Radu Albu-Comanescu
Romania
Dubrovnik Course 2000
Radu Albu-Comanescu was a participant on the Dubrovnik course 2000, he wrote his experiences down in a story.
...a soft wind, the door of the balcony is opened, the fresh air spreads in the roomIt's salty, marine. Electrified, I inhale and smile oh, yes, again, another morning in Dubrovnik, another relaxing breakfast to come, and delightful courses, the splendour of the intelligence...till then, I'll enjoy the view...what view ? the sea, the history, the cliffs, the history, the buildings & history again...and more, above all, the quietness, the peace of mind, of soul, especially of soul...
What does this Dubrovnik have that swallowed me, cast a spell upon me, charmed me? What is it ? The sea, is it the green-blue sea, unique ? Is it the opulent vegetation, the cypresses, the orange-trees and bougainvilleas, the majesty of the rocks, the magnificent sound of the sea smashing 30 meters below me in white mousse, whispering the love and the hatred ? ...I don't know, I don't want to know... ...breakfast. Marvellous company, acceptable cuisine...oh, yes...good morning Bart ! hello, Wieger ! (Luis hums "Right here, right now/ Right here, right now", qué tal, hombre !), hello everybody ! coffee? Ah, yes, black coffee, thank you. "OK, folks, it's time to go now !" (who...who said that ?)
Voluptous palm-trees, the sky's morning brilliance, yes, Radu, smile, you're 21 years and 2 months old, you're in Dubrovnik (hey, still, watch your steps !), the meeting place for three European cultures : Graeko-Byzantine, Slavic, Italo- Venetian, cosmopolis, styles of believing and feeling...Again, reality's excellence...including and excluding, the very essence of the human beingwhat human being ? that raged creature that "gourmandised" and devoured the stupidity of wars ? Till when ?... ...rain in the afternoon? Huh ?!? You mean real rain, wet rain on my skin, in my brain washing away the impression of unreality ? You mean Dubrovnik is real ? All this and that is real reality ? "Roxy" and bar-tenders...tenders tenderness, tenderness towards memoirs, the life, the game of a sound, of a smile, of a friend, a person, the game of a struggle, of waves, the rustle of the trees, the sound of my steps on empty streets in night... Wow !
Still, why Dubrovnik ? I froze my soul years ago, why does it defrost like that? I do not like to say "nostalgia"; "post-Dubrovnik syndrome" is a perfect façade for that more sensitive word. Nostalgia that exhausts, but still rejoices. I met Others. I wanted to See, to Discuss, to Share. I wanted to Feel. And I felt. So much, so many. I was fed with so much, so many. "Nostalgia"? More or less. I'll recapture my Dubrovnikan mood, there are e-mails, phones, letters. In fact Dubrovnik did not end !!! With the very first mail sent by somebody, it only just begun ! It was an adventure in understanding, awareness, perception, comprehension of The Other. (I'll even learn other languages than the present known, I promise, just for that comprehension !)
Dubrovnik? Observation, sensitivity. Dubrovnik ? Indefinable temptation of feeling good. Of creating liaisons. ...a soft wind, the door of the balcony is opened, the fresh air spreads in the room Electrified, I inhale yes, another morning in Cluj. But in another inner world. Thrilled now by the pleasures of the past.
Greetings /Groetjes / Salutãri, Radu