Celibidache family: (l to r) Sonia, Ticu, Tania, Sergiu, Coca, Maria, Demostene, Heleni

In two days time, my dad and I will be boarding a plane for Bucharest, Romania. This trip has been a long time coming, especially for him. My dad's parents were from Romania and lived there until WWII. A little over four months ago, my grandfather Petre passed away, which inspired us to finally take this trip. 

(l to r) Eliana, Gabi, Aleco, Tania, Serge, Sergiu, Me, Petre

Pictured above is my grandmother, Tania, along with her brother, Sergiu, who was the only Romania relative I ever met (along with his wife and son). Their youngest sibling, Sonia, is still alive and living in Galați, a city located in the region of Moldavia. We will be meeting/visiting her along with a handful of other cousins, aunts, and uncles. 

Until recently I had no idea how many relatives we had (alive or deceased) in Romania. The only exposure my sister and I had to my dad's family was during our occasional summer trips to my Uncle Sergiu's mill in France, where we would spend time with him, my Aunt Ioana, Serge, and my grandparents. These annual check-ins with distant, older relatives felt exotic and foreign in comparison to my mother's family; large, loud, affectionate, involved. It was easier for my sister and I to gravitate to that side of the family and adopt those cultural identities. Now I will get to see what the other half of my heritage is like and what that means to our identities.

Our trip will take us from Bucharest > Brașov > Roman > Suceava > Iași > Galați > Constanța

After Romania, we plan to spend three days in Istanbul.