Roman(ian) Holiday

Me with Zsuzsa's Christmas tree

Merry Christmas everyone!  Thanks for putting up with my lack of blogging skills...I haven't forgotten about all of you!  I spent the majority of the days leading up to Christmas maxing out the free space on my computer's hard drive with every Christmas movie I ever remembered watching as a child...well, the good ones at least.  And now I have to watch them all, or it was time wasted...I have a long way to go.

We had school Monday and Tuesday of this week...although we didn't really have classes.  On Tuesday showed up for my 9 am class, after that I had an hour break and then I have another class.  Well the teacher eventually gathered her belongings to head to class and as I moved to follow she told me not to come to class.  Ooookay, so I just stayed at school for two hours to not have class?  This happens often enough to drive me insane, I just have to remember to be patient in the name of cultural integration...on the outside at least ;)  Wednesday my Christmas tree was delivered to me from the forest by my counterpart's husband.  After I lugged it up 7 flights of stairs and plopped it in the middle of the living room, it took a minute (or fifteen) to figure out what to do next.  This was my first live tree ever in my life...that I can remember!  The first challenge was getting it to stay upright.  Eventually after many failed attempts, I found my mop bucket. 

Problem number 2:  there were some low branches that prevented it from fitting nicely in the mop bucket.  I grabbed the biggest knife I could find in my kitchen and sawed away.  The extra branches made a lovely centerpiece for my kitchen table.  Problem number 3: where to put the thing.  My living is not exactly spacious, and what space there is is in front of the TV or in the path between the two doors.  Well I found a place to put it, but the tree was too tall.  So I bent the top branch in half so it would fit, covering my hands in sap along the way.  And I was done!  Oh wait, I forgot about the big red monstrosity that is my mop bucket.  Problem solved.  Sorry Boo, you'll have to sleep on the floor for a few days, or weeks, while I use your blanket to drape around the mop bucket.  Finished!!!  Luckily I seemed to have enough patience on Wednesday to make enough paper snowflakes to make my tree look complete.  I must say, its pretty cute :)

The finished product.

Thursday my counterpart and I spent THREE HOURS at the supermarket doing our last minute shopping.  I bought a bunch of stuff to bake with, especially to bake frosted sugar cookies for myself.  During the car ride home I remembered that I'm still too scared to light my oven...darn it all I want those sugar cookies!!!!!  Later that evening, I went back to my counterpart's house with her sister to make gingerbread cookies and build trees with them.  Well, that failed too hahaha...at 10 pm we were still waiting for enough cookies to build with and decided to call it quits.  Oh well, there's always next year.  Zsuzsa did make a tree the next day though...super cute! 

Yesterday I celebrated Christmas Eve by watching a string of Christmas movies.  Later in the evening I went back to my counterpart's to help decorate the Christmas tree while her husband and son were out of the house.  Here, the angels bring the decorated Christmas tree and presents.  So her son had a nice surprise waiting for him when he got back.  We opened presents before heading to mass at 9 pm.  We were late, so we got to stand in the doorway.  Let me tell you standing in the cold, not being able to see, and not understanding a word of the language all add up to an hour of daydreaming...hmm.  I'll have to make up for it somehow, maybe I'll understand mass next year.  Or more likely, it'll have to wait until Christmas 2012.  After mass we ate a large meal that finished around midnight, then I went home to bed....eating late is a common theme here haha.

Zsuzsa's tree.

Today I didn't have much to do (my Christmas package is still not here :( ) so I watched some more Christmas movies before being picked up by my counterpart's family to go back to her house for Christmas dinner.  We sat at the table for 2 hours eating and talking...well, they talked.  I daydreamed...and then I came back to my apartment, and here I am! 

A few weeks ago I started writing down 3 things I am thankful for each day in my journal...a few days later I also started a segment entitled "3 things I now appreciate."  Here are a few examples:

December 15th:

Today I am thankful for:

            My super warm North Face jacket with its extra big hood…without I would freeze in the Romanian tundra I call home

            Cute boots that I can tuck my jeans into so I can be Romanianly fashionable…even if they leak.

            Colors.  They make for a fun class where I can laugh at my children and they don’t even know it :)

December 16th:

Here are today’s 3 things I’m thankful for:

1.       I have to go back to the jacket…I didn’t freeze while shopping today…and it leads into number two…

2.      My Grams, for helping me buy that super awesome warm jacket…and for many other things J

3.      My kindergarten meals…without them I would starve…or actually learn to cook for myself (here’s where you can snort with laughter).

And the “Things I now appreciate”:

1.       Long underwear.  You try waiting outside in the sub-freezing cold for two buses in one morning while also trekking across the town to do shopping, and then riding a bus back to your village without heat, and then walking across the village to get your kindergarten meal.  I can’t move my limbs.

2.      Cherry flavored pop/soda/coke, whatever you want to call it….I just love cherry, cherry’s my favorite.

3.      Being within a close proximity to a movie theater…I still haven’t seen Harry Potter!  It was only in Romanian theaters for a WEEK!  So weird, maybe it will come back.  But I refuse to watch a cam version of it!

And for today:

Today I am thankful for:

1.       Friends and family, old and new, who made the holidays all the more bearable.

2.      Romanian sales promotions.  “Why yes Cappy, a.k.a. Minute Maid, I will buy two abnormally large cartons of orange juice just so I can get that free glass.”

3.      Sugar.  Or the holidays because then its accepted that you will eat sugar, sugar, and more sugar :)

Things I appreciate more:

1.       The weather on the news.  Wait, I could watch that here too…nevermind.

2.      Pickle wraps…who knew they are what I would miss most about Christmas in the States.

3.      Energizer lithium batteries that last forever in my camera.  Every time I use my camera I’m careful to not use too much of the battery.  I don’t know where or when I’ll get my next stash. Haha.

4.      Package tracking…darn it mom, next package make it trackable, I’m going insane with all of this waiting!

It takes a village...

So you know the saying “it takes a village to raise a child”? Well the same goes for a Peace Corps Volunteer. I have been given food, students bring me wood from the school, and parents come to fix my broken water heater (which is kind of important for my personal hygiene....today it was 25 degrees fahrenheit when I woke up!!!  No way I would have showered if it was that cold). Oh yeah, about that broken water heater that decided to mess with my electricity....So a student of mine and his father show up on a Sunday afternoon. I'm in sweatpants, no makeup, and my hair is all crazy because I took a shower (a cold shower mind you) in the morning and let my hair air dry, and the place it a mess, thanks in most part to my psycho cat. So after a few awkward words, we manage to understand each other with the word “boiler”. Thank goodness its the same in both languages. So they go into the bathroom to check out the problem, then they have to find where it plugs in....coincidentally its in my bedroom. And what's in my bedroom? My drying laundry. And on that clothesrack? Yep, my bras. I didn't get there in time to hide any incriminating evidence. How embarrassing. Oh well, at least I don't really teach that student.

Other than that embarrassing moment, things have been pretty great! I am really enjoying teaching...for the most part. Sometimes its difficult working with the other two English teachers who are not my counterpart....she's pretty awesome :) FINALLY this week we've started splitting classes. It has taken longer than expected because of the language, obviously. These students have only had English for maximum four years and are not used to full on English all of the time. And my Hungarian is just as dismal as that first day of class....but I'm starting to understand more! So that's exciting. My trouble classes in the past had been 5^th and 6^th, neither of which I split with my counterpart. So I was very anxious to get them split, because they are a challenge. Well I taught my half of those classes this week, and I have to say I love those kids! They were excited to have class with me, which made me happy to teach them, and they were surprisingly attentive. Phew!! Maybe this won't be as impossible as I thought. The real challenge comes next week, when I split the classes I share with a third teacher, who is by far, the most uncooperative. Teaching with her has been rough, to put it mildly. Wait, no, what I get to do with her hardly qualifies as teaching. Whatever it was, it was rough. So next week, the kids are being thrown to the wolves....errr, me. We'll see how it goes!

One of the most fun things I've gotten to do with my students has been choosing English names. Their Hungarian names have proven impossible for me to pick up, so they get English names for me to keep track of. All of the trends make me laugh. The older kids pick names like Rihanna, Michael Jackson, James Bond, Kesha, and Jack Sparrow. The younger kids all picked names like Harry, Selena, Vanessa, and Miley....and they all thought it was hilarious when I named the celebrity they idolize. They all had fun with it though, and that's always a bonus.

This week, I started after school classes with 1st-4^th grades. It has been a lot of fun! I love working with little kids, and they are extra cute. So far the little 2^nd graders hold a special place in my heart. We sang and sang and sang those ABCs. It was adorable. Although, I have had a bit of a sore throat in the mornings....hmm maybe too much singing.

Well, that's about it....I lead a pretty boring life....hahahahaha.

Until next time! 

Boo's sitting in her favorite spot in front of the window.

Back 2 School

Oh my, I haven't posted in over a month.  In all fairness, I did just get internet in my apartment today. 

So the last month I've: read, read, and read.  I'm going on book #20.  No joke.  Haha its true that it has been a little boring, but overall its been a good month!  I still can't get over the gorgeous view I have and the sunsets I get to see everyday from behind the mountains.  Last week school started for teachers...that's where I've gotten most of my reading done.  The week before that I brought home a new friend!  Her name is Boo because she's orange and black like Halloween.  She's a crazy little cat...I have many battle wounds that can testify to that.  Besides, starting school, last week turned out to be rather productive.  I FINALLY got a haircut!  It's very European, but I'm managing it.  And I started horse-riding lessons!  I was the most anxious for those.  I was really excited when my counterpart told me there were a lot of opportunities to ride in the area.  We found a horse farm where somebody speaks English, so once a week I'll go there.  I'm starting with the basics, doing lots of exercises on the horse to find my balance and get used to the horse.  It must be funny to anyone watching a grown woman learning riding basics and then looking around and seeing 10 year olds that are more advanced.

Next week we start teaching classes!  I'm a little nervous, but more excited to have something to do!  Although, now that I have internet, maybe I won't be so excited to work!

Not much else to report...I do know my address now!  If you would like it send me an email!

If You Are Looking for My Heart, I'll Tell You Where to Find it...

As I promised....post 2! So the counterpart conference was last weekend. Preparation for the conference was a little strained. Too many leaders were stuck in an extremely hot room together and tempers were flaring! The conference itself went well. It was a bit redundant for us volunteers because we had heard much of the information before, but it was necessary for our counterparts' understanding.

I was very very excited to meet my counterpart Zsuzsa. She's 27 years old, really nice, and extremely excited to have me at school. We had a great time getting to know each other over the weekend. I must say, those of us with Hungarian counterparts...plus Sara's Romanian counterpart...had the best time of all. After a beer, mine and Brittany's Hungarian was perfect...or so said one of the Hungarian counterparts...we are still unsure...haha.

Peles Castle

Last Tuesday, Zsuzsa and I left in her car for Judetul Harghita! It was about a 4-5 hour drive. On the way up, we stopped at a city called Sinaia to visit Peles Castle. Three other volunteers and their counterparts stopped with us as well. We took a tour of the elaborately decorated castle, but unfortunately were not able to take pictures. In Romania, you usually have to pay more to take pictures, and even more to film a video. This particular castle was really strict about this policy. The walls and ceilings were covered in carved wooden panels depicting all sorts of scenes from mythology, history, and art. This castle definitely had a Saxon vibe...I love it! When we finished at the castle we continued on our way to site. We arrived at site around 4:30 and met with Zsuzsa's husband and son, then we all headed to the next village to meet my colleagues at my school. I about cried as we drove into my village and walked into my school to meet all of the teachers. I was so excited to meet them, but also honored to be there for them. I instantly felt welcomed and loved by all. The school “lunch lady” made us a delicious meal...I guess that's one cultural difference between America and Romania...lunch food is actually delicious here!. Zsuzsa's son is two years old and such a little stinker...an adorable stinker of course. Funny story, we were eating this amazing dessert made with cake, apricots, and a marshmallow-like topping; I was sitting next to Zsuzsa who had her son on her lap and he was eating cake too, only he was just eating the marshmallow topping off of the top; he would take a bit and then put it back on the table; one time, I guess he couldn't reach the table because the next thing I knew, there was something sticky on my arm...he threw his cake in my lap! It was hilarious and had all of us at the table laughing hysterically. After dinner, I was taken to my apartment to settle in! My apartment is on the 3^rd floor of the only bloc in town. It is across the street from the church...can you guess what happened the next morning???

The Catholic Church in my village

Wednesday I was woken up bright and early by 1. ringing church bells at 5 am and 2. the rising sun at 6 am...and my gazda sister wondered why I was so tired when I got back to training site. Oh well waking up at the break of dawn every once in a while does a person good...unless it happens everyday for two years, in which case we might have a problem. I will say I did get to see some amazing sunrises behind the mountains. Oh yeah, I'm surrounded by mountains...my village lies in a large mountain valley. I have always had this dream of hiking up a mountain and lying in one of the meadows you see up high...we'll see how much stamina I have to fulfill this dream. Yeah so, Wednesday I spent the day with my school's director and his family. It was quite interesting because they don't speak English, and I really don't speak enough Hungarian to converse yet. Together we spoke lots of RomHunGlish...mine and Brittany's creation. First, we ate a hearty breakfast full of meet and salad and toast with jam...I'm lucky my stomach didn't give out on me. After that we went into the bigger city that isn't far from my village, Miercurea-Ciuc. I left my cellphone back at my gazda's which had my counterpart freaking out more than me, and we decided it was best to get another phone with a different provider. So the director took me to Vodafone to get a new phone...which the school paid for!!!! Its a pretty awesome phone if I say so myself...the nicest one I've ever had in my life.  Mom, you wouldn't know what to do with it! Before going to get the phone, the director's 20 year old daughter and I went to a restaurant to get ice cream. It is quite the interesting experience when you can't really communicate. We were sitting down and Imola went to get the waitress to come ask me what kind of ice cream I wanted...in English. We ran into problems when I asked what flavors they had. I watched the waitress splutter and try to find words for a minute or two and then told her I could speak Romanian if that helped. It did. I was soon enjoying a bowl of piersici si vanilie inghetata...peach and vanilla ice cream for you non-Romanian speakers. After all of that excitement we went back to the village to have a late lunch...REALLY late lunch...at the “lunch lady's” house. Man is she an amazing cook. Chicken broth and noodles never tasted so good. Nor have I ever eaten so much paprika, but its a nice change from the “naturally” flavored food of the south...or bland if you prefer. Haha, no really I have loved just about everything I've eaten in Romania...its just a little different in Szekely land. After “lunch” we went back to the director's house and rested before dinner. We ate dinner at another colleague's house and it was quite fun. The older gentlemen were more willing to speak Romanian with me, so the conversation was more lively. Eventually someone pulled out an atlas and we looked at a map of the United States...and the map of Canada which included a more detailed map of Michigan...I think Europe might be confused on the subject of where the US ends and where Canada begins...I know we are too...haha. And of course the conversation turned to politics...but they were very understanding of my reluctance to give my opinion of American politics. Mostly they were curious about the economic crisis. Economics. Totally not my strong point. I tried to explain that Michigan's economy has sucked for a few years, so the crisis wasn't really a surprise.

Sunrise over my mountains

Thursday I spent the day with Zsuzsa. Again I was awakened by the bells and Easterly sun streaming in my bedroom window. We ate another hearty breakfast and went back into Ciuc to have vodafone activate my number...which they apparently overlooked the day before. It was a pretty chill day and I went back to my apartment to rest before heading to a Hungarian music festival with Zsuzsa and her husband. It was a lot of fun. We saw a fairly popular Hungarian rock band...I didn't understand much...ok, any...of it, but I still liked it. While at the festival, I was bought a kurtoskalacs. It is the most amazingly deliciously heavenly scrumptious Hungarian dessert-ish bread thing. That's about the best description I can give. You'll just have to come visit me in Szekely land to find out for yourself! We didn't get back until 2 am...which for me is like not sleeping for 48 hours.

First night at the music festival

Friday morning I didn't not hear the church bells! Hooray! I was so tired I slept right through them...or maybe it was the fact that I closed my bedroom window. Again, Friday was a pretty chill day. We didn't eat breakfast because Zsuzsa spent the morning trying to figure out how to get me back to training site. So we just had a light snack at the village pool...quite the experience. It started pouring and we barely made it without getting soaked. I don't know what is going on, but everybody in all of Romania seems surprised at the amount of rain we have had this summer. Stupid me for never investing in those rainboots I had my eye on all Spring. For lunch we went to a pensiune...bed & breakfast/hotel...in a nearby village. Zsuzsa treated me to Pepsi, pizza, coffee...yes I am starting to drink cups of coffee...with lots of milk and sugar of course, but not from Starbucks...AND dessert. Amazing. It also helped that we saw some other Americans there, I didn't say anything because they were a large group, but after over two months in a foreign country where most other Americans are Peace Corps Volunteers...you get starstruck. Again I was dropped off at my apartment before going back to the music festival. This festival is put on for students and is a Hungarian Romanian version of Woodstock. People camp out in nearby fields and then head over to a nearby mountain valley to listen to some great music...if only Woodstock were so cool. This night we saw a lady who won Hungary's Megastar competition a few years ago. She had an amazing voice and actually sang about half of her songs in English. From “Black Hose and a Cherry Tree” to “Bohemian Rhapsody” to Pink's “Sober” to “Highway to Hell”, she really performs for everyone! This night wasn't such a late night...we were back by midnight, which was a good thing because...

Saturday I was up at 5! But on purpose this time. We had to leave that early for her to drive about a hour and a half to get picked up by a maxi-taxi en route to my training site. When I got on the maxi-taxi there was actually a volunteer from last year's group, so it was nice to have somebody else on board. It was a hot and bumpy ride, but I eventually made it back to my gazda's in dire need of a shower and rest. I was nicely reminded that “you live only once and you shouldn't spend all of your time sleeping” by my host sister. I kindly reminded her that I wasn't sleeping the whole afternoon, I also read and watched TV and played solitaire, but she didn't see that did she...things are just different for the young'uns.

Next week is our last week of training!!!!!!!!! We have a review session and then our Language Proficiency Interviews...I'm only freaking out a little bit about sitting down with an interviewer and speaking my 4^th language for 30 minutes...only a little bit. After that we have our swearing in ceremony in Bucharest!!! That is when we OFFICIALLY become Peace Corps Volunteers!

Alright, next time something interesting happens I promise I'll blog about it. Now just when that blog comes, I give no guarantees.

Well, its Been About a Month...

I fully apologize for being lousy at this whole blog thing. I promise to work on it...right after I finish saving the world and all...haha.

So, last blog post was at the end of the first week of Practicum...which was about a month ago.

Well let's see. For the second week of Practicum, Sara and I taught 8^th graders. Once again, our students were fabulous. We focused on a different topic each day and really tried to get them to discuss and practice speaking. I think we did a good job of it. All of our observations went great. Well ok, not ALL, but we had a pissy observer that day...sooooo not our fault ;) The week went great...minus one little hiccup. On Friday, the last day of Practicum, I came down with a serious case of food poisoning. I still have yet to figure out what it was from, but all the symptoms were there. I haven't eaten popcorn or chocolate in two weeks. I was on a rice, crackers, and banana diet for two days. Yuck. Sara visited me after school on Friday and came bearing gifts...5 bouquets of flowers and two gifts from our students! So sweet! Saturday was much of the same, but luckily I was all better for Sunday, July 4^th!

Sunday morning I was up at 5 because I went with Sara to Bucharest. She had to get stitches out from having her mole removed and didn't want to find the way alone so being the good friend that I am, I agreed to go with her. We took a maxi-taxi at 6:15, and it arrived in Bucharest around 8. First, we got off the maxi-taxi at the wrong stop, thankfully it was not too big of a deal because we got on the same metro line. Then we took the metro to the University stop. We came out the wrong side of the metro and were greeted by torrential rain. We decided the 15 trek to the PC Office was not cool, so we ran across the street and hopped in a taxi. When we got to the office we hung out in the lounge and raided the clothing/random stuff left by departing PCVs. We came out with some good stuff! Although, at this point, the last thing we need is more stuff to drag with us to site. Sara's stitches came out in five minutes and we napped for a while before Sheila came to bring us back to the training site for the gazda barbecue. As we left the office, Sheila asked us if we were fans of coffee...yes, we were stopping at Starbucks. I ordered a venti caramel macchiato and a blueberry muffin. Mind you, this was the first “real” food I had eaten in two days, and it was glorious. I can't wait to get more, although a cup of coffee is around an 8^th of our bi-weekly allowance, yikes. We made it back for the barbecue, and boy did we have some interesting times...but in the spirit of cultural sensitivity I will refrain from divulging too much. It was a smashing success, for the most part. Afterwards most of the volunteers went to one person's house for a party...and more craziness ensued. All in all, it was the best 4^th of July one could hope for while living abroad!

Now for the big news! Last week we had our Site Announcement Ceremony! I now know where I will soon be departing (3 ½ weeks!!!!) to spend the next two years! Monday and Tuesday were basically full of anxiety and speculation...it was a good thing though. None of us could sit still through language class or the PC sessions in the afternoon. We all had site announcements on the brain! So Wednesday morning we had a session on diversity...and it was painful. Only because I was fidgety and couldn't concentrate...I felt like a 5 year old all over again. 11:00 rolled around and we all headed to the designated area for the ceremony. The Ambassador and his family arrived promptly at 11. After a short speech from the Sheila and the Ambassador, the ceremony began. The language instructors conducted the ceremony like the Academy Awards with the sites as categories and variations of our names as nominees. They always make things interesting. I was so happy to finally get my site! Now, I cannot post the town name, but it was exactly what I wanted...mountains and Hungarian! It is located near the center of the country, which makes it simultaneously easier and more difficult to get around to all of my other PC buddies.

This past weekend, was the first weekend we were officially allowed outside of the Dambovita county. Sara and I had made plans to go to Slanic, but it was her turn to get sick. I still went with my host sisters and another volunteer, Aron. Slanic is in the mountains and it is famous for salt. We visited the salt mine that is 270 m below ground. It was amazing inside. There was a playground, a soccer field, pictures from mythology, and famous Romanians carved out of salt. After the mine we walked up the mountain to the salt lake. We didn't swim because it had been raining, so the water was gross. Afterwards we grabbed an ice cream cone and drove back. The drive was beautiful once we were near the mountains.

Two weeks ago I started Hungarian class! It has been awesome. Everything is completely different, so it is taking more practice and studying to get the hang of things, but I'll pick it up. Last weekend our counterparts came to town and we had a three day conference. Then Tuesday we all left with our counterparts to visit our sites! We were back the following Friday.  I was incredibly excited for this, and I will write all about it in the next blog post...hopefully tomorrow!