14 March 2012
Our tour in Sibiu was particularly exciting since it was our favorite guide Ursula's home town. She began her enthusiastic explanation of the city and its culture with a basic tour. First, we came across what used to be the fortification of the city. The remaining watch towers and fortress walls still stood strong and encompassed what is currently the old city. From the watch towers looking down, we were able to see two other layers of fortification. Ursula informed us that these walls were built to keep the Turks from invading the city. She told us how there used to be a mote between the walls, and that grain used to be stored beneath the city incase the Turks attempted to starve the people out.
Next, we returned to the center of the city. Here Ursula pointed out how the city was built in layers, with all the houses and fortification forming a circle around the center church. All of this was further protection against the Turks. The church generally held the wealth and grain of the city and also became a place of refuge when the city was being attacked.
In order to reach the center ring, acting as further fortification, was a bridge. Ursula informed us that this bridge was called the Liar's Bridge and told us the myth behind it. The myth went as followed: There was once a boy and his father walking through town, and the boy told his father he had seen a dog. He said the dog was huge. The dog was bigger than the church. The father asked the boy if he was speaking the truth. The boy said yes, the dog was bigger than the church. So the father responded that they were fast approaching the bridge and that if the boy was lying he would be unable to cross the bridge, that he would fall. So the boy said that maybe the dog wasn't bigger than the church, maybe it was as big as a house. The father responded by repeating that the bridge was fast approaching, and if the boy was lying he would fall through. Looking, a little nervous the boy said that maybe the dog wasn't actually as big as the church or a house, that maybe it was just a normal sized dog.
After this tale, Professor Cordon had us all stand on one side of the bridge. He then asked us if we all loved his travel, to which we all responded "yes of course" or something along those lines. Of course, after we all claimed we loved his course he made us cross the liars bridge to see if we'd fall off. None of us did of course, but that is obviously because we all adored the travel and none of us would ever lie about such a thing. ;) Afterward, we continued walking down the streets of colorful houses and buildings. We noticed that green appeared to be a popular color for buildings in this city.
The second part of our day focused on the theme of our travel: minorities. After our tour of the city, Ursula had organized two interviews for us so we could get a good idea of what it is like for the Saxon minority in Romania. Our first visit was with Ursula's old friend who was the editor of the Sibiu German newspaper. We talked to her about what her newspaper publishes, and how Saxons from around the country and even other countries such as Germany or the U.S subscribe to their papers. Next we talked to Ursula's Uncle who spoke about the role of the Lutheran Church for the Saxon minority. He mentioned how the church was the center of authority for the minority across the country and in specific Saxon cities such as Sibiu.
Our Final interview was organized by our professor with the right-hand man of the Gypsy King of the area. We talked to the man about the Roma minority and their way of life. He spoke to us of their traditions, some of their rituals, and how they prefer to remain separate from the Romanian culture. He told us his own specific story about how he is in fact a Romanian who gained the trust and affection of the Gypsy King and who has been working with the Roma for years. We were particularly interested in hearing of the difficulties the Roma faced in being represented as a minority in Romania. The man told us that the Roma are structure into different clans with varying traditions and ways of life. Some specialize in copper, others in cauldrons and so on. Although Romania attempts to include the Roma by allowing them a representative, it is difficult to represent the entire population of very different clans of Roma, and often times all the clans do not agree to be represented by one person.
After our very intriguing talk with the Gypsy King's right hand man we left to go eat dinner with some students of the Saxon minority. During out dinner we made friends with the four German speaking students. I spent most of the meal speaking to Bibi, a Romanian girl who attends the Germanic studies University. We bonded over shared stories of strange professors and boring classes, and made jokes all throughout dinner. Caitlin and I spoke to Bibi about many topics such as what life was like as a Romanian living in a Saxon city within Romania. By the time dinner was over we were still immersed in conversation. Once the restaurant had all but cleared out, we decided to go as a group to a nearby bar. Brandon, Jordan, Caitlin, Marisa, and I went out with the four students to Oldies where they appeared to be having a Karaoke night. To our delight, most of the songs were in english and mostly well-known. We ordered a "blender" of beer and talked, sang, danced, and drank the night away.
