What do Dracula, castles, communism, mountains and bears have in common? They’re all part of Romania’s story, which Anne Taylor will share at a meeting of the University of the Third Age (U3A) Helderberg on Wednesday 1 October.
The meeting is scheduled to take place at the Dutch Reformed church in Firmount Road, Somerset West at 10:00.
Taylor, a hospitality-management lecturer, spent three-and-a-half years in Romania as the culmination of a 45-year career in hospitality education.
Appointed to a Romanian academy in Brasov in 2016, she arrived in Bucharest in minus 30°C winter conditions. According to Taylor Romania and South Africa share similar political trajectories. Both gained democracy in the same time – Romania in 1991, South Africa in 1994 – and faced similar challenges with political, financial and business restructuring, food and job shortages and integration into international tourism markets.
In Brasov she experienced snow and mountains, local customs and history, and learnt much about herself and her values.
She retired at 67 and now lives in Somerset West, devoted to “perfecting the art of wine and wit, and avoiding early mornings”.
The address promises interest with a touch of the personal. Members enter free, while visitors pay R20 at the door.
For enquiries, phone Denise Fourie on 072 211 1173.
