End of the Semester

That's me in front of good 'ol Hogas High. The snow's been melting this week, but I'm sure that it will return with a vengence one of these (soon to be) February days. I never thought that 3 degrees celcius would be so balmy. I actually walked around comfortably today without my polartec scarf.

A couple of milestones to mention: Last week was my 8 month anniversary in Romania. I'm about 1/3 done with my service now. Semester one ends this Friday, finally.

As I think I mentioned before, I've got a week break and then it's back to school. I'm going to head to Codlea for the break, as I haven't seen my Mama and Tata for almost a month now. That's much too long. However, I do think that spending all of this uninterrupted time at site has allowed me to adjust to my situation here a bit more. I've also solidified some relationships with my colleagues Oana and Brandusa and their husbands Radu and Ovidiu. The four of us have been hanging out quite a bit, making dinners, having drinks and watching movies. We're all approximately the same age, so it's nice to have people around that you can relate to.

I'm trying to get a project going with Ovidiu at his high school. He's a German and History teacher at the economics high school here in Piatra and has a history club. We thought that we'd do something called "History Nights" one a week for 2-3 hours. I brought 2 sets of DVD lectures with me, complete with outlines. These are complete college courses, one being the History of the United States, while the other is called "Interpreting the 20th Century: The Struggle Over Democracy". The lectures are given by some of the top academics in their fields and should prove to be a valuable resource to all of us. I hope that we can have discussion periods after we watch the lectures. This is an opportunity for interested students to take advantage of U.S. college level instruction at no cost. Brilliant! I'm sure Ovidiu and I will learn a lot as well. We're going to hook up my laptop to a projector and let it rip. I'm pretty excited about this.

What else is going on with me? Not much really. I've been getting my fair share of soccer lately as the Africa Cup of Nations has been on TV for the past week and a half. I do enjoy it. The Romanian season should be starting up soon. Piatra Neamt's team. F.C. Ceahlaul, is the top team in the B division and may get promooted to A next season. This means that the top teams will come to town, which will be cool, even though Ceahlaul will take some massive beatings. I hope that Victor and I can take a train down to Bucharest sometime in the spring and catch a Rapid game. That's our team and the stadium is near the train station. I think that we could go to a game and come home in the same day. Ahhh, c'mon spring!

So I guess I close now. I've got plenty of planning to do while in Codlea this weekend. I've got a whole new semester to prepare for. Oh yeah, my birthday's coming up soon as well.....hint, hint. Anyone need my address? Ha!

Scott

I'm Cold

But not as cold as I was in this photo. Sarah took this pic when we were in Piatra Neamt and my heat was turned off during winter break for school. We both slept in long underwear and winter hats. Sarah even wore a hooded sweatshirt to bed; with the hood over her hat. It's a lot warmer in the apartment these days, but those two electric heaters you see in the photo still get quite a workout.

It's a snowy, blustery gray Sunday here in Piatra Neamt and I'm gearing up for teaching in the cold tomorrow. Last week they told me that I had to leave my classroom for two weeks (probably more like two months) because a 12th grade class was too cold in their room. Of course, the room they moved me to is an icebox. Now, I'm not saying that my original room was a sauna or anything (I still have to wear a coat in there), but this room is ridiculous. I wear a hat, scarf and coat when I teach now and the desks are cold to the touch. What to do? Not a damn thing except wait for it to warm up. I have zero confidence that the 12th grade class will be out of my room in two weeks. The heating system work that was started in October was supposed to be done "in two weeks" two months ago. There's a word in Romania, "imediat", which is kind of like "soon come" in Jamaica, which means whatever it is that you're waiting for could come shortly, take awhile, or not come at all. Cool.

I'd like to lodge another school-related complaint if I may. I got roped into being a "judge" for the English Olympiad last week. Select kids from 7th through 12th grade took exams and the best will move on to regional competition. I was pegged to grade the 8th grade exam. I did my best to be as objective as possible, but apparently this wasn't good enough. The grades were "too low" and needed to be "adjusted" because we need to "send more kids" to the competition. So, I had to "massage" some grades at the request of the English department head. Nevermind that only 3 of them were any good. And this was after they told me that I should grade hard because they wanted to "only send the best". Was I lost in translation? It sounded like English to me. Whatever. I'm not getting involved in this again. I do not agree with their methodology. One good thing, I guess, is that the judging is blind and they won't know who is who until the seal that contains the name is broken.

I've been recovering from my Sarah hangover since the last post. I'll never get over it really, but things are pretty much back to normal in terms of my mental state. I took me a few days to get re-adjusted to school after being away from the classroom for over a month, but everything is pretty much par for the course right now; except for that icebox, I mean classroom, that I'm teaching in at the moment. We've got two weeks of class left before the end of semester one and then a week break. I'll head to Codlea for the break and then resume classes on February 13th, at which point it will only be four months until school ends for the year and I get to come back home for vacation. How do I push the fast-forward button?

I have two interesting and exciting things to report for the new year. First, Skype has come out with a new version of their software that allows users with webcams to see each other while they talk. I was lucky enough to receive a webcam for Christmas from Sarah's family (thanks again David and Barbara) and am now the beneficiary of this outstanding new technology. Sarah, her brother and her parents have webcams as well and it's such a pleasure to see everyone during conversations. I even convinced my Dad to buy a webcam as well, but am still waiting to see if he can get it to work. If he can't, there's always his young friend A.J. that helps him out with computer issues. Many thanks to A.J.! Let's just say that my Dad, bless his heart, is "technologically challenged". However, he's making an effort and I appreciate that. Much love to you Pops.

Secondly, I have begun the slow process of getting involved in a secondary project here in Piatra Neamt. My site mate, Gabby, is working in a new office created by city hall to assist with E.U. integration and sustainable economic development. Such work is very intriguing to me and I hope that I can contribute. I'd like to work with Gabby in the tourism sector and get some kids from school involved as well. Part of me wishes that I could do work like this full time, but alas, that is not what I signed up for way back when. I'll make sure to keep you all updated as things progress (hopefully).

What's on tap for next semester? Well, George Orwell is coming to Hogas High (or has he already been here....). 10th grade is going to be reading Animal Farm and 11th grade will sink their teeth into one of my personal favorites, 1984. I think that these are two very important books for these kids to read given the fact that they live in a former communist state. It will be very interesting to see what they think of these books and if they can offer any unique insight. 12th grade will read articles and participate in a discussion forum that I am calling "Issues 2006". I haven't actually decided what these specific issues will be yet, but I have a general idea. British Geography and History will become American Geography and History (YESSSS!) and God knows what 9th grade English will be doing. Maybe some grammar games? A newspaper project? I haven't decided quite yet. There's still time yet.

That's about it for now. Gabby and I are going to have pizza tonight with our friend Dragos and show him some episodes of Chappelle's Show. I can't wait to hear what a Romanian has to say about the show. I'll close with a comment for all of you Chappelle fans, "I'M RICH BITCH"!

Waiting for 0 celcius,

Scott

Hello, Goodbye

Well, she came and she went and what a time it was. That's a photo of us at "Dracula's Castle" in Bran, which was a lot of fun because we were able to spend the day with Ica and Victor. It's really hard to find the words to describe Sarah's visit. It was a wonderful and emotional time for the both of us, as we experienced bouts of bliss, sadness and all that comes in between. We had to say goodbye again yesterday, but, once again, it's only temporary. God this is hard. We're going to press on though. We've made it through the longest and toughest period of this experience, so I think that all of this will become easier to deal with in the coming months. However, as you can imagine, I'm bummin' a bit right now. Sarah withdrawal.

My last post was made just before Christmas. Still recovering from that nasty virus or whatever the hell it was (I was running 103-104 temps and had massive diahhrea for four days), I left Piatra at 6am on Christmas Eve. Papa Florin was kind enough to arrange for someone to drive me to Codlea, as the bus probably wouldn't have been a good idea given my health at the time. So a guy named George showed up in a brand new Nissan SUV (sweet), picked me up, and we drove for 5 hours through the snow and sleet to Codlea. I was so relieved to arrive there after being concerned all week that I wouldn't make it for Christmas.

Although I still wasn't feeling very well, Christmas Eve was really great because I got to play Mos Craicun (Santa Claus) and gave Ica and Victor all of their presents from my Dad, Mindy and me. Victor got a Hawaiian shirt with beer on it and an Arizona Diamondbacks hat from my Dad and Mindy and a new power saw from me. Needless to say, he was pumped. Excitedly, he plugged in his saw right there in the living room and let it rip! Why wait to take into the garage, right? Ica received a set of decorative signs for her kitchen and a "Christmas Cactus Cowboy" that sings "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" from Dad and Mindy. I bought her a case and speakers for her laptop (her daughter Delia gave Ica her old one when they met in Paris in November) and a new TEFAL frying pan. She was thrilled and couldn't get enough of the Cactus Cowboy. The next few days were uneventful, as I basically lied in wait for the 28th.

I hired a taxi to take me to Bucharest to pick Sarah up on the 28th. After a three-hour drive and an hour wait, we were reunited. I can't describe the emotions I felt when I saw her emerge from the baggage area. I'll never forget that scene or those feelings. She slept most of the way back to Codlea and then arrived into the loving arms of Mama Ica and Tata Victor. It was Christmas number two for the both of them, as Sarah had a bunch of really nice stuff for them. Lots of U. Texas stuff and some souviner Chicago glasses.

For the next three days we pretty much just slept, ate and took walks around Codlea. It was all very low-key and pleasant. We also took a trip to the Metro and bought champagne and vegetables to make zacusca. After Metro, we visited Ica's brother Tavi in the small village of Dambravita near Codlea. On New Years Eve, we ate, drank and watched fireworks in Codlea with Ica, Victor, Tavi and his wife Vali. We relaxed and hung out in Codlea on New Years Day. Ica and Victor were off the next day, Monday, and we went to Bran to see "Dracula's Castle". The place was full of Romanians finishing up their holidays, with traffic to match. It was a clear and relatively warm day and we had pizza after the castle tour and obligatory souviner shopping.

Sarah and I went to Brasov on Tuesday and Wednesday while Victor and Ica were at work, toured the old part of the city, had some good meals, holed up in the "Scottish Pub" for about four hours, saw the sights, and did some shopping. She really enjoyed Brasov and found a wonderful souviner shop at which she did some serious "damage". I'm sure that some of you will be receiving gifts from that place. She bought some really nice stuff, all handmade traditional Romanian craftwork. The weather was crappy, with lots of rain and sleet, but we persevered and had a great time nonetheless. A word to the wise, unless you're a skier, Romania is not a winter tourism destination.

After enjoying some fresh zacusca and more gift-giving (from us) Sarah and Ica had a tearful goodbye (Victor's not one for weeping). They really bonded and Ica now has a second daughter. I got a little misty-eyed myself. We headed to Piatra on Thursday via taxi and arrived at 3pm, only to discover that I had no heat in my apartment. They shut off the heating system in the school for Christmas break. The building administrator brought me a second electric heater, but it was still pretty cold for the two days we spent here. This was Sarah's true taste of Peace Corps Romania.

We didn't really do too much in Piatra. Grocery shopping, coffee shop, laundry, toured the city a bit (it was too cold to stay outside for any extended period of time) and watched DVDs. The highlight of the Piatra stay was our lunch with my colleague Brandusa and her husband Ovidiu. Ovidiu is a teacher as well and we are all around the same age. Unfortunately, my other colleague, Oana, and her husband Radu were out of town while Sarah was here. I would have liked them to meet her and vice versa. They are also around the same age as me.

We left Piatra on Saturday via the dreaded "Personal" train bound for Bacau. It really wasn't that bad, as unlike most Personals, this one had private compartments, some even had heat! Our 90 minute trip to Bacau was relatively comfortable. However, this is where the comfort ends. The Bacau train station is under renovation, thus it was colder inside the station than outside, as whole walls were missing. This, my friends, is the real Romania. We froze out butts off for about an hour and then hopped on a "Rapid" train to Bucharest. We had a compartment to ourselves most of the way and Sarah slept a good amount of the time while I read the Rough Guide to Romania.

We arrived at the Gara de Nord train station around 8:00pm and caught a cab to the Hotel Central in downtown Bucharest. The hotel was clean and did just fine. We had dinner that night at a nice little bistro near the Atheneum, which is the main concert hall in Bucharest. It was slightly upscale Romanian fare and we had a carafe of some good house wine.

The next two days were spent seeing some sights in Bucharest such as the Palace of Parliament (the world's second largest building, behind the Pentagon) and the Museum of the Romanian Peasant. We saw a movie, ate Belgian and Indian food, went to a HUGE mall, and walked around the old historic quarter. There is such a contrast in Bucharest, with its crumbling 19th century French-style architecture juxtaposed against behemoth Orwellian communist blocs. Ceaucescu sure did a number on that place. There's so much potential that exists for development and restoration in Bucharest. I can't wait to see what it looks like in 20 years.

So that brings me to last Tuesday when we had to part ways once again. We had a car take us to the airport and, after another tearful goodbye, she was gone. The driver took me to the train station and I waited around for three hours before catching the train back to Piatra. My phone rang on the train and it was Sarah, who informed me that she missed her connecting flight in Munich due to bad weather. Lufthansa put her up in a hotel that night and she arrived in Chicago yesterday afternoon. She's back to Austin on the 15th. Her second semester begins on the 17th.

As for me, I went back to school on Wednesday after a month away from the classroom. It wasn't a problem really. I'm back in the thick of it right now. We've got three weeks left until the end of the semester, after which we'll have a week off. Semester 2 begins on February 13th. We'll have another week break in mid-April and the school year ends for me on June 15th. After a lengthy discussion with Sarah, I've decided to save all of my vacation days for a trip back to the U.S. when school gets out. I hope that it will be three weeks and that I'll be able to be in Chicago for the 4th of July! I know that it's a long way off, but I need something to look forward to: Sarah, friends, family, baseball, food, the list is just too long.

Well, that's about it for now. I'd like to dedicate this blog post to the woman that I love with all my heart. Our relationship is stronger than ever now and we will continue to work hard alone so that we can have a better future together. I love you Sarah Barr.

Scott