I arrived in Bucharest in July with the purpose of researching the large-scale migration from Romania to Western Europe from a small-scale perspective. I was particularly interested in the more personal and emotional impacts that this migration  has on those who have stayed behind in Romania. People for whom short visits and long-distance communication is a usual part of daily family life. And so, I began approaching the loved ones of those who migrated for work to core European countries in order to interview them about their experiences.