When you are in Moldova, you will, without a doubt, hear the word “frumos” every day. “Frumos” means beautiful, and Moldova expects all things to be beautiful. One must dress beautifully, one must speak beautifully, one’s house must be kept beautiful, the table should be set beautifully, the students must write beautifully. Beautiful appearance is a high priority of most Moldovans.
When I first came here, I was bombarded with this word “frumos”. With such a strong stress on beauty, I was beginning to think that this is a very shallow element to prioritize, and I was not sure I would like a place where so much stress is put on appearance. The importance of outer appearance is present in the States as well, but I guess it didn’t bother me as much because there is also a huge push for not caring about what is on the outside.
I soon came to learn that acting and being beautiful is not due to vanity, but rather out of respect for others. One should dress beautifully because you respect those you work with so much that you take time to look well for them. Students must speak beautiful to show respect for the teacher’s work. Learning this made it easier to tolerate frumosness.
Since then, I have come to more than tolerate frumosness, but appreciate it. Moldovans are not stressing outer beauty, but rather complete beauty. Ever since I have been here, Moldovans have wanted to help me be comfortable. They are very friendly and kind to me, and they don’t judge me harshly for my foreign understanding of things.
And this week, many of my acquaintances complimented me unnecessarily. A student randomly told me she liked me, and a couple staff members at school randomly told me the other day that the school staff likes and respects me. And then today when I was explaining the word “foreigner” to the students, I said that I was a foreigner. My partner teacher said that, to them, I was not a foreigner, I was a friend. Moldovans are constantly showing me kindness, and I’m falling in love with their beautiful hearts.
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