Freya's 25 Days of Christmas

If you read my last blog post, you will remember that last year I avoided Christmas like the plague.  I don't know why, it was just too emotionally draining I guess.  Well this year I have something to look forward to (July) and I'm determined to enjoy this holiday season, even if I am alone and miserable.  Well not miserable, that's what this list is for :)

In anticipation of Christmas, I am officially starting Freya’s 25 Days of Christmas….a movie a day (without the terrible made for TV Lifetime and ABC Family crap):

A Miracle on 34^th Street (1994)…This one makes an appearance on Thanksgiving Day…since I find myself with a list larger than 25…and the 26 Days of Christmas just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

1.      December 1 A Muppet Christmas Carol.  Starting the season off right.  Greatest movie ever?  Maybe.  Greatest version of a Christmas Carol? Definitely.  

2.      December 2 Meet Me in St. Louis.  Maybe not your typical holiday film, but Judy Garland singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is a great moment.

3.      December 3 National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.  How I haven’t seen this yet, I don’t know…2011 is the year.

4.      December 4 Joyeux Noel (2006).  Merry Christmas for all you sheltered Americans… haven’t seen this yet, but it sounded good!

5.      December 5 The Polar Express.  Shout out to Grand Rapids, woot!

6.      December 6 Holiday Affair.  I just love curling up on the couch on Christmas Eve watching this on TCM…too bad TCM Romania doesn’t do the Christmas movie marathon.

7.      December 7 Elf.  Let’s face it, this will probably be an everyday occurrence. Also on this day will be Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer...mostly because I'm a terrible person and forgot to give him his own day.  It's ok Santa, I'll just go ahead and put myself on the naughty list.

8.      December 8 The Shop Around the Corner.  Bonus: set in Budapest, and I just might love Budapest.  So much better than You’ve Got Mail, just sayin’.

9.      December 9 Little Women (1949).  Grams cultured me well. 

10.  December 10 The Santa Clause.  I’ve always been a sucker for Tim Allen, must have been those Detroit Lions crewneck sweatshirts he always rocked.

11.  December 11 Remember the Night.  Haven’t seen this one yet either, but TCM said it was good.

12.  December 12 A Christmas Carol (Disney).  My favorite thing about this version is the score…although the Muppet version holds its own.  “There goes Mr. Humbug, there goes Mr. Grim…” Anyone, anyone?

13.  December 13 One Magic Christmas.  One word: Classic.  Three words:  Terrible Disney Classic.  And by “terrible”, I mean awesome.

14.  December 14 Babes in Toyland.  Grams has this taped on a VHS, I had been resistant in the past but being away from home and missing your Grammy makes you do weird things.

15.  December 15 The Grinch.  I remember watching this in French, freshman year of high school…so not as funny.

16.  December 16 It Happened on 5^th Avenue.  Again, TCM said it was good.

17.  December 17 Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas.  This might have come out when I was in high school, and I might have watched it on repeat for a week.  I won’t subject you to Twice Upon a Christmas which might have come out when I was in college and I might have watched it on repeat for a month…but feel free to subject yourself.

18.  December 18 A Miracle on 34^th Street (1947)…Poor Kris Kringle.

19.  December 19 Holiday Inn.  Classic, need I say more?

20.  December 20 Home Alone/Home Alone 2.  They have to be watched together.  I look forward to this night.  Don’t concern yourself with 3 and 4 and however many more were made.  They’re just no good without Kevin.

21.  December 21 It’s a Wonderful Life.  It’s inescapable.

22.  December 22 White Christmas.  Love love love me some Bing Crosby.  The scene at the end where they open the barn doors to snow while singing White Christmas gets me every time.  

23.  December 23 How the Grinch Stole Christmas (cartoon)/ A Charlie Brown Christmas.  These get combined because they’re short and I have too many movies on this list.  And the combination of the two is just magical…I blame Grandma’s taped VHS copy that had these back-to-back, I just came to expect them to be together.

24.  December 24 Christmas in Connecticut.  Another TCM classic to curl up to.  Cheesy “Merry Christmas” guffaw at the end is the best part.

25.  December 25 A Christmas Story.  Visions of unwrapping presents under the dim light of my Christmas tree while this movie plays ALL DAY dance in my head.

These movies are not ordered based on how good they are, so don't even try to give me crap for putting Elf after Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas.

Enjoy!  I know I will!  

It's My (Birthday) and I'll Cry if I Want To

My birthday was a week ago and okay, maybe that title is a bit melodramatic.  The only tears shed last week had to with my beloved Lions royally sucking.  After a silence-filled day at school, I admit I was feeling pretty miserable.  But my counterpart brightened things a bit when she showed up unexpectedly with her 3 year old son and a birthday cake.  We had a good chat while gorging on delicious cake. 

I refuse to believe that I'm slowly arriving at the age at which birthdays start to suck.  So next year get ready.  Wherever I happen to be, there will be a bash.

One good thing that actually came out of my birthday was listening to Christmas music!  It's my own personal tradition that all things Christmas are allowed with the arrival of my birthday each year.  Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the first snow usually happens right around my birthday.  Still no snow here!  We had a brief overnight snow shower in October, but nothing since...I'm still not convinced of this miserable winter that's supposed to happen here in the heart of the Carpathians.  Last year, I avoided all things Christmas until a few days before the 25th.  That means music AND movies.  So this year, I was extra anxious for that little bit of Christmas cheer.  Hopefully I don't wear myself out before Christmas gets here!  Check out my next blog post to see just how anxious I am for December to hit :)

Another good thing about my birthday was the arrival of my Kindle a week earlier.  I've had my eye on one of these guys since I landed in Romania and my steady stream of books abruptly ended.  With Amazon releasing their new super cheap version, I just couldn't resist.  It has changed my life.  I'm not saying I'm giving up books forever...there is just something about the feel of a good book in your hand, but it sure has brightened the rest of my days in Romania (228, but who's counting?).  It feels so great to be back to my normal self.  Since the arrival of my Kindle, I have gotten through Jane Eyre (how it took me 24 years to finally read, I don't know), the Hunger Games Trilogy (they will definitely be re-read very soon), the Girl Who Played with Fire (love the series), and a few other bestsellers.  Oh yeah, I'm back.  If you have any good book suggestions, send them my way!  I leave you with a picture of me and my new best friend...which also doubles as a way to show my mother that I actually wear my hair down all of the time here, instead of in a pony tail.

Oh, and a picture of some of the teachers and myself during our Halloween party...and my counterpart's son.

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 :)