Needless to say, the 20+ hour travel day gave me an indication that I was no longer in the United States, but my first true “wow” moment came very soon after. On Sunday, May 10th – only one day after arriving in Romania – my group attended a garden party hosted by Her Majesty, Crown Princess Margareta, Custodian of the Romania Crown. Yes, the title is long, and so was the party, but I was grateful for it because of all the eye-opening experiences I had.

The first thing that struck me was the premise of the party itself. As a celebration of royalty, I can confidently say that I was not used to being present for one of these, and I mean this in two senses. Firstly, I am not well-connected enough to be regularly attending the events of royalty (so that is something I can thank the wonderful Professor Dijmarescu for), and secondly, I as an American am not accustomed to the concept of having a royal family in the first place. Both of these factors were at play in my amazement at the situation, even in my jet-lagged state. Seeing royalty of the country I resided in gave me my first impression of something distinctly non-American, antithetical to the ideals of our nation.

I was further impressed by the names on the guest list at the party. The U.S. Ambassador to Romania was present, along with the Prime Minister of Romania, the top generals, and several important C-suite executives. Being in attendance with figures who dominate so many areas of policy was fascinating – I felt so important and so small at the same time, and I can say that the feeling has not fully retreated yet. I believe this also speaks to how easy it is for Americans to access opportunities abroad. Romania is known to be extra hospitable to our people in the first place, but it is an entirely different thing to have landed in the country one day prior and immediately be invited to a garden party at Her Majesty’s palace (even if the royal family holds no actual power). If the roles were reversed, I as a Romanian student traveling to Washington D.C. would get nowhere close to a high-ranking military officer, much less the president. As such, I am reminded to be grateful of the opportunities I received, and I want to provide a big thanks one more time to Prof. Dijmarescu for cultivating those connections.