A Christmas Stroll in Brasov/Remember the Revolution

Well, it's that time of the year again and Brasov has done its very best to get into the Christmas spirit. I went to the center of town last Saturday to finish my shopping, drink some boiled wine and take in the sights. Here's a little taste...click on the pics for a larger view.

You may have seen this building before. Or you may have not. Anyway, this is the Council Hall, which is located in Piata Sfatului, or the town square if you like. The Saxons built this baby in the 16th century and it served as kind of a city hall, a meeting place for the merchants and guilds, watchtower, etc. Basically, it was the center of administrative and commercial activity for the medieval fortified city. Nowadays it houses the Brasov History Museum. Ursus beer was kind enough to put up the tree, so I decided to drink one and raise a Christmas toast to them...after I drank my boiled wine with cinnamon and fruit in it, of course. Mmm good.

The Brasov County Prefecture, a building dating from 1902 in the Hapsburg style. This one went up when the Austro-Hungarian Empire was still calling the shots in Transylvania. It is an ornate building and quite stunning this time of year, accented by the Christmas lights. In the foreground we have a large wooden memorial to the '89 Revolution. More on that in a moment. Every county in Romania has a prefect, which is the local representative of the federal government. There are no states in Romania, just counties.

Strada Republicii, or the Street of the Republic, open to pedestrian traffic only, is the main drag that leads tourists in and out of the town square (Piata Sfatului). Cafes, pubs, shops, restaurants and small hotels line the streets, which are rather festive this time of year.

The Brasov Primaria, or City Hall. This is another Hapsburg-era building that has recently undergone a face lift, as the facade has been completely restored. Brasov is going to be absolutely stunning once enough money is available to restore all of the building facades. I give them about 15 years. Nice Christmas lights on this building.

Seventeen years ago, around this time of year, the Revolution against Ceausescu's communist regime began. It started in the western city of Timisoara and spread east to Bucharest, culminating in the death sentence by firing squad of Nicolae and his wife Elena on Christmas Day 1989 by a hastily formed "judiciary". The Romanian Revolution, unlike comparable events in neigboring Eastern Bloc countries, was especially bloody. In short, this was due to the fact that the Revolution was a revolt that erupted in a matter of days, rather than steadily building itself as a protest movement over a number of years such as in Poland or Hungary. The army and secret police panicked, the people panicked, everybody panicked. The most accurate assessment of total deaths that I've come across is about 1,000.

Brasov, along with a handful of other cities in Romania, is considered to be an "Orasul Martir", which means a city of martyrs. Violent protests broke out in the city center in late December '89 after word spread that the revolt was on in Timisoara. Many died, especially students and young adults. The photo above is an eternal flame memorial to the "Luptatorilor Anti-Comunisti", or the Anti-Communist Fighters from 1944-1989, located near the spot where the protests began. Protests before the events of December '89 were few and quickly put down. Vocal opponents of the regime were ostracized or silenced or worse. Brasov unsuccessfully tried its hand at revolution in November 1987, as thousands of workers took to the streets calling for better conditions, salaries, and a few for the end of the dictatorship. The name of the street that I live on, "Str. 15 Noiembire", is dedicated to that particular day. Many in Brasov consider their city to be the "first revolutionary city" because of the events of the 15th of November 1987. However, the mother of the revolution is without a doubt Timisoara.

I think that it is appropriate to end my last blog of 2006 by dedicating it to the spirit of Christmas, as well as to the spirit of revolution in the name of freedom and democracy. Below, you will find a slideshow of images from those revolutionary days of December '89, accompanied by some traditional Romanian music. Click on it to watch and turn up your speakers! Most, if not all of the images are from Timisoara. I visited Timisoara in September. The feeling of respect for those who participated in the Revolution and died fighting to liberate this country is alive and well there. These people are recognized and revered as heroes. That they are. Respect '89!

The Other Side of Things

Sometimes I feel like I don't share enough of the good experiences I have here, especially at school. Admittedly, I complain a lot. I'm going to try to keep things positive here. Since the last post, Thanksgiving has come and gone, I visited the city of Cluj and the drunk teacher has finally been relieved of his duties. Christmas is coming and the kids have been working on a project that has turned out to be pretty cool. They're going to be watching "Polar Express" for the next two class periods, my Christmas gift to them. Here's some photo highlights of the last few weeks:

Yes, that is indeed a turkey! Ica, bless her heart, made me a surprise Thanksgiving dinner. It was her first, and she did an admirable job, stuffing and all. Do you like her presentation? How about the flower sticking out of the top of the neck? Please post a comment if you've seen this before, as it was a first for me...

The Thanksgiving Dinner Family: (From left to right, bottom to top - Roxana, Geanina. Ica, Victor and Tavi Jr.) Ica's nephew and nieces were kind enough to help prepare the dinner and spend Thanksgiving with me. I really appreciated it. It had been 2 years since I'd had turkey and stuffing with mashed potatoes and gravy. Fantastic!

I went to Cluj the next day for a volunteer Thanksgiving extravaganza. This is the only photo I took. Tim and Nancy, married volunteers and colleagues of mine, hosted a Sunday brunch for us before we all went our separate ways. Part of the spread was a tray of assorted meats. I saw something that resembled ham on a serving tray, but its shape led me to believe that it was Spam. I asked, "Is this Spam?", and Nancy said, "No, but would you like some?". Expect the unexpected here in Romania. They had received a care package recently and this can of Spam you see was included. They offered it to me and I eagerly accepted. I won't be so eager next time. I ate it. I can't believe that this stuff is still made. Ica and Victor seemed to like it though. Guess I'm not a Spam kind of guy. Hormel can keep their sodium nitrites and modified potato starch.

*Note* The following are descriptions of photos that have been removed.

This is my classroom. I got lucky. The room I used last year was ghetto fabulous. All of the furniture here is new, I've got a projector, two laptops (if you include mine), a cabinet full of books, posters, DVDs, etc. It is by far the nicest room in the school.

These are two of my 7th grade students, Mihai and Ovidiu, proudly displaying the shipment of books we received from the organization "A Thousand Books" in St. Louis. They do great work, so click here to go to their website. Maybe you'd be so kind as to make a donation? They have doubled the size of our English library and are sending us another shipment in the spring. My English library project is a success thus far, as about 90 users have read close to 200 books in 9 weeks. I've been told that they're reading more books in English than in Romanian! Nice.

A photo from the nationwide essay contest that some of my students participated in. Here we have a couple of 7th graders working hard. Check out the laptop/projector setup...I tried to make things look official so they'd take it seriously...

Here's Daniel, a 6th grader, with his Coat of Arms. He's quite the artist and his design has turned out to be one of the best in his class thus far. I'm doing this "Coat of Arms" project with most of my classes. Every student is designing his or her own personal Coat of Arms. Each design consists of a family crest, a shield with six distinct parts and a motto. After they finish the design phase, they have to write a story (in English) describing the Coat of Arms and explain what each part represents. This activity allows them to be creative and express themselves as individuals. I'm glad to provide them with such an opportunity, as activities such as this are rare for them. We're going to have an exhibition before the end of the semester, so the hallways will be filled with their work...I hope.

The boys (above) and girls of the 5th grade English club enjoying some American reading textbooks with their teacher, Miss Moldovan (above). The good folks at A Thousand Books sent these in their latest shipment to us and the kids really like them. I help out with the club by giving them access to my classroom, setting up the laptop/projector/speakers for them, lending them books from the English library, etc. It's Miss Moldovan's show really, but I think that I'll be getting more directly involved in the near future. Click Here to see them doing their best Coldplay imitation.

So, that's my report for now. I'm leaving on a jet plane in less than a week. The last return ticket...