Two years ago I was in Paris with an Austrian delegation for an event my company organized in collaboration with Polish partners. I was part of the management in a private company in Vienna and I regularly organized events in Cannes, Paris and Frankfurt. The day before the event, we were invited by our Polish partners to an exquisite dinner in one of the oldest restaurants in Paris. In total, we were people of four nationalities: Austrian, Polish, French and me, the Romanian.
I remember that I have never thought of leaving Romania, but if by any circumstance this was to happen, I knew that the country I would go to would be without any doubt France. Till this day, I keep a deep connection to this land, its people and language. France has always felt familiar to me, a comfortable feeling of being at home every time I was there. And I believe that all of this is rooted in my first visit to a small village near Paris, called Escrennes, while on a school program. My first time ever in Europe, in Western Europe, 4 years after the fall of Communism in Romania. That was in 1993 and I was 12 years old.
I can’t properly start this project without writing about how it even came to life.
Earlier this year, I moved to a new country, The Netherlands, after spending the past 6 and a half years of my life in Vienna, Austria. It was a big step to take, as meantime Austria became my home, my other home besides the Romanian one, but as equally important. It felt right to leave though and joining my Austrian partner in The Hague played an essential role in my decision.
