It took me a few days to get used to the rush hour traffic in Crit. Every morning and evening, the cows and sheep would take over the roads. It was there that I confronted many of the preconceived ideas I had about whether Romania’s small agricultural villages were changing since it joined the European Union. For better or worse, I discovered that there was little if no change. Living in Crit is a tightrope walk between extreme beauty and what the locals refer to as “mizerie.” Are the villagers prisoners of paradise like one of my colleagues suggested? I’m not sure, but that poignant statement has echoed in my mind louder than I care to admit.
