this summer, i had the opportunity to present my beautiful homecountry to two dear friends of mine, and, in this process, to myself experience romania with freshness and openness, and rediscover its magic.
romanian folklore is so incredibly rich, and it has been so profound to experience the stories of mystery and magic that i grew up with in the heart of Transylvania this summer. ielele are my favourite mythical beings from our folklore and i’ve been mesmerised by them since childhood; they are female mythical creatures who dance in forests naked, disheveled, with bells on their ankles, and carrying candles. their dance maddens those who encounter them and the earth on which they dance becomes scorched by the heat dripping from their feet. in the dead of the night, remnants of the tingle of their tunes resound in the forests – heard by those who brave their hearts to listen… 😊
i had a strained connection with my homecountry for a long time, having remained blind to much of its beauty out of my own contractions and feelings of inadequacy emergent from absorbing limited beliefs about my nationality that are sometimes propagated in western europe. however, in the past years i’ve been falling more & more in love: i’ve been falling in love with how alive bucharest comes at night, with how delicious it is to walk with my friends on the streets we used to stumble on our wild escapades in high school, with how melodious our language & music are, with treading the journey from universitate to my place to clear my mind & connect to myself, with how hearty our traditional food is, how mystical and complex the folklore is, how vast and abundant the mountains and forests are – with how there was never a moment in which i was in need in which i did not encounter kindness.
so healing, to let go & see how beautiful it all was, all along.
mândră că-s româncă! ✌️
p.s. how cool was our accommodation in predeal? they’re called the palo cabins and the hosts are truly lovely people. would highly recommend!