Since then, my passion for the Orient started to infiltrate itself into my daily activities. From reading James Clavell’s “Asian Saga”, to discovering writers such as Eiji Yoshikawa, Yasunari Kawabata and Haruki Murakami, I slowly acquired fresh notions. Schoolwork has also benefitted from my new interest as I was able to produce more complex essays by integrating eastern motifs into Romanian writings. One of my pastimes, painting, has undergone various changes due to my interest for the East: the themes, the colours, the ideas were inspired from what I had found out. Also, practicing karate has taught me what sacrifice, patience, perseverance and the oriental spirit of a fighter mean. Little by little this childlike curiosity has bloomed into actual thirst for knowledge, into the desire of meeting the people, of speaking their language and understanding their customs. Realizing this, what is there more to do besides grabbing this fantastic opportunity your university offers and studying East-Asian cultures and the way their ancestral traditions merge with the modern tendencies? Because after finishing my studies I hope to be one of the people who nurture the connection between Europe and Asia.