Day 9

Going back to work this morning was tough. I can't seem to get enough sleep; there's always so much to do! We got back from our weekend trip around 8:30, had dinner, then I Skyped Dennis and Gus, washed whites from the weekend and hung them up to dry, cleaned up, downloaded a few pictures, and called it a night. It's amazing how much you can miss simple conveniences like a washer and dryer. I have to handwash my clothes, wring them out, hang them so they'll drip in the bathtub, and every time Terri or I want to take a bath, I have to move my line of wet clothing. As you drive through small towns and big towns in Romania, you see clothes lines filled with people's laundry hanging from lines secured to apartment balconies, draped across porches, or blowing in the wind in yards.

Today one of our students, Paola, presented her movie. It was beautifully done and it captured her personality and spirit to a tee. She even shared some of her art, which is just incredible. I won't post it to protect her privacy, but I copied to my flash drive and she gave me permission to show it to my kids at school. What a treasure! I also got a book about Barlad and the surrounding county from one of our students, Anna, whose father is in charge of the local art council. The pictures are incredible, and most of the information is in three languages: English, French, and Romanian.

We talked about the Roma people today and students' perception of the gypsies. We encountered some gypsies on our travels as well as in Barlad, so we were interested to hear what our students would say about them. Most of our students disliked them, calling them lazy thieves. A few of our students had gypsy friends, though their friends didn't quite live the way their parents and grandparents did. They had become assimilated into Romanian society, attended school, and didn't try to stand out from the average Romanian student. We talked about racism and prejudice in the US and Romania, and we came to the conclusion that as long as there are human differences, there will probably always be these negative stereotypes. Later my students read a poem about the Internet and we talked about what a dominant role the internet plays in all of our lives. The poem was very positive, so we discussed the negative aspects of the Internet and most students agreed that playing video games and chatting for hours wasn't the best use of their time. Then Oana gave us a preview of her presentation for tomorrow. I'm still amazed that students volunteered to make videos of their lives; I've never had an American student volunteer for work! Trent's group took him to the supermarket so he could buy peanut butter and other necessities to get him through the week. Interestingly enough, it's really hard to find peanut butter here. It just hasn't caught on because it isn't widely available, but we've been sharing what others brought, especially at breakfast. Some meals here just aren't very filling. It seems to be feast or famine--nothing in between.

This afternoon I'm updating my blog, and if I have time, I'll start making a movie. I'm going over at 5:30 to feed the babies. I don't have to wear a mask at last, so I won't have to worry about little hands trying to pull it off my face or struggling to see the baby I'm holding. Five team members left this weekend, so we're down to 13. Next weekend, 4 more will leave, and 2 don't go to the clinic at all. That leaves 7 people to do the work 17 did. I'll let you know how that works out!

Weekend in Transylvania

Views from my room at the Vila Bran

Trent, Trevor, and I: the three Musketeers or the three Stooges?

Right now I'm sitting at a table upstairs in the restaurant at Vila Bran. It's pouring down rain outside (I sure wish we were getting this rain at home!) so everyone has come in from the patios to have drinks and appetizers. It's a beautiful place. It's like stepping into the movie The Sound of Music. I'll upload pictures soon; I brought my camera with me but forgot the cord, and there's no way I'm walking out into the rain to get it!

We arrived at the Vila Bran last night around 8:00, checked in, had dinner, and enjoyed a terrific night's sleep on hard beds with soft pillows. I do miss my sheets! Here instead of a sheet you get something like a duvet, which is a little too warm to sleep under (no ac here; we have ac in Tutova, but I think it cuts off sometime around midnight and doesn't cut back on until about 5:00 in the morning). We're in the Carpathians, so the air is cool and crisp in the mornings and evenings. It gets hot during the day, and the sun seems to burn more brightly here. Sunscreen doesn't seem to help much.

We visited the Black Church, which got its name from a fire that nearly destroyed it and blackened its walls. It is filled with priceless oriental rugs; merchants gave them to the church as an offering thanking God for safe passage to and from the Orient. It is a Lutheran church, and the back of the pew can be moved so the congregation can either sit facing the alter or facing the most incredible organ I've ever seen. It's also filled with beautiful paintings that were donated to the church by wealthy congregants over the years. No pictures can be taken inside to preserve the building, but I took a some video of the outside from far away. The church is enormous, impressive, and the sense of history and tradition pervades it.

We can see Bran Castle from where we're staying!

After shopping and lunch in Brasov, we headed back to Bran to visit Bran Castle. Dracula (Vlad the Impaler) never actually lived there; supposedly he spent a few nights imprisoned there. Queen Marie was the last to live there; she redesigned it in the 1920s and she gave the castle to the Romanian people at her death. I asked our guide about the crumbling foundation; he said that all the money from tourism goes to pay the people who work there and that there is no money for foundation repair. Will the castle crumble? Perhaps it will one day, especially since there are earthquakes here (but few big ones). I was surprised at what a tourist attraction it is (why, I don't know). The castle itself was packed, as were the stalls that lined the streets around it. It reminded me of shopping in Playa Del Carmen. A lot of useless, cheap trinkets and few real treasures, but fun to browse. We brought this incredible sweet bread there. The dough is twisted around a long wooden spindle and the spindle is rotated over a hot fire and I'm pretty sure it's basted with butter and sugar while it's being cooked. They pull it off the spindle and serve it hot. I need to ask someone what it is called again; it was absolutely delicious. Of course, one spindle can feed 8 people, I think!

The courtyard at Peles Castle; Below, Lila and I are standing by the foreign tourists sign. Tours are conducted in English, French, and Romanian.

Peles Castle was the summer home of King Carol and his wife, Queen Elizabeth. The first and second floors can be toured, but our group only toured this first floor. Like Bran Castle, Peles Castle was packed with Romanian and foreign tourists. To me, it's not really a castle--it looks more like an English manor. But it is beautiful, filled with hand-crafted German mahogany furniture, chandeliers decorated with Morano glass, huge priceless mirrors, and King Carol's vast collection of armor. There is even a full suit of armor for horse and rider. I didn't take pictures inside because you had to pay a fee (I was running out of lei by then) but also because we were taking the tour with such a large group of people and I didn't think I would have much of an opportunity to take good pictures. Also, it is very dark in there. This is the first modernized "castle" complete with electricity, lights, steam heat and an elevator. The dining room was especially beautiful; the mahogany table seats 18 and it set with that beautiful hand-painted blue and white German china. There is even a theater with "stadium seating;" of course, their theater performances would have been live.

We walked around Sibiu after the tour while some of our group members rode the cable car down the mountain. I chose not to do that, and I'm glad I didn't. I was afraid that my fear of tight, confined spaces and my fear of heights would make this an unpleasant experience, and those who went confirmed that those were the conditions. The cars were packed with tourists and they swayed in the wind, so I'm glad I kept both feet on the ground.

The ten hour drive has taken a toll on my body, though. Many of the roads we've traveled have been quite good, but a few stretches of road were terrible. It didn't help that we had a crazy driver. Halim has no fear. He is the typical Romanian driver--he constantly takes risks. If he's not passing or driving excessively fast and honking through small towns, he's not happy. And if a Russian truck happens to be in front of us? He won't rest until he's left it in the dust. I had to sit in the back of the bus on the way home, and there were a few times I thought I'd lose my lunch. Several times I bounced high out of my seat--the shocks were shot. But we made it back to Tutova in one piece, tired but thrilled to have seen the medieval, magical countryside of Transylvania.

Pictures of Barlad

Communist-era apartment buildings; the city is filled with them, and our sponsor lives in one of them with her husband, mother, and daughter. As Mihaela was giving us the city tour we were fortunate enough to watch a group of girls at the elementary school rehearsing for a performance that we would catch part of the next day. They were at the homecoming ceremony welcoming back the Romanian troops returning from Iraq. Their sponsor actually motioned for us to come in and have a seat, but we stayed at the gate and clapped when they were done. We watched all three of their performances. What a treat!

The first picture on the left is a building that has been restored to its pre-Communist era glory. Mihaela said that it is an example of the architecture of the city before Ceausescu era. There is a beautiful park in the city center; this is the entrance. Statues on tall pedastals abound. They're in front of every school and at the entrances to the parks.

Day 6

Today we didn't have many students. Our older students were taking the train into Iasi to go to the mall and to spend time with their friends. I think it's about two hours away. Anna and Andrea came to the museum with us before they went to train station, which was nice. Anna is hilarious; she's always finding something funny to say. We went to an exhibit of Marcel Guguianu's drawings and scuplture. He tends to like the unclothed female form. Many of his sculptures in marble and bronze capture the sense of motion and contortion. He actually went to Codrineau High School and has an apartment above the museum. Mihaela said that some days he comes down into the museum and talks to people, but we didn't see him. Later we played a few games, and I had to help Andrei with a few word suggestions for Scrabble, so he told me that he owes me one (or two, or three). I told him he owes me a paper, which, believe it or not, he smiled at and said okay. They're the most incredible young people I've ever had the pleasure to work with. They're very polite, respectful, and agreeable. They are used to being passive learners, though. I asked one of the eleventh graders, Gheorghe, about how his classes are conducted. The standard format is teacher lecture. I told him about how we try to vary activities and use cooperative groups, and I could tell he didn't really understand the concept. It will be interesting when I have them try working in small groups. They may end up liking it.

Tonight we're going back into Barlad for dinner and to pay for our trip to Transylvania. Hopefully we'll have a little time to pop into some shops. From what I've seen, the shops seem to be small and the merchandise limited. There are so many things that students can't get here or can't afford. Shipping costs are very high, too, so they can't order from the Internet like we can. I showed the students my Flip Video Camera, which only cost about $50 at Walmart. Such items are not available here, they tell me, and if they were, they would be quite expensive. Gheorge uses freeware instead of buying Microsoft Office products because he can't afford it. He bought his computer without anything on it and has installed everything from free Internet downloads. It will be interesting to learn more about the realities of life in Romania in the days to come.

Wednesday Evening at the Clinic

Every evening volunteers go back over to the clinic in two shifts; from 5:30 to 6:30, one group feeds the babies. From 7:30 to 8:30, the next group plays with the babies and puts them back in their cribs. I thought the later shift would be easier because I've tried to feed a toddler her cereal without much success. She just wasn't very interested in her food. Mihaela had left her purse in the room, and several of the girls were very interested in chewing on its straps. Once Mihaela pulled out her sunglasses, that was it. Maistra had to have them (she tore then apart, unfortunately). Anyway, I found putting the babies in bed last night was even harder. The wailing! The tears! The unhappiness! I wish I could have smuggled Ion out in my red Fund for Teachers bag and brought him back to the hotel. Above are pictures of me and Ion and my buddy, Trent, with Ion and Cristi. We have to wear masks the first week we interact with the babies because a British team got babies in an orphanage in northern Romania sick. It makes it hard to see the babies, and they're always reaching to try to pull them off.

Day 4

Some of our older students are pictured above: Alix, Teo, Paol, Paola, and Maria.

Today we went on a field trip to the zoo, and another volunteer, Trevor, joined us for the first time. Trevor is nineteen and just finished his first year of college. Did the kids love him? Of course! He rode the bus with two students, Paol and Paola, because Mihaela’s car only has room for four of us. Starting tomorrow he’ll ride the bus and Mihaela will pick him up at the bus station after she drops us off. We have some new students who are going to be freshmen this year. Most of them are very shy and hesitant about speaking English. The difference between their ability levels and that of the high school juniors is amazing. I discuss politics and analyze poetry with the juniors; with the incoming freshman, for the most part, we point to clothing, name it, and have the girls repeat the name. It is definitely challenging working with such different skill levels!
I had a great time walking with Maria, Andrei, and C0smin. They read the names of the animals to me in English and told me where they were from, how fast they move, and something they found interesting about the animal.

The zoo has a very limited selection of animals; an American alligator is their latest acquisition, and he’s a little guy who seems unhappy about having a bunch of eyes on him. Instead of trying to mimic the animals’ natural habits (they can’t afford to do that, of course), the animals are in simple, rather dirty and smelly cages. The students told me that they aren’t well taken care of, and I could see that clearly.

The most painful part of this for me was seeing the caged dogs. Yes, caged dogs—dalmations, Siberian huskies, and some that I couldn’t recognize what they were (no sign). Their cages were especially dirty and they looked so sad. Several of them paced unhappily and barked piteously; the dalmation stared at us with sad eyes and wagged her tale, longing for a pet on the head. My heart ached for them.

I had some interesting conversations with students on the way to the zoo. We passed a military flag ceremony; George said some Romanian troops were home from Iraq and that this was a celebration of that. I didn’t take a picture because I didn’t think it would be appreciated; no one else had a camera out. Also I had been told not to take pictures of the police, and there were some there, so I kept the camera in my bag. George said that the Romanian troops, poorly equipped, were given the most dangerous assignments because their commanders thought it would bring honor to their country and elevate their status in the EU. He said that American commanders didn’t object and took the safer duties. I didn’t agree, of course, and asked for evidence that he couldn’t produce. George is our sci fi, computer programming, conspiracy theory guy; he has an incredible command of English, and he likes to talk! We also talked about how hard the transition from Communism to capitalism has been, how corrupt the democratic governments have been since, and I had to tell him that our government is also self-serving and doesn’t have the best interest of the American people at heart in my opinion. He said that many of the older generations would prefer to return to Communism because at least they would be guaranteed jobs. It has been very hard on them, but it is even harder on the young people, I think, because they see what life could be like via the internet and they want that life. Anna and Andreia want to go to New York so they can shop; Alix wants to go to school in California. His father wants him to become a doctor; he wants to be an artist. Their stories aren’t really that different from those of our students, but the quality of their lives is vastly different. They have little, but they work hard, they spend their precious time this summer improving their English, and they hope they can go to California next summer for three weeks through an exchange program. They think America is beautiful; I do, too. Opportunities abound, the quality of life is excellent, products are abundant and relatively inexpensive, and life is good. I wish I could bring them home with me!

I'm writing this while I sit at a table on the patio in front of the Pensinea Raluca, shaded by an umbrella, enjoying the cool breeze and the shade, and watching cars and horse-drawn carts go by. I'm definitely experiencing things that a tourist would never experience. In fact, a woman walking by just waved at me and said hello. Pretty neat. It's amazing to get the sense that you're part of a community; this isn't a feeling you get on a vacation, that's for sure!

Day 3

I had the classes of my dreams today at Codreanu High School. Trent and I taught the first session together, then I took a group of three out of the large group to work with the second session. I found a poem by a Texas poet, Beverly Caldwell, called "And Every Town Its Dairy Queen." In the poem, she describes a group of old farmers coming to the Dairy Queen for a cup of coffee after a hard day's work. I loved the poem because I will never forget Sundays at Roger's Malt Shop and family vacations to New Braunfels, when even our dog got her own ice cream cone at Dairy Queen. The kids did a fabulous job analyzing the poem with me, and they asked to create their own slideshow to show us who they are, what they love about their town, and what's important to them. They're even going to let me bring them home with me! One of my girls, Maria, who is here visiting her grandmother, doesn't have access to digital pictures, but she's going to paint something that she feels represents herself--and yes, I get to bring it home! How great is that! (I was thankful to learn that she didn't read Les Miserables in French; she knows German, not French, but if she did, I know she'd read it in the original language!)

These students are incredibly bright and intrinsically motivated. I asked them why they were coming to the class instead of enjoying their time off from school, and Oana said she wanted to better herself. They're surprised by the lack of interest many Americans show in school (they've heard plenty from the former volunteers; I hardly needed to confirm it). To them, getting educated and doing well in school is important. Most of them want to leave Barlad, work in other countries, especially the United States, and some of them don't want to come home again. There's such an vast generational difference; grandmothers wearing scarves on their heads and long skirts, young girls wearing even scantier clothing than our young people do back home. It saddens me that most of the kids want to leave (Raluca doesn't; she wants to work in Bucharest and visit her family regularly). They have so much to contribute, but no motivation to stay her and contribute. I wonder what will happen in the future.

I learned that August is the time of year that Romanians working in Italy come home for the month (apparently work comes to stop in August) and that just about every family in Romania has a number of relatives working there. I know why going through the Rome airport was such a bad choice now! Live and learn, I suppose. I guess I can say that while I waited to board the bus to the plane that I was already immersed in Romanian culture!

Tomorrow we go to the zoo; I can't wait!

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a supermarket to buy water; I made my first purchase in Romania, a six pack of bottled orange juice for $11 lei (about $3.50 American). We also stopped by Mihaela's apartment so she could pick up a cell phone. We didn't go in, but she brought out a chicken and vegetable meatball for each of us. Her mother had just made them. Absolutely delicious! And the best part? The teachers will get to go to her apartment one day for lunch for more! What a treat!