We were greeted at the Bucharest airport by GMF staff (Andrea the intern) and transported to our hotel near the city center via bus. Thanks, Andrea, it meant alot to all of us to be greeted by a friendly and familiar face upon arriving in Romania.
Bucharest was clearly a much larger city than Sarajevo, and its structure and architecture was wildly incongruent from one portion to the next. This characteristic was clearly a result of over 40 years of communist rule post World War II. The large communist-era concrete structures stood in sharp contrast to the beautiful 19th century architecture that is evident throughout the city. Many more recent communist structures stand mysteriously incomplete; these empty concrete shells symbolize the waste, carnage, and failed dreams from the reign of deposed communist dictator Nicolai Caicescu.
The city's infrastructure appears in need of significant investment. Road and sidewalk conditions vary widely, with potholes and safety hazards throughout. Telephone poles are sloppily draped in countless wires that provide high speed internet connectivity throughout the city. Some of the locals alleged this shoddy work was a result of inadequate funding and corrupt contractors and officials, but these claims could of course not be verified.
All the locals we met were extremely friendly, and happy to provide directions and assistance, and tell us about the city.
GMF Welcome Dinner in Bucharest - Happy Birthday, Monesha!
After settling in at the hotel, we walked to one of the many fantastic downtown restaurants for our official welcome dinner. In attendance were local GMF staff, and several former MMFs including Parliament Members, advisors to the Romanian President, and other private and civil sector leaders. It was a very warm welcome to Romania, and our hosts were enthusiastic about the program that lied ahead.
I spoke at length with Sava Chiser, a former MMF and current director of a government program to improve rural transportation infrastructure throughout the country. Sava has a tremendous academic and professional background, and shared some great insights on the current state of Romanian politics and civil society.
It was clear in our discussions that Romania remains a country still struggling to recover from the physical and psychological damage of communist rule.
Romanians today are extremely proud of their pre-communist history, and the pain and impacts of communist oppression are still fresh in the minds of older generations.
Democratic governance, free speech, and free press, founding concepts in practice for over 200 years in the United States, have only been in place for roughly 20 years in Romania (revolution against the Communists occurred in 1989). These concepts and processes are still maturing in Romania.
On Thursday we moved out with a full and very aggressive day of meetings, briefings, and tours. Our first stop was the Presidential Palace where we met with Presidential advisors Valeriu Turcan (MMF alum and currently Press Secretary to the President) and Alexandra Gatej (Business Affairs Advisor to the President). Valeriu and Alexandra addressed a broad spectrum of issues including the current economic and political situation, and the challenges of dealing with an aggressive and somewhat non-traditional (in the American sense) press corps.
After the meeting Valeriu treated us to a quick guided tour of the beautiful Presidential Palace.
Our visit to the Romanian Presidential Palace:
We then went to the Romanian Parliament building for a meeting and tour. The Parliament is the second largest building in the world behind the Pentagon, and was originally started under the Caicescu regime. It's design was heavily influenced by Caicescu's personal vision, and it was nearly complete at the time of his overthrow.
During our visit to Parliament we met with Roberta Ahnastase, President of the Chamber of Deputies (equivalent to the Speaker of the House in the United States). She is both the youngest and first female President in the Chamber's history, and got her start in politics through youth leadership activities in her teens. Ms. Ahnastase spoke of the need to proceed with difficult constitutional reforms as Romania continues to mature its Democracy.
After a quick tour of the Parliament building we had a working lunch with Ms. Anca Harasim, President of the Romanian Chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce. Anca spoke of some the challenges she and her constituents in the Chamber of Commerce face doing business in Romania.
Visit to Parliament and meeting with Roberta Ahnastase, President of the Chamber of Deputies (equivalent to our Speaker of the House).
Our last stop for the day was a visit to Realitatea TV studios in downtown Bucharest. Realitatea was founded as in 2001 and is a privately owned 24-hour news station (similar format to CNN). We had a great discussion with staff over some of the fundamental differences between U. S. and Romanian approaches to journalism. While the channel was founded to bring a new standard of professionalism and objectivity to Romanian television news, they pride themselves on holding the Government accountable and driving the country's political and social agenda. All parties agreed that with only 20 years of free press history, the Romanian press corps and legal framework is still maturing.
Visit and discussion at Realitatea - Romanian 24-hour news channel:
On Thursday night we had a working dinner with several representatives from local NGOs, including environmental, media monitoring, and education interests, as well as think tanks and advocacy groups for Romani people (i.e., Gypsies). Romania has significant challenges in all of these areas.
On Friday we met with Political Science students from the University of Bucharest, and answered questions about our career choices and various professional backgrounds. It was great to get some face time with the future leaders of Romania.
The rest of the day was devoted to individual appointments for each of the Fellows. I had the privilege of meeting with Mr. Iulain Fota, the National Security Advisor for the Romanian President. Mr. Fota has an incredible resume, and it was a pleasure to discuss some of the political, strategic, and budgetary challenges facing Romanian security forces and interests.
All the Fellows were then treated to a free afternoon for sightseeing, etc. I took this opportunity to meet with my cousin Silvia Mainescu who lives in Bucharest. I had never met Silvia before, and this was a wonderful opportunity to catch-up. Silvia and her partner Victor took me on a tour of the city, including a play-by-play recounting of the 1989 revolution. They also treated me to a wonderful dinner at a historic/traditional Romanian restaurant, complete with live music and dancing. It was great to catch-up with Silvia and share stories about our families. Thank you, Silvia and Victor!
BTW, Victor is also a kiteboarder, so we were fast friends!
My meeting with Romanian National Security Advisor, Iulian Fota
Visit with Silvia and Victor, with a quick tour of some of the city sights, including the Opera House, monument to those lost during the 1989 revolution, and dinner at a traditional Romanian restaurant.
Our final full day in Romania was a wonderful trip to Sinaia by train. Sinaia is a small town in the mountains, about two hours by train from Bucharest. It is home to skiing as well as Peles Castle, the early 19th century summer residence of Romania's King Carl. We had a guided tour of the castle, and were treated to a traditional lunch in one of the mountain restaurants/pubs. The lunch was a meat-lovers dream: sausage, pastrami, chicken leg, pork wrapped in bacon, lamb, chicken wings and finally beef. Each of these was served as an individual "course" and, needless to say, we all slept well on the train back to Bucharest.
The natural beauty of Sinaia stood in stark contrast to the poverty and apparent lack of services that we saw in some of the small villages we passed through on the train.
Day trip to Sinaia and Peles Castle - definitely a stark contrast between services/standard of living inside and outside of Bucharest.
More pictures from our trip to Sinaia, including a "high protein" lunch (sausage, pastrami, chicken, pork wrapped in bacon, lamb, more chicken, and beef) at a mountain inn/pub.
Wish there was time to go skiing! Note tramdock high above Peles Castle.
We finished off the day with a farewell dinner at a traditional early 19th century restaurant in the Bucharest city center. This was an opportunity to say farewell to both our Romanian hosts, as well as our "fellow Fellows."
Goodbyes are tough, but we are all happy to be heading home to see our families. We all made a mutual commitment to maintain communication, and continue to see each other through MMF alumni activities or perhaps a group reunion.
I feel extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel to Europe with such a fine group of people. Our diversity was one of our biggest strengths, and our collective bonds and team spirit only got stronger as the trip progressed. Thank you all for the tremendous support and companionship throughout this very rigorous program.
I'd also like to thank the staff and volunteers at GMF and all of the supporting organizations that helped make this trip a success. This program was a life changing experience for me, and I thank you for your dedication and commitment to the principles of GMF and the Marshall Memorial Fellowship.
Finally, I owe a debt of gratitude to my wife, kids, parents, friends and co-workers who supported me throughout the Fellowship. I feel so fortunate to have had this opportunity, and i could not have done it without your support. Thank you!
Farewell dinner in Bucharest - Happy Birthday Stacey!
Team GMF in Bucharest. Thanks to Andrea, Anamarie, and Raluca for the fantastic program and support!
Welcome home, Daddy!
Thanks to GMF for this tremedous opportunity!
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