1. Respondent ID
1.1 Age: 13.
1.2 Sex: F.
1.3 Parents(s) abroad: Both
1.4 The country where the parent(s) moved: both are in Greece now. Father is Greek. Mother worked for a while in Spain. (The interview obviously focused on the period during which Mother worked in Spain.) Mother lived in Spain for one year – last year.
1.5 Since when has he/she been abroad: “Ever since I knew myself, but I was born in Greece.”
1. 6 Respondents lives with: Grandparents, an uncle, a cousin.

2. Details of Respondent’s life before:
I: How long have they been gone?
R: Ever since I know myself. I was born in Greece. Then I came to Romania.
I: Why? I find Greece such a wonderful country…
R: I haven’ seen much of it. I’ve never traveled there. My grandma started taking care of me when I was as little as … (She makes a gesture to suggest the size of a baby). My Mom didn’t know very well how to raise me.
I: Why do you say that?
R: Well, I was her first child. I have no brothers or sisters. She had to work. They didn’t have too much time for me.
I: Do you live with your grandparents, your uncle and cousin, in the same home?
R: Yes.
I: Do you live in a house or an apartment?
R: Apartment.
I: So, you were born in Greece.
R: Yes, specifically in Rio. That huge bridge, do you know it?
I: I don’t.
R: There is a very large, illuminated bridge, it’s quite beautiful. I’ve seen some pictures of it.
I: Who do you mostly keep in touch?
R: Mostly with my Mom. Because my father spends a longer time at work, he is an electrician. He doesn’t speak Romanian. I don’t speak Greek.
I: Who helps you with your lessons here?
R: I can manage by myself. I can manage, but I also ask for my colleagues’ or uncle’s or cousin’s assistance.

3. Details of Respondent’s life after:

I: Reasonably speaking, do you understand why your mother left?
R: I understand: in Romania you don’t have too many choices, frankly; in Greece things are a little better.
I: Do you think it is ok for you that she is not in the country?
R: Yes, I think this is quite ok. I mean I was thinking of some current problems of Romania.
I: What problems?
R: Related to the state. There are few jobs and other various issues. People earn very little and it is better for them abroad; I also have an aunt, my Mom’s sister, who works in Spain. She has two kids, my cousin and an elder daughter, but she is already twenty-four, I guess. They have been in Spain for several years. You see…
I: Which of your relatives you live with is looking after you?
R: Almost all of them.
I: Do you feel good to see everybody is taking care of you?
R: Sure, I do, I am the youngest in the family.
I: And how are you getting along with them?
R: Very, very well.
I: Do you have other relatives in the town?
R: Quite a lot. I think we have some relatives in Transilvania, from my grandma’s side… my grandma’s sister. Things like that.
I: Here, in Buzau?
R: I don’t know. (She laughs.) I know I also have two cousins in Greece, I’m not sure. They are older than me and they are going to college.
I: Let’s put it straight: you have relatives in Romania, Greece and Spain…anywhere else?
R: I heard there was also a second degree cousin in Italy, a few years ago.
I: As long as you have been here, without your mother and father, have there been any cases where you had to see a doctor, to go into hospital?
R: No, there has been no such case. We had some problems with my grandpa. He suffers from stomach ulcers, his illness is quite serious. And that summer he felt very bad. I accompanied him in the ambulance. My grandma has also been into several hospitals. But she is better now, she is taking medicines. That was a more special case, nothing else.
I: Do your colleagues and friends also have parents or relatives who are out of the country?
R: I guess they do.
I: Do you feel closer to such colleagues and friends than to the others whose relatives are not abroad.
R: Oh, no. I feel close to all my colleagues.
I: Aren’t there common things to discuss with those who are in the same situation as yours?
R: Yes, there are, however…
I: something like “I talked to Mom yesterday. I didn’t talk to Mom yesterday”….
R: (She makes a pause, looking down.)
I: Speaking about your colleagues and friends whose parents are not abroad, do they show a special attitude towards you? Do they sympathize with you? Do they envy you?
R: No. Nothing special (she whispers).
I: Do you know what job had your mother had before she went abroad?
R: No, I don’t.
I: And what’s her job there, can you tell me?
R: She has worked, I know that. She took care of some old ladies. She’s kind of social assistant, so to say, or something like that. My aunt is doing the same job. They just earn some money.
I: Does your Mom send you any presents?
R: Not too many. I don’t ask for presents.
I: And if you don’t ask, she wouldn’t send?
R: No.
I: Does she help you with money?
R: Yes, that’s normal.
I: Is that the money she sends to those who are looking after you? Or she sends money just for you?
R: Yes, she also sends money for me. But I almost never ask for specific things, or…I don’t usually ask for money, only if she wants to send some to me.
I: Do you have more and better clothes than if your parents had been here?
R: I don’t know. It depends on what jobs they would have had in the country. First of all, you can hardly find a job here. First of all… As far as I know, my mom graduated from high school in the country and, when she was thirty – forty she went abroad… I know it was High School no. 8, so I guess.
I: How old is she now?
R: Forty-five, I’m not sure, forty, sort of.
I: What’s her zodiac sign?
R: Gemini, but…
I: Ah, born in May or June…
R: This stuff about zodiacs is a fraud.
I: Right. And you, what’s your birth date?
R: May, sixteen.
I: Why do you think the zodiac stuff is a fraud?
R: Mhmm, I can say a few things at random and, for instance, it suits one person.
I: That’s right. Yes. Is there anything you especially want, hope, to get with the money sent by your mother?
R: No.
I: Telephone, clothes…
R: No, for the moment I’m not thinking about stuff like that.
I: What are you thinking of?
R: I don’t know, what job I will have, what high school to go to and I haven’t decided yet and that’s the issue.
I: You hesitate between…
R: Hmmm, I don’t know. First I need to see my results in the exam I have to pass after finishing the eighth grade and after that I will consider the options. (She sighs.)

4. Internet-based communications.
* Technical
I: Do you have internet access at home?
R: Yes, I do.
I: On smart phone, on computer…
R: All of them. I don’t have a tablet, but I have a cell phone and a computer.
I: Who pays the subscription?
R: Err, my grandma, I guess.
I: Since when have you got a computer and a cell phone?
R: I know I’ve had the cell phone for one year, I don’t use it too much; but I must speak with my Mom. And the computer, well, I’ve had it for three or four months.
I: Who bought it?
R: My Mom.
I: On a specific occasion?
R: Yes, for my birthday, I think.
I: Have you ever written letters by hand?
R: No. I wanted to do that once, but my grandpa said… “Lay it off, it’s nonsense”.
I: Did your grandpa say that?
R: Yes, he did, sort of. “Lay it off, it’s nonsense. Call her! You spend money with the writing, the mail!” (She sighs deeply.)
I: Do you use any internet software to communicate with your friends and colleagues?
R: WhatsApp, with one or two colleagues.
I: Do you have a Facebook account?
R: No, I don’t. I find it useless. It’s a waste of time. Why, to look at others’ pictures?
I: How do you prefer to communicate with your Mom? Is it over the phone?
R: Yes, over the phone.
I: On the computer?
R: My Mom doesn’t know how to use the internet; just to call me.
I: Do you only hear each other? Or there are also video calls, not only audio?
R: Only audio. She cannot…
I: Is it she who calls or is it you who usually calls her?
R: Both. Well, now she is unemployed and has pretty much free time. She is looking for a job…
I: When exactly did you learn to use the internet?
R: When I was 5…
I: Before you had a computer at home.
R: Yes, my uncle showed me what to do, just for me to know. It seemed quite easy.
I: What else do you use the computer for?
R: I have to search for information and pictures for my school tasks or I can watch a movie, things like that.
I: So, you say your mother doesn’t use Skype, Instagram…
R: Eh! She cannot do that!
I: But why don’t you teach her?
R: I haven’t had… I don’t have enough time, I cannot… but when she comes home one day, I could teach her. It’s easier like that. And the problem is that she doesn’t know how to install them. She has to install them first and then work with them.
I: Maybe someone else could install them for her.
R: …

*Content.
I: Who keeps in touch with your teachers?
R: My grandma, of course.
I: Does your mother have any contact with your teachers?
R (She decisively interrupts me): Oh, no. She just asks me what I have done at school, what marks I have got and things like that…

5. Relationship with the absent parent (important stages/significant moments):
I: How often does your Mom come to Romania?
R: Once a year.
I: When did she last come?
R: Two years ago… Well, it’s been two years since she last came. I mean it was a real folly… Lots of jobs were lost. I know there was I don’t know what shit of a problem in Greece. Many people were dismissed. And then she went to Spain. She stayed there almost two years. She looked for a job. She also had a fight with some hateful people. That’s what she says.
I: Therefore, your Mom hasn’t been here for two years or so?
R: She promised me she would come this year.
I: Do you remember how it was when she last came?
R: She came with my father. And they ate like horses, until they couldn’t move.
I: You mean they ate a lot?
R: Yes, plenty of food, double portions. (She laughs.)
I: For each meal?
R: Yes. And after that I and my father went to light some fireworks for the New Year.
I: Oh, did they come for Holidays?
R: Yes. Well, I went with my cousin, my father, we bought one of those big firework rockets, do you know them? We planted it into a pile of snow, so to say, and we lit it. And it was beautiful enough. Quite big sparkles…
I: And your mother, did she stay at home?
R: Yeah…
I: Didn’t she want to come with you?
R: She did, but she was a little afraid that ‘God forbid, it could blow up in our hands”. Oh, we also gave her a firecracker but she was afraid, too. (She laughs.)
I: And what else did you do? It was winter holiday, wasn’t it?…
R: We drank champagne, that sort of champagne for children. No alcohol.
I: A sort of sparkling wine… for you. What about the others?
R: The same. (She laughs.)
I: Just to confirm their solidarity with you?
R: Right, or something like that, yes.
I: Did you pay any visits, did you receive guests, did watch TV?
R: We saw a film, an Indian one, “The Little Bride”. Well, and they also saw “Bahar”, I guess, my Mom and my grandma. My father watched a basketball match and drank some whisky. That film, “Bahar”, lasted for three hours. And then I could also watch TV and see a film or something. And we stayed late, until 2 o’clock in the morning or kind of.
I: Have you ever been to your Mom, in Spain?
R: No, I haven’t.
I: Haven’t you ever gone to her?
R: No.
I: Do you know anything about the place she lives in? Did she tell you?
R: Yeah, she lives at my aunt’s place. No. She lives at my father’s I guess so. An apartment and… I don’t know, she didn’t really tell me, their ordinary place I suppose. You see, and… Can I say something about my father?
I: Please, do it.
R: Well, when I was 14, his parents died. And he had to work, to learn a trade.
I: So?
R: I don’t know. It’s weird. I couldn’t even get to meet my other. I wonder what they were like, frankly. Apart from my grandparents in Greece I only have my grandma and she’s really been like a mother to me, so to say. She has raised me since I was three or four months. You see.
I: Would you like to go there?
R: Yes, why not? I’ve seen some pictures, they are quite beautiful.
I: Would you like to go there on holiday?
R: Yeah, on holiday.
I: …or would you move there for good?
R: I don’t think I would move for good.
I: Why?
R: This country won’t escape from me!
I: Really cool! As far as you know from her or from the other relatives, did they leave for good?
R: Yes, sort of. She only comes here on holidays. There isn’t much to do in Romania. A job… You see, she mainly qualified a cook there, at High School no. 8. I told her to open a pizza shop or something, but she said “no, I like too much too eat that, forget it!” You see. The bigger issue with my Mom is that she smokes. I don’t really like smokers. It’s a loss of money and health. My grandpa smoked for a few years, that’s why he he’s got ulcers. Also because of the food which is rather unhealthy.
I: Meaning? What does he eat?
R: Bacon (She laughs), of course. What else did he use to eat? I don’t remember. There was another course cooked from some bones, like ribs. And it was that large. (She shows the size.) And he ate and ate.
I: That smoking issue, I understand it…
R: When she is upset, my Mom smokes sort of two or three or five cigarettes one after the other, one after the other.
I: As far as I could hear, the Greeks smoke a lot.
R: Yes. My Dad smokes, too. Both of them smoke quite a lot. They spend much on cigarettes. My Mom had one hundred euro and she spent almost fifty to buy cigarettes, you see, fifty, half of that money. She could have done something else, take a subway train, for instance. I remember she was going to an interview that day, for a job. They didn’t accept her and, in anger, she just bought some cigarettes and smoked them one after the other.
I: Do you believe there is any advantage in having your mother out f the country?
R: A slightly better financial situation, I guess. She earns much more money in Spain than in Romania, that’s sure. A hundred euro is four million lei. It’s good.
I: Do you feel more independent, more at ease, because she is out?
R: I don’t really know what to say. I guess so. My grandma gives me pretty much freedom.
I: You say you only talk to your mother over the phone, right? Are there some things you wouldn’t tell her?
R: Sure. If I couldn’t agree with someone or about my bad marks, I wouldn’t tell her. What can I do? I can tell her the next day or the day after or I can tell Grandma. Something like that, nothing more.
I: Which do you think are the negative aspects of the fact that she is far from you?
R: Well, I kind of forgot what my Mom looks like. I don’t even know. I don’t know what color her hair is, I think. She is always dyeing her hair. That’s the issue. I don’t even remember her face. And, well, how she is as a person. I don’t know.
I: have you spent your holidays without her?
R: Wow. Many enough (she emphasizes the word ‘enough’) holidays without Mom. My birthday, Easter, and the rest, Saints days or I don’t know what, something like that. I spent enough holidays without my Mom.
I: And what is it like?
R: It’s ok… At least I have my grandma. Other kids don’t even have that.
I: How do you know it?
R: TV…
I: Are there such cases around?
R: I didn’t see that, at least for the moment. We hear about some incidents on TV.
I: Thank you very much for the interview.

P.S.
After the interview, Ana challenged me to a chat about God, church etc. I transcribe the recording below. She gave me her consent to record our talk.
R: If God exists… who knows? Eh, bad things are happening. If He were so mighty, I guess He could do something.
I: Probably.
R: You see. The Romanian Church has also some problems. With…there was a priest, I guess Pomohaci is his name. I don’t know what show… And they kicked him out of the Church. And there was one more… in Husi… He had kind of higher position and the Church asked him (she emphasizes that) to stop holding his service. Is that fair?
I: No, it isn’t, obviously.
R: He occupied some higher position.
I: Do you think that the Church behaves differently from other institutions in Romania?
R: Sort of, yes.
I: I’m afraid the Church behaves like all the other institutions.
R: Yes. And why would we need a Salvation Cathedral? There are many wooden churches. They are quite beautifully painted. I think I wanted to visit one together with my grandma and my cousin and we didn’t get a chance. I caught a cold.
I: When did you want to visit it?
R: Five years ago. Grandma also has some health problems. How shall I put it? She has some problems with her digestive system, mainly with her intestines. And also some heart problems. Legs… And she is old. She is about sixty-five, or so… And I wonder she is still working. She works a lot. She has taken care of us. Grandma has looked after me and my cousin. And she has five more children. She used to. No, four. Yes, four. And there is also that uncle. I had two uncles, but one died. Well, I asked questions, as I am curious to know. And each time grandma tells me something different. It’s weird. First she says the train ran him over, then that he died for I don’t know what reason…
I: Why do you think she gives you more versions?
R: I don’t know. Maybe… (She makes a long pause.) I suppose she is very sorrow and…she doesn’t like to speak about that any longer. Is it kind of… protection?
I: Probably. Yes.
R: Or she no longer remembers. Grandma doesn’t remember what she ate five minutes ago. Her brain cells are dying. I can see that. Anyway, sometimes she remembers things. And that is not very bad. That’s not bad. Eh. You see. Grandpa is a little afraid of death, of dying. Oh, boy, how he was shouting when the ambulance took him! “Oh, God, I’m dying! I’m dying!” That’s life. One dies, one is born… Once you are born, you must live your life and then die.
I: Do you believe there is one person who doesn’t fear of death?
R: No. You don’t know what is there. Is it God, or nothing? It’s nothing. Nothing! You just rot there underground. After you lived a whole life.