Thomas Jefferson, America’s first secretary of state, penned that all men are endowed to the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Over the centuries, countries have fought brutal dictators and Communism for the opportunity to embrace freedom.

The European country of Romania has also fought for independence. Romanian native Florina Matu, French and Spanish teacher at Laurel Christian High School, recalls her country’s struggle for democracy.

“The Romanian Revolution took place in December 1989. I was 11 years old, but I remember watching it on TV. Nothing major happened in my city, but many people died in Bucharest and Timisoara. The first few days were very hard because nobody knew if it would succeed,” Matu said.

Victory did come to the people of Romania. Dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was executed, and the Communists lost power.

Despite Romania’s steps to establish a new government, Matu chose to come to America.

“After the Revolution, Romania engaged on the path to democracy. A lot of progress had been made, but things were moving too slow for me, and transition is hard to stand for a young person. I wanted to live in a true democracy and a more advanced and civilized country,” Matu said.

She chose Mississippi because her future husband was already here, and she was accepted into Mississippi State University’s French master’s degree program.

Many people living in other countries have expectations of life in America, but often times perceptions are incorrect.

“People’s perception on the U.S. is the one they see in the movies and on TV shows,” Matu explained. “I realized there are a lot of clichés regarding Americans.”

After arriving, she discovered that not all stereotypes of America are true, but she was surprised to find poverty and school abandonment. Overall, her American experience has been better than anticipated.

“I was very pleased to find out that people care about each other, are very friendly and smiling all the time, hardworking and honest.”

The Romanian school systems are exceedingly different from American schools.

“It used to be focused on top students and required a lot of effort and memorization, leaving behind average students,” said Matu. “Now, things have changed a little bit, but there are still too many subjects per class level.”

The subjects covered in one semester by a ninth grade student include Romanian, English, French, math, geography, history, physics, biology, chemistry and physical education. High school classes begin at 7:30 a.m. and end at 2:20 p.m.

Romania continues to make progress as a democratic country. On Jan. 1, 2007, Romania and Bulgaria became members of the European Union. This new status opens doors for opportunities such as working and living in any country of the European Union.