In my town, nothing will get in the way of education. Not over a foot of snow, bitter winds or very few students. For the past two days, I have trudged to school find classes with three, six, or zero students. I have found myself yearning for a snow day. As a teacher, I would rather have the day off and make-up the class at another time so that I could present information to all the students at once.

Benches in the school courtyardI've given up hope of my snow day in Romania, but look forward to future winters in Seattle where we are wimpy and shut everything down with just two inches. I have five months left in Romania, but my real question is how many of these months will be winter months. Last year we had snow in May, but I am hopeful this winter will be shorter.

Over the past 48 hours we have been inundated with snow as a winter storm rolls across Eastern Europe. Thus far I have been lucky to have heat, power and water, but even with the heat on drafts still sneak into my room from the unheated hall and uninsulated balcony. The weather seemed a perfect excuse to make winter treat. Roasted Brussels sprouts and pecans! The treat is two-fold. You get to eat something delicious, but you also have an excuse to turn up the oven, savor the warmth and good smells coming from it.

In Romanian, Brussels sprouts are varza de Bruxelles, literally cabbage of Brussels. I love to imagine that Brussels is a land where everything is tiny. Perhaps it's a hold over from the hours I spent as a child playing with my Sylvanian Families dolls, but this idea has enchanted me.

As I spent time huddled around the stove waiting for my tiny cabbages to roast, I was reminded of a neat photo trick that I learned about on Bridget's blog called tilt shifting. This is done by changing the focus on the imagine so it looks like a miniature. It's one of the most fabulous and totally addicting things I have done recently. Fueled by delicious sprouts I decided to tilt shift some of my photos from today.

I also even took a snap of my dinner and fiddled with it!

Friday, Friday...

Today I am especially glad for the end of the week as it has felt like an especially a long one between the snow storm and school. The tension in my school is palpable. Next year the schools of Romania will undergo a massive change. Ninth grade will move from its current place in high schools to general schools. General schools will now house students grades in 0-9. This means that my school will be shrinking.

In the foreign language department, there will be one less English teaching position due to a ridiculously complicated situation. First, I have to start at the beginning of the school year. In Romania teachers are assigned to schools by an inspector at a county level based on the number of points they have. The points are allocated on credentials and certificates that the teachers have. Teachers with higher numbers of points can bump teachers with lower numbers of points from positions. Teachers with higher points generally work in cities, while teachers who are starting their careers with lower numbers of points tend to end up in village school where conditions can be rough (for example, a village school I visited had no running water). At the start of this school there was a new English teacher assigned to my school, in the place of the teacher I shared a room with last year. No one in the school knew who she was, but they knew that she had more points that the other teacher. However, as the school year started, she never showed up. Apparently, she elected to take a year of unpaid leave instead of teaching. At this point, it was too late to get the teacher from the previous year back so all the teachers had to divide the classes that were supposed to go to the new teacher.

Fast forward to now, as I said before, there will be one less position as we technically have four positions now, though there are three teachers doing the work. There are three English positions now (I am not including myself, as I don't factor into these discussion) and there will be three next year. However, one position has to be held for the teacher who decided to be on leave this year. Thus the three teachers who are teaching this year have to compete for only two positions. They were given the notice this week and then had to prepare their accreditation files. The board will then decide who has positions next year based on the number of points the teacher has. From my understanding, there won't be interviews just evaluations of their files. This week the teachers were rushing around like mad trying to get their files prepared, it seems they were just given a few days notice. Everyone finally got their files prepared and now the waiting begins.

In the past 24 hours we've been hit with an epic storm. On the way back from school this afternoon I spotted some laundry that wasn't anywhere close to being dry. As I write this, I believe we have about 6 inches and there is no sign of it letting up. Unfortunately, there isn't such a concept as a snow day in Romania so I'll still be starting classes at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning, but in my head I'll be imagining the snow day I would have been able to indulge in if I were home in Seattle.

Those of you watching Romania in the international news may have noticed that Romanians have recently joined the ranks of other nations currently in protest. Today is the 14th day straight day of protests in Bucharest and other large cities. Last week, the New York Times had an article about it. I have seen a few signs around town and yesterday after school teachers in my school joined others at the town hall, but beyond that I haven't seen local signs of what is happening across the country. Peace Corps volunteers are currently not allowed to go to Bucharest, but this doesn't have an impact on me as I have no immediate travel plans. I'll be staying in my cocoon of white for the immediate future.

When I worked as a barista in college, one of my shift supervisors used to call me Marta Stewart because I had a little too much passion for plating pastries, stocking display shelves, and experimenting with drinks (mind you, this was way before Martha Stewart did jail time). While I always publicly deflected these comments, I also secretly loved them. While I had no desire to run a media empire, I did have a desire to spend my day practicing culinary and creative arts. Today, I still aspire to the idea of being a domestic goddess and love it when care packages include issues of Martha Stewart Living, even if I can't find any of the ingredients to make recipes or do the craft projects.

This coming week I am preparing for the site visit of the Romania Peace Corps Country Director. She visits the site of each volunteer once during their two year service. The visit is informal and can be designed by the volunteer which is lovely, but it got me thinking about what I would actually like to be able to do as a hostess. This is dangerous territory for me because I love to entertain and stateside felt like I could hold my own. In Romania, I feel woefully unequipped.

The first problem comes in my apartment. No matter how much I scrub, I just can't get the floor clean. I believe the flooring is still the communist issue linoleum product that is literally disintegrating, leaving it always vaguely sticky. I have bleached, scrubbed and mopped but to no avail. I just hate that it looks like I am living in filth. There is also issue of the toilet. I won't go into this too much, but each person who needs to use the bathroom in my apartment needs an orientation on how to actually get the toilet to flush.

In my book, part of being a good hostess involves baked goods, but as noted in my previous post, my American recipes don't like my Romanian ingredient substitutes and never quite turn out right. However, on a brighter not I have been able to attain the goal of my previous post by sharing some somewhat imperfect goodies with another PCV, my landlords, and another English teacher. Today, I tested an apple spice cake for the impending visit which was an utter failure and ended up bubbling out of the pan, leaving my poor oven a mess. I still have a couple days until the visit and have one fall back recipe which may work if I can find the necessary ingredients.

I am guess the morale of this blog post is that even 21 months into my service I still feel like I am a beginner in some respects and haven't hit my stride in my Romanian life. I have 6 months left and have come to the realization that I may never feel at home here. I do know that I can survive here which is a great feeling, but I don't think Romania is a place where I can thrive and I am at peace with that.

A few days ago I was Skyping with my dear friend Lisa, when she asked me about the recipe for one of my favorite desserts, ginger chocolate chip bars. I had totally forgotten about these gems. Why? I don't bake very often in Romania. Baking here can be expensive and complicated. Butter and eggs are expensive and ingredients like brown sugar are hard to come by. Even when you find brown sugar it's not the same as the brown sugar I grew up with. Here, brown sugar is not at all moist and comes in giant crystals more like sugar in the raw. You can also forget about finding dark brown sugar, not to mention chocolate chips.

Yet I have always loved baking. I love trying new recipes and sharing great finds with others. I used to love bringing baked goods into the office at my previous job. When I first started teaching in Romania last year I was excited to bring treats into my school to share with my fellow teachers. Part of the goal of Peace Corps is to share American culture and I thought baking might be a great way to share and also make friends. However, I did not account for the Romanian tradition of providing treats on your own birthday and the nature of my colleagues. Each time I brought things into the teacher's lounge people were suspicious, "Is it your birthday?" When I answered no, they would immediately ask why I had brought something, "Is it a holiday for you?" One time I said, "No, it's Friday. I am celebrating the end of the week." The reply I got was a harrumph. No one brings treats into my teacher's lounge so perhaps I was breaking some unknown faux pas. Eventually I just stopped bringing things in.

This school year I've done very little baking. In the fall I brought cookies into the women's class as part of a lesson on cooking vocabulary. For the holidays, I made cookies for the cleaning ladies at school that help keep my classroom tidy. Yet in my conversation with Lisa, I realized that I miss baking. I have decided to keep baking with the aim of finding more people to share it with and learning to moderate my own intake of said goodies.

The antibiotics I am taking for my sinus infection have helped me to feel a bit better, so I hit the kitchen. Tonight I started with a spinach pesto quiche and a half batch of ginger chocolate chunk bars. The texture isn't quite right in the bars, but it's a start. When I am happy with a modified for Romania recipe I aim to share them with friends here.

As 2012 dawns, I found myself in the kitchen over a steaming pot. Was a trying a new recipe for the new year? Not exactly. While I have been blessed with good health in PC life so far it seems that this luck has finally run out. What was a common cold while I was in Budapest turned into a full blown sinus infection. Thus I found myself with my head over a steaming pot of water and vinegar at the suggestion of a PC doctor. While I can't say it's the most pleasant thing in the world; it does give me a little relief from intense sinus pressure. I am now on antibiotics and hope to be better soon.

2012 also marks the beginning of the end for me here in Romania. I will finish my service this year and head back to the States. If I am being honest I am terrified. It seems like every time I dare to look at the news in the United States the economic outlook grows bleaker and bleaker. However, I have a few months to work on my resume and begin applying for jobs. Here's to hoping the new year brings new beginnings.

Yesterday I went up to Julie's site to see a unique Romanian tradition, the bear dance. Her site holds a dance competition and troupes from all the local villages come into town to perform their dance. Bear dances are done to bring good luck and happiness in the new year.

Long ago the dances were done by actual bears that were conditioned to dance to the beat of the drum. They were trained to "dance" from the time they were cubs. The cubs were put on hot coals while drums were played, "dancing" as they tried to keep their paws from burning. This was done until they were conditioned to lift their paws when they heard drums beating. As you can imagine, this practice is now banned, but the tradition has morphed into people donning bear skins and dancing.

Julie lives on the road from one of the villages to the center of her town which meant that we were able to get a great view of one of the troupes parading into town.

We then walked into town to watch some more performances on the town stage. We arrived to see some sort of historical reenactment performed by some older men, but we couldn't ever figure out what exactly what they were reenacting.

We then watched another bear dance performed by a different village. I was amazed by the young kids dancing while wearing heavy bear skins and by the man who was hosted up standing on a board to dance above the other bears.

After a few hours, the temperature began to drop so we headed back to Julie's apartment to warm up. There were still other troupes queuing to dance on stage.

There were also a fair number of tired little teddy bears.

Last year I spent Christmas in Romania with fellow volunteers, Julie and Vicki. This year Julie and I decided to try another Eastern European destination for the holiday, Budapest. Julie and I have been wanting to go since we discovered that we can get there with just one train transfer from our sites. However, we weren't able to find time to go this summer so we decided to go for Christmas. The train journey took a little over 15 hours and two trains.

Arriving in Keleti Station

We arrived in Keleti station in Budapest on a very chilly morning, but were able to warm up as we strolled to our hotel. Our hotel was very conveniently located, just one block from the Great Hall Market where were were able to look at lots of local produce, spices (lots of paprika!) and handmade crafts.

Great Hall Market

We also were able to take a short stroll from our hotel down a pedestrian boulevards to one of the main Christmas markets in Budapest. During the month of December local squares are filled with vendors selling holiday crafts, food and drinks. We enjoyed drinking mulled wine and checking out local crafts.

Christmas cookiesOn Christmas Eve we visited one of traditional thermal bath houses, Szechenyi and enjoyed soaking in the thermal baths and sitting in the saunas. The steam made it difficult to photograph, but the bath house was built in 1881 and was as gorgeous as it was relaxing.

Szechenyi Baths After the baths, we walked back to our hotel through Pest taking in many sites along the way.

Vajdahunyad CastleThe Christmas Tree at the Opera HouseThat evening we found Christmas Eve service in English at St. Columba’s Scottish Presbyterian Church. It made it feel a little more like Christmas to get to sing a few hymns and carols in English.

Christmas day we woke up to gorgeous weather and took the opportunity to walk around the city more and cross the river to Buda.

A square in Pest next to our hotelMatthias Church in BudaFisherman's Bastion in BudaThe view of the Hungarian Parliament from BudaChristmas Dinner

We had nice day, including what we agreed was our most unusual Christmas dinner thus far, sushi. It was difficult to be away from home and family for the second Christmas, but I feel very blessed to have such a good friend to spend the holiday with. Thank you Julie!

As for next year, I can't wait to celebrate Christmas stateside, but I look forward to calls with Julie to reminiscence about our Eastern European Christmases.

Snow finally started falling in Romania during our last week of school before winter break. It was nice to get a little bit of white before the holidays set in. Although, most afternoons it warmed up so that most of the snow melted away. I did have a good view on my walk back from visiting the Catholic kindergarten last week. I cut through the park which was quite deserted.snow in the parkDuring the final week of school, my school held their traditional carol (collinde) singing. A few teachers get groups of students to perform. This year's event was smaller than last year, we had just two groups sing and one group perform traditional dances. As it was explained to me, carol sings are a traditional way for students to celebrate the start of the holiday season and to thank the teachers.

Group #1 - from 13th gradeGroup #2Four of the five boys in the dancing group are in one of my tenth grade classes and one of the girls in one of my eleventh grade classes.

It was great to see some of my students performing traditional dances. I took a couple videos, but unfortunately I can only get one to upload to this post. Here is a short clip of the goat dance.

My school has challenges when it comes to having events; we do not have anything close to an auditorium. We have a space that can maybe fit 1/5 of the school which has over 1,200 students and 100 staff members. Thus when events are held late in the afternoon; most students choose to leave rather than stay for events; some teachers also choose to leave. the audienceTo me, it's always depressing because very few people get to see our students perform; especially their peers. I see so few opportunities to showcase their talents or passions. I think of all the high school assemblies, concerts and events I attended growing up. I loved seeing my peers perform and was always instilled with such pride with what my classmates could do. I wish my students here could experience some of that. This being said, I believe some Romanian schools do have lots of events, but industrial schools like mine do not.

Recently, I spoke with a former volunteer who said that she feels that the spirit of Christmas really comes from the heart so that one can feel the spirit no matter where they are. I both agree and disagree with this. While I believe you can feel the spirit of the season radiating from within, for me Christmas doesn't really begin until I get to spend time with family and friends. The joy of the Christmas season is gathering with those I love. While I don't get to see my real family this year for the holidays I have been able to start the holiday season with some friends and students here in Romania.

My holiday season started last week in school when I started doing carols with my students. I see half of each class once a week so it takes me a full week to see all nine of my classes once. Last year I learned the lesson that although we have class until the end of the week before break classes pretty much stop on Wednesday therefore, I knew that if I wanted to get all my classes to be able to sing carols I needed to start early. I did carols with my 10th and 11th grade students (the 12th graders were giving final presentations). I chose "Jingle Bell Rock," "Silent Night," and "Little Drummer Boy." Some classes were more into it that others, but it was fun to share some new carols with them. I also told the story of the little drummer boy which doesn't exist in Romanian (at least not that any of my students knew) and was my favorite carol when I was little. I should note that although I teach at a public school there is a state religion (Romanian Orthodox) and all students take religion as a class unless they get a waiver. I do have one student who is Adventist, but all my other students are Romanian Orthodox or Catholic.

For over a year now I have also been teaching an English class for some of the mothers that use the services at "Together in Life's Path" (the foundation I work with). Angela, whose home I visited last week, runs the foundation with Saskia, a volunteer from Holland. This summer I also started teaching an English class for kids there which I have continued into the school year. Angela and Saskia have been my biggest cheerleaders in Romania. They have been advocates and friends; they helped create the sports camp which was one the highlights of my summer. Being able to go to the foundation twice a week has been a blessing. Thus I was thrilled to be able to celebrate with them at their annual holiday party (last year my school schedule conflicted with the party).

Some of the mothers from English classMothers and children came to part. As is a Romanian tradition, each child who was old enough had to recite a Christmas poem or sing a song to get Mos Crăciun (which literally translates to old man Christmas or Santa) to come. Below is a video of a student, Danuț, who was very nervous reciting his poem.

Maia and Miruna, two students in my kids classwaiting for Santa

Santa was accompanied by a choir from a local high school who performed for everyone gathers. Then each child got a present from Santa. Who unfortunately terrified a few of the kids.

Maia and Mos Crăciun

It was a lovely was to start my holiday season. My students also bought me a lovely sweater which I will be wearing for Christmas.

Over the weekend I was able to attend a much talked about Romanian holiday tradition. I was afraid I would be never get to see this tradition as there is no livestock in Onesti. However, my dear friend Angela invited me to her home a village outside Onesti so that I could see it.

At this point, I am going to pause to issue a warning that if you are vegetarian or are at all squeamish you should not read the rest of this post.

Angela and her family were doing their annual pig slaughter, just as many Romanian families do just before the holidays. Angela's in-laws raise a pig or two each year to provide meat for the majority of the winter. Julie came down for the weekend to see it to. The pig that we got to see was the second from a pair that Angela's mother-in-law raised. The first pig was killed last year. This one was two years old and although, no one knew the exact weight, the men (all 5 that it took to lift it) estimated it to be over 200 kilograms (440 pounds).

Julie and I walked out to the village which is situated on a plateau about 40 minutes outside of Onesti early on Saturday morning. The first thing we did when we arrived was to see the pig, who was resting in it's stall. Angela then explained that she and her husband hate the killing part so they always say inside and let her father-in-law and the neighbors who came to help take care of the killing part. She also said that if you have compassion for the pig then it makes it difficult for the pig to die so it was better if we didn't watch the men kill it.

We watched the men lead the pig out of the stall and bind its legs. We then retreated inside to the sound of pig screams (which are terrifying) as the men push the pig on its side and slit its throat. Inside we found Angela's daughter, Maia, cuddled with her dad crying because she knew the pig was being killed.

After an intermission inside, we went back outside to see that the pig had been hoisted onto a make-shift table and they were ready to start the butchering process.



The first step is to burn the hair and roast the outer layer of skin which will then be scraped off the carcass. After that is complete they scrub down the carcass with hot water.

Torching the hair and skinScraping off the burned hair and skin Maia recovered from her initial sadness about the pig and along with her older sister, Anda, came outside to watch the process.

Maia, Julie and AndaCutting off the limbsAnother part of the tradition is that kids sit on the fully scrapped and cleaned pig to bring them luck in the new year. After that bits of skin were cut off to sample. I tried it, but it didn't really taste like anything except that salt that was sprinkled on it.

Maia, Anda, and the pigSampling pig skinThen they slit down the pig's spine and separated the fat from the muscle. At this point they took some piece of the meat to be brought to the domestic animal veterinarian for testing. They test the meat to make sure its safe to consume. Angela's father drove in to town and called with the results that we were all clear to eat the meat!

Their cat was very happy.Angela cutting meat for lunchlunch!For lunch we had sauteed fat and meat with garlic sauce and mamaliga (which is like a course-grain polenta). It was delicious, but better than the meal was spending time with a Romanian family and being able to take part in a holiday tradition. It was a lovely day.

P.S. Maia decided to show us her Christmas outfit and she discovered the fun of the hold out photo. Here is our best one.

This week I am headed to a kindergarten in the Catholic village next to my town. I got a request via a teacher at my school to go there a teach a little English lesson for Christmas. Tonight as I am preparing I realized I really did not ask enough questions. Kindergarten in Romania can be kids from age 3-5. I don't know what age group I will be meeting. I also don't how many classes I am expected in. I know the school has at least 3 classes. At least I have Santa on my side.

Today Julie and I got together. We have been having unseasonably nice weather so we decided to go walking in the hills around her site. We went on my favorite short hike. After crossing the river out of her town you hike straight up a hill for about 20 minutes so you get nice and warm. It's also a great leg workout. At the top of the hill is a small community of house where chickens abound. They were way too speedy for my camera, but I am posting this blurry photo to show how gorgeous some of them were.



As Julie and I hiked, we caught up on the past week of classes, some of which have been quite difficult. We also talked about what a difference a year makes. By this time last year we had already had a few weeks of snow and had started to become the shut-ins that harsh Romanian winters force you to be. We also talked about how much easier it is to get out and do things versus last year when we felt almost every spare moment should be spent lesson planning.

A year later our perspectives have changed and while we're not sure if we have gotten any better at it; at least it feels a little easier.

On the train ride back to my site I had a little surprise. Many Romanian trains have assigned seats, but the little trains that run up and down our valley don't. They are the lowest class of train in Romania (read both cheap and dirty); however, the train ride isn't too long so it isn't a bother. Today as I looked for a cabin and a seat I saw one cabin was under lock and key. I was a little afraid of what I might see when I peaked in as there is a prison next to the train tracks, but this was a happy surprise. The cabin was full of gorgeous Christmas trees.

I have no idea where they were from or who they were for, but they smelled glorious. I hope they are going to good homes.

On Wednesday I had the great honor of attending an award ceremony in Bucharest. Peace Corps Romania was awarded the Cultural Merit Order in the rank of Commander by the Romanian government in recognition of its collaboration with the peoples of Romania and for 20 years promoting Romanian Culture.

I think the remarks of Minister Baconschi, Ambassador Gitenstien and our country director, Commander Crowley, speak for themselves.

Below are a few photos from the day.

When you agree to sign-up for the Peace Corps you agree to prepare both your personal and professional life for 27 months of service abroad and to live under conditions of hardship. For me, the conditions have not been difficult, aside from the occasional days with water and power, I really have been blessed. My hardship comes in a more personal manner. The hardship comes from missing friends and family and many feelings of uncertainty.

One of the big missing pieces in my current life is the inability to have a real relationship with my niece and nephew. I have yet to actually even meet my nephew, Benjamin, he was born just a couple months into my service. We have a relationship via Skype, but we are just blobs trying to converse with one another. Half the time when Ben, who is now almost 17 months old, gets near the screen he ends up disconnecting us by pounding on the keyboard. I think he is saying, "This relationship is not sufficient; get out of that computer and come play with me!" Quite frankly, I totally agree! Therefore, in attempt to me more than just a blob I thought I would try reading one of my favorite stories by Arnold Lobel from Frog and Toad Together.

Last year I spent Thanksgiving day in my classroom trying to teach my students a little about one of my favorite holidays. The whole day felt a little surreal and I think my attempts to teach my students the joy of the holiday only increased my homesickness. This year I opted for a different approach. I took a day of annual leave, something PCVs usually reserve for days out of the country, in order to attend a very special Thanksgiving at the American Ambassador's Residence. Ambassador Gitenstein and his wife have graciously invited the Peace Corps community into their home along with Embassy staff and other foreign dignitaries during their time in Romania.

It was a lovely event; I was able to see some fellow volunteers that I rarely get to see and meet some new friends from the expat community. Ambassador Gitenstein and Mrs. Gitenstein shared their traditions, saying a prayer and blessing the challah.

Everyone is attendance enjoyed an amazing spread, including a delicious bread pudding made by Ambassador Gitenstein! It was a nice was to spend my second Thanksgiving in the country.

For the past couple weeks I was back in the States reconnecting with my family, attending my cousin's wedding, seeing friends and generally enjoying the bounties of life states. This will be my only trip back during my 27 month service and going back for a wedding was perfect because it meant getting to see more family than I would have been able to otherwise.

My first stop in the states was in New Hampshire. I arrived 4 days before the wedding so that I could spend a little time with my family, the beautiful bride: Corona, and try to adjust to the correct time zone. I also was lucky enough to get to do a presentation about my Peace Corps experience to an education class at Keene State College. The students asked wonderful questions and it helped me think about my service in a new way.

As for the wedding, I don't think I can even do it justice by writing about it. It was just too prefect! It was so lovely to get to see my dear cousin get married to an amazing guy and to see two families come together as one.Celebrating with the brideFollowing the wedding I then flew back to Seattle with my parents. The time in Seattle flew by, but I was able to reconnect with quite a few friends and to meet some new members of my friends' families. I got to meet Cecelia, daughter of Eliza and Daniel, who was born just a couple months after I left for Romania who is now an amazing 16 months old! I also got to meet Milo, son of Andrew and Megan, who is 6 weeks old and Adelaide, daughter of Robin and Andy, who is just one month old. I also got to have lunch with my 98 year old grandma twice! I saw both Emily and Dieter's new house and Margaret and Kevin's new house; both are darling and I can't wait to have more time to hang out in them. My parents also spoiled me rotten through out my time in the states giving in to meals of foods I had been craving for the past year and a half, taking me to Costco to stock up on supplies to bring back, by cooking Thanksgiving dinner early and providing birthday cake for dessert.Turkey!I also got to do short presentation about Romania in my friend Ona's kindergarten classroom. The kindergarteners asked some impressive and hilarious questions. When I showed them on the globe the distance from Seattle to Romania, one little boy asked, "Do you fly over the Atlantic Ocean to get there?" Brilliant! As I was holding the globe another boy asked, "How does the Earth float upright in space?" Uh... I told him that was an excellent question, but perhaps one that should be asked to a scientist. Three hands then shot up and then we had, "My dad's a scientist." "My grandpa's a scientist." Oh how I love kindergarteners!

A presentation at St. Joseph SchoolNow I am back in Romania and getting ready for my first day back in the classroom. I am afraid it may be a challenging week, but I feel ready to face the next month before winter vacation.

Tomorrow morning I will be heading down to Bucharest to check with the doctors again about my eye. I am still seeing the spot I previously wrote about. It's a bizarre problem, and I'm finding it troubling that in the past three months it hasn't gone away. However, the spot hasn't gotten any bigger which is a blessing.

After my doctors appointments I will be bound for the United States. My dear cousin Corona is getting married and I am taking leave to go to the wedding.



It's been about a year and a half since I have been in the U.S. and more importantly, seen most of my family and friends. I am very excited to see everyone, but quite frankly, I am bit nervous about it too. I don't quite feel that I am able to articulate all of my nerves, but I feel like so much has happened since I have been away that I am not quite sure I'll be able to take it all in. However, I shall try.

the D building at school, where my classroom isI am finding the second year of teaching a bit easier, but there are some moments that cause me to pause and think, "What on earth am I doing?" One of those moments happened today, at the end of a class of eleventh graders. I am now in the second year of teaching this class. At the end of the class, as the students filed out one of the girls looked at me and said, "Hello!" The worst part is she wasn't even being flippant, she really just thought she was saying "Goodbye!" As they went out the door one of her friends explained the error to her and she seemed surprised. Sigh.

This year I am teaching three new tenth grades. I think I enjoy tenth graders the most even though they are the most challenging for me. It strikes me that my tenth graders still have a little bit of child in them. I have found that my eleventh and twelfth graders are more weighed down by the world. In tenth grade, students are still willing to play games and quite frankly, still have fun. This year I decided to do something a little different in my tenth grade classes; I let all my students choose English names. This is common in American foreign language classes, but not in Romania. I told students that they could choose any English name, but that it was optional. In my first class, the girls did not want names, but I loved the boys choices. I didn't give the boys any ideas; these are their choices, in the order they chose them.Jimmy CarterEminemBrad PittJames BondJean-Claude Van Damme Bruce LeeI love the eclectic nature. Every time I start the class and ask if Jimmy Carter is here, I can't help but laugh.

A few posts ago, I wrote about the uniform donation from Brooks. The handball team was finally able to get their uniforms in preparation for the season which will start in November. Here is part of the team at practice last Tuesday. They love their new uniforms and look pretty great in them too.

The full team was not at practice this week. The students at my school have been greatly affected by the change in the train schedule in town; 70-75% of the students in my school commute from villages outside my town. This means that they rely on trains, maxi-taxis, and buses to commute each day. Trains are infrequent and a recent change in the train schedule has meant that many students end up leaving school early. There is a train at 1:55 and if they miss that train they are stuck in town until after 5:00. Many students need to get home to do chores before it gets dark, not to mention the fact that if they did stay until the end of school there is no place for them to go. In one of my 10th grade classes 7 of the 14 students leave at 1:40 (20 minutes early from a 50 minute class) to get the train. Their form teacher confirmed that I need to let them go early, but it's very hard to try to pack in the entire lesson done in the allotted time before they go. Not to mention that they only have English twice a week.In my second year, I find it easier to take these situations in stride, but I feel no less sadness for my students and the opportunities that they miss.

Beyond Transylvania, some of the most visited sites of Romania are the painted monasteries in the northern part of the Moldavia region. The painted monasteries date from the mid-fifteen century and have frescoes that have weathered the Romanian seasons amazing well. Last weekend, I took a monastery tour with my dear friends Julie and Mil, who is back for a visit. We had put off seeing the monasteries because they are not easily accessible with public transportation, but we were able to hire a guide who drove us to four of the main painted monasteries. We started off with a gorgeous, but chilly fall day at Humor Monastery.

Humor Monastery

frescoes at Humor

Our next stop was Voronet, which is dubbed the "Oriental Sistine Chapel" in many guide books. The monastery was founded in 1488, while the frescoes were added between 1547 and 1550. The most well-know is "Last Judgement" which has many fascinating details of its era, like the Tatars and Turks destined for perdition.

Voronet Monastery

the register of saints and philosophers

the lives of St. Nicholas and St. John

Sebastian, our guide, describing the finer points of "Last Judgement"

Mil, Marta and Julie at JudgementOur trip then took us into the mountains where we were able to take in more Romanian scenery while the temperature continued to drop.

We made another stop at Moldovita, but I didn't get a photo of that one. Our final monastery was then Sucevita, by that time we seemed to move from fall to winter. Sucevita was the last of the monastery complexes built in the region. It's main fresco is the "Ladder of Virtue," depicting angels ascending to heaven and others falling and being pulled from the ladder.

Sucevita

The Ladder of Virtue

snow! It was a fascinating and enjoyable day.

This year I have a new classroom which is smaller than my previous one. I have much better seating for my students, the desks I had last year were terrible and not really built for high school students. I moved all my "decor" from the previous room so it feels homey. It was a little hard to try to get the whole room, but here are a couple snaps.

Sadly, the room also works better because all my classes have less students than last year. Some students have quit school, others have transferred, while others have moved to join their parents in other countries. As I created my grade books for this year it was sad to see all the students I have lost in less than a year. One of the now 11th grade classes is down from 30 students last year to 24 students; a now 12th grade is down from 24 students to just 17 this year. I hope to do what I can during the year to keep them engaged in my little bit of their school experience. I only see each of my students for one hour a week, but it's a reminder to me to try to keep classes as enjoyable as possible for my students.

Last week my tomatoes finally began to ripen and this week I had a tiny harvest on my balcony. I also finally was able to start teaching in school. This year I have three 10th grade classes, three 11th grade classes and three 12th grade classes. All the 10th grade classes and one of the 11th grade classes are new. It feels funny to finally be starting school in October, but as we say here, "asta e." The expression ends up translating figuratively to something like, this is life.

Last weekend I went over to Bacau to have a birthday party for a couple of fellow PCVs. The maxi-taxi ride there takes about an hour and fifteen minutes. Along the ride I saw lots of fields on fire as people burned up what was left of their corn crops. We also picked up a lot of people on the road who were coming back from working on their property in the country laden with nuts and produce. Many people who live in the cities have family property in the country that they work. As grandparents age in the country, parents from the city move in and inherit the property. They then give their apartments, which they bought after communism ended, to their children.

As I rode, I thought of how my concept of time in Romania has become so different. An hour and fifteen minutes each way seems like nothing at all. I catch up on pod-casts and let my mind wander. I worry less about those minutes of where I am not productive. I worry more about my future, about the future of my students, about the economy, about unemployment, and about what I will teach tomorrow. It seems easier to try to just focus on the scenes in front of me, about the burning fields and people returning from them.

Last school year my favorite time of the week was handball practice. Admittedly, I was terrible at the sport, but I loved trying to play and being able to connect with a few of my students in a different way. The coach was kind enough to let me take part in practice and tried to catch me up on the years of the training that the girls had. Unfortunately, handball is not similar to any American sport I know and even after a whole year practicing, I still couldn't throw the ball with much force. The game is played on a basketball court, with goals similar to hockey, and a ball similar to a soccer ball.

When I went to the matches that our team played with other schools in town, I was struck by the difference of appearance of our school versus the other schools. Other schools had full uniforms and some even had names on them. Our school only had a batch of men's shirts that were giant on them and even then some girls had to wear their own tank-tops or t-shirts. Our shirts were also worn by the boy's team in matches; they were sometimes worn by both teams each week, and quite frankly smelled of it.

my school, in white

I spent a lot of time with the girls last year and I wanted to think of way to thank them for all their patience with me. I finally decided I would try to get them shirts that were cut for girls and actually fit. I tried to think of how to accomplish this. I couldn't think of any place in my town that had nice shirts that were made for sports. I decided I needed some reinforcement stateside. A friend of a friend works at Brooks, makers of fabulous running gear. I thought I would give it a shot. I wrote a letter asking if they be willing to donate shirts to the school. They wrote back, that they would not only donate shirts, but also shorts. The girls would have complete uniforms, that actually fit!

Over the summer a big box arrived from Brooks and I have spent the past few weeks in anticipation. This week will be the sign-up for handball (it's a year-round sport so it starts a little late) and next week will be the first practice. The coach has the uniforms and is equally excited to show the team their new uniforms.

Stayed tuned for the big unveil in a few weeks! Also, again a giant thanks to Brooks, for the amazing donation!

While September signals the beginning of the school year, that hasn't been the case for this Peace Corps Volunteer. The Romanian education system is in a flux this year following the results of the end of year baccalaureate exams last year. The Economist covered the results last July saying, "...the results of the Romanian school-leaving baccalaureate exam were released. They did not make for pretty reading. Following an anti-cheating initiative that saw CCTV cameras installed in schools, pass rates plummeted. Over half the students taking the exam failed; just two years ago, the pass rate was over 80%. In some schools, not a single student passed." This has lead to different start of the school year across Romania with students now having to take initial tests in each subject to try to help establish a baseline of student's ability.

For me this has meant that I haven't been able to do anything in the classroom yet. There has been intense pressure on the teachers in my school to create the initial tests, review the previous year with the students and give the tests. My counterpart told me that all the reviewing and testing needs to be done by Romanian teachers; so it's easier if I am not in the classroom.

I took my queue and have been engaged in other activities. The second week of school I learned that I will have a new classroom this year so I spent time clearing out the old one and decorating the new one (I'll get some new photos eventually). The nice thing about having done this once before I feel quite a bit more calm about the process.

Outside of school, I have also been cooking a fair amount. I enjoyed the bounties of the late summer harvest making peach pancakes and then started right on fall produce making apple sauce and roasted butternut squash. I also enjoyed the bounties of a care package from home using cranberries and walnuts from my parents to make cookies to take to the NGO where I volunteer.

Peach pancakesRoasted butternut squash and pastaCranberry walnut oatmeal cookiesNext week looks like I will finally start working in the classroom. The end of this week we should have the results from the initial tests. I still do not know how this will play out in terms of what I will be teaching, but I am learning patience is a necessary virtue, especially as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

As mentioned in my previous post, I spent the middle of August in a small village in the mountains working at a day camp centered around creative arts. In the afternoons we had optional activities with the kids out of the classroom. We played games on the field behind the school and hiked in the local hills.

red light, green light a trek up to Ghimes to see an old border tower of the Austro-Hungarian empire a hike up in the hills Mr. Cojacaru, the school director, telling the students about what happen in the community during WWII. back to the school for a bonfire and roasting pig fat (a Romanian delicacy)

Romanian twister

Red Rover more hill hiking looking down at Palanca (the school is housed in the green and yellow buildings in the middle)

At the end of the week we had a exhibition for the parents and community members to show off what the kids had done all week. The visual arts group displayed their paintings and drawings, music sang songs in Romanian and English, and theater performed a short play. Diplomas were also handed out to everyone that participated in the camp.Mr. Cojocaru, the school director, opens the performance. The music and visual art students sing a song to open the play, a modified version of "The Wheels on the Bus" Students in the play The audience and VIPs in the front row, including the mayor. music

It was a grand ending to a lovely week at camp.

In the middle of August I had the privilege of working at a camp designed by a fellow volunteer, Mil, in her small mountain community. The camp was focused on creative arts, letting children choose what they wanted to focus on for the week. We had three groups, theater, music and visual arts, run by Peace Corps volunteers. Sadly, Mil had to leave Peace Corps due to medical issues and couldn't be there for the camp. Luckily, Mil's school colleagues stepped in to finish planning and make the camp a reality.

The camp was hosted at the şcoala generală with a daily program of art from 9-1, then a lunch break until 4 when we would meet back at school for games or a hike. We worked on projects to present to the community in a showcase at the end of the week. The music group performed songs in both Romanian and English, the theater group performed a short play in English and the visual arts group had an exhibition. The Peace Corps volunteers were hosted by local families for the week. I worked with the visual arts group for the week.

The school director and Crina, the main camp organizer, opening the week and having students pick their interest.

the visual arts group

in the art room

our first project, a group collage

the music group hard at work with Julie and Ben

one of the amazing lunches that were prepared by teachers and parents

doing portraits of friends

day 3, a few more students

the theater and art groups doing morning warm-ups in the gym

making individual crests

PCVs in props for the play

music and arts groups practicing the opening song for the play in the showcase

Here is a snapshot of one of my morning English classes. I snapped a couple photos while we were watching a Sesame Street video. This is our current favorite, although this was also very popular today in our lesson about fruit.

Last week I took a whirlwind trip to Germany to meet up with my cousin Emily, her husband Hans, and their son Karl while they were visiting Hans' parents, Harold and Jutta. This was my first trip to Germany and it was wonderful. Spending time with family has become even more dear as I am so far from home and it was so lovely just to be in a normal home setting. Just doing things like sitting down for breakfast or lunch as a family are a complete delight. It was so fun too to watch Karl, at age 4, move back and forth from German to English at rapid speed.

I ate some delicious food, drank some great beer and wine, got lots of quality family time and even found some new clothes. It was a great 4 1/2 days. We certainly packed it in! Here are some snaps from my trip:

Heidelberg

Bad Wimpfen

Bad Wimpfen Bad Wimpfen

The old city walls of Bad Wimpfen Maultashen, dumplings filled with spinach and meat, one of my new favorite foods!

The Danube Valley

Lovely dinner with some of Hans' college friends

family!

Stuttgart

The old palace in Stuttgart

One last family photo before I hit the road

For the past month I have been seeing spots, actually to be more specific I have been seeing one spot. It's in the middle of my right eye and in the middle of my field of vision. I thought my contacts might be getting old so I switched them out, but alas still the same annoying spot. I have the sensation of a bug flying in front of whatever I am trying to look at. The bug moves as I try to look around and past it. Last week I finally contacted the PC doctors and went down to Bucharest to have my eyes checked. Let me tell you having an eye exam where the doctor is speaking another language and doesn't trying to slow down for you is not a fun thing, especially when the procedures are not quite what you are accustomed too.

However, I was eventually given the all clear and told that the spot I am seeing should eventually go away. "Oh, okay, but when?" I asked. That is not known, but I can have the doctor check my eyes again in three months. I also relayed this story to the Dutch girl who volunteers in my town. She said, oh yeah, I had something like that happen to me, but after 3 or 4 years they went away. This did not make me feel much better.

The optometrist suggested I could try drinking blueberry juice each day. I have not ever seen blueberry juice here although there is a blueberry liqueur that people make so perhaps I can hunt some down. In the mean time, I'll just pray for a world free of spots.

If anyone out there has any trick for eye health send them my way. I am eatting lots of carrots, just in case that works.

As is my habit, I seem to have fallen a bit behind in my blogging. Since my previous post I have gotten into the rhythm of my summer schedule. Mondays I teach two English classes to kids, Wednesdays I teach classes to mothers and Thursdays I have the sports camp in the village. I also managed to have an amazing, but all to brief trip to Germany (more about that later).

On my most recent camp day I decided to focus on animals. I spent the day before the camp drawing silly animal pictures to help the younger kids understand what I was talking about.

I felt honored to have great turnout again of about 35 kids! The first activity involved learning some animal names in English and then practicing walking like that animal to the other side of the field.

demonstrating a kangaroo hop

ambling like bears

crab walking learning Duck, Duck, Goose

I was an easy target and picked way too often!

I am hoping for a cloudy day so it's not quite so hot outside. Last session I tried to make everyone take tiny penguin steps when we played Red Light, Green Light to stay a little cooler, but soon it dissolved into running and then everyone needed a break in the tiny patch of shade by the school. This week I am left pondering what I will do; feel free to send any ideas my way, especially games that aren't too overheating.

Ones of the interesting things about being a TEFL volunteer is that the summer gives me the unique freedom to do other things. My school has no program or projects for me to participate in between now and September so this gives me the freedom to do other things. I say this with a mix of joy and frustration. There may be things happening at my school, but my inability to get fully involved in my school community leaves me not knowing. However, I am lucky to have found some other projects.

Each week during the school year I teach an adult English class with a local NGO. This NGO provides an amazing range of services to the local community including pre-natal care, post-natal counseling, parenting classes, food assistance and much more. My friends at the NGO, Angela and Saskia (a Dutch volunteer), wondered I might like to do something in a village outside of my town this summer. I jumped at the chance and with their help partnered with the village school (1st to 8th grade) to create a weekly activity for the students with games, sports and a tiny bit of English.

Today was my first day camp and I had 34 kids show up! We had the activities in the yard at the school. The children ranged in age from 6-13 (I think), it was a little hard to get a good sense with so many. We did some warm-ups, sang "head, shoulders, knees and toes," learned weather terminology and played a game, played chain tag, and "red light, green light." We took a break after tag because we were all getting very hot. I suggested water, thinking there would be a drinking fountain they could use, but then I realized that I realized two things. First, I have never seen a drinking fountain in any Romanian school I've visited (I think I have been in about 15 in various cities here) and second, in the village there is no running water. Thus our water break involved sending some kids down the road with a bucket to get water, then using the community cups the school has so that everyone could get a little water. After the break we played a little more and then I quizzed everyone about weather terms. I am already plotting my next visit and trying the brainstorm games to play with lots of kids in a small yard.

In general, it's hard in the middle of PC service to really take stock of what I am doing. This past school year has been a lot of things, many of them challenging. I have tried not to write too much about it in my blog because staff urges us when having challenging days to write in journals or e-mails rather than write publicly. I have been very lucky to have amazing support from friends and family back home, but have continually struggled to find purpose in my service and the ability to touch the lives of my students. Today, however, I felt a little closer to finding purpose as I was actually doing something that wouldn't have taken place if I wasn't there. In school it's difficult because even if I wasn't in school my students would still be having a English. I try to make my English classes fun, but I've admittedly missed the mark for what Romanian teenagers consider fun. Thus it was nice to do something new with a younger age group with no particular goal except running around and having fun.

In other news, the Peace Corps announced their intention to leave Romania last week. The group that is swearing-in and beginning their service this week will be the last in Romania. This is the 20th year of Peace Corps in Romania and it is now down to just the TEFL sector. You can read more about the news in the link above.

Lastly, I want to wish a very happy birthday to my brother, Matt. I am afraid my card might not make it in time, but here is a preview. I hope it makes it to you eventually. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHER, I LOVE YOU!

Recently, I've been doing a lot of cleaning, both physically and digitally. I've been sorting through all the papers that piled up in my apartment during the school year and been sorting through all the photos and documents that I have saved on my computer over the past year plus in Romania. As I was looking through photos I found a series of pictures that I thought needed to be compiled. This follows the progression of my room throughout the school year. The first photo shows the classroom I was originally told would be mine. I walked in the week before school started to find a hole in the wall and water damage. Thus this didn't end up being my classroom.

When school started I did get a nice and rather giant room. The room has lots of light which is great, but when I first got it, I found the configuration a little funny. To be honest, I still don't understand why you would put the blackboard in the corner and then have the desks facing a different wall, but as a visual learner I want to make sure my students could see the blackboard without turning in their chairs.

I reoriented the desks and added a map and a few postcards from home, asking my friends and family to mail me more.

As the year went on the postcards multiplied and and I tried to make the walls a little more exciting.

By the end of the year, we also gained decorations from our partner school, St. Joseph School in Seattle.

In the middle of June my dear cousin Simone came to visit for a week. Simone just graduated from the University of Chicago with a Masters in Public Policy (total smarty pants) and is doing a post-graduation European tour. I was honored to be her first stop before she met up with her boyfriend in Germany. I was done teaching so she came to my town to see the end of the school year award show and then we traveled over to Transylvania.

Simone at the Nadia Comaneci statue in Onesti

We started our travels in Transylvania with a day trip to Miercurea Ciuc which is a three hour train ride from my town on the other side of the mountains. We were blessed with great weather and visited a museum to see an exhibit on loan from Hungary with Hungarian mummies. The museum also had a lot of traditional Romanian costumes, tools, and crafts. Csiki Szekely Museum at Miko Castle in Miercurea Ciuc

Over the next few days we visited Sighisoara and Sibiu. I had never been to Sighisoara before so it was fun to explore the city for the first time with Simone. We visited the museum in the clock tower and explored the old town. The next day we hoped on the train to Sibiu and then had two days to see Sibiu. Clock Tower in Sighisoara

View from the train between Sighisoara and Sibiu

Day 5 - Liar's Bridge in Sibiu

We also visited the ASTRA Museum in Sibiu. It was by far, the best museum that I have visited in Romania. It was filled with traditional buildings moved from different locales across the Romania that are now set in a beautiful forest. ASTRA Open Air Museum in Sibiu

We had a great time traveling around, but the time flew by way too quickly. I can't wait for our next cousin reunion!

Two weeks ago I was lucky enough to participate in a great project with fellow Peace Corps volunteers and Habitat for Humanity. To mark the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps globally and the 20th anniversary Peace Corps Romania, volunteers worked to raise $30,000 to build a home and then got the majority of the construction of the home done over the course of a week in a blitz build.

The house in Beius

PC volunteers from across Romania came together with the Habitat Beius staff and the family to build the house from the foundation up over the week. PCVs came in shifts of two or three days from around the country to work on the job site. I came for the last two days of the builds so this meant plastering, sanding, painting, and installing flooring. The Habitat staff were incredible. Not only were they incredibly patient, hard-working and knowledgeable, but they were also very fun people to be around. During our visit we got to visit the studio where the Petrus family currently lives. They have a tiny space for family of four with an incessant black mold problem (you can see photos and read more about the family here). It was a stark contrast to the two bedroom home that we were building together.

my hometown sign

Zamfir hanging up signs

On Saturday we had the dedication ceremony. The home was blessed by a priest and we put a plaque up to commemorate the build. It was a very moving experience that I can't do justice to in words.

the dedication ceremony

Jocelyn, Valerie, Becca, and Justin handing over the plaque

The school year ends and yet my confusion had not yet abated. The end of this term seems the most anti-climatic school year I've ever experienced. This mainly stems from a lack of communication with my counterpart and generally anonymity in my school. On Monday, I had arranged to take the day off as I was coming back from the Habitat build (more about this in my next post) and my train didn't arrive back until 4 a.m. and I didn't quite think I would be functional for my 8 a.m. class. I didn't think this would matter as the next week is the last week of school. On Tuesday when I spoke with my counterpart I discovered that although next week is the last week of school all my classes would finish this week. Only 9th graders go to school next week and I don't teach any of them. Thus by not being in school Monday I missed saying good-bye to 4 classes. I feel disappointed in myself for not knowing this and not being able to try to do something special to end the year.

The rest of the week was pretty much par for the course. Many classes were told they didn't need to come or some students just weren't there so I didn't say good-bye. About 75% of my students live in villages that surround my town so I won't see them this summer. I know my students don't read my blog, but I wanted to acknowledge them in this entry.

Students in 10A, 10B, 10C, 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D, 12A and 12C: I hope you all have a wonderful summer. I learned so much from all of you this year!

throwing away the schedule I kept on my apartment door all year

This week I have been focusing a little more on my apartment than normal. I washed the heavy wool blanket I've had on my bed all winter and put it away; it's finally turned into summer complete with humidity. Last weekend I also inherited some storage containers and goodies from my friend and fellow volunteer, Megan, so I have been doing some organizing and incorporating these hand-me-downs into my apartment. Megan is finished her third year in the country and heading back to the States next week so I have been trying to spend some quality time with her before she leaves. However, I have also been absorbed in some of the more tedious and annoying bit of my Romanian apartment.

It started on Tuesday morning. In the morning I stumbled into the kitchen to make coffee I hadn't put on my glasses or put in my contacts so the world was still blurry, but fine for coffee making. As I walked towards the stove I saw a dark spot on the floor. I vaguely wondered what I had dropped there yesterday. In order to clearly see it I need to lean down and be about a foot away from it. When my eyes were finally close to see the object in clear focus I discovered it was a giant cockroach, legs still wiggling in the air. After disposing of it, I decided to forgo the coffee because I could bear the though of what else was hiding in my kitchen. I went to school to teach a class and then came home the next hour to check with my landlord about what to the best thing to buy was. I actually knew the Romanian word for cockroach because my old site-mate Vicki had problems with them in her apartment, as well. My landlord ended up giving me a bottle of spray proclaiming in a "souvenir." I then sprayed down the kitchen (and the bathroom for good measure) before heading back to school to teach my next class. I can happily I haven't seen one since, but I am keeping the bottle of spray at the ready.

This morning I discovered a leak in a pipe in my bathroom that is steadily dripping on my floor. I now have a bucket under it and this afternoon I will have to look up the verb "to leak" and the word "pipe" in Romanian before going to my landlord to explain this new issue.

Over the past couple weeks I have been trying to be a bit domestic. I have been making granola and planting things. This week I can happily report that my granola recipe is getting tastier (read less burnt) and that the plants in my kitchen window are sprouting. I am hoping to have basil, cherry tomatoes, and cilantro by summer. I am still using my flannel sheets and wearing my down coat some days, but I think summer is around the corner.

As I approach a year in Romania, I want to take a moment to reflect on things happening outside of Romania. To me, one of the most challenging aspects of being in Romania has been missing events in the lives of family and friends. My greatest joy in life comes from spending time and sharing experiences with family friends. Beyond the standard holidays and birthdays, I have missed some momentous occasions too. Two important new people came into the world; Benjamin, my nephew, and Cecelia, the daughter of my close friends Eliza and Daniel. While I have yet to meet them in person, I do cherish Skype dates with them.

I have also missed celebrating new engagements, but I am very excited for Corona & Josh and Margaret & Kevin. My awesome sister-in-law, Astrid, got her Ph.D. Go, Dr. L! There are also new babies on the way who births I will miss this summer, but I can't wait to meet the new littles ones from Megan & Andrew, Robin & Andy, and Mariclair & Bill when I am back in Seattle. Also, my brilliant cousins are graduating this month; Emily is getting her Ph.D. in Management and Simone is getting her Master's in Public Policy. Anyway I am cheering for all of you from Romania!

Two weeks ago it was spring break for schools in Romania. I took the opportunity to visit my dear friends Sarah, Dan, and their daughter Hazel in Glasgow. It was an amazing and refreshing trip! The weather was beautiful and for the first time this year it felt like spring. All week long local kept telling me that all the sunshine they were having was highly unusual. Only when on the day I leaving did it turn to more typical Scottish spring weather and rain.

I feel like I packed so much into the trip that it would take ages to talk about all of it, but I thought I would share some photos and highlights.

Sarah is a wonderful hostess and before I even arrived asked me what food I was missing so that she could make some of my favorites. I was totally pampered all week long! Sarah whipped up Mexican food, Thai curry, and beef stroganoff. We also went out for fish and chips, tapas, and Indian!

The first day, which I sadly don't have pictures of Sarah and I had a day out in Edinburgh. We took the train from Glasgow in the morning. I had been to Edinburgh before so we just looked at the castle from afar and skipped the tour, instead we hit the shops, dined in a pub, walked through the parks, poked around back alleys and had an amazing sunset dinner and wine.

Sunday the weather was still gorgeous so we went to a park at Loch Lomond. The park has what I would call a mini castle, but is just referred to as a manor. Hazel explored the playground and I soaked up the sunshine.

Dan with the giant rhododendrons at Loch Lomond

mini castle

entrance to the loch After the park we got some fish and chips for lunch before taking the train back to Sarah and Dan's flat so that Hazel could have her afternoon nap before the evening church service.

A park near Sarah and Dan's flat full of gorgeous cherry blossoms. Dan stayed home while Hazel took her nap so that Sarah could show me a little of their neighborhood. We met up again with Dan and Hazel at church. Sarah's brother is the pastor of Re: Hope and it was great to see him preach. The service was very moving and the music was great. Dan then went out with a few friends from church and Sarah and I walked home with Hazel. After Hazel went to bed Sarah produced and amazing platter of local cheeses and crackers for me to try. It was heavenly! I am still dreaming of the wensleydale with cranberries. Another perfect end to the day.

The next day Dan had to work so Sarah, Hazel and I walked to the Kelvingrove Art Galley and Museum. On the walk we passed Glasgow University.

Uni

Museum The museum is free and fantastic for both children and adults. Hazel did great playing with all the interactive features while Sarah and I got to enjoy looking at Scottish history, nature and design, plus art from around the world.

the museum organ

museum interior Sarah and Hazel soaking up sunshine on the walk home

The next day we went downtown so I could do more shopping for things that are hard to find in Romania. Then Sarah and Hazel headed home for nap time and I stayed downtown to get my haircut. It was my first haircut in a year except my own occasional hacking at my bangs. Sarah had made an appointment for me with her awesome hairdresser, Mark, which was lovely!

Wednesday, I headed back to Edinburgh to meet up with my friend Emily. Emily went to grad school in Edinburgh and graduated last year and has stayed on to work in her field. Emily gave me a great insiders tour of the city.apartments which combine old and new architecture

cherry blossoms in the Meadows

Nelson's monument and the observatory on Calton Hill

Castle! Emily and I in Princes Street Gardens

banana phone

After wandering all over town, Emily and I had drinks at the Last Drop in the Grassmarket.



We then met up with a couple of Emily's friends and had a chance to catch the sun set over the links public golf course at the end of The Meadows.

Thursday was an amazing day. The whole family surprised me for an early birthday celebration. I work up to find the lounge filled with balloons, bunting and a very excited Hazel who had learned to wish me (and everyone) a happy birthday.

Hazel Mae "happy birthday!"

We went downtown for a little more shopping and I loaded up on my favorite shampoos and other goodies to bring back with me. It seemed like even the weather was cooperating on my birthday celebration day. Even the cherry tree outside my window was in bloom.

The view from the guest bedroom.

After Hazel's nap we headed out to go to the shop across the street so I could get some postcard stamps and to go to the neighborhood butcher. Hazel helping me mail postcards

two stylish ladies!

With our newly purchased meat, Sarah made a gorgeous and delicious Mexican feast. Complete with party plates and napkins with my favorite, polka dots! I also was even more surprised with presents! Sarah and Dan knew the key to my heart with a giant bottle of Tabasco sauce and packets of couscous to take back to Romania.

the view from the dining room table Hazel getting a little after dinner exercise

After Hazel went to bed, Sarah had one more topper for an already perfect day, we headed out for cake. The evening was gorgeous so we meandered through the neighborhood and then the University of Glasgow before heading to Kember and Jones for cake.

forget-me-not and daffodils caution?

Uni

a view of Kelvingrove Museum

FRIENDS!

windy!

A sweet old professor took our picture at the oldest part of the uni

dessert at Kember and Jones

The next couple days flew by, but I was able to get one complete picture our group right before I left. It was a lovely vacation. Sarah, Dan, and Hazel, I can't thank you enough! xoxox Marta

flying back to Romania

Being in Peace Corps means becoming accustomed to new and different things. However, being placed in a good sized town in Romania means my adjustments haven't been like those one typically thinks of when one thinks Peace Corps. I am not living in a hut in Africa or a remote mountainous village in South America. I don't have to walk miles to the closest store, I have a real toilet and I have electricity and running water the majority of the time.

When I first got to my site last August I had the typical adjustments that I have had in previous moves in the States; finding the local post office and grocery store, exploring new streets and getting used to new noises. However, the noises here are different than those at home. The windows of my apartment overlook the parking lot at the back of my building and it took a while for me to get used to the backing up beeping that most cars have here. I also had to get used to the noise of the trash chute. One of my windows is next to the trash chute which is basically a giant pipe that runs through a common balcony that exists on every floor of my building (we have 9). When I first moved in, I was totally puzzled by the noise, but now I rarely hear it unless someone is throwing out glass (we don't have recycling).

However, what has taken more adjustment is the absence of constant white noise that I was used to in the U.S. There are no planes flying overhead and very few sirens. Now I feel like I hear more, thus when I hear something different I feel I must investigate. This summer it was the sound of horses. A neighbor was having some work done on their apartment and the workmen came to and from the apartment with a căruţă, a traditional wagon. I have come to discover this is a pretty common sound on the weekends.

This week I heard a new noise when I got home from school, I looked out my window to find something new. Normally a garbage truck pick up the trash, but yesterday a tractor was clearing out the space below the chute. It was a little noisier than the garbage truck, but I am secretly hoping this is the new trash collection method because it's awesome.

A couple weeks ago I went to go visit my old host family. It was the first time I had been able to visit them since training. My host mom's granddaughters asked me about how I was liking teaching. It was a surprising and refreshing question as most people at site assume that I come from a teaching background. My host family saw me work through the challenges of my first time teaching during practicum in pre-service training and knew the excitement and trepidation I felt about teaching.

The granddaughters: Teo, Bianca, and Ada The girls' question caught me off guard for a moment because I hadn't really thought about this before. I told them about how I am lucky to like my students, but that it can be difficult. The next part I found myself saying, surprised me because it's a challenge that I have been facing, but never really consciously realized. One of the main challenges I face teaching is feeling alone. I don't think I fully really realized how fortunate I was to be part of such a strong team at my previous job. (shout out to Aimee and Lindsay, I miss you both so much!) While a lot of my work was independent we had weekly meeting to support each other and work through challenges. I don't think I fully understood how helpful those meetings were until I faced this situation where I have no team to meet with. I am trying to think positive thoughts for the future and ways to feel more comfortable in the classroom, but in this first year of teaching, I miss being part of a team and working with peers.

Many times in life I am not that good at looking forward, I tend to over-analyze events long after they occur. I try to figure out the perfect thing that I should have done or said. Sometimes this can help me acquire clarity, but recently it's been weighing me down. I have been revisiting lackluster lessons and challenging interactions with students, but have been unable to gain addition insight. This week I have decided to try to make a conscious choice not to focus so much on the past, but to try to look ahead more. I have two exciting happenings in the near future that I am looking forward to.

The first is that next week is spring break in the Romanian school system and I am headed to Scotland to visit my friends Sarah and Dan and their darling daughter, Hazel. Sarah and Dan moved to Scotland last summer a few months after I arrived in Romania so it's been fun comparing notes about adjusting to life in a new culture.

with Sarah in 2009

The next event won't take place until the beginning of June, but will be quite the celebration! This year marks the 20th anniversary for Peace Corps in Romania and the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps globally. The celebration committee for Peace Corps Romania has elected to mark this occasion by trying to do something different and big! We are working to raise enough funds to build a house through Habitat for Humanity and also gather together with locals to complete the house. If you would like to learn more about the family that will receive the house you can do so here.

So in June, I look forward to traveling to Beius to help build a house for a deserving family! If you already donate to Habitat, please consider allocating your donation to the Beius project, or if you would like to make a one-time donation to the project you can find information about how to do that here.

My dear friend and fellow Peace Corps volunteer, Megan, got married last weekend. Megan is in her third year as a volunteer working in the environmental sector and has had a special project this year, planning a wedding! This has actually meant planning three wedding ceremonies; one at the city hall in her fiancee's town, one at a Romanian Orthodox church and one stateside. I was lucky enough to get to attend the first ceremony last Saturday.

Megan married Relu, a native of Oneşti, on a perfect spring day.

Getting ready for city hall...

Relu and Megan, gearing up for the ceremony!

The ceremony only took about five minutes and was conducted by two women from the primărie (city hall). The crowd clapped when Megan said "da," yes in Romanian.

The second ceremony will take place in a Romanian Orthodox church after Easter. The Romanian Orthodox Church is in Post (essentially Lent) right now so no wedding ceremonies are performed until after Easter.

Cheers to the happy couple!

With the bride and groom!

My old host family lives about a five hour bus ride south and west of me. During my visit with them a couple weeks ago we had splendid weather, but on the trip back north the weather got colder. The trip takes me through two mountains ranges and as the bus entered the second one we came upon fresh snow. While I don't enjoy snow in spring, I couldn't help but enjoy the beauty.

Two weekends ago I took a trip south to visit my host family from last summer. I lived with Maria and Gicu for 11 weeks during training and they graciously invited me to help celebrate the birthday Maria and Nicolae (one of her son-in-laws).

It was great to see Maria, Gicu and all the family that live in the area. Here is a little video from the party.

Last weekend I traveled west to Cluj for a VAC meeting with fellow volunteers and Peace Corps staff. While my site is not in the mountains, there is small string of mountains to the west of my site that must be circumnavigated. To get to Cluj, I took a 3 hour maxi-taxi ride over the mountains and then a 6 1/2 hour train ride across the countryside. The train ride was gorgeous, I felt like I could finally see signs of spring coming to the country. I saw a few herds of sheep and a lot of the fields on fire getting ready for spring plowing.

I left my site a little after 6am on Friday and was finally out and about in Cluj around 5:30pm with my friend and fellow committee member, Becca. We had delicious coffee (I needed it), caught the sunset, did a little shopping, and had Asian food!

Cluj is a university town and in Transylvania, which is very different from my region. Translyvania is the Hungarian region of Romania, home to lots of scenic architecture and interesting history.

Saturday was mostly taken up with Peace Corps meetings, I presented the results of a survey about community integration that I helped give my group during our December training event. We also discussed the new group of volunteers that will be coming into the country next month. I am excited at the prospect of meeting new volunteers. We got out of our meeting in late afternoon in time to get one more hour of daylight in the city.

St. Michael's Church

Church entrance

Although, I was really only there for a day and a half I loved the diversity and options in the city. I went to an art museum, visited a historic church, and had Indian food to boot. I definitely would like to come back again.

By Sunday afternoon, I was back on the train headed back to site. In the daylight hours of my return ride I enjoyed more views of the country side and saw more fields on fire. At first, I found this a little alarming, but I was assured it is normal for this time of year. I didn't get a great pictures of this, but you can see this in the upper right corner of the below picture.

One of the things that I enjoy most in Romania is the deep connection that people have to the country. Most people I have met either have their own land in the country or have a parent or grandparent with land. On this land they grow fruits and vegetables and many people have livestock. People are very passionate about knowing what went into the food they consume.

In Romania the coming of spring is celebrated on March 1st. Spring is marked by the changing of months on the calendar and not necessarily by the weather outside. Being from a much milder climate, it's been hard for me to get excited about spring with so much snow in the ground, but I am getting there. Here is a scene from the first day of spring in my town; city crews hard at work removing snow from the street.

Over the weekend I took the train up the valley to have lunch with some fellow volunteers. The train ride was gorgeous. Here are a few snaps from the ride.

I spend a lot of trying to create lessons because many of my classes do not have books and for the classes that do have books many of the exercises are levels above their ability. I will admit that I don't do much better than the books when I try to create lessons. I miss the mark a lot. Sometimes lessons are too difficult or other times I just can't get my students to engage. I tried to use some very creative lessons from Gender and Diversity Committee, but I couldn't get my students to take them seriously.

For Valentine's Day I was a bit unsure about if I wanted to try to create a lesson or if I just wanted to skip the holiday. I teach 18 classes a week, but I only have half of a class at a time, thus I see each group once a week. The week before Valentine's day I tried some lessons supplied by Peace Corps, but they didn't quite work for my students. The activities that match the levels of my students are designed for elementary age students thus even with my attempts to fine tune then for high school flopped.

However, I decided to try one last time to do a holiday activity on Valentine's Day. I explained to my students a little about traditions in the U.S. and told them that the holiday can be about doing something nice for themselves and also for friends and family. They mostly thought of the holiday as something to celebrate with their boyfriend/girlfriend. I first had my students write on a post-it note something they do well or are good at. For example, "I am a good sister" or "I am an excellent artist." Then I had them stick the note to themselves and tell the class what they had written without looking at it (quite a challenge for some). They then had to write something nice about their desk-mate on another post-it and stick it to that person. We then made traditional valentines. While it wasn't a complete success, it went much better than the week before and I am glad I tried again. Below are the photos from one of my 11th grade classes that did the lesson.