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By Rebecca McKeown
| "Vrei mămăligă sau pâine cu sarmale?" “Do you want polenta or bread with your cabbage rolls?” The sound of the familiar words - and foods - is music to my ears. "Pâine, vă rog!", I respond. “Bread please!” "Vaiii. Vorbești românește? De unde ești?" "Wow, you speak Romanian? Where are you from?!". |
The conversation could quite easily have been from my recent trip to Romania, but instead I was standing in a church garden just off Holloway Road, eating sarmale (minced meat wrapped and cooked in cabbage leaves) and admiring the small but proud display of Romanian culture around me.
On the 25th of October, 2014, a temporary site of Romanian language and culture in London was organised by a small group of Romanian residents in the city. The aim of "Romania Day" was to promote a positive image of Romanians in London. Featuring craft stalls, a sarmale and plăcintă (a type of cake) stand, traditional music and a 'Human Library' (the books are people who tell their own story), the little pop-up trace of language and tradition was certainly a happy and positive affair.
Pictured right: The author at the Romanian Cultural Day in Holloway Road, holding a plate of sarmale (cabbage rolls stuffed with mincemeat). 1
Familiarity of language is a wonderful thing, and the more I learn both Romanian and Hungarian - the more involved I feel with the communities who speak those languages, just as I feel at home when surrounded by expats with New Zealand accents.
Sharing the intricacies and jokes of a language makes journeying through that country so much more meaningful.
To Adina, the lovely lady who slaved away over piles of sarmale to feed the interested masses, I offer this Romanian post-dinner rhyme: "Săru-mâna pentru masă, c-a fost bună şi gustoasă, şi bucătăreasa frumoasa!" - "I kiss your hand for dinner, it was good and delicious, and the cook is beautiful!".
To keep in the loop about future cultural days, and other events by the organisers, you can visit their Facebook page.
The Romanian Cultural Centre also offers a comprehensive list of Romanian events in London and the wider UK.
Above:The memories of Romania that the Cultural Day conjured up - eating sarmale with mamaliga and drinking home-made tuica in the Viseu Valley, Maramures, July 20142
1, 2: Photos by Rebecca McKeown, copyright Rebecca McKeown 2014.