Name: Claudia Mighiu
Age: 20
College: Bowland
Course of study: Economics & International Relations
Hobbies: playing the guitar, going to concerts, walks in nature
What is your position on the exec of Romanian & Moldavian Society: President
What does this role entail?
It means I coordinate and know pretty much all that happens in the society, and along the exec, we make sure freshers integrate well in the community and their new country, we meet regularly and we plan activities to help bring a touch of the famous Romanian warmth and happy spirit to our new home here in Lancaster.
How long have you been involved in this?
Since my first year of university, 2015. I was a treasurer in the former exec, and this year I was voted president in the new one, which is mostly composed of freshers. We care a lot about them, as you can probably tell, because we know it can be quite hard for them to adapt at first and we want to provide as much help as we can.
What are your goals as a society?
We have two main goals, internally and externally: one is to make sure we all integrate well and any problem that is brought forth to the society by any one member will be resolved, and the other one is to share some of our culture with this part of the world, so that other nationalities including English people can get a taste of our customs and traditions. For example, we have been represented in the UNICEF on campus International Dinner with some delicious Romanian marmalade, home-made paté and our very traditional dish, mici (a grilled minced meat recipe).
Two interesting facts you never knew about Romania:
Most people come to our country to see Dracula’s castle in Transylvania, but our capital city, Bucharest, is home to the Palace of Parliament, the second largest administrative building in the world, after the Pentagon! It is also the heaviest building in the world, and its crystal, massive marble staircases and mirrors are quite a sight for tourists.
Also, most foreign people assume our language is similar to Russian, but it’s not. It bears a close resemblance to French and Italian, as it is a Latin language, and only some vocabulary and our pronunciation are influenced by Slavic cultures.
So tell us how to say something in Romanian!
Here’s how to say ‘hello’, ‘goodbye’ and ‘how are you?’ in Romanian: Salut (pronounced sah-loot), La revedere, and Ce mai faci? (pronounced che my fach)
Thanks for your time, Claudia! If you want to know more about Lancaster’s Romanian and Moldavian Society you can find their page here: https://www.facebook.com/RomanianMoldavianSoc/