What do you think about when you hear the word “Romania”? Within our group, we had different thoughts – “Housemaids”, “Theft”, “Dirty”, “Dangerous”, “One of those countries”, “Never really heard anything”.
It’s funny that seven people that until now had heard these types of things decided to challenge them and learn not only about the culture but also the language. And amazingly enough, we found that our preconceptions were wrong. We learned about the great places to see on a holiday, places to go hiking or biking during spring, the tasty food that will be impossible to miss when visiting Romania, the beautiful language and even poems that are meant to serve as a thank you for a good meal and most importantly, the people. We had the chance to meet with romanian people that came to the United Kingdom both to look for a better life and to continue their studies. These people are kind, welcoming and friendly, ready to answer all our questions and help us understand any doubts we had. But what about those who don’t challenge their preconceptions?
Most people tend to believe what they hear, especially when coming from people we know and trust, but what if what we hear is not true? What if these thoughts and preconceptions we get about a country or group of people – the so called stereotypes – are simply wrong? One can argue that stereotypes cannot be false because they need to be based on some kind of true. However, it is necessary to keep in mind that these might not only be overly-exaggerated but also poorly interpreted and given a very negative connotation over the years. And what happens if people don’t have the motivation to challenge what they hear, to go and see for themselves?
Most people I’ve encountered don’t go through the trouble of doing self-research regarding a topic they have negative misconceptions about. But luckily, there are people like us who challenge these ideas and look to find out the actual truth, not accepting everything that is said to us. And it is by doing this, by discovering that we were wrong and that Romania is a lovely place – that I personally can not wait to visit – and even more by learning the language, that these misconceptions go away and these stereotypes are broken.
It is not the first time I found my preconceptions did not match reality and it surely will not be the last. I now find myself motivated to learn more about anything I might have a negative idea of, to be informed, to see it for myself. Why does no one talk about Romania? Its beautiful sights, culture or food? No idea, but I know I will start.
One of the things we learned on this summer school is that challenging what he hear, discovering new things and actually learning about different cultures is key to bringing down stereotypes and making us much more understanding and welcoming of each other.
European London 