ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Researching and writing this book would not have been possible without the intellectual, institutional, and emotional support of a spectrum of people and institutions. The first word of appreciation goes to William Chase, my dissertation advisor, friend, and colleague, who has attentively and enthusiastically guided this project since its beginning. His encouragements, careful editing, and critique were invaluable and helped me understand the stakes of my argument. In addition, he was the one to offer moral support and careful advice whenever my work toward completing this book threatened to stagger. I cannot thank him enough for his support. My dissertation committee at the University of Pittsburgh also proved extremely helpful and supportive. Ronald Linden’s carefully read of my dissertation and then book as well as his thoughtful comments and suggestions significantly improved the quality of my work. His expertise in Romanian history during communist period as well as his buoyant stories about Ceaușescu’s Romania made him an invaluable member of my committee. Long conversations with Diego Holstein clarified the nature of my comparison between Romania and Spain, and helped me with the methodological intricacies of the comparative method. Evelyn Rawski’s keen eye and pointed questions tremendously clarified my narrative. I cannot thank Bogdan Murgescu enough for his feedback on the economic side of my project, especially the Romanian case. In numerous conferences and workshops, feedback and questions from Jill Massino, Arpad von Klimo, Marsha Siefert, Christian Noack, Sune Bechmann Pedereson, Madalina Vereș, Jan Musekamp, Mark Keck-Szajzbel, Robert Hayden, Rob Ruck, Diana Georgescu, Alejandro Gómez del Moral, Justin Classen, Claudiu Oancea, Victoria Harms, Zsolt Nagy, and others helped me to sharpen my arguments.

The research and writing of this book would not have been possible without the support of several fellowships and grants. During 2012–2013, a Social Science Dissertation Fellowship from the School of Arts and Sciences of the University of Pittsburgh generously supported my research in Romania and Spain. Several other fellowships generously offered by the Department of History and the European Union Center of Excellence at the University of Pittsburgh helped me conduct research in the Open Society Archives in Budapest and take oral history interviews on the Spanish Costa del Sol, and in Vienna and Paris. During 2015–2016, a Klinzing Grant for Dissertation Research from the European Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh supported the last stage of my research and writing. Last but not least, a Humanities Initiative Fellowship at the Central European University’s Institute for Advanced Study in Budapest offered me time to start thinking about turning my dissertation into a book and to write a book proposal. My almost weekly conversations with Marsha Siefert at Central European University helped me streamline my book project and arrive at the idea of foreign tourists as intermediaries between the socialist and capitalist worlds.

In Romania, I benefited from the help of numerous archivists and librarians. I would like to thank Alina Ilinca, Cipriana Moisa, Dana Iamandi, and Silviu Moldovan for their support at the CNSAS archive as well the archival staff at the National Archives in Bucharest, Aurelian Sacerdoțeanu Room. Conducting oral history interviews on the Romanian Black Sea Coast would not have been possible without the help of Alexandra Nacu, as well as Tudora and Vasile Diaconu. I thank all my interviewees in Neptun who took the time to talk with me and share their life stories, sometimes in the short breaks between their work shifts. Mirela Murgescu of the University of Bucharest and Madalina Geambașu put me in touch with potential interviewees, whose stories enriched the narrative of my book.

My research in Spain was made significantly easier by the archival staff at the Archivo General de la Administración in Alcala de Henares, the Institute for Tourist Studies (Turespaña) in Madrid, and the Provincial Historical Archive of Malaga I would like to thank Bogdan Murgescu, Ignacio Herrera de la Muela, Luis Gonzales, Carmelo Pellejero Martinez, and Anna Thomas for their help identifying suitable interviewees in Spain.

My life in Pittsburgh was made much easier by the friendship and support of Madalina Veres, Cristina Albu, Veronica Szabo, Vannesa Mongey, Pinar Emiralioglu, Titas Chakraborty, Aura Jirau-Arroyo, Michelle Browne and many colleagues in the History Department and elsewhere. Since finishing my PhD at the University of Pittsburgh, my academic journey has taken me to various European cities from Budapest to Florence to Luxembourg. I am grateful to my colleagues in those places for many productive lunch breaks and for their continuous encouragement.

This book is dedicated to my parents, who with love and patience tremendously supported me throughout this process. A last word of appreciation goes to my husband, Claudiu, who did his best to offer both professional and personal advice, and last but not least to my grandmothers, who endlessly inquired when I was going to finish school and start my “real” life. Finally, I dedicate this book to my son Luca, who was born in the meanwhile and who has made my life more cheerful and certainly more purposeful. I cannot end my acknowledgements without giving a shout-out to Bethany Wasik, Eric Zuelow, and Emily Andrew at Cornell University Press, who played a key role in making this project come to life.