This paper is based on the experience of a brief visit to Bucharest, Romania in 1991 to advise on the development of a psychiatric nursing curriculum. An outline is given of the context of Romanian nursing and mental health care care, which have developed in near isolation from international developments in nursing and psychiatry for much of the last quarter of a century. Some of the difficulties encountered in entering, as a perceived 'expert', into an educational project within such a different culture are discussed. The progress of the project and recommended further actions are presented.