On Sunday, May 12th, we embarked on a long trip to Oradea, Romania, accompanied by our club member Zvono Bednarcik. The journey went by quickly, partly because the highway through Hungary was nearly empty, allowing for smooth and fast driving, but mainly because we were excited to meet Stephanie.

In Oradea, a city of about 120,000 inhabitants with five strong Rotary clubs, a large group of Rotarians warmly welcomed us. We enjoyed a lovely evening in the historical part of Oradea, with the atmosphere enhanced by an open-air concert organized by the local Hungarian community.

While our Romanian friends were envious of us hosting Stephanie for an entire week, we envied their ability to engage the younger generation, especially high school students aged 15-19. Romania boasts 5,000 Interact members, and over 1,000 of them attended the recent Interact conference. Mihaela Vlad, Governor-Elect of District 2241, shared some valuable advice on achieving such success.