“Success resides not only in reaching a certain status but also, when walking down the street and passing by a wonderful building, in knowing that it’s also thanks to your daily work that the building still exists. It brings me infinite satisfaction to tell my friends or acquaintances: “If you haven’t been to the Rijksmuseum yet, do so, it’s very beautiful.”
“I arrived during a meeting with many Philips executives from several departments. … At some point, one of the executives said loudly and convincingly: “I’ll be honest with you and I’ll tell you the truth.” I was watching astonished what was happening. … I saw a clash between Ireland, where, as I said, people would say something in a roundabout way without reaching a solution everyone agreed upon, and the Netherlands, where everything was discussed in a direct manner and an action plan was quickly drafted. This was my first cultural shock.”
“I left thinking that I’d gather knowledge and experience and then I’d return to Romania, to help improve something there. For instance, I’d like to change something in the academia, people should be more open to new ideas. And if something is not going well, we should try to find a solution together, instead of having an attitude along the lines of “I’ll pack my things and go.”
“… Everyone should ask themselves why they want to leave. Even if they don’t have all the answers, they should at least do this philosophical, introspective quest. From my experience, I can say that it’s very nice to live in the Netherlands and, at the same time, it’s very nice to bring the Netherlands to Romania and vice versa.”
“I think success is something very personal. To me, success is when you have as peaceful a life as possible, without major problems, without dramas. To have enough in all the aspects of your life so that you feel good. From this point of view, I think I’m a successful person. I get to do what I wanted, I like it, and I’ve also found the ideal partner, who loves me and also loves Romania.”
“To be integrated means to be open to the culture in which you settle, without forgetting or denying your roots. You take something from that society, but you also bring something along. We, as Romanians, have an extraordinary richness of emotions and feelings that we can use here very well”
Copyright Noi Rădăcini – ©
