by Ben Legg, English Language Instructor, Kolozsvár, Romania

The Transylvanian autumn has finally come upon us, and the city of Kolozsvár has gotten down to the business that it does best: education. Kolozsvár is a city whose population increases by a fourth during the academic year. People here will tell you that the Babeş-Bólyai University is the second largest in Europe, and seeing all of the young faces in the streets, it's not hard to believe. There are many other houses of learning here, not the least of which is the Protestant Theological Institute, where I have been teaching as part of a program sponsored by Meadville Lombard Theological School.

My first months in Romania were spent studying the languages (both Romanian and Hungarian), getting to know members of the Unitarian community, and simply adjusting to life in a post-communist nation that is still struggling to get on its feet economically. I had the great fortune to spend much time with my future students, who taught me a great deal about Transylvanian Unitarianism and their own Székely heritage.

With October came the experience of dealing with these students, not as a friend and a learner, but as their classroom English teacher. The foundation of friendship laid down in the summer months has so far given me a great advantage in reaching my students and creating a comfortable language-learning atmosphere. While there have been some difficulties to overcome in creating this atmosphere (staff meetings in Hungarian, constant classroom changes, a nasty cold going around), I think that we have reached a point where productive language learning has begun.

My students are excellent people who are proud of their heritage and dedicated to ministering here in the birthplace of Unitarianism. They come from various villages (not to mention various English-language backgrounds), but they all are eager to improve their English and to help further relationships between the UU churches of North America and the Unitarian Church here in Transylvania.

Due to the widely differing backgrounds in English I have a variety of lesson plans for the students. With some students I have assigned novels like Cry, the Beloved Country, while with others we have reviewed holidays and the past tense. The freedom I have in curriculum here has given me the chance to try and meet all of the students' varying language needs.

While the students are learning I have been learning as well. I have learned how to live in a country where I still need to light the boiler with a match every morning and where horse drawn carts still can be seen at busy intersections. I have learned about my own Unitarian heritage and also about the rich and varied cultural background of the Balkans. Most of all, however, I have learned how to be prepared for anything and how to be extremely adaptable and still feel like I am able to provide some new knowledge for these students. Meadville Lombard should be very proud of this program and the knowledge and understanding that it has built for both Transylvanians and North Americans.

Contact:
Tina Porter tporter@meadville.edu
(773) 256-3000 ext. 236

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