Fiind departe de casa, am avut timp sa termin toate temele si sa vad toate filmuletele de la cursul de Stunt Writing for Personal Grow de care va spuneam in septembrie. Ma bucur ca am dus totul la bun sfasit asa cum mi-am propus. Acum m-am inscris la un alt curs, The Future of Storytelling . Ce mai, pana nu ajuns scriitoare nu ma las! Stiu ca mai e mult pana acolo, dar sper ca sunt in directia buna. Pentru cursul de Stunt Writing am avut de scris mai multe povestiri, una pe tema istoriei familiei, o tema care imi place la nebunie, nu cred ca mai e un secret pentru nimeni. Daca pana acum v-am povestit despre mama, despre bunica, despre Eve nu mai e nevoie, va povesteste ea direct pe blog, si cum imi place sa povestesc despre femeile din familia mea, de data asta am scris despre bunica pinguinului singuratic, care are 89 de ani si desi am vazut-o doar de cinci ori pana acum, ma simt foarte apropiata de ea. Povestea ei este transpusa de mine, bazata in mare parte pe ceea ce mi-a povestit chiar ea si trecand totul prin filtrul fanteziei.

Ioana s-a nascut in 1924 intr-un sat din judetul Vrancea.Ca toti copiii din acele timpuri, ea si cei 7 frati si-au petrecut copilaria ajutand parintii cu gospodaria, cu animalele si mai tarziu muncind pamantul. Pentru a va imagina mai bine copilaria Ioanei, amintiti-va de romanul lui Marin Preda , Morometii, unde autorul creioneaza viata rurala din acea perioada. Dupa o copilarie linistita, Ioana are parte de o adolescenta tumultoasa. Cand avea doar 15 ani izbucneste cel de-al doilea razboi mondial, conflict care urma sa-i marcheze existenta ei si a tuturor celor care au trait in acea perioada.  Infrunta atat germanii cat si rusii care au trecut prin satul ei. Din fericire, scapa nevatamata. Pe la 18 ani il cunoaste pe Dumitru, cel care avea sa devina iubirea vietii ei. S-au cunoscut intr-o duminica frumoasa de vara, la hora, el venind dintr-un sat vecin.  A fost dragoste la prima vedere. Intr-o luna s-au si logodit. Din pacate bucuria lor nu avea sa tina prea mult, Dumitru fiind nevoit sa se inroleze in armata romana si sa lupte pe frontul de vest. Ajunge sa lupte in Cehoslovacia, in Muntii Tartra insa scapa cu viata si se intoarce acasa unde Ioana il astepta ingrijorata. La un an dupa intoarcerea lui Dumitru are loc nunta lor, pe 5 februarie, intr-o zi insorita de iarna, in care zapada si chiciura din copaci facea totul sa para o poveste frumoasa. Ioana purta o rochie facuta manual, un model asemanator celui purtat de Grace Kelly la nunta cu printul Rainier. Invitatii au venit la nunta cu sanii trase de cai. Ceremonia religioasa a fost foarte impresionanta, si a fost urmata de petrecerea organizata intr-un cort in curtea parintilor ei. Chiar daca nu a existat lista de invitati, primul dans al mirilor sau domnisoare de onoare imbracate in aceasi culoare, nunta lor a fost un vis in care familia, prietenii si vecinii s-au distrat si au dansat pana dimineata. Oricine era binevenit si singura conditie era voia buna. O traditie respectata in acele vremuri era ca fiecare nuntas sa danseze cu mireasa. Asta presupunea foarte multe dansuri pentru mireasa noastra, insa totul e bine cand se termina cu mine. Nunta a ramas o amintire frumoasa pe care insasi mireasa mi-a povestit-o ca si cum ar fi avut loc ieri. Cei 68 de ani care au trecut nu au umbrit deloc frumusetea acelui eveniment important din viata ei.

 I just completed my Stunt Writing for Personal Grow online course. I’m glad I was able to perform all the homework and see all the videos in time. One of my favourite tasks was to write a story related to family history. As I already told you the life story of my mother, my grandmother, Eve is telling her own stories on her blog, this time I chose to write the life story of lonely penguin’s grandmother.

Ioana and her fiancée, Dumitru lived at the countryside, in a beautiful vine area located in Romania, Moldavia. During her wedding day people used sleighs for transportation, to get from the church to the city hall and to the ceremony. Ioana, our bride, had a lovely wedding dress, all handmade, ivory, princess style. Her fiancé returned recently from the battlefield of World War II where he fought on the western front. The war was over and she could finally have the wedding she dreamed of. The weather was cold, as the wedding was on the 5^th of February, but the snow made it look like a fairytale. She was so happy to celebrate her love for the man she waited for 3 years to come back from the military force. Considering this today, I wonder how many girls are eager to wait 3 years for their boyfriends to return? Love was different back then, everything was different…Weddings were totally different. The party took place in a tent set in her parents’ court. There were no guest lists, first dance, bridesmaids dressed in the same color, menus on the tables. Everything was much simpler: everybody was invited: friends, neighbors, relatives. The only requirement was to have a good time with the young couple. She told me how she had to dance with all the men present at the wedding. It was a rule back then: before handling the gift to the newlyweds, the guest had the opportunity to dance with the bride a dance or many more, as many as he wanted. This can be very exhausting for a bride, but she had to do it. At the end everybody had a great time, she felt very beautiful in her lovely dress and I felt so lucky to hear this story from her, after 68 years since her wedding took place. I hope I will be able to tell my wedding story like this to my grandchildren…