Cristian G., 39 years, Salzburg

We had decided to leave Romania for a short period of time so that we may earn money and buy ourselves a car. At the time, we had been married for a year and our dream was to own a car. We lived in a village near Baia Mare and we wanted to visit the surrounding areas.

In 2005 we decided to go to Austria when my wife, a professor of French language in the village where we lived, had her summer vacation. Whereas for me, I was an engineer fresh out of school with a degree which did not help me too much. I was working at a company in Baia Mare fixing computers, installing various programs, nothing too elaborate. Why did we choose Austria? It was closer to us, not even 1000 km away, and we had a limited understanding of the German language, and we were willing to do any type of work so that we may fulfill our dream of having our own car.

We left on a summer day filled with emotions and a lot of courage to Salzburg where we knew a high school friend of mine who settled there, and we considered his advice helpful. The road trip was uneventful and we soon arrived in the city that was to win our hearts forever. I started to work at a pastry shop and my wife was a room attendant at a hotel. I still remember the fresh air coming from the mountains and the noiseless street where the pastry shop was located. I would go every morning at 5:00 AM to prepare the cream and the pastries that were to be beautifully displayed for the delight of the tourists coming from around the world.

How is it said... we had a "very sweet" beginning, [laughs]. We do not even know when the three months had passed, which we planned on staying just to earn 3,000 Euro, the cost of a used car. We worked 7 days a week, and that was the reason why we did not visit any place outside of the city. Anyway, our short-term purpose was to earn the required amount to purchase the car, and this is what was motivating us the most.

It was already the end of August and we were planning our 'retreat' and head home. We had saved enough money, and we were thinking to buy the car from there, drive it home and show our family the 'trophy.' And that is what we did, we bought a small car and we went home. My Austrian supervisor at the pastry shop had suggested for me to stay because the cold season was coming and that is when the city would be swarming with tourists and he needed me. However, I was determined to return home, because that was our plan, and we promised our parents, so we left...

I remember that when we crossed the border at Nadlac, all of sudden everything seemed to have darkened, there were no street lights, and we were already having difficulties driving as the road was covered with slime, and our silver car which was clean until that moment, turned brown within a few minutes... We were very upset, and we drove almost silent, reaching very late into the night. In the morning we were assailed by our parents, siblings and cousins inquiring how it all went. Our lungs were still filled with Austria's fresh air and we happily told them our experiences with an abundance of details...'we sweetened them up, also.'

We begun our normal rhythm of life, my wife returned to teaching as it was already September 15, and I returned to my job in Baia Mare. Shortly thereafter, I was notified that my position would be reduced to work on a part-time basis, and that would have meant a significant salary reduction, which was already paltry. For us to live only with my wife's salary, which was 600 Lei per month, was impossible as our car's insurance was a quarter of her salary.

Until Christmas time we had decided that I would return to Salzburg, and for my wife to join me in the summer. And that is how it all unfolded... Since then 11 years have passed. We have two children, both born in Salzburg, a house which we bought with a mortgage loan in 2007, before the financial crisis. We return home to Baia Mare every year, and maybe we will return permanently when we are both retired, but until then there is still time... who knows what else may happen...

Ana I., 27 years, Vienna

I left Romania when I was 11 years old, together with my mom and my sister. We looked at our departure as an adventure, and not as an alienation or separation from our country. Our mother raised us to have a warrior spirit, teaching us ever since we were little girls to welcome challenges and not to run away from them.
And here we are, alone in Austria, a superb country, and not just from the point of view of its natural beauty, but also from a cultural point of view. The people, at first, may seem distant and cold, but once the stage of acquainting passes, they become friendly and warm.
We have friends who are Austrians, and we spend time together by going to the movies, shopping or having picnics. I believe that we now have a carefree life, quite different than the one we had in Romania. If we would have remained there, mom would have been worried every day. She would have worried about our homework, bills, clothes, food, and many other worries more or less burdensome. Here, we do not worry about such aspects, we are doing well from those perspectives.
I graduated from architecture school, and my sister is in her last year of law school. Soon we will both begin our careers, and we will strive to become the best we can be in our fields.
Did I tell you? Our mother has raised two winners.
Our father was only sporadically present in the picture of our family. Once our parents divorced, he chose to go abroad as well, and he has been in Germany for the last 15 years. He works in construction and he earns enough that he is able to send us money quite frequently.
Because I left Romania as a child, it was not difficult for me to adapt here. First, I learned the language, step-by-step, and then I learned everything else which came naturally to me. Nothing was forced or overwhelming. Maybe it was a little bit difficult for mom, but I do not believe so, the way I know her, she changed every difficulty into a learning experience.
We never lacked anything, money, books, vacations, food, but maybe we just lacked spending more time with mom. She was a doctor in the main hospital, working many hours, and most of the time she was performing surgeries or was on duty. She instilled in us strength, faith, courage and most of all independence. She was telling us that only these characteristics lead toward living a free life according to one's own wishes. She did not believe in any type of constraint, oppression or dependence, and because she knew that, she was teaching us that in order to become strong and fulfilled individuals we must develop those qualities.

She did not accept for us to make excuses or to be sensitive. She did not encourage lamentation and she always pushed us toward challenges. She never coddled us, in fact she told us to confront any unpleasant situation with courage.
She did not tie our shoelaces, nor did she serve us in our beds sandwiches or juices or clean up after us. She was an atypical mother, totally different than the rest of mothers who were in love with their children, indulging them every step of the way. Her love was manifesting in other ways, not through the encouragement of whims and fancies.

We were lucky, my sister and I, to have our mother always behind us, encouraging and supporting us, or even scold us, whatever the case may have been. Now I think she is also completely happy because we have grown and matured, and also because she has met a good and kind person who loves and understands her exactly the way she is with her qualities and weaknesses.
My mom's boyfriend is a doctor, also, at the same hospital where she works, and they make a great team, consulting each other with regard to serious cases. They complete each other very well and they love one another.
I am happy for her and for our family, as we have journeyed, at times, a difficult road, and other times, a cloudless landscape, but always together.
I believe that any obstacle that life throws at a person, can be easily overcome if there is this 'together.' We lived, loved and overcame everything together.