I had never lived in a foreign country before, nor even traveled to a foreign country by myself. I was always in the comfort of either my family or teachers and classmates.
So coming to Romania was a first in both ways with the additional challenge that trying to get by in English or German is not always so easy. You learn quickly which translation apps work best in which scenario.
Although I definitely had certain knowledge and skills in Romance languages - which provided themselves quite useful - it nevertheless took some time to get used to Romanian despite it combining vocabulary from languages of other language families I already spoke. It made me understand the difficulties immigrants who don’t speak any common foreign language nor the language prevalent in the country they move to much better. Moreover, the isolation and limitations one might feel through that became more evident and it just made sense. I empathize now a lot more with my Canadian friend in Austria, who hates speaking German on the phone after failing to communicate with my low level of Romanian. The confusion of my former Russian roommate towards German and especially Austrian dialects.
It is frustrating, yes - but there’s not only bad sides to it.
Here, I became more aware of my habits and beliefs. That in my opinion there’s no way of flashing the left blinker in a roundabout because you’re taking the last exit. Or that separating bills is something rather less common in some places. Believe me, my colleagues and I have annoyed a couple of waiters because of this already. It makes it even more intriguing to talk to locals and approach them about what is “correct” for them. Plus, being a foreigner always adds a bit of a charm to your faux-pas. I definitely feel lucky that I was able to establish a network and small community for myself here through the project and by meeting fellow volunteers. Knowing people and having the opportunity to exchange experiences and even complain or make fun of uncomfortable situations together really relieved the negativity and makes the not so nice parts seem much smaller than the fun I’ve been actually having here.