I am Esther Vlad. My origin is Rumanian and I lived in Paris for 10 years and now I started my new life here in Toronto. Romania is the 12th largest country in Europe, bordered by Moldavia, the Ukraine, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and the Black Sea. Out of apopulation of 22.7 million people, nearly 3 million live in the capital cityof Bucharest. The county is rich in natural resources, including iron, manganese, zinc, copper, aluminum, silver, gold and uranium, as well as coal, oil, methane gas, salt, marble, granite and grit stone. The countryside boasts many health resorts famous for their mineral and thermal springsThe Danube River flows through the south, and the climate is temperate. Following the Second World Warr Romania came under communistrule, which translated into 45 years of dictatorship culminating with thatof the hated Nicolae Ceausescu. His regime was overthrown in 1989, but since then the country has been struggling conomically, politically andsocially. Its structure is being rebuilt gradually, but there is much hardship.

Romania is a country blessed by God with beauty and harmony, The Carpathian Mountains are the "backbone" ofthe country. The highlands and plains, the riverbanks andshore of the Black Sea are the home of 22 million people: 90% are Romanians, some are Hungarian and Roma, andthere are also smaller communities of Germans, Serbs, Ukrainians, Tuks, Greeks, Croatians, Slovaks and others. Almost all the inhabitants belong to a Christian church and 87% are Romanian-Orthodox Christians. A few thousand people are Muslims, Jews or atheists. The language of themajority and the official language is Romanian, a beautifuland melodious language of Latin origin.After centuries of turbulent history, now we enjoy peace and democracy. But the implementation of the democratic principles within a constitutional state is difficult. The collapsed economy, the poverty of the people, and the uncertainties of a long transitional period bring about many problems.