Anul Noua Fericit - Happy New Year!!

This year I've decided not to make any resolutions. It is a major step for me because, as many of you know, I'm a planner. I always have my goals and objectives mapped out, and I'm a big believer in 5/10 year plans. As I get older (almost 25 now!), I'm beginning to realize that life takes you on journeys you could never have imagined for yourself.

When I applied to the Peace Corps in October 2006, I had no idea that I would have to wait so long to depart on this adventure nor did I have any idea I'd be going to Romania. 2008 was a year of change, adventure, and enlightenment for me. As I say goodbye to 2008, I think of how hard it was to get on the plane in Fort Wayne International Airport on May 19 and how very happy I am that I did. Here's to hoping that the chapter of my life titled 2009 is equally exciting and rewarding.

La Multi Ani si Anul Noua Fericit!

For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
~T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"

Christmas: It's not a real house that doesn't smell of sarmale!

The first thing people told me about Christmas in Romania (also for Easter) --"Be prepared to eat lots of sarmale." In the days leading up to Christmas I could tell where this saying originated because I could literally smell sarmale being cooked all around my bloc neighborhood. Romanians, in my opinion, spend WAY too much time preparing food! My friend Dana and I discuss this often...and it always ends with the fact that I'm American and like quick meals and casseroles. Whatever! Romanian women spend the 3 days prior to Christmas preparing the food they'll eat for one day. That is crazy to me, but I offered to help Dana for fun!!! I do, however, appreciate the hardwork because I like to eat!!

Quick tidbit about me -->Before I came to Romania, and my grandma Phyllis will tell you this, I hated cabbage!!! I would not eat it, and I didn't even like to see or smell it. When I departed for Romania I told myself I'd try anything once (not my best idea!)...cabbage turned out to be one of the easier things to try because that promise I made myself led to me eating pig skin, fat, and tripe... I'm just waiting for the next nasty thing that is offered to me.

Back to sarmale. I actually prefer it cooked in layers in a big pot with shredded cabbage...but the cabbage rolls look nicer. It's a mixture of meat, rice, and onion...mostly pork meat here in Romania/Transylvania. It's wrapped in cabbage (sometimes fresh but here most people use sour cabbage). Different countries add their own special touches which is to be expected (different meats, rice, grapevine leaves...). Here I just like to chop it up and put sour cream on it. Delicious!

My Christmas was spent caroling all night on Christmas Eve (eating cakes, sarmale, and drinking too much wine! Pictures of that still to come!), and on Christmas day having a wonderful meal (sarmale, soup, and salata de beouf which is essentially a different kind of chicken salad) with Monica, my counterpart, and her mother. They have become my adoptive Romanian family.

I can't wait to get home and cook some sarmale for you. It's just a little piece of what I love about Romania!!

I'll be home for Christmas if only in my dreams

For days now I've had my iPod Christmas playlist on shuffle. It's not because I love Christmas music...in actuality I've always been annoyed by the constant replaying of classic and contemporary Christmas carols (like the alliteration??). However, because my neighbors insist on blaring Romanian music all day and all night I thought I'd do a little Christmas carol cultural exchange and do the same.

One song in particular has gotten stuck in my head. No it's not because it's catchy, No it's not because everybody and their mom has covered this song, and No it's definately not because there was a movie with Jonathan Taylor Thomas that had the same title.. It's because the lyrics never had much meaning to me until now.

I'm dreaming tonight
Of a place I love
Even more than I usually do.
And although I know
It's a long road back
I promise you...
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love-light gleams.
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams.

So to my family and friends--I miss you all dearly. Christmas in Romania is definatly proving to hold its own special surprises and adventures, but for me Christmas is only Christmas back in Indiana with all of you. On this Christmas Eve I wish each of the very best, and rest assured you are all in my thoughts and prayers!

Peace, Love, & Cherry Flavored Candy Canes

A taste of Christmas from home

Today I trekked to Targu Mures again. For some reason it really brought out the Christmas spirit in me even though I was being pelted in the face with sleet and small hailstones. I think it was partly due to the beautiful Hungarian Hapsburg architecture you can see all over the city. Ehh...who am I kidding!? My Christmas spirit got a kick in the arse today by the amazing packages I received from friends at home!! I don't deserve their generosity and kindness, but I'll take it!! After all, the reason for this beautiful holiday is a little baby who was born to grant us grace--forgiveness, peace, and kindness we don't deserve.

I'm psyched about my Romanian Christmas adventure this year! I'm happy to be where I am, and I love teaching just as much as I always have! However, there are times when the loneliness and distance from HOME are difficult to bear, and all I want is a little something from home. Granted, the home I envision will never be exactly the same as I left it; it's just nice to get a little reminder of how extraordinary the people back where I come from are. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas! I promise I'll share more about what Christmas in Romania had in store for me after the 25th!!

The ornament is handcrafted and has two turtle doves and Peace painted on the inside. It's amazing!!

Christmas Caroling in Romania!

I've never been a big fan of caroling. I suppose it goes back to an accident that happened to one of my classmates when I was in the first grade. Romanians, in my experience thus far, love carols so I'm trying my best to hide my bah humbug attitude. haha! Anyway, today my counterpart and I took our class, 6C, caroling around Tarnaveni. It was a lot of fun! I've included two videos and some photos for your viewing pleasure!

Did you notice I was gone for a week??

As I walked to school today the fear of my absence having gone unnoticed gradually increased as the caruta's (horse drawn carts) passed by me carrying loads of hay. When I first got here all I wanted was to fit in and to not have everyone in town gawking at me like I was an alien. Now that wish has become more of a reality I kind of want the attention again. Is that a bad thing?? A few of the other teachers did ask how Ciuc was or where I had been. Most of them seemed perfectly content greeting me with a "Servus" as they continued writing in their notebooks or the Condica. I want so badly to share my passion for education with my colleagues at school...I think most of them had it at one time, but the bureaucracy of the education system and years of the same lessons have worn them down. It is going to be hard for me to get through to them, but I'm not going to go down without a fight. My primary goal for my Peace Corps service is to help the children learn English and to fill their spirits with at least a flicker of hope, volunteerism, and a love of learning; however I do think I have something to give pedagogically to my colleagues as well.

When I left the cancelerie I held my head up (just like my Dad had always taught me to do) and walked like I usually do to class. Never will I let the negativity of others ruin my day. It wasn't that bad after all...I have no idea what their weeks were like, and it's a little egoistical of me to think things would be different without me there. It's just sometimes I think that they keep their distance because they know I leave in 2 years, and they don't want to get too attached and set themselves up for heartache in the future. My little town, as well as many other in Romania and Eastern Europe, is riddled with stories of family members and friends leaving in pursuit of better jobs abroad. I understand their hesitance, but I also just want them to be open to new methods of teaching. Luckily, my passion lies in the classroom, and my dedication goes to each of the students in my classes and school. When I entered the classroom, the students let out a deafening roar that persisted as I walked through the aisles to the front of the classroom.
THEY MISSED ME!! This was the reaction I was longing for...and I became cognizant of the fact that I missed them just as much. I missed Christian waving at me for no reason during class, Nicosor waiting in the hallway for my daily high-five, and just the overall look of eagerness and anticipation as I introduce the lesson for the day.

IST --Group 25 invades Miercurea Ciuc

IST, the reunion of PCV's after 4 months at site, is something difficult to describe to you all back home. When we finished PST and left for our sites, IST was this distant thing in the future.

After being at site and each having our own individual experiences...IST is a time we all get back together and assess how far we've come and where we have yet to be. Does that make any sense at all?? I'm afraid of this post being incoherent because essentially it's just a bunch of meetings, but combined with emotions, experiences, distance from home, etc....it becomes something much more. For instance...once we hiked from the train station with our luggage in hand we entered a magical world of comfort and excess. After the months of struggling to adjust to our new Romanian homes we got to take long, hot showers with a shower curtain and water pressure my body had forgotten existed. We stayed in warm, comfortable hotel rooms (this was enhanced by the fact that Ciuc is one of the coldest places in Romania). I had an allowance to eat out at restaurants and was able to forget my budget for the time being. Lunches were multiple courses and were punctuated by decadent desserts I had no room to sample because my stomach had adjusted to much different amounts of food. And finally I was with my fellow Group 25'ers who had stood outside with me in Philly during a ridiculous fire drill the morning of our departure to Romania, the people who landed in Otopeni airport in Bucharest with me jet-lagged and unsure of what the future held for them, and the people that I hugged and said goodbye to on a summer night in Ploiesti....

As a Peace Corps volunteer, when I'm at site as the only American ever to live in my town and serve in my school, it is easy to forget that I'm are part of a larger group. I'm part of the 38 members of Group 25, the 146 volunteers of Peace Corps Romania, the many current and returned Peace Corps volunteers from around the world, and finally a proud member of the United States of America that believes in helping their fellow citizens of the world. It takes me back to the talks I received from coaches and teachers in high school and college --you represent something much more than just yourself. I hope I'm representing those of you that have invested so much in me well...thanks for your support!

December 1st = Romanian National Day

Palace of Parliament/"People's House" in Bucharest, Romania. (largest civilian adm. building in the world)

Living in Transylvania is an interesting experience. I get a double dose of culture because there is a large population of Hungarian speaking Romanians dispersed among Romanian speaking Romanians throughout the region. Ziua Unrii/Ziua Nationala is celebrated for two reasons here in Transylvania and throughout Romania...[don't worry I'm keeping it as simple as possible]

1.) On December 1, 1918, Transylvania was officially and permanently united with Romania after the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian empire in WWI; some alterations to the border regions did occur after WWII but that's complicated and I promised to keep it simple. The occupation of Transylvania by the A-H empire explains the large population of Hungarians and some Germans present in this region today. The large city near my town, Targu Mures, is a testament to this diversity.
*Although this is celebrated on December 1st, the subject of Transylvania's unification with Romania is sore subject between many Hungarians and Romanians.

2.) Ziua Unrii signifies the transition from a communistic regime into a democratic system after the Revolution in 1989. December 1st is a fairly recently celebrated holiday. Before the fall of communism in Romania the national day was celebrated on August 23rd to signify the overthrow of Ion Antonescu, Romania's fascist military leader during WWII. Long story short, this day celebrates the struggles and successes it took to establish the territorial borders of present day Romania.

I really liked seeing all the national pride with flags waving, music playing, and soldiers in uniform. I guess you can kind of compare it to the 4th of July back home. It was wonderful to share in a piece of Romania's National Day. My school even had a moment where they sang some patriotic songs including the anthem "Desteapta-te Romane," and also listened to the history of the unification of Transylvania and the end of communism in Romania. After all that had finished more music was played, and students and teachers danced together in the courtyard to celebrate their National Day! (Pictures below)

A Peace Corps Thanksgiving

There are many things in life that I am thankful for, but I won't bore you with all of those that I repeat every year. Instead I thought I'd tell you about a new thing I'm thankful for...my fellow Peace Corps volunteers and the ability to make a wonderful Thanksgiving meal in the kitchen the size of a closet. Anna, a fellow volunteer that hosted the festivities, said something that struck me. She said that when we had all filled our plates and took the first few bites all talking ceased and you could feel how much each of us were thinking of home at that moment. As I enjoyed the delicious green bean casserole, turkey, stuffing, pecan and apple pie, mashed potatos, pumpkin soup, pumpkin pastries, and egg nog (I'm sure I forgot something because there was a lot of food)...I was certainly thinking about home and just how much I miss it. Everytime I say this people say "But Tara you are experiencing so much...blah blah." That is true, but missing home does not mean I'm not fully aware of how lucky I am to have this opportunity in Romania.

The weekend was wonderful! My camera is a little tempermental and decided not to work during the Thanksgiving dinner, but it came around for a hike outside of Pucioasa so I'm including those pics and may add more later. I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving on Thursday and also that I am thankful for each one of you.

Also, I'd like to add that the picture below of Meg trying to touch the cow is the closest she's ever been to a cow even though she's from Ohio! I found this to be hilarious!

Always thinking...

First I'd like to say...Mom thanks for sending the caramel apple suckers!!! They are delicious, and I'm enjoying one right now!!

Always thinking...if you know me you probably know that my brain works in overdrive most of the time. I think too much about everything, but I'm getting ahead of myself in this post.

Today I had the day off due to unfortunate circumstances. The much beloved, past director of my school here in Tarnaveni passed away, and classes were suspended so that the teachers could attend the funeral. I didn't feel comfortable attending the funeral of someone I had never met so I chose to remain at home and work on some lessons/projects. Because my brain is always in overdrive...instead of working on said projects, I was struck by an epiphany. This epiphany involves my future position as a history teacher somewhere (hopefully in Indiana). I am not going to divulge the details because it's a pretty original thought, and I don't want anyone to steal it! Anyway, I believe it's brilliant, and one day I plan on sharing how it all came to be on a cold, rainy day in Romania when I was a Peace Corps volunteer.

On a different note...my heater doesn't work so I'm kind of cold at the moment. The ladies at the general store near my bloc know my name now and love teaching me about the old Romanian money that I don't understand. This week is Thanksgiving in the States (even though it was created in 1863 as a means to unite the Union...it's still a nice family-centered holiday) and I'm a little sad to be away from home. On a happy note I love Romania and teaching so don't feel too bad for me! Have a wonderful Turkey Day!

My first Snow in Romania.

It's been getting colder here for a while now, but I've just been waiting for it to snow. Lately I've been a little homesick and jealous because back in Indiana the first snowfall had already come and gone. So this morning, as I wiped away a good night's sleep from my eyes I looked out my window to find it had began to snow!! It was like a dream. I immediately got dressed and proceeded to bundle up to go experience the snow in Tarnaveni for myself. Below you can see a few of the pictures I took walking to Double F (a local restaurant) for a coffee date with friends.

A productive week!

I'm a little shocked by how productive I've been this week. I finally feel like I'm a worthwhile Peace Corps volunteer. My classes went great, I started some new activities, and I actually made some new friends!

Classes -- I finally felt like I understand the learning capabilities and needs of most of my students. I always try to meet each of their various learning styles, but the 8th graders are definately a struggle. So this week I gave in to teaching a English music lesson. They were not thrilled when I started out with Bob Dylan, but they got more excited when I busted out the T.I. and Snoop Dogg (the Walmart, clean, versions of their songs of course). I also rapped to one of my favorite classics Skee Lo's "I Wish." My students immediately realized why I liked the song when I was their age...the first line is "I wish I was a little bit taller; I wish I was a baller..." I'll let you imagine the fun that insued when I was rapping and making fun of myself. It was fun! The other classes are fantastic. I really like the 5th and 6th graders more than I thought. They are so affectionate, which I'm not used to because I teach high school in the States, and they really brighten my day when I come to class.

New Activities -- On Tuesdays, I have started an adult education class for colleagues and retired persons from my community that want to learn english. It's extremely rewarding when I hear their stories of talking with their relatives and surprising them with a little English! Plus the retired women are absolutely hilarious and so cute! Thursdays and Saturdays are basketball days with middle school boys. My friend/colleague Dan asked me if I wanted to help...he teaches NBA-like moves while I focus on more fundamental basketball. HELLO...I'm from Indiana! Basketball is what we do! haha. It's just nice to know all those years of camps, practices, games, and suicides are paying off a little. Finally, I've built a lot of interest in my English/Film Club but I have yet to get it approved by the director so I can use the school after hours. This is difficult, but I think they'll come around eventually if I keep asking!

New Friends -- I've already mentioned Dan. He's a cool guy, and we are starting to hang out more and more. I've also made a couple other new friends from school...Petrusca is a history teacher (which I love to talk about) and Cosmina is one of the other English teachers at Avram Iancu. We are going out for pizza tonight so I'm excited to not be bored again on a Saturday evening!

Last weekend was the Peace Corps Creative Writing competition. It was fun to be in Targu Mures with other volunteers for the weekend, and it was also fun to read all the submissions by Romanian students. Some of them amazed me with their understanding and use of English.

I've been pretty busy, but it feels nice to be accomplishing some of my goals and some of the Peace Corps' goals. I hope all is well where you are. Peace and God Bless!

I hate laundry!!

One of my biggest challenges here in Romania is laundry. I hate to do laundry at home in the States so of course I hate doing laundry here too. My challenges mainly include procrastinating and trying to use my new (old, but new to my apartment) washing machine that is all in German! I kind of like washing things by hand...it reminds me of the old days, and I imagined using one of those washing boards before I got here. It's not quite as exciting as I thought. Anyway, I thought I'd share a couple pictures for you...I can hear you laughing at me now. Especially you mom, I don't want to hear you complain about your washing machine and dryer anymore!!

What a week!??

The Birthday Boy--Radu

First, I want to say Hai Obama!! (Go Obama in Romanian) I'm thrilled that President-Elect Barack Obama won the election and broke the color-barrier to the White House. I'm proud to have worked on his campaign, and I'm proud of my country for the outstanding voter turnout!! So much for my generation being apathetic...way to show up and stand for something!! As a Peace Corps volunteer, I'm proud to be serving during President Obama's first term...

I could go on and on and on about how much I love that Obama won...and I assume if you are reading this you know me, which means you've probably already heard my pitch for Obama many times over so I'll spare you on here.

This week was rough. It started with my not sleeping to watch all the election results coming in...Obama gave his acceptance speech at 6:30 am so it was a long night! A lack of sleep led to me being tired all week. Then on Thursday I had class from 11-6 and had dinner with a student and his family afterwards. Friday consisted of classes and a fifth grade birthday party. This fifth grade birthday party was amazing. Romanian kids are far less insecure about dancing, hugging, kissing, speaking, etc. I danced, for what seemed like an hour, to Dragostea din tei (the Numa Numa song), had pizza and cake, and had my ear drums bombarded by incredibly loud Romanian and American dance music. It was wonderful to have been invited, and the family was excited to introduce me to their family and friends. It was nice, but now I'm ready to take some Nyquil and pass out. I'm getting sick and I can feel it.

This weekend I'm in Targu Mures to judge essays written by kids all over Romania. I'll post more on that when I return. For now enjoy some pictures of my students at the party tonight.

Ciprian

some of the girls doing a traditional Transylvanian dance

the boys got in on the dancing too

the DJ's for the evening

and then the Numa Numa song came on...dancing insued.

Election Day!!!

Who will it be???

The Peace Corps is an apolitical organization so I put the only Obama poster I had saved that doesn't say Obama, but I guess by me saying this now I'm kind of making that point obsolete...oh well! I'm kind of going crazy today! Everyone at school knows how excited I am that today our nation takes a giant leap into the future. In their opinion, Obama represents a change back to the respected America they remember from 8 years ago. Today was a stressful day for me because my TEFL program manager came to observe me and meet with the director and my colleagues. It all went well, but I'm still a little bit of a mess because I just can't wait for the results. It's hard being 7 hours ahead of the U.S. on election day!

Today during our meeting my colleagues were discussing me and they mentioned the word conservative! I quickly put that misunderstanding to rest...I've never like the labels conservative and liberal. To me, it makes it seem like it's either one or the other, and I favor more of a constitutional communitarian viewpoint... if you are far right or far left I would call you a radical!! Granted I am a Midwestern, farm girl from a predominantly RED state so it's not a stretch to assume I may be conservative politically...much to my regret! In 1992, when I was 8 years old, I remember sitting at the lunch table with my fellow 2nd graders in Lancaster Elementary debating the election (For lunch, I assume we had peanut butter balls with red, white, and blue sprinkles as was typical in my childhood) even then I was embarrassed that my state was the only Midwestern state to vote for George H.W. Bush, and that was only because Dan Quale was on the ballot as the Rep. Vice Presidential nominee (for those of you that have forgotten this was the man who put the "e" in potato and gave the "Murphy Brown speech" and happened to be from Indiana (don't judge) and Arizona. Little 8 year old Tara was disturbed and made up her mind right then and there to not vote for George Bush in their mock election that day...little did she know she'd again be given that choice in her first Presidential election and another war in the Middle East would be a hot topic! Yes, even 8 yr. old Tara didn't like war thanks to a current events project in between dia-rama's in 1st grade!! Okay...I've made myself pretty clear I think, but I just hope you take advantage of this historic day in U.S. history! Don't let me down Hoosiers! Regardless of what candidate you choose, VOTE!

This post goes out to my dad who affectionately loves to tell his eldest daughter (me), a registered Democrat, Government teaching, political science minor, tree-hugging, Peace Corps volunteer that her vote doesn't count because he voted opposite after letting his mind be swayed...I really want to say brainwashed...by conservative (oops I don't like those terms) talk radio! Love ya Dad!! P.S. Thanks for donating to the Obama campaign without Dad knowing Mom!! I appreciate the support!

November 1

I discovered a new Romanian tradition that I love. It may be a little morbid, but I think it's a great thing and plan to make it a habit of mine in the future. On November 1, Romanians honor their loved ones that have passed away (think kind of like El Dia de Los Muertos). They take special things such a loaf of bread, wine, once loved possessions, and a candle to place on the grave. This seems pretty normal, but there is one thing that really just overwhelms me...my town is in the Transylvanian plateau and we have the famous hills of Transylvania surrounding us. Most of the cemetaries in my town are all placed on these hills...so when all the candles are lit at night my town is made aglow by the love and devotion of those still carrying on their legacy on earth. It is quite a sight to see...and I wish I would have had my camera on me in town tonight. I'm here for two years so I'll catch it next November 1st.

Ziua Iancului (our school festival)

I wanted to show some pictures from our school festival! Above is a picture of most of my colleagues at school. They call themselves my Romanian family...so sweet! It was fun to see my students perform, sing, and dance. I received an award just for being here I guess...feels kind of undeserved thus far, but I proudly accepted it. This has been the best week I've had so far in Tarnaveni!! Hopefully I'll have some video to post soon...especially from the teacher's lunch today! We danced up a storm!! Click on the pictures to enlarge!

To everything, turn, turn, turn --The Byrds

This week feels like a turning point of sorts. It's not a turning point because I don't like it here...because I do! I love it here in Romania! It's a turning point because I've finally figured out the needs/wants of my community just as the season of fall begins to fade into winter. Up until now, when people asked me why I was here my answers were primarily motivated by what I* wanted to get out of this experience. Now I'm thinking more along the lines of what I'm able to help with. I feel good about this, and as more of my plans begin to come to fruition I will share the specifics.

It's also a turning point because I started my official workout regimine w/ Claudio...it's super intense and today (Day 3) I fully regained the use of my muscles! haha! It'll be good for me in the long run even if it's extremely painful right now!

One more thing...I'm super excited for this coming week because I have no classes before 12 and it's only a 3 day week work week! Thursday and Friday are dedicated to hanging out, a program at school, and a fancy shmancy dinner at the Tarnava restuarant for teachers!! It's our school's festival!! I can't wait to share pictures of colleagues and students finally! So be ready for that!

A little enlightenment

Lately, I've been struggling a lot with the questions of whether or not I am doing any good here. The Country Director for Peace Corps Romania, Ken, said that this would be the greatest challenge here. You see, in most Peace Corps countries you are rewarded at first by the physical and mental challenges you overcome due to the living situation or the difference in customs. Here in Romania that immediate feeling of small accomplishment is limited due to the higher standard of living. However, I like to think of Romania as an iceburg country. As I've understood it, the Peace Corps came here in 1991 after the fall of communism and seeks to help them build their infrastructure from the grassroots level. (Keep in mind this is my opinion and not the Peace Corps' or U.S. Government's) Romania is, as of 2007, a part of the European Union...so it's difficult to see the need for the Peace Corps in a country not considered "third world." Anyway, back to my point...one of the biggest challenges I face is seeing any kind of accomplishment due to my daily work.

Today I got a little glimpse at what it feels like to make an impact and be a positive example. Two little girls have been waiting on me as I walk home from school on Mondays and Tuesdays. The both live in the same apartment complex as I do so it is convenient for them to walk home with me. They aren't my students so I'm still curious how they know my name...but it's no surprise that they know "the American teacher" that is living in Tarnaveni. The two girls and I went on a walk and chatted in Romanian this afternoon. After a while I quizzed them in English while we had some juice we bought as the local store. While we were walking around I stumbled a bit but collected myself by doing a little skip...granted I would be made fun of for this by just about anyone I know at home...but I digress. The girls immediately picked up on my skip, and they proceeded to copy it. This was just a small reminder that it's not necessarily the work I do here that gives me purpose...it can be as simple as being an example in my life and everyday activities.

It's an important lesson that seems so simple. We all know that young children copy many of the things that we do...but it goes beyond that. We all (adults, teens, children...) either consciously or subconsciously pick up on the actions and mannerisms of others. The people we respect we try to emulate so keep that in mind today. You can be doing a great service for someone by simply providing them with a good example.

Up and Down Week

This week definately had it's moments...both good and bad. My counterpart went on a pilgrimage to Iasi on Wednesday, which in the Orthodox religion is Saint Parascheva Day. Saint Parascheva was, to my understanding, a young woman that died prematurely because she had no concern for her personal well-being. She would go without food or winter clothing simply to give all her worldly possessions to the less fortunate. While I admire this, a question also comes to mind...couldn't she have done so many more good works if she had lived a long life? Anyway, Saint Parascheva's tomb is available to the public as a relic of sorts. People bring many possessions and stand in line for hours simply to pray and be blessed in her presence...she was canonized, it is said, because when the people of the Moldova region on Romania owed money to the Turks they weighed the fee against Saint Parascheva...and somehow the weight on the scale became lighter so the Moldavians owed less money. Being Protestant...many of the Orthodox customs are mysterious to me, but having studied Medieval history I have a small understanding of such matters. I certainly value the piety of individuals and I enjoy learning about the culture in which I am currently living.
Now that is explained...on Wednesday and Thursday I taught all the classes alone. This proved to be more difficult than I expected simply because it was new. However, Wednesday some of my students dressed in costumes and scared the living daylights out of me when I entered the classroom. That's what I get for teaching them about Halloween. Thursday we had a faculty meeting after school (at 7 pm). I'm trying to learn about Romania's education system and specifically the administration...what I've learned so far is that we differ on many tenets of proper pedagogies. I suppose we can all learn from each other, but that is more easily said than done. As my counterpart often says, she was taught to teach during the Communist period and my focus on critical thinking skills is something new to her.

It was a rough week, and I am glad it's finally the weekend. I have cleaning to do and a lot of laundry to do by hand. La Revedere!

Salata de Vinete

Otherwise known as Eggplant salad...this is my favorite food (that I actually make regularly) in Romania!! Everytime I explain it to my friends or family I hear sounds of disgust because we Americans don't generally eat much eggplant. When I get home you are all in for a surprise!! I thought it would be cool to show you a little of the preparation I do to make salata de vinete.

It's very simple. Buy a fresh, ripe eggplant (refer to the Food Network or cookbooks for that info!)
1.) Roast the eggplant on the stove (see picture #1) until cooked all the way through.
2.) Peel the skin off and remove the insides of the eggplant. Tranfer the insides to a strainer. This is important because it will remove the bitter tasting liquid.
3.) Once drained use an electric mixer or wooden/plastic knife to finely chop/mix the eggplant. Don't use metal knives because they will chop the seeds which will result in a bitter tasting salata.
4.) Mix the eggplant with olive/vegetable/sunflower oil (whichever you prefer), onions, and garlic (if desired).
5.)After all that is done you are free to eat your fresh salata de vinete. I prefer it spread over fresh bread!