Long story short: I'm (24M) American, and I'm visiting my long-distance Romanian boyfriend for the first time soon. In Romania, most cars are manual - including all the ones owned by my boyfriend's family (I'll be staying with them). I've never driven a manual before. His dad told me he can give me a quick lesson, and that I'm welcome to use their cars if I want; otherwise, I can rent an automatic. I don’t have access to any manual cars here in the U.S. to practice on, so I’m not sure what to do.
Unless you're OK with looking foolish in front of your boyfriend's dad, I would rent an automatic. You also have the possibility of damaging the clutch if you're not careful.
That said, it shouldn't take more than an afternoon to get the hang of it, so, either way.