Introducing myself Hello ! My name is Cucu Alexandru-Nicu, but you can call me Alex. I’m almost 17 and I live in Bacau, a beautiful town with beautiful people. I live with my family in a house situated in a neighborhood called Serbanesti. I study at National College ―Vasile Alecsandri‖ which, in my opinion, is the best highschool in town. As you can see I love sports, all kind of sports. But mainly motor- sports, hunting, fishing and boxing are my favorite. Once a year my father and I take part in a Enduro European Championship. If you want to know the best place to fish or hunt you can ask me and I’ll say that Danube Delta is the perfect place. As my uncle owns a pension, I spend almost 4 months per year there. My family consists of my father (Nicu), my mother (Mihaela) and my brother (Radu). I can say that we are very close and my father is one of my best friends. Bacău Bacău is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. It covers a land surface of 43 km², and, as of January 1, 2009, has an estimated population of 177,087. The city is situated in the historical region of Moldavia, at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, and on the Bistriţa River (which meets the Siret River about 8 km (5.0 mi) to the south of Bacău). The Ghimeş Pass links Bacău to Transylvania. It has a public university and several colleges. Two major Romanian poets, George Bacovia and Vasile Alecsandri were born here. The "Mihail Jora" Athenaeum and a Philharmonic Orchestra are located here, as well as the "G. Bacovia" Dramatic Theater and a Puppet Theater. Around Christmas every year, a Festival of Moldavian Winter Traditions takes place, reuniting folk artists from all the surrounding regions. The exhibition "Saloanele Moldovei" and the International Painting Camp at Tescani, near Bacău, reunite important plastic artists from Romania and from abroad. The local History Museum, part of the Museum Complex "Iulian Antonescu" has an important collection of antique objects from ancient Dacia. Personalities Aaron Aaronsohn, agronomist, botanist and Zionist activist Vasile Alecsandri, poet Angela Alupei, rower George Apostu (1934–1986), sculptor George Bacovia, poet Ovidiu Balan, conductor Ilie Boca, painter Petru Cimpoeşu (1952, born in Vaslui), writer Radu Cosaşu, writer and activist Nicu Enea, painter Mariana Zavati Gardner, poet Narcisa Lecuşanu, handball player Solomon Marcus, mathematician Doina Melinte, athlete, Olympic gold medalist Mihaela Melinte, athlete Teodor Negoiţă, polar explorer Costel Pantilimon, footballer Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu, Marxist intellectual and politician Gabriela Potorac, gymnast Andrei Pricope, cellist Monica Roşu, gymnast Alexandru Şafran, Rabbi Nicolae Vermont, painter Gheorghe Vranceanu (1900–1979), mathematician en.wikipedia.com George Enescu George Enescu was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher. Enescu was born in the village of Livieni (later renamed "George Enescu" in his honor), Dorohoy County at the time, today Bitosany County. He showed musical talent from early in his childhood. A child prodigy, Enescu created his first musical composition at the age of five. Shortly thereafter, his father presented him to the professor and composer Eduard Caudella. At the age of seven, he entered the Vienna Conservatory, where he studied with Joseph Hellmesberger, Jr., Robert Fuchs, and Sigismund Bachrich. He graduated before his 13th birthday, earning the silver medal. In his Viennese concerts young Enescu played works by Brahms, Sarasate and Mendelssohn. In 1895 he went to Paris to continue his studies. He studied violin with Martin Pierre Marsick, harmony with André Gedalge, and composition with Jules Massenet and Gabriel Fauré. Many of Enescu's works were influenced by Romanian folk music, his most popular compositions being the two Romanian Rhapsodies (1901–2), the opera Œdipe (1936), and the suites for orchestra. He also wrote five symphonies (two of them unfinished), a symphonic poem Vox maris, and much chamber music (three sonatas for violin and piano, two for cello and piano, a piano trio, two string quartets and two piano quartets, a wind decet (French, "dixtuor"), an octet for strings, a piano quintet, and a chamber symphony for twelve solo instruments). A young Ravi Shankar recalled in the 1960s how Enescu, who had developed a deep interest in Oriental music, rehearsed with Shankar's brother Uday Shankar and his musicians. Around the same time, Enescu took the young Yehudi Menuhin to the Colonial Exhibition in Paris, where he introduced him to the Gamelan Orchestra from Indonesia. On 8 January 1923 he made his American debut as a conductor in a concert given by the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in New York City, and he subsequently made frequent returns to the United States. It was in America, in the 1920s, that Enescu was first persuaded to make recordings as a violinist. He also appeared as a conductor with many American orchestras, and in 1936 he was one of the candidates considered to replace Arturo Toscanini as permanent conductor of the New York Philharmonic.[3] In 1935, he conducted the Orchestre Symphonique de Paris and Yehudi Menuhin (who had been his pupil for several years starting in 1927) in Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major. He also conducted the New York Philharmonic between 1937 and 1938. In 1939 he married Maria Rosetti (known as the Princess Cantacuzino through her first husband Mihail Cantacuzino), a good friend of the future Queen Marie of Romania. While staying in Bucharest, Enescu lived in the Cantacuzino Palace on Calea Victoriei (now the George Enescu Museum, dedicated to his work). He lived in Paris and in Romania, but after World War II and the Soviet occupation of Romania, he remained in Paris. He was also a noted violin teacher. Yehudi Menuhin, Christian Ferras, Ivry Gitlis, Arthur Grumiaux, Ida Haendel and Joan Field were among his pupils. He promoted contemporary Romanian music, playing works of Constantin Silvestri, Mihail Jora, Ionel Perlea and Marţian Negrea. He was a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity. On his death in 1955, George Enescu was interred in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Today, Bucharest houses a museum in his memory; likewise, the Symphony Orchestra of Bucharest and the George Enescu Festival— founded by his friend, musical advocate, and sometime collaborator, the conductor George Georgescu—are named and held in his honor. Recently, Bacau International Airport was named George Enescu International Airport. Eugène Ysaÿe's Solo Violin Sonata No. 3 "Ballade" was dedicated to Enescu. Tescani Tescani is a town in the county of Bacau, Moldova, Romania. Tescani City is located in Tazlău-Casin depression, at the confluence of Tazlaul Sarat and Tazlăul Mare. In terms of river, the region has, in addition to the two rivers, numerous streams and the aquifer is low and at great depths. To the east, the village is bordered by Tazlaul Sarat and hills west of a ridge with a maximum altitude of about 423 m and oriented NW, hill called Apples. Geological substratum of the region consists of the Carpathian flysch, composed mainly of Cretaceous and Paleocene formations arranged in canvas that goes from west to east. For the most part, the valley is recent: Pleistocene-Quaternary, consisting of alluvial deposits. Soils of Sub-Carpathian hills are predominantly podzolic brown soils and alluvial soils podzolico-clay-. Podzolic soils formed under forest fitoclimatice of oak or oak forest and beech in the mixture. In Tescani there is also a memorial house-Tescanu Rosetti family owned, and Maruca Cantacuzino and composer George Enescu, who lived and wrote several works here, among them some of the opera Oedipus. Today is known as "Center-Tescanu Rosetti culture." This takes place annually and a classical music festival ("Moldavian Orpheus") with Mihail Jora Philharmonic of Bacau. Annually, the Tescani summer school takes place, with painters in the country and abroad, especially in France and Belgium. They are attracted by the beauty of places (places that he himself loved George Enescu, the latter expressing his desire to be buried with his wife here). Source : http://en.wikipedia.com Merry Christmas ! Winter is my favorite season. Not just because we have a big holiday but because Christmas is coming. I just love it it. I behave like a child in Christmas Eve and I have the same feeling since I was one. Every Christmas Eve my grandmother is coming to our house and bakes cookies and cooks delicious meal. My favorite dish is ―sarmale‖ or ―beaouf sald‖. We usually decorate the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve but sometimes we decorate it sooner. The sparkling globes, the tinsel and flashy lights are always beautifully placed and to finish decorating and make the tree look even better we put a shiny star on top of it. The best feeling you can get in the Christmas Eve is when children come caroling. There are a lot of Romanian carols like: ―Am plecat sa colindam‖ ( We went caroling ) ,‖ Domn, domn, sa-naltam‖ ( Lord, Lord to tall ) , ―Clopotei, clopotei‖ ( Gingle bells ). Also we have many traditions like : going with the goat or with the bear. But mainly, the Christmas symbolize the day when Jesus was born and every year we go to the church. In conclusion Christmas is a magic and beloved holiday that makes everyone feel good and have mercy for everyone. Dictionary: Romanian / English Salut / Hello Eu ma numesc / My name is Ce faci? / How are you? De unde esti? / Where are you from? Prieten / Friend Familie