After a seven-hour delay in the Bulgarian airport, followed by an eight-hour bus ride across the Romanian border into the city of Bucherest, I had no idea what would happen next.
Waking up this morning, I was groggy and still feeling slightly worn down from our almost full 24 hours of traveling the day before. Everything changed the second we arrived at the Rosen Old Age Home this afternoon.
In Romania, the majority of the Jewish population is over the age of 65 and most of them are survivors of the Holocaust. Even though many people we met this afternoon were well over the age of 65 and had lived through horrific tragedies, the energy at the Rosen Home was so vibrant and full of life that no one would ever assume it was an assisted living home for the elderly.
I had the great fortune to meet Anetina Klarfeld. Anetina will celebrate her 102nd birthday this year and spent our 45-minute visit telling us dirty jokes in perfect English. Anetina was laughing and smiling and so happy to have visitors. One of the top priorities of the Romanian Jewish community is to make all of the Holocaust survivors comfortable, happy and welcomed.
My experience today reminded me that age does not define a person. I feel very inspired by what happened at the Rosen Home today and I feel so grateful to have had that experience.
- - Leah Swartz
After the retirement center, we did a bus tour around the city of Bucharest. We saw many great things like the strip of Museums in the city. Afterwards, we visited the Holocaust Museum that sits smack in the middle of the city.
It is a very interesting memorial, it is a concrete square building. The entire exhibit is extremely simple with rusted walls that resemble the stories and memories that will start to fade from the survivors. This really stuck with me because my grandmother is a holocaust survivor from four concentration camps, luckily she is still alive.
Shabbat services tonight was memorable at The Great Synogauge of Bucharest. It was the most intricate and gorgeous snyoguge I’ve ever stepped in. It resembled the nicest church in Rome that you can imagine, however it could maybe fit 400 people instead of a couple thousand.
At dinner at the JCC of Bucharest; Jason, Lyndsey, and I made the intiative to sit near some young Romanian adults for the first time, but it turned out they were 14 year olds. Hahaha. I’m excited to see what day 2 has in store for us!
Good Night!
- Brent Wagner
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