In Search Of A Turkey

After being in Bucharest for a couple days I arrived home at 5:30am to a nice temperature of 44 degrees Farenheit inside my humble abode so I immediately stoked up the soba. Five hours, two cups of coffe, a hot chocolate and now a tea later, I'm still bundled in my down jacket and sleeping bag. Despite the chilly interior, it still has not snowed in Campulung Moldovenesc and frankly I'm growing a bit anxious. I have not seen snow since I left home...9 months ago (exactly today). I can't believe how fast it has gone by, I'm already a third of the way done. I hope the rest does not go by too quickly.

Last Thursday was a difficult day - I just could not grasp life nor the language. All I wanted to do was get away from Romanian for the day but it is impossible from the moment I step out my front door. However, even when I am at home...there's the radio, cooking ingredients and sometimes the Landlord drops by...all Romanian. But like the good days, the bad ones also come to an end.

On the other hand, Saturday was one of the best days I've had here. I went hiking with my sitemate, Thomas and Iulian, the gym teacher from the high school. Iulian brought us to a new place that overlooks Campulung, yet another beautiful view. We saw wild boar tracks, which obviously terrified and forced me to develop an escape route up the tree. 800lb piglets shouldn't be able to climb trees, right? Well, for that matter neither can I so praise 8lb 6oz baby Jesus that we did not encounter one in the flesh. We did however encounter a bunch of turkeys but the farmer was not willing to sell us one for Thanksgiving, so the hunt must go on. The highlight of the hike was going down through the forrest that was quite steep and the ground was covered completely in leaves. We were able to slide down on our butts the entire way, sometimes moving at an incredibly fast pace. Definitely one of the most enjoyable things I've done in Campulung. Yeah...so there's not a whole lot to do here.

When I went home, two neighbor ladies and my landlord were in the street cutting up a tree they had taken down. I said hello and went inside. I hesitated briefly and went directly back to where they were working. This is the kind of opportunity I have been waiting for since I moved in, one to meet my neighbors and bond, so I couldn't afford to let my nerves get the best of me. They thought I was quite odd for wanting to help but warmly accepted. Although we did not exchange many words, we got to work side by side for a good hour and a half. Another lady brought out coffee and cookies, so we "am facut o pauza," in which my not so glorious Romanian skills were demonstrated.

Afterwards, I met Thomas for Ciorba Radutieana, a delicious garlic chicken soup of which I can't get enough. The restuarant owners know us and chatted with us for a while. It's nice to know familiar faces, familiar faces that also know you. On my way home a neighbor girl approached me and asked or more so verified, "Esti Betsy? (you are Betsy?)" I had never seen her before so it was exciting to meet yet another neighbor and talk briefly. It has taken a long time but people are slowly opening up to me...it's a nice feeling to be reached out to.

That night I took the train to Bucharest with my Counterpart, Gabriela, who presented at a conference Advocacy Through Blogging about the project we've been working on. If you click on the link Blogging The Dream in the right column you can read another blog, where I write about one of the projects I have been working on with the NGO, Fundatia Orizonturi. In short, we received a grant from Global Voices to increase the use of technology amongst marginalized groups. We are currently training 15 individuals how to use the internet and eventually create blogs to share their experiences with mental health issues, as well as demonstrating that they too are functioning members of society. On the left is my favorite participant during a training.

As long as were on the topic, I'll briefly share what else I've been doing since it has been nine months and I haven't really done so yet. In addition to the one day of training we have for Blogging the Dream each week, we also have another day during the week that the participants can come in for extra help and practice what they have learned. Once a week I teach an Enlglish course for any Mental Health beneficiaries who are interested. Throughout the week, the organization has other social activities such as a game day and literary club, which I usually attend. Fundatia Orizonturi works closely with the Psychiatric Hospital, a state institution, to collaborate on various projects, so I get to hang out there as well attending pscyhotherapy groups and work on a variety of activities.

Additionally, I work at Centrul Scolar, a school for children with special needs, doing social integration. In terms of projects, not much has developed with them yet but it is slowly getting there. Several of the children come from extremly poor families and live in surrounding villages, so approximately 60 children live at the school during the week. I've been helping with an after school program so the kids have some structured activities. It's just getting off the ground but I do some English with the children who have asked to learn. Otherwise, I've just been spending time, playing with them until we are able to put together something a bit more organized. There is usually one, maybe two other adults supervising these children - it is chaos. The majority of these kids have extreme behavior issues and it's not uncommon for me to see kids young as 8 smoking, so the need for structure is definitely there.

Other weekly activites include two lessons with my Romanian tutor, a much valued time. Recently I've started to attend "aerobics" at the Cantina. Not sure how one would describe such an occasion but it takes place in an old, old wooden auditorium with about 10 other ladies in leggings. It's all about the cultural integration, and my counting has vastly improved!

Anywho, back to the conference in Bucharest. We were put up at a fancy hotel and fed amazingly! Who knew the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in would be during my Peace Corps experience? Nevertheless, no complaints here for I got to enjoy all the glorious amenities - heat, TV and never ending hot water. For the first time since I have been in Romania I had the privelege of eating steak, salmon, green olives and cheddar cheese - almost better than Thanksgiving dinner (or at least the one I will be attempting to host next week.) The conference itself was quite interesting and I was in awe of the ladies in the translation booth! We got to wear headphones, providing our language of choice - I was amazed throughout the entire experience.