POSITIVE NOSTALGIA

I must admit that in the 12 years since I left Romania, I was away from the danger of nostalgia-it is said that this is the main reason why many people  are returning to the their country after decades

I do not consider myself neither better or worse than the others of my condition who chose to remain in foreign countries, without by that to deny in any way our origins.

Perhaps I did not have time to get nostalgic, perhaps the richness of new information which went all over me and which I was supposed to process in real time, overshadowed the past information, forcing me to think about the future.

I think that more details about my world, in the last 12 years, would help in understanding the absence of nostalgia..

So I left Romania in 1999. Initially, I thought it as a temporary leaving, not as the final. At 57 years old you cannot decide easily to restart (or to keep) your career and your life in a part of the world, known, not only for its centuries of democracy and freedom, but also for its high standards required to professionals,  in any field.

And yet .. our son, Razvan was already  in Canada with a graduate scholarship at York University, and the chances of seeing him again in Romania were practically zero. Also my brother and his family had had the luck to win the American immigration lottery and they where living already in California.

So, confident to my knowledge and experience accumulated in Computer Software Engineering in Romania, as well as my PhD.  in this area, I dared to apply for a so-called H1B visa to work (not to immigrate) in California. Interestingly, my doctorate degree  engineer which I had it since 1982 and which I availed nothing in Romania, had a significant weight  in the acceptance of my application.

I worked 7 years in California  starting with a small company of "structural design", belonging to a good Romanian friend, and continuing  with very large semiconductors companies,  with thousands of employees worldwide and billions of dollars in annual revenue
Besides the opportunity to develop my knowledge and professional experience in new areas, Americans sank me in their market economy, real and functional since two centuries (and which  have nothing to do with "baby" market economy left in Romania).
For this and for the true recognition of my professional skills I will always be grateful to them. As well as for  the "Green Card" that they gave me after 5 years,  when I decided to apply for permanent immigration. Since then, I have not regretted a moment this decision, especially being aware of what is going on  in Romania.

Then came the call from Canada - my son, for whom after all we had done "the jump", is awaiting us to come together, as a whole family, in Canada. So in the fall of 2005 we "moved" to Ottawa.
Here we have learned, among other things, what is the tolerance and not only the linguistic one, how natural is the multiculturalism and the volunteering, and how unimportant is if you come from the Romanians, Greeks, Russians, Albanians, Americans, Ugandans, French and other dozens of other countries and peoples.
Here we received the investiture of Canadian citizen and during the ceremony I wept for joy and we felt that somehow we count in this big world.

That's why I did not have Romanian nostalgia

Until recently, when my good colleague and friend in times of adolescence, as well as for now,  suggested me  that it would be interesting if I could write a few lines for 1960 promotional brochure. I was reluctant to this idea "what to write? Memory does not really help me, etc. "

Good psychologist, Valérica  send me on the spot (via Skype) 5 pictures from the years 1959-60,  with  my colleagues from 11 grade and with our good teachers - Biloi,Grigore, Mrs. -Molecula and Gutuie, outstanding personalities then and forever, real sources of knowledge and education

Black and white pictures, clearly from those years, but so warm, so alive.

I confess that I had a strange revelation: I was there and then with all of them (in the schoolyard) and I felt good, I was one of them, they were mine, we were only us,  with our teachers and it was all of Romania which we needed at that time.

And I said to myself, "OH Lord how I miss them, the ones from then, we from then!"

It was the only time in 12 years when I had nostalgia - and I say that such nostalgia is beautiful and beneficial and not dangerous because I know that I cannot take back that moment and that feeling, no matter how many returns I would have in Romania from now on.

FINALLY CANADIAN CITIZENS..

Finally Canadian citizens..





Honestly, we got some tears, during the ceremony ...
In 2 weeks from now we are going to bear a Canadian passport ..It's still not to late to start traveling everywhere in the world