Harry Potter and the Black Sea

Totally sounds like it could be the title of another installment, doesn't it?

So its been a while since I've posted, and I have had a grand total of........THREE major events.  I lead a fascinating life. 

Making the long trek.

The first two weeks in July I made a commitment to work at a camp held at the site of another volunteer.  The camp was more of a summer school run by a charity that works to get all children enrolled in school.  Those involved are primarily Rroma children.  Their parents receive a stipend if their children attend every day of school.  The children also receive snacks at school.  The volunteer there actually has two schools in two different villages.  His house is in one village, and the camp was in the other village.  This meant a 5 kilometer (yes, FIVE!) walk on muddy lanes through corn and sunflower fields.  At least, that was the short way.  Walking along the roads, mean 8 or 9 kilometers.  No easily accessible public transportation either.  I was not thrilled.  After arriving at the school, sweaty and disgusting, another volunteer and I decided we would do that no longer and we hitched to the camp.  We had no problems what so ever and thought the volunteer was crazy for walking every time he worked at that school. 

Our class playing the Slap game with colors

At the camp, another volunteer and I were assigned to the 6th graders.  We worked with mostly Romanian students and taught English the entire time, whereas classes that were predominantly Rroma children worked on Romanian.  It was rather interesting to work with students I could actually converse with.  It is no longer a secret that my Hungarian stinks, so it was nice to be able to speak Romanian.  I must say, I enjoyed teaching A LOT more when I could speak the children's native language.  I will say this though, after this experience, I am very proud of my students at site for not being able to really understand me (and me not being able to really understand them), but still learning just as much English.  It is definitely harder, and takes a lot more effort, but it seems to be working. 

Coco and me

I made a best friend at camp, her name was Coco, and she was in the 4th grade.  She came to class with her sister who was in the 6th grade.  She was adorable and loved me.  Marco and I, didn't have much to do in the class, the Romanian teacher had the themes planned out, we just played games and talked with the students.  My favorite moment was when we were playing the Slap game with numbers and the kids turned the table on us, and made the two of us play while they shouted Romanian numbers.  I won. 

During the weekend, we camped on the Black Sea!  More volunteers met us at the beach and brought tents.  It was an.....interesting weekend.  We didn't camp anywhere near the main beach, so food and other essentials were two kilometers away.  The beach was not sand, it was finely ground shells.  The water was cold.  It smelled.  And the beach was nude.  I took no pictures.  I mean really, how do I find myself in these ridiculous traveling adventures?  It couldn't have just been a topless beach, I would have expected that out of Europe, but NUDE?!?!?!  Ugghhhhhh, nude old people.  I was only in the sun for a few hours, used the same SPF I use in the States, yet somehow managed to get the WORST sunburn of my life.  Seriously, my legs are STILL peeling.  It was so bad that it hurt immediately and the next day, when I put my pack on to leave, I cried.  A little.  It was horrendous.  I was really tan afterwards though, but so not worth it. 

The second week of camp was more of the same.  When the camp was finished for me, my little buddy was very upset that I was leaving.  She attached herself to my waist and wouldn't let go.  I had to drag her all the way out of the school building to the gate, before another camper pried her arms from around my waist and I made my escape.  All in all, it was a pretty good time :)

Now for the second big event.  You've probably figured it out already, it has to do with Harry Potter.  A few days after arriving back at site from the camp I roadtripped to Cluj Napoca, another Romanian city, with my counterpart, her sister, and another teacher from my school.  We drove 6 hours through Transylvania to see this puppy.  When we arrived in the city, my counterpart and the other teacher had some errands to run, so my cp's sister and I got something to drink to escape the heat.  After their errands were finished we saw a bit of the city before eating a delicious late lunch.  I unfortunately have no pictures.  I didn't bring my camera and I took pictures with my phone, but I lost the USB cable amidst the mess 10 volunteers make in one living room.  So no pictures.  After eating we headed to the mall, bought our tickets for the movie, then went SHOPPING.  I just love it.  I only bought a few things, on sale, so I did a good job.  The movie was amazing.  It was the first one I've ever seen in 3D, I was impressed.  I'm so sad that it's all over though.  I grew up with Harry Potter, and I can't believe it ended.  After the movie we did a little more shopping before the mall closed and we headed back home!  The drive back always seems to take longer, I think I finally got to bed around 4 in the morning. Long day, but definitely worth it :)

And now for the third major event.  August 6th has come and gone.  August 6th was the one year anniversary of my group being sworn-in as Peace Corpsnow for the third major event.  August 6th has come and gone.  August 6th was the one year anniversary of my group being sworn-in as Peace Corps Volunteers!  It was momentous, I am so proud to have made it this far, and miss my friends who weren't as fortunate.  It also meant that I am officially down to less than a year in country!  I know its crazy to be thinking about it already, but I've always been a planner, and figuring out my future is something I've always obsessed over.  For now I'm just looking forward to what the next year will bring :)

Trying to navigate the mud.  I almost lost my shoes a number of times.

Try to avoid that.

Rroma students celebrating the end of week one.

When in Romania, do as the Romanians...that's how that goes, right?

There were four of us in that backseat.

My favorite Romanian adventure, by far.  It was pitch black in the back of that delivery van.

One activity during week 2....the human knot.  We had ourselves good and knotted.

That's my head in the bottom right corner.

My bestie.

She loved to fan me.  I had it good there :)

Music time.

She loved me.

I leave you with more pictures of my church.

My mountains.

Praying in the Rain

Today is a big day on the Catholic calendar, but an even bigger day for Szekely Hungarians.  Today is Pentecost.  On this day, Hungarians from around the world make a pilgrimage to a small village, Csiksomlyo, about 20 minutes from my site here in Romania.  It all began in 1567 when the Hungarian king, Sigismund Janos tried to convert the Szekely population to Protestantism.  The Szekelys had none of it, resisting the reformation and sticking to the Catholic faith.  A battle took place near the village on Pentecost Saturday in 1567.  The Szekelys won and the Fransiscan monks, who called Csiksomlyo their home saw this victory as a sign of the care of Virgin Mary.  Ever since, believers have made the pilgrimage on Pentecost to show and share their faith.

The present church's construction began in 1802.  The foundation of the old Fransiscan monastery was used to build the church.  The church contains a wooden sculpture of Virgin Mary, known as Weeping Mary.

Weeping Mary statue

The church and the pilgrimage have become more than sign of religious faith.  It has become a symbol of Szekely brotherhood and Hungarian nationalism, especially after the nation was divided.

The church at Csiksomlyo, from a previous visit

That's the history, now here's my story.  Ever since my arrival at site, I had heard about this pilgrimage.  I didn't really understand what happened other than people visited the Weeping Mary statue and then climbed the mountain.  I did a little research, which you see above, so I could better understand this event.  I had been anticipating this time of year for nine months, I can honestly say my first experience with this event was not good.  How would you feel being woken up by horses clomping, people talking, and church bells ringing on and off from 5 am until your alarm goes off for the last few days?  I can tell you from experience, you won't be happy.  I got over it eventually.

View of a small part of the crowd from the village where the car was parked

Yesterday, the anniversary of the battle against Protestantism, I traveled to Csiksomlyo with my counterpart and her husband.  Some people choose to make this pilgrimage by foot, some from as far as Hungary!  Each of the Szekely villages contributes a small walking army of pilgrims, including my own village.  We drove closer to the church, but still had to walk two villages, so I got enough of feel for the pilgrimage.  The closer we got to the church the more packed the street became with people selling their wares.  Everywhere you looked there were stalls selling jewelry, leather wares, hats, wooden decorations, and kurtoskalacs of course :)  Apart from some kurtoskalacs ad Pepsi, we saved the rest of the shopping for after mass. 

View back down the mountain

So we kept following the throng of people walking up the mountain.  Silly me forgot to take my inhaler before coming...a few stops along the way up were warranted.  My counterpart's husband needed the rest too, he just pretended not to ;)  With each step I could only think "how much farther?????" 

During our second break, can't see the altar yet!

Chapel about halfway up the mountain

The altar, we were pretty close

The crowd behind us...amazing.

Finally we stopped as close as we could get to the altar.  Mass had already begun, or so I imagine....I couldn't really understand, haha.  I have never experienced something like this.  There were thousands and thousands and thousands of people everywhere I turned.  Even though I couldn't understand much of what was going on, I could feel brotherhood, faith, and pride emanating from the crowd.  Each village parish gathered around a banner upon which their village saint and symbols were emblazoned.  There were about fifty or so priests who walked through the crowd to distribute communion, but you can imagine that only a small portion of the crowd was so lucky.  Through all of this, it was pouring rain.  My little American raincoat only lasted one drenching, so during the ensuing three onslaughts of rain, from my shoes to my sweatshirt to my underwear I was soaked through.  After the Hungarian and Szekely national songs, mass was over and the journey down the slick, muddy mountain began.  How my counterpart, her husband, and I managed to keep together, I don't know, but we did.  I will say I give Adidas major props for their running shoes, I got down that mountain without any major incidences.  After making it down the mountain it was time for shopping.  Here the rain dampened our spirits a bit, we got what we "needed" and that was it.  During this time I really enjoyed looking at the banners from all the different places people came from.  There was even a group from New York!  I unfortunately didn't see them, my counterpart's husband did, or else you better believe I would have chased them down!  After making our purchases we began the trek through two villages back to the car.  Finally I made it home.  After 5 hours of walking, climbing, and standing I took a well deserved early evening nap and contemplated my day.

View of Miercurea Ciuc before heading back down the mountain...look at those clouds!

Throughout the day today I have heard horses and hand bells, followed my village church bells ringing.  Each time I run out to my balcony to watch the procession of pilgrims going back to their villages.

The group from my village completing the pilgrimage

This is why I have always loved learning about new cultures.  Events like these make each culture special and worth preserving.  To all the people who fight for assimilation, I give you this story as my argument for cultural preservation.  When I was standing at the top of the mountain amidst thousands and thousands of Hungarians proclaiming their faith and nationalism, I was never so happy to be where I am.  I am truly blessed to have experienced the things I have experienced, the places I have seen, and the holy sites I have visited.  This day will surely be one I never forget.  I can't wait to go back next year :)