Notes

"Somebody asked me today what it was that I have learnt from the avant-garde and I answered I learned a lot more from folk songs. When I first heard Maria Tanase she sounded incredible to me, it was for the first time that I really felt what folklore meant. Romanian folk music is connected to existence in a very meaningful way."

"Metaphors are much more sensual in Romania and go straight to the point. And that direct image suits me better than what my mother tongue German, offers. That was one of the main reasons why I wanted to learn Romanian."

"The two languages, the writer told us, look differently even at plants. In Romanian, “snowdrops” are “little tears”, in German they are “maiglockhen”, that is “little May bells”, which means we’re not only speaking about different words, but about different worlds. Romanians see a falling star and say that someone has died, with the Germans you make a wish when you see the falling star."
(http://www.rri.ro/arh-art.shtml?lang=1&sec=13&art=4641)