R is for Ruins

On my way to my grandma's house I have to pass by the ruins of "St. Haralambie" church (yes, near a forest, too) which had been built in 1818 and whose mysteries are yet to be revealed. This is one of the things tourmenting my curiousity as a child and was a central place to many stories I was creating in my childhood and teens.

dandelion fields

stirring imagination -

dubious riuns

mysteries hidden -

the pass of time will deepen

curiousity

stories writing place -

playing with ghosts from the past,

rewriting the truth

After more than 2 decades fantasizing about the ruins and inventing stories, about 2 years ago I've researched it and I haven't found more than the name of the church and the year of the construction. So, my mind still creates scenaries and scenarios around it. I could imagine a ghotic novel around this mystery (1st draft almost ready - boxed in autumn - why haven't God offered me the gift of finishing up everything?)
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NaHaiWriMo

April 20th - music/musical instrument

late-April evening -

cicada's sad violin

telling his story

Carpe Diem

April 20th - Abraham (wisdom)

halfway through his life,

contemplating what has been -

ready for future

his speech,

like never before -

a lesson

O is for Old

Scornicesti isn't a modern town. Most of its buildings have witnessed the change . The apartment buildings are relatively new, but the houses , the villas and mansions - they know the rhythm and the pulse of the town.

slowly aging town -

old houses and roads and men

guarding their secrets

under low rooftops

April sun burning old walls -

some swallows nesting

rain clouds on spring sky

darkening my surroundings -

town's greying buildings

no statues, no art -

old people on old benches

in the morning sun

L is for Lake

G is for Green

I love spring, I love sunlight and light breeze! And I love that in April and May I can really enjoy those in Scornicesti, because it's packed with green herbs, grass tress and flower, especially wild flowers.

In spring and summer the green and the wild flora tame the grey resting in the town's old buildings. 

through small gray buildings

in the April light I smell

stains of green, of spring

I enjoy walking around the town, strolling around the hills surrounding Scornicesti. I enjoy their serenity, their silence and peacefullness.

spring oasis,

the wild fields in April night

calling my echo

E is for Education

A lot has changed in Romania after 1989, especially in the educational system.

Before 1989, each morning, before classes, students had to sing/listen to the Romanian Anthem. Today, such thing isn't required anymore. That is why you meet children and teens who don't know the name of the Romanian Anthem or its composer's.

not each change is good...

like Romanian Anthem,

today, soon rusty

Before 1989 there was a system rewarding great students and their accomplishments in national and international competitions and contests. Today that system is just namely there and a diploma or the little financial support is just not enough.

I was a student in today's system and then a teacher, too. I didn't feel motivated to learn in such a country, in such a town, in such a system but I was lucky to have a mother who knew how to motivate me and make me love learning. Today's democracy has impacted the educational system in a negative way. 

My parents remember their time in school with great pleasure, enormous respect for their teachers and they knew how to learn. The accent was on the quality of study.

They also had a few days a year when they had to go work in a field or an institution to get accustomed with work and learn to appreciate the value of work. Today this kind of practice is formal and it doesn't touch its goal.

I remember my time in school as a child with respect, but I was always eager to get out of the system to be on my own. As a teacher, I can tell that the quality of education has decreased even more from when I was a student and I don't think this is going to change soon. This is the very reason I left the system.

I regret the fact that Romania is going in this direction because there are a lot of great things about the country but without education, the good will soon disappear.

history and past

and Romanian Anthem -

all forgotten now

D is for Dictator

Nicolae Ceausescu was born on January 26, 1918. He met future Romanian leader Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej in prison, and succeeded him after his death in 1965. 

In 1944, with the Axis powers starting to lose ground, followed by the Soviet invasion of Romania, Ceausescu escaped from prison. Within a year, as Romania fell under Communist rule, the young leader began his climb to power.

 

Since 1965 he ruled Romania according to orthodox Communist principles, being loved and hated for his regime. The resulting unrest led to the collapse of Ceausescu's regime and his execution in 1989.

This is a very short resume of the incredible historical period represented by Ceausescu's regime.

Romania is one of the few countries to execute its leaders in modern day history. And in spite of  the controversy of his regime, the trial of the Ceausescu couple and their execution is even more controversial. (Not a great way to start a new political chapter in the country's history, I'd say)

That makes you think about change and about the past. Who can guarantee change is good? Who can offer something better than the present? 

decision for all -

the end of a known winter,

the start in a spring

B is for Before

We've been here for a long time, ready for the long ride. We've been makers of history, we've been shaping culture and taming nature. 

Scornicesti is situated in an arid, agricultural area and it has been atested that the ground where our town stands today has been populated since late neolithic. There have also been discovered traces of Dacian settlements from the 2nd century B.C. and Daco-Roman settlements from the 1st and 2nd century A.C., which is a very important period in the shaping of the Romanian culture, hence the name "makers of history."

traces of the past...

how much of what must have been

is still underground?

they made history

and history changed with them -

cherishing today

In 1918, Nicolae Ceausescu, the former president and dictator of Romania is born in Scornicesti, which was at that moment just a small village. After Ceausescu became Romania's president, Scornicesti started blooming and it finally received the status of town in 1989, shortly before the Revolution which lead to the removal of Ceausescu from his position and then to his death. Ever since Scornicesti stagnated, as if the time had stopped.

what once ascended,

reaching a maximum bloom

is now forgotten

 

 This is one of the town's emblem's over time.

A is for Around

Around Scornicesti

This isn't a traveler's log. It's just a statement of the thoughts and impressions of a wondered through her hometown, in the first day of April. It's a journal page with reflections about a small town forgotten, abandonned to oblivion.

About two months ago, I've read an article which was saying that Scornicesti is "just as renouned as New York for Romania's post-revolution generation."

Today I've been walking around, thinking, asking myself what is it that people really know about Scornicesti? The answer was easy to find: it's just the name that is known because it's the name of the hometown of Nicolae Ceausescu, Romania's dictator.

in the April sun,

contemplating my small town,

I write down my past

I've thought about its history, its past and present and about what it represents today for Romanians. I know that the older generations have divided opinions and the young ones might not even know the name.

on history lane

each step I've taken today

has been recorded

"Welcome" sign -

in the April morning sun,

road to Scornicesti

At the end of my walk, I knew Scornicesti is known only by name nothing more. Not anymore.

Sccornicesti, just a name

written in our history...

what about the place?

A to Z Challenge , Theme Big Reveal

It's time for The Big Reveal Bloghop hosted by Mina Lobo and David Macaulay. This bloghop is for those who entered the A To Z challenge for April - which is almost here - and it means sharing the Theme for the April A To Z Challenge. So...

 

So... here it comes: I'm going to use haibun (a classical Japanese writing form that combines text, haiku, tanka and sometimes photos) to write about a familiar place: my home town - Scornicesti, Romania. 

What's special about it? Well, the only thing remarcable about Scornicesti is the fact that Nicolae Ceausescu, Romania's dictator was born here.

This means I'm going to share photos, poems inspired by places and events that took place in Scornicesti or are related to it, also including my thoughts about the past ande present. I will also incorporate historical facts, geographic info, travel details and more.

Why did I chose this theme, you might ask. I did it because I wanted to improve the view on Scornicesti, which is unfairly presented as the gate of hell. I also think some people would like to see a great deal of pictures of Scornicesti, the hometown of Nicolae Ceausescu. It isn't a big city - actually, it barely is a city - but it has some ups, too.

The haibun was the best choice in what concerns the writing style because it allows me to switch freely between haiku, tanka, descriptive text, thoughts and pictures.

My tags for April A to Z will be:
Scornicesti, Romania, Ceausescu, Nicolae Ceausescu, history, travel, geography, photo, haibun, haiku, haiga, tanka, challence, A to Z challenge.

 

I must admit, I don't know and I'm curious how well known Scornicesti is outside Romania. feel free to tell me what and if you know about Romania, Scornicesti and Ceausescu.

PS: In April I'm also doing Haiku Heights April challenge which is designed for Ato Z Challenge, so I'll also be adding the haiku written for it in the same post.

Now that the reveal is over, my haiku for today:

Carpe Diem

March 21st, the first day of spring

Earth bowing to Sun,

same old passage ritual -

Moon and Sun - eguals.

NaHaaiWriMo

March 21st, learning, teaching

Buddha's teachings time,

ideas nurtured and grown -

shrine changed for a grove

 Have a beautiful spring!