1. Description of Our Community
We are Amelia, Andrew, Beatrice, Diane and Veronica, a group of students from “Eudoxiu Hurmuzachi” National College,Radauti.Our town is part of Suceava state situated in the north-east part of Romania, in Bukovina.This province dispose of multiculture elements who prove the existence of many national minorities,who have different life styles and different cultures.The town is well managed by the mayor Mihai Frunza, fact confirmed by the prizes we had won for'The cleanest town'.Even if it is a small city it dispose of the oldest herd of horses in the country,a park who dates from 1911,a zoo garden,an etnographic museum and one of the oldest monasteries builded by Bogdan I(the XIVth century).
Our professor Helen Olaru informed us about the existence of this contest and advised us to participate, considering our aptitudes and pleasure to work with history. We were glad about this challenge and we concentrated our entire interest and knowledge to realize a successful site.
2. Summary of Our Project
With this project we presented the life of hutsuls, a little known ethnic group which possesses valuable traditions which deserve to be revealed. We presented their history and the way they settled in the north of Bukovina, bringing an important contribution to enrich the culture of this representative area of Romania. We followed the different aspects of their lives, like their unchanged occupation and the influence of the entry of Romania in the European Union upon the life of this population. The households- a small, but important part of their life- amazes with its authenticity. Through our project we presented the components of a hutsul house and the household annexes, each and every one with its own role, in concordance with the seasons. We made a presentation of the traditional costume of hutsuls, with its particularities that sets it apart from our Romanian one. All the information in this project is accompanied by representative photographs and video material.
3. Our Computer and Internet Access
A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:21-50%
B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:2-3
C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection
D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:4-6
E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):
a) The percentage of the students with Internet access at home: more then 50% b) Number of workstation with Internet access in the classroom: none c) Connection speed used in the classroom: none d) Numbers of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet: none e) Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access
Although our class doesn’t dispose of Internet access we consulted this source from our school Informatics lab and we used home Internet.
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
In the realization of the site there weren’t any particular problems, because we live in the same locality, we have access to information and sources, and we had a good collaboration with the hutsuls. Despite all these facilities,though, the fact that we are in a humanist section represented a problem in what concerns the technical aspect of the project. It took some time to find someone who could help us with the site. Fortunately, our teacher found Andrew who studies in a realist section. He was kind enough to help us bring our project to an end. Another problem was the fact that we aren’t native English speakers and the translation of the project was difficult because of the regionalisms which didn’t have equivalents in the English language.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
Through this project we wanted to let the people know about the existence of this special and unique ethnic group. Our purpose was to present their way of life, the natural, close relation with the Romanians, which we’ve personally experienced by the numerous visits to Paltin village. We also wanted to bring out the close communion of these people with nature. With this project we tried to get them out of anonymity and show the world that, although they live a simple life, they know how to appreciate nature and enjoy what it has to offer, they know how to value their traditions, to keep them and to pass them from generation to generation with the same love they had when they received them.
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
We chose the “art and culture” category because this population has its own traditions and customs which enrich the Bukovinean culture through the traditional clothing, the art of egg painting and the traditional hutsul horse. The traditional musical instruments made out of wood by hutsul men are also spectacular, among with other workmanship objects, like the dowry chests. Hutsul music and dances create a special aspect of art through the rhythm and lyrics that include different aspects of the every-day life. The fact that they sing their life denotes a big life experience passed on to the young. The subject of the project doesn’t fit in the scholar contents in our curricular area. The realization of the project cost us long hours of extra-school work, but these were in the end useful for the enrichment of our knowledge, contributing, as well, in binding lasting friendships.
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