2012
- "Ten out of ten for perseverance." Good luck! July 2012, grahamb from Dave's ESL Cafe.
- "I'm very excited for you that this Romanian thing may be completed soon! You certainly have perseverance - many people would have given up long ago. I hope THIS time it will be done." Mom, 23 January 2012.
- "I don't know how you find the time for all the things you do. I wish I was as well-organised! All the best. Graham" 11 April 2011, grahamb from Dave's ESL Cafe.
- "Awesome, NG. Acum, poti invata romaneste!! Espanol le ayudara. I'm a little envious. Congrats." 18 February 2011, scroetem from Dave's ESL Cafe. (about finding out that my mom is registered as a Romanian)
- "Congratulations! Once you have your Romanian passport, how will that help you with your professional goals?" 17 February 2011, Isla Guapa from Dave's ESL Cafe. (about finding out that my mom is registered as a Romanian)
- "Hi naturegirl321, Thank you for posting the looong multi-year process you've gone through to document your Romanian citizenship. It is a MAJOR help to anyone considering going through the same steps. (And this thread is one of the top Google results when searching to get Romanian citizenship through parents/grandparents.) And congratulations on getting your Romanian birth certificate. It sure sounds like they finally recognized (admitted may be a better word!) you are a Romanian citizen by birth. Where are you holding in this process right now? Good Luck! (You truly deserve it after putting in almost 6 years of work -- which I'm sure was very time consuming for you -- to get this working correctly!)" 12 April 2010, josephf from Dave's ESL Cafe.
- "I have read this entire thread and have something to say about it. Those who have criticized NG for wanting to go to Romania or become a citizen are truly harsh. She has devoted a large piece of her life for others to gain knowledge from her quest. I read in the beginning all of the negative posts and outright defamatory comments on her long drawn out struggles, and while reading knew of that same struggle. It is to be Romanian, or the want of it, that one would go to such lengths to be there or go there and live. To go back over the years of posts and quote things was something I wished to do, yet, at this point probably couldn't do. However let me say this. I would have gone through the same struggle to get there as she has. I have seen those here who have talked about Romania as a place not to go to, or to stay away from for financial reasons. I wish to say that I myself was living in Romania over the hot summer of last year, and can say to you that it is a place of beauty and stark contrasts. There are so many things that Romania has going for it that I couldn't list them all. Those who think otherwise are not Romanian, because to be Romanian, all you can think about is Romania. Romania is a place of hardship and toil, but it is that very thing that makes Romania strong. It has known suffering, it has known communist rule, it has struggled with poverty, it has struggled with pain, the people know about the many in depth struggles. Yet, for all of their problems they have an inner strength that is triple that of the USA or any other country on earth. While this is my opinion only, I speak from experience, the experience that is Romania is something that once true souls manage to find, is something that one can never forget. In my struggles through this life the one place I have found to be truly passionate is Romania. You can't speak about Romania without speaking of the passion and the struggle to survive there. Romania is also the most romantic place on earth. There is so much passion in the women there that men easily fall prey to it, and once under that spell you will never recover. Romanian women are the finest looking, the finest bred, and the most cultured on the planet. I know of NG's struggle, for I have the same struggle myself. Some in this thread have talked about how poor the wages are, let me tell you this. I would pay YOU to let me live there and work. I wouldn't care about how bad the wages were as long as it supported me in a closet and gave me the barest of necessities in which to live. That is how I feel about Romania. It is a place to aspire to, not to avoid. I can tell you this, those who have posted in this thread in the negative about RO are either too westernized or too demanding for their own needs, because RO is not a place whereby one comes to find riches and wealth, it is for the experiences that one to comes to RO. While there is plenty of money flowing into RO right now, it is not the sole purpose in going, rather it is to feel the passion that RO is and forever shall be. As I said, I would literally live as a babushka in the street as long as I could live there and work. I wouldn't care about the money at all, I just want to go home, because RO is my home, and always has been my home. It is in my blood, my soul, my very being. NG, I can full well appreciate your struggles to get there and become Romanian. I myself would do anything, say anything, be anything just to live in RO. It is a passion which dwells within RO that I have felt, and which has captured my soul. You can't walk or run away from it once you have been captured by it. To those who have in the past made fun of your quest I would say this, you are not Romanian, nor would ever know what it is like to be Romanian or even want to be Romanian. For to know Romania, you would have known the soul it has, and the passionate embrace that it gives you once you are there. To the few who have commented negatively, I would also say why even come to this thread if not to show where your heart truly is. You have to be empty of spirit and soul to comment in such a way to NG's struggle to get home. To those who have said that Romania is a tough place and not to come, I would say this, let me come and work for you, you can pay me slave wages, and each and every day you would see a smile on my face and a warm embrace for allowing me the opportunity to be home in Romania. I would crawl, swim, walk or crawl on my belly to get back to RO. If you have a job there, let me have it. I don't care about wages, I don't care about living conditions, I don't care about anything else but to be there. If you have a job there, and are looking for someone to teach, I would jump on the plane tomorrow just to get there. As I said, I would live in a closet just to be able to get home and stay there. NG, don't let anyone sway you from your dreams, for they are only jealous of your desire to go someplace where your heart and soul is. It is bred into you by birth that you are Romanian, and no one or nothing should ever stop your quest to get what you want. I applaud your efforts, I also know and share with you your desire to be somewhere which you have felt was your right. It is the same for me, only passionate people know of Romania, only passionate people know of the desire to get there and stay there. Despite all the hardships and the toils of life, Romania is a place we can all hopefully one day achieve. To those that are there and find nothing, I say you have not looked, because if you had you would know from where I speak. So, we both know of RO, and let me say this NG, you are right, your quest is worth it. FIGHT IT all the way down the line until they give you what you want. It's your right. BTW, thank you for all of your posts and links and everything in between. You are a true champion for others... Long Live Romania.........." 12 January 2008, El from Dave's ESL Cafe.
- "Strikes me Naturegirl has taken the trouble to post here in the hope that her experiences may be able to help others. Anyone who doesn't want to read it of course, doesn't have to. It strikes me that NG is trying hard to carve out a life with her husband, and to have children etc. Being a (possibly illegal) TEFL backpacker in Europe would certainly not help her achieve that! She is American, yes? If so, it's not that easy for Americans to get visas/permits to live and/or work in Europe. If NG is claiming what appears to be her birthright to Romanian citizenship, why shouldn't she? As a resident in Romania myself, I do know that many people whose parents/grandparents left the country under duress, are now wishing to claim citizenship. Even if we were to look at it from a purely utilitarian viewpoint, if getting Romanian citizenship helped her achieve her objectives, why shouldn't she pursue that angle? Who really has the right to preach to her what she should or shouldn't do, or whether she is scheming or not? Survival is the noblest cause of all, and trying to create something better for herself, her husband and future children, merits considerable respect in my mind. That's ultimately what most of us are trying to do: survive and create something better for ourselves. If people don't like what you write, they don't have to read it. They certainly don't have to criticize it. Go for it, NG." 1 December 2007, Bebsi from Dave's ESL Cafe.
- "Many of the replies of NG's efforts to gain her Romanian citizenship showed quite puerile behavior. You did not have to read her posts nor did you have to reply. I have known others who have had difficulty with the same thing from other countries. The rules and steps seem clear until you begin the process and encounter numerous levels of bureaucracy. I myself have dual citizenship and many people wonder why since the 2nd country is poor, not powerful, etc. Yes, I know that many in that country would rather have American nationality. However, my desire for it is somewhat indefinable but is part of my identity, part of my cultural background. It speaks of who my people were and are. This I would hesitate to give up or to not acquire if given the opportunity." 2 June 2006, bgrocks from Dave's ESL Cafe.
- "What a fuss about what NG should and shouldn't have done. For what it's worth, I take my hat off to her for making the effort to get that elusive second passport. I find it ironic that people should bitch about someone who's simply trying to improve her life. Give the lady a break." 12 June 2005, grahamb from Dave's ESL Cafe.
- "Naturegirl, I don't envy you the problems with red tape (can't spell that other word) but take solace from one American teacher I worked with who came to Lithuania looking for her 'roots' (plus passport) only to find that the town her parents apparantly came from had been mired in some early 20th century territorial dispute between Lithuania, Poland and Belarus - and none of them seemed to recognise it as having belonged to them. Imagine trying to deal with 3 Eastern European beaurocratic (uh oh) machines simultaneously. I'll keep my fingers crossed that they still let Romania into the EU. I think the folk in the rich countries have recently realised that last enlargement they let 100 million beggars into their club, and now the votes on the new constitution are happening they're in no mood to let in any more. Think I heard there are legal obligations to letting Bulgaria and Romania in though. Good luck with it anyway." 7 June 2005, EnglishBrian from Dave's ESL Cafe.
Be sure to read about what has happened so far. You can find everything in the quick summary of dates.
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