6 months down, 19 to go

FYI - THIS POST WAS MADE ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4TH!

So I just ate what you’re seeing here. Ohhh, the food coma is coming on strong right about now, but I’m going to tough it out and give you this long overdue blog update. I’m writing this on the cpu and will cut and paste it when I get home. Yes, I know, it’s been waaay too long since the last post, and I really don’t have a good excuse. So, loyal readers, scuzati-ma va rog.

What we have here is, arguably, the ultimate in Romanian cuisine. Sarmale (the cabbage rolls stuffed with pork and rice), Mamaliga (the yellow corn meal), chifteluta (a sort of meatball), and some pickled tomatoes and cauliflower. Add to that some palinka (the shot glass) and some Tuborg Christmas Beer and you’ve got yourself one hell of a meal. And to top it all off, it was prepared by, in my humble opinion, the number one chef in Romania, Mama Ica.

I believe I left off last time when I was in Codlea. Well, I’m here again and I’ll get you caught up on the past two weeks. Unfortunately, I must begin with some bad news. My camera was stolen at the bus station on my way back to Piatra Neamt. I have no idea how it happened and I didn’t feel a thing. It was only about three minutes from the time I got out of Victor’s car to the time I entered the bus. Unbelievable. These thieves here are very good at what they do. However, it was my fault. I was in a hurry, and wasn’t paying attention to what was going on around me. That made me an automatic mark. I had the camera bag attached to my backpack and thus it was out of my sight. After about 2 hours on the bus, I moved my backpack and noticed that my camera bag was open. They unzipped the bag and took the camera without me noticing. I still can’t believe it happened and am in awe of their skill. So, I learned my lesson and bought a new camera. Asta e viata (that’s life). Although it’s nowhere near the quality of my old one, it will do the job.

Thanksgiving came and went. I decided not to travel, as I had been “on the road” the past 3 weeks. Gabby and I made dinner on T-giving, drank some wine and watched a DVD (thanks Roz). It was low-key and ok. I spent the remainder of the weekend catching up on schoolwork and talking to people on Skype. My six month anniversary here came and went as well. Hard to believe.

The teachers’ strike finally ended here in Romania last week. I think that I was the only volunteer that didn’t have at least one day off due to the strike. I’ll find out for sure this week when I go to Sibiu for the In Service Training Conference. I think the teachers got an 11 or 12 percent salary increase and got paid for the time they were striking. The bad thing, at least for volunteers, is that the schools have to find a way to make up for lost time. I think some people are either going to be working longer hours during the week or will be working on Saturdays (ouch). In retrospect, I lucked out because my program was not disrupted and my colleagues at least got something out of the deal. However, settlement is only temporary at best. Romania’s education system is in serious need of reform in all areas and I can’t imagine that things are going to get better any time soon. Sorry for the gloomy outlook, but it’s going to take a couple of generations to rid this system of its old commie ways. All theory and no practice makes for an unproductive workforce. Trust me. Even my students know this. They’re fed up with the system.

Last Wednesday, I went to a Rotary event in Piatra. They put on a benefit concert to raise money for a music school for kids in some village in Neamt county. The performers were all kids and they put on a great show. The solo piano performances were particularly good, as these kids exhibited great skill. Classical, Jazz, some ragtime, it was excellent. I went with a couple of my students so they could introduce me to the head of Rotary in Piatra Neamt. I’m going to try to start a Rotary Interact club at school. It’s a good way to get the students involved in volunteer projects and hopefully give some of them an opportunity to apply for scholarships. Many of them want to go to university in the States. We’ll see what happens. Thanks to Sarah’s dad, David, for giving me the idea.

Ica and Victor finished remodeling the front bedroom before I arrived last Thursday. They put in a beautiful fireplace and parquet floor. Ica really wanted to get the room finished before Sarah comes. I really appreciate that. We’re all going to have a great time. It’s so nice to sit in the room and relax and read with a nice fire going. Good stuff. Thanks to their daughter Delia for making it all possible.

I’ve got three days of school this week and will head to Sibiu on Thursday morning. I’m estimating a 7 hour bus ride (depending on the weather). I’ll be in Sibiu for a week with my fellow Group 20ers and we’ll have language and technical training seminars all week. I’m sure there will be plenty of partying going on, as this will be a reunion of sorts. It will be four months since we were all together the last time. I’m really looking forward to seeing everybody, including the staff and language teachers. Sibiu is an old Saxon city with a heavy German influence and will be the cultural capital of Europe in 2007. It will also be the EU administrative center once Romania accedes in a couple of years. I’ve always wanted to visit this city and should have ample opportunity to check it out.

After Sibiu I’ll travel to Codlea for the weekend on my way back to Piatra. Then, four days of school and back to Codlea for Christmas! I’ll be sure to document my Romanian Christmas thoroughly for the benefit of you loyal blog readers, ok? So, that’s the agenda as of right now. I hope that this blog post finds you all in good health and spirits. I also hope that you are all looking forward to Christmas as much as I am. Until next time, Sanatate si Numai Bine.

Scott

Blue Arrow?

This post's photo was taken waaay back in early August on the front steps of Scoala General Nr. 3 in good 'ol Codlea. These are the people, along with our language teachers, that I lived with in Codlea this summer. Many of them are good friends of mine. As it happens, I was fortunate enough to see a few of them this past weekend. Let's get to that now shall we?

I woke up at 5:00 am on Saturday to catch a train to Focsani,.......ok, I started this post last night but was too tired to finish. Tonight, I have no time. Tomorrow I'm going to Codlea directly after class, so I'll have no time tomorrow. I will go to the internet cafe in Codlea on Friday and continue. Just wanted to let all you loyal readers that I'm still bloggin'. So, until Friday then, ok? Bye.

It's a snowy Saturday here in Codlea and I'm a day late. I didn't feel very well yesterday. Around 2pm I felt very fatigued and had some nausea. Ica came home from work and, of course, she was very worried. I had a feeling that I was just overtired, but she wasn't taking any chances. She proceeded to: take my blood pressure, take my pulse, rub vinegar all over my hands and forehead (a bit of traditional medicine I guess), place a cold compress on my head and give me mint tea with lemon. After about a 3 hour nap I was ok. We then drove through the snow in the Dacia for a trip to Metro and I was able to buy some sweaters and a scarf. It's starting to get really cold here in Romania, especially since I'm always in a mountainous zone.

So, let's go back in time a bit. As I said before, I went to Focsani last weekend. My friend Jonathon was hosting a birthday get together for another volunteer. His name is Bridger and he also lives in Moldavia in a city called Onesti. You may be wondering at this point what a Blue Arrow is, right? Well, that's the name of the train I took. Romania unveiled these brand new trains this summer and they are the pride of the CFR (Romanian rail system). They were manufactured by Siemens (Germany) this year and are very different from the rest of the fleet, as everything else is a communist era relic. Modern, clean, but not very fast (as the name might lead you to believe). I think this has less to do with the train itself and more to do with the tracks and system as a whole. I'll explain.

I was about an hour late going to Focsani and three hours late going home. Moldavia experienced massive flooding this summer, and, as a result, the tracks are still really messed up. What is frustrating is that CFR won't update their train schedules to account for the delays. They've known that these trains have been running behind schedule for months now, but do nothing to accomodate passengers. That's that good 'ol Romanian customer service for 'ya. As Jonathon and I froze our asses off on the platform last Sunday, an update for the Blue Arrow to Bucharest was announced over the PA system. About a hundred people let out a collective groan after they were told the train would be an hour late. I'm sure there was some cursing as well, but my Romanian is not that polished yet. Maybe next year I'll understand all of the dirty words....

The party in Focsani was really fun. There were about ten of us packed into Jonathon's apartment. We watched a lot of DVD's, drank many litres of homemade white wine (less than a dollar a litre) and caught up on each other's lives. It's really interesting how people can feel so close to one another in a situation like this. In the grand scheme of things we hardly know each other, but many of us have formed a bond and have become fast friends. I guess this experience naturally brings people together. I think that I've made some friendships that will last for a long time. Anyway, Jonathon and I cooked (for 10), everyone had his/her fair share of wine, and we all parted ways on Sunday.

I had mixed results at school this week. Wednesday was good, as I was able to have my first session of "office hours". Florin gave me the keys to the "Modern Languages Lab" (which is simply a nicer classroom for the kids with advanced foreign language abilities. It has a proper heater as well) and I met with four students. I'm writing a letter of recommendation for a girl who wants to attend university in the US and I'm helping three other students prepare for an oral English exam. The conversation I had with the three students was excellent. They are very sophisticated and well-informed for their age and the topics we covered were wide-ranging and complex. The fact that they can have such conversations in English is even more impressive. There's no way I could have such a conversation with three 17 year-old American students. These kids have a thirst for knowledge and information and are willing to work very hard to improve their situation in life. They're hungry and are determined to make something of themselves. Not surprisingly, they're all female. No offense, but males here are a bit lazy and complacent. I hate to stereotype, but that's just my opinion. Girls make better students anyway.

Thursday's bus ride was interesting. The driver decided to blast "Musica Popular" the whole way down to Brasov. It was as if he was piping the Favorit and Etno channels through his PA system, and loud. So much for chilling out with my headphones. Ahhhhhh! For my fellow PCVs, you know what I'm talking about. For everybody else, you'd have to experience this yourself to understand. Luckily, I took a little video (with audio) on the bus, so all you people back home will get a taste when I come back.

Jonathon is here with his lady friend from Sibiu and I think that they're going to come over tonight for dinner. They're staying with Jonathon's gazda here in Codlea. We're gonna eat some Mici and drink some Palinka from Zalau. Palinka is a stronger version of Tuica. Apparently, the best Palinka comes from Zalau, so we've got the good stuff. I had one last night and I enjoyed it. Dangerous though, because it has a lot more alcohol than Tuica and goes down smoother. Limit 2 shots.

I was able to stroll around a bit today and take some pics of Codlea. The snowmakes for some picturesque conditions and I will be sure to post a pic when I get back to Piatra. There's a great soccer game on tonight, Real Madrid vs. Barcelona. Victor and I are pumped. These are two of the best teams in the world and our man Ronaldinho will be in action. Go Barcelona! I'll catch the 3:30 bus tomorrow afternoon. I hope that the weather conditions won't impede my journey. The last thing I want is to get in really late tomorrow evening, as I've got 5 classes in a row on Monday. Well, that's about it for now. I'm actually enjoying the snow because it made me realize how close Christmas is. It also means that Sarah will be here soon! Until next time, Numai Bine.

Greva

First, you may be wondering what a "greva" is? It means strike, as in labor strike. We'll get to that in a moment. Let's talk about the photo, shall we?

Codlea: I was sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast a couple of weeks ago and the doorbell rang. Ica went to answer. I heard "clip-clop, clip-clop", turned to look out the window and saw a horse's head! Of course I immediately went outside and you're now seeing what I saw. Firewood delivery, Romania style. The car is Joel's rental, and Ica is in the foreground. Tavica the dog is with us here as well and, if you look really closely or click to blow up the pic, you'll see that one of the horseys left us a "present". The firewood delivery guys were really nice and Ica treated them to a round of coffee and, that's right folks, Tuica. Nothing like a little plum brandy to get the blood pumping for a hard days' work of wood delivery on the 'ol carutza.

They unloaded all of the trees and Victor then proceeded to chainsaw and chop the hell out of them. The garage was filled with chopped wood for the winter when I went back last weekend. He wields a mean axe. Fuel for the "soba" or wood-burning stove is very important for many Romanians. Gas is expensive and the soba, if built well, is very efficient and will keep a room warm for many hours. It's nice to walk the streets of Codlea on a cold, crisp day and smell the wood smoke coming from the chimneys.

Anyway, back to the Greva. As of this writing, approximately 85% of the public schools in Romania are on strike. However, Hogas is not. We do not have a union representative and are thus not on strike. We are one of only two schools in Neamt County that is not on strike. We made the news. People are not happy. Students, of course, are not happy, but for obviously different reasons (some of them "went on strike" after watching the Monday morning news). Many of the TEFL volunteers are not working right now and nobody knows when all of this will end. Let's hope that President Basescu helps out and gives these people a raise. Union reps are meeting with him in Bucharest this week.

I understand fully why these teachers are on strike. Their salaries are paltry (a colleague of mine, 29 years old, makes the equivalent of about $175 a month), they have to buy their own books, and the system is generally a mess. There was a revolution in Romania, but not in the schools. The system is antiquated, top-heavy and still has one foot stuck in the past. Unfortunately, the kids know this too and the resulting apathy and malaise can be challenging to overcome for a teacher, especially when he/she has to live paycheck to paycheck. Some of my colleagues are upset because they may reap the benefits that may be gained as a result of the sacrifices of the striking teachers, who are not being paid right now. Difficult situation all around.

So, that's the current state of affairs. I'll be heading to a city called Focsani on Saturday to hook up with some fellow group 20 PCVs. There's a birthday to celebrate and apparently some good, cheap wine to drink (Moldavia is known for its wine). It'll be about a 2 hour and 45 minute train ride south. I'll arrive at about 11:30am and leave around 4:30pm on Sunday. That should put me back in Piatra Neamt at about 7:15. Tomorrow and Friday will be devoted to ironing, lesson planning, homework grading and hopefully some reading and DVD watching (thanks again Roz and Joel!). Pa (bye)!

Scott (reporting from the Greva-free zone at Hogas High)

Cold Feet

Words of wisdom for those traveling by bus this time of year in Romania...bring warm socks. I hopped on the bus yesterday at the autogara in Piatra around 1pm for the trip to Brasov. Normally, one would think that if air blows from the floor it would be warm air, right? Also, one would also assume that if the bus was incapable of providing its passengers with heat, there would be no blowing of air at all, just closed vents, right? Wrong folks. This is Romania and the curent can come at you just when you least expect it. "Moldotours" from Targu Neamt provided me with a constant stream of cold air up my left pant leg for 6 hours last night. I can bet you that this bus was running long before Nadia Comaneci won the gold medal in '76. Thank you Moldotours! Luckily, the bus that I will take back to Piatra on Sunday is a lot newer, is quite nice and has heat. Ironically, this company, Patru Trans Plus, charges 100,000 lei less than Transmoldavia for the trip. I don't get it. Really, I don't.

So, I'm back in Codlea for the weekend. Ica and I are going to make a batch of zacusca and I hope to write down some more recipies as well. I made a Romanian omelette this morning with ardei (light green peppers), ciuperci (mushrooms) and fresh telemea cheese. Toast with homemade boysenberry jam was scarfed down as well. Yum. I hope that there will be some mici in my future as well. I'm going to try to get some school work done today and hope to just read and relax for the rest of my time here. I'm not sure if I'll be able to come back again this month, as Ica and Victor will be having a soba (wood burning fireplace/heater) installed in my bedroom. They are also putting in a parquet floor. This should take at least two weeks. Also, Ica will be in Paris the following week with her daughter Delia. So, I might just have to wait until December 1, as I'll have a long weekend due to a holiday.

That's about it for now. La revedere.