*NOTE: Sorry for not posting anything for such a long time. I'm going through a difficult time, I have to face a lot of problems and I've been rather despondent and depressed lately.* The Revolution came and went like a swift autumn wind. We mourned and buried our dead, tried to make sense of the new social and political order and we woke up free. Free to do as we liked. 1990 was a year of excesses. Everyting we were forbidden to do under Communism we did now, making up, as it seems, for the past. In 1990 there were about 1 million abortions done. Women felt that, as they were allowed to do it, they should take advantage of the situation. You can never know how long it lasts. Another aspect of 1990 was the inpour of humanitary aids. Free, or very cheap food, clothes and other such commodities. And in such a huge variety! We were dazed. Cane sugar from Brazil, strong, flavoured coffee from Columbia, the famous Swiss chocolate, Dutch feta cheese, English tea and huge turkeys from America. And all these after years of spending hours and hours at a queue in order to buy one scrawny chicken or a watery piece of cheese! It was too much. Excesses were only natural. I remember that during 1990 I lived on a diet of bananas, feta cheese and chocolate. I remember spending about 30-35 hours non-stop in front of the TV, watching MOVIES. It was exhilarating, after so many years whith just ONE TV station broadcasting from 7 in the evening to... 10 in the same evening! Yes, we had only 3 hours of broadcast a day under Communism. And these hours were filled with Comrade Ceausescu and his wife, where they went, what they did and what they said... And now we had movies, lots and lots of movies, one after another, sometimes interrupted by news. The rude awakening to the truth of democracy came first for the students. Whereas during Communism the faculty sent them to a job after graduation, now they had to look for a job on their own. I think it was very hard on them. I look at them, the people in their 40s. They were the teenagers and students of the Revolution. Now they have a family and children of their own and are still trying to figure out what life really is. Another rude awakening - the strikes. Under Communism they were forbidden and repressed. Now, everyone was free to go on strike if they felt they didn't like something about their jobs. The miners' strike of 13-15 June was the worst. In fact, it was an attempted coup. The miners didn't know it, of course. They were skillfully inflamed against the government and the people of Bucharest, the capital. They came mad with rage, battered every person in sight, vandalised buildings and forced the prime minister to resign. The president was smirking, thanking the miners for their "civic spirit", while the victims of this civic spirit were recovering in hospitals. But we were free. Free to call the teachers who tried to impose us some discipline "dictators", "tyrants" and "Communists". I think 1990 was a real nightmare for all the teachers in Romania. It is generally hard to control children. In a new-born democracy is impossible. While in the past we had a uniform for going to school, now we came dressed in all the outrageous colours, patterns and fashions. I remember I came to school one day with a bandanna and feathers like the Apaches. One boy had an eye patch, like the pirates. Some girls had very tight tops, although, bless them, they were still too young to have any breasts showing. All in all, 1990 was not such a bad year. The ones that came next showed us that democracy was no bed of roses. Now, in 2006, it feels like all these years never taught us anything. But we try. We take one day at a time, face problems as they come and repeat that "'twas worse under the Commies". Some get nostalgic and say 'twas not so bad. But I think we're a really brave new world, trying to make up in 15 years for about half a century discrepancy compared to other democracies. But I guess you've already figured out that it takes a new world bravery just to be Romanian. THE END