, try CASTRAVETII (local fresh cucumbers)! Drunkards, try TUICA! A sort of plumbs-made vodka, which tough farmers choose to open up icy labour days with...