[For the version in Romanian, visit DOR] In 1987, the year I was born, my sister, Ana-Sînziana, was one month shy of six years old. Our doctor parents had carefully calculated the births of their children, navigating between the important milestones in their careers. Which is why the age difference between us was the size … Continue reading Out of sync
Category: Nonfiction
Blur
[For the version in Romanian, visit DOR] In a black and white picture of three-year-old me you can see the face I spent my entire childhood and a considerable chunk of my teenage years displaying: compact bangs, so thick they seemed to bulge towards the camera. Just beneath them, the gigantic plastic frame of my … Continue reading Blur
A taxi driver’s journey from Bucharest to the UK
[For the Romanian version, visit Bucătăria narativă] Unlike the other know-it-all taxi drivers I've met, Bogdan doesn't know where "the Mushroom" is, on Ion Mihalache Boulevard in Bucharest. He admits it politely and feels the need to follow up by saying: "But don't worry, we'll find it!". I catch his eye for a moment in … Continue reading A taxi driver’s journey from Bucharest to the UK
Me too.
[Scroll down or click here for Romanian.] For a while, as a kid, I used to do quite a lot of sport, taking part in a lot of different sports activities organized by the same instructor. In spring and in summer we played tennis and we swam. When it became too cold and rainy to … Continue reading Me too.
Dream Management
[Scroll down or click here for Romanian.] The first time I heard of Mirela Oprea, I was reading a story in the Romanian independent magazine called DOR. In the article, Mirela had taken on the role of fairy godmother to Mădălina, a 19-year-old mother of two from a poor village in Romania. Mădălina was forced to … Continue reading Dream Management
What I learned doing an MRI
[Scroll down or click here for Romanian.] A couple of days ago I had a series of tests done with various doctors, because lately parts of my hands kept going numb and now my back started to hurt, as well. It was most probably because I work on the computer all day and I don't … Continue reading What I learned doing an MRI
Chronicles of a roof
[Scroll down or click here for Romanian.] A few days before Christmas, the house just a few meters away from our building, whose roof pops up right in front of our windows, caught on fire. My husband was home alone and, just like all the neighbors, he called the fire brigade. When they arrived at … Continue reading Chronicles of a roof
Fugitive from justice
[Scroll down or click here for Romanian.] My sister has always liked to hide time in cupboards, so she doesn’t have to hear it pass... or maybe to escape from it completely. It's a trick she learned from our grandfather (who, in turn, seems to have picked it up in the army; surely, that’s where … Continue reading Fugitive from justice