This last week we spent in Cluj and Maramures. We stayed a few days in the village of Breb. It is in the northern part of Romania in the Maramures county. It is a village that wasn’t affected as much by the industrialization of Communism. The village shows what the traditional Romania looked like. The town has just started a green IMPACT club. The club focuses on preserving nature and historical landmarks. We got to meet the children that are in the club; we taught them games we have in America and they taught us a Romanian game. After the meeting, the priest and the children gave us a tour of the village.

We came across a woman who opened her home and showed us how she makes her wool into yarn. Then we went to another home where a woman had a machine that made her thread into traditional textiles. We went into a home that depicts what a traditional home looks like. A traditional home usually has two or three rooms; with one room being the room that holds all the precious family inheritances. The inheritances consist of homemade rugs, textiles, bedding, and clothing. People in the village do a lot of trading; it is usually trading of talents and goods instead of purchasing products for money. While we were there, we went to a woman who beads traditional clothing, necklaces, and bracelets. She was working on beading a traditional vest for a neighbor and the neighbor, in exchange, was giving her a skirt. Our final stop was a woman who handmade traditional clothing. She showed us her clothes and allowed us to try them on. The few days we spent in Breb was great. I enjoyed experiencing the traditional side of Romania.