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Quote of the day
Read more: Quote of the day“Men will always be what women choose to make them. If you wish then that they should be noble and virtuous, let women be taught what greatness of soul and virtue are. “ J.J. Rousseau – Discourse on the Arts and Sciences (1750)
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Quote of the day
Read more: Quote of the day“What remained was the individual person, the human being – and nothing else. Everything had fallen away from him during those years: money, power, fame; nothing was certain for him anymore: not life, not health, not happiness; all had been called into question for him: vanity, ambition, relationships. Everything was reduced to bare existence. Burnt…
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Women, mothers and really old ladies
Read more: Women, mothers and really old ladiesNow that March 8 is behind us (a day also known as Woman’s Day or Mother’s Day in Romania and, yes, flowers are expected!), it is time to introduce you to another Romanian tradition. This time, we’re talking about a really old one, dating all the way back to the Romans: the Days of the…
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Dragobete, Mărțișor and beyond
Read more: Dragobete, Mărțișor and beyond“Dragobetele pupă fetele.” Romanian folk saying (Dragobete kisses the girls) How many of you know that Romania has its very own early-Christian Valentine’s tradition? It’s a spring fertility ritual called Dragobete, which takes place on February 24, and it dates back to the Early Middle Ages. Not only this, but since the addition of Valentine’s…
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Not alone
Read more: Not aloneSomeday you won’t remember any of this. Someday, your body will have forgotten his novel touch, how it felt to have his arms wrapped around you like a safety belt, his lips on your skin, his hand in yours, or what you talked about. A waft of his after-shave won’t make you turn your head…
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Quote of the day
Read more: Quote of the day“He who has become a lover should never think of his life. Your soul is an obstacle in your way. Sacrifice it. If you are required to sacrifice your faith also, together with your soul, do so by all means, and if anyone brands you as an infidel, tell him that love occupies a position…
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Freedom
Read more: FreedomNight was falling in the coppice-wood Each strand of light threadbare and bluish Thinned out into mystery The path darkened, populated by shadows The clock in the church tower struck The hour of the owls Something shrieked in the distance And a human shape approached on a bike I clutched my umbrella with sweaty palms…
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Children saying scary things
Read more: Children saying scary thingsMy daughter (10), elated that she got into the class she wanted and avoided the all-girls class: ‘All-girls classes suck!’ Me, naively: ‘Why?’ My studious 10-year-old: ‘Because they’d be all prissy and there’d be no boys to fall in love with.’ Ladies and gentlemen, the main purpose of public schooling, right there… in case there…