Fall Break

Greetings from Cluj!

We are here in Cluj now for a week, resting up from our fall break travels and attending lectures from professors who teach at the university here in Cluj. For my fall break, I travelled to Budapest as well as Prague, so needless to say I spent many hours on the train. Many of the hours I spent sleeping or listening to music, since I was unable to talk to the people around me. However, on my train ride to Budapest, the man sitting across from me started speaking to me in English upon spotting the Canadian flag on my backpack. English being one of the eight languages that he is fluent in, provided us the opportunity for a rather in-depth discussion.

Upon finding out that I was Protestant, he proceeded to express his views on Protestantism. Although his views were less than admiral toward Protestants, I was able to understand more fully where he was coming from because of what I have learned through some of the lectures and discussions we have had in our Eastern Orthodoxy class. It was incredibly interesting to hear his view on Protestantism, and to experience the integration of what we learn in class, with real life experiences.

I asked him what it was like living under Communism, and it was incredibly interesting to hear what he had to say. He explained the positive things that Communism brought about, as well as the negative. I was very surprised to hear such a balanced explanation of Communism from someone who suffered under it for many years. I thought he would have more hatred toward Communism, as I’m sure I would in his situation. So although I was on break, this train ride to Budapest consisted of a mini Eastern Orthodoxy class, as well as a mini Romanian Culture and History class, but that is the best thing about studying here in Romania; our learning is not restricted to just the classroom.

In Christ,

Solita