I am an ordinary woman from Romania. I didn’t realise until this moment that the most challenging
issue will be to use English for everything I want to say!!!
So…let me begin…
My name is Doina Manciu (friends call me Ina). I was born in Bucharest, many years ago (but who
cares exactly when?? I don’t care… ). I remember that we had a court and a garden with a lot of
insects – bees, butterflies, etc -, and birds, such as pigeons, swallows or sparrows…I used to spend
much time “talking” to them, or watching the clouds in the sky, wondering about the different
shapes they got…And I used to imagine stories about them…
I learned about the alphabet at 5 years old and I read my first book when I was 6: “A Life” by Guy de
Maupassant (I read it again when I was 14 years old and I said to myself, then: “What could I have
understood about the subject when I was 6?” )
Well, I went to school at 7 years old. I think everyone can already imagine that I was fond of
learning! I had very good results, indeed. This was very important to me because my mother got ill.
Nobody at school knew the situation from my home, I was the first in my class! But at home I
had to take care about my little two brothers, I had to help my father in the kitchen etc.
And, at 13 years old, I began to write my first poems…but I was very shy…nobody from home saw
them…But I’m happy to tell you that I obtained even a prize in a contest with some of my poems!
Life followed its way and I went to high-school, then to University, but, given to my good results and
listening to my dad’s wishes, I studied Engineering…I graduated the second on the country and I
almost forgot my passion for poetry… (after years, thinking and listening to my heart…I can say that I
loved both Mathematics and Literature, Grammar, English – and in general foreign languages – and
also piano – but this is another story that I don’t intend to develop here -). Even if I was a good and a
respected Engineer, even if I improved my self-knowledge in other domains – foreign affairs,
banking, organization –, my passions remained those from early youth.
Now I am retired, I have two grand-daughters (6 and 10 years old)…I don’t have regrets, I have a lot
of memories from the countries I travelled and I want to enjoy every moment of my life.
When my daughter showed me the Domestika offers…I chose this course without hesitation…
Wish me luck, please, because all my fears began to grow! :) :)
Doina Manciu
