Maybe theres something yourre afraid to say or someone you are afraid to

love or somewhere you are friad to go its gonna hurt its gna hurt because it
matters.
Relationships are formed through shared experiences. Having arrived via
assisted passage to Australia Romulus feels no connection to the harsh
Australian environment. He longed for the generous and soft European foliage
but the eucalypts of BaringHup, scraggy, except for the noble red gums on the river
bank, seemed symbols of deprivation and bareness (p. 14). The gum trees
represent his sense of isolation and separation from the familiar and what Romulus
finds personally enriching and meaningful. To compensate, Romulus seeks fellow
Romanians with whom he wishes to converse, those who share, not only language,
but also memories of the homeland, to which Romulus still feels he belongs. He
longed for European society, saying that he felt like a prisoner in Australia. The
relationship formed between Romulus and Hora strengthened by their shared
philosophical views demonstrates how shared identity and understanding of
each other shows that although both are in a foreign land and struggling to
come to terms with the change of scene they are experiencing, relationships
and shared experience can help us to belong to another.

It is through relationships, and interaction with others, that we learn more about
ourselves and gain perspective and shape a sense of identity. Shared experience
always forms a connection with another and can hinder or foster a relationship.
Having arrived via assisted passage to Australia Romulus feels no connection
to the harsh Australian environment longing for the generous and soft
European foliage. The gum trees seemed symbols of deprivation and bareness
representing his sense of isolation and separation from the familiar and what
Romulus finds personally enriching and meaningful. To compensate, Romulus
seeks fellow Romanians with whom he wishes to converse, those who share, not
only language, but also memories of the homeland, to which Romulus still feels
he belongs. He felt like a prisoner in Australia. The relationship formed
between Romulus and Hora strengthened by their shared philosophical views
demonstrates how shared identity and understanding of each other shows that
although both are in a foreign land and struggling to come to terms with the
change of scene they are experiencing, relationships and shared experience
can help us to belong to another and form a sense of identity in a new place.

Interactions with familiar people allows an individual to feel a sense of
belonging however can limit their sense of belonging to the unfamiliar world
around them. Romuluss main connection to the Australian culture is
through his interactions with son Raimond. Rather than having the choice to
accept the Australian environment, As Romulus has to make a living He had
been cutting hay with his scythe, when he saw a snake go under a stook.
Responding with the instinct of an immigrant unused to the tinder dry
conditions of an Australian summer, he set fire to the stook in order to kill
the snake Romuluss interactions with the physical environment showed his
immigrant inexperience, but his interactions with other people fulfilled a
sense of belonging.
The European charm possessed by Romulus is highlighted through his
interactions with the people of laid back Australian culture and his actions
towards his family. Romulus acts in accordance with his European morals
and traditions, My father said that we should wait until a more suitable
time before knocking at their door. This courtesy struck me as incongruous
with our purpose and I did not know whether to take it as a sign that my
father had abandoned his plan [to kill Lydias husband] or that his natural
courtesy showed through even when he was intent on murder (p. 139).

By interacting with the familiar one can find a sense of belonging but further
alienate themselves to the unfamiliar. Romuluss connection to the Australian
culture is through migrant son Raimond who connects and finds a sense of
place in Australia. Romuluss European morals and values is something he
wishes to teach Raimond however his acts of kindness and different values
stand out in the laid back Australian culture that Raimond has become apart
of.