I’ve always been a runner.
When I was 8 years old, me and my family moved from a southern town in Romania to an eastern village which are around 150 kilometers away from each other. This difference is not so big, but when it comes to culture and customs, I think every single Romanian can relate that they are pretty different, no matter if those people have any experience in Muntenia or Moldova ‘counties’. I had traveled before this together with my family in a lot of places here but actually moving for real was a huge step for me, as a child. I don’t remember exactly how I felt in those moments, but I can honestly tell that I felt bad for letting my friends and my life from Muntenia behind.
But after all, it looks like Darmanesti is not so bad though…
After seven years from that moment, I became a commuter. I have been changing towns daily for four years because I had chosen another town for studying because of the prestige of the highschool there. In this period I’ve been secretly traveling in the towns around my village, exploring them with such a passion that even thinking about those moments made me smile like a dumbass. When I finally finished my highschool, I was 19 and I faced changing again and I have to admit now I was kind of afraid of that, so I chose to do my studies in a town near to my little village surrounded by mountains, that I call now ‘home’.
In my first night in Bacau, my new place, I bought fast-food and I walked all over it to see what is actually happening there. It was bigger than my previous alone escapes but smaller than I imagined. In that night I saw a Blue Air advertisement pannel which I read with my cellphone flash: ‘The only small thing is the world. Take chances! Go abroad!’ Yeahhhh, sure. Like this is ever going to happen. Some months later, I’ve packed for London. (I will tell you about this, my first experience abroad, in the next article)
After coming back from London, I’ve realized that the world is really small and our aspirations are actually the big deals here. So I in my second year of university, I applied for an Erasmus + scholarship, inspired too by my brother who has always been an example for me. If men can do it, women can do it too. So this is how all of this started..
So here I am, after visiting 12 countries in five months, encouraged by a lot of people to write a traveling blog, writing from my dorm in Pardubice, the Czech Republic, drinking beer and watching to my luggage stored in the corner of the bedroom, looking at me and asking ‘Ok Romanian girl, where next?’
Why run? Because is the best thing you can do with your life.
Why 1? Because I did it by myself.
Why 96? Because I am only 21, young and free.
Why 196? Because there are 196 countries that wait to be explored.
Why Run196? Because yes.
Run196 