October's Occupations

The diversity, spontaneity and flexibility of being a Peace Corps Volunteer has created a lifestyle that I have come to love. Although it may mean I’ve slept in 7 different places during the past 9 nights and couldn’t wait to get home to the serenity of the crackling fire in my soba, I wouldn’t trade it for anything…for it’s all part of the adventure.

After spending a week in Bucharest I realized that I had forgotten what it was like to go out and be surrounded by young people, not to mention fun and friendly young people. This…in combination with being in the big city made for some real social awkwardness… one almost forgets how to interact. Re-entering “Real Life” should be a real treat!

Speaking of treat…

Although I didn’t get to wear a costume (perhaps only the second time in my Halloween history), this was definitely one of the more memorable years. I got the opportunity to volunteer at Ovidiu Rom’s Halloween fundraising ball at the Parliament Palace, the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon. Leslie Hawke, a former PCV and Ethan’s mother, founded this organization about 5 years ago to help increase the educational opportunities for the Roma children. For two days we were the manpower (which is ironic because as girls we weren’t allowed to lift more than paper) helping with the set-up and decorate. At the beginning of the ball, I helped out with the coat check…which was enough to prove that I was amongst some of Romania’s richest. I probably will never again even be a servant at such an event that has a small orchestra that starts right up as each new guest arrives. Later in the evening I worked at the “American Bar” which was made entirely out of hay bales and only served Jack

Daniels…can’t say I really had any complaints about the job, especially when my customers consisted of Ethan Hawke and some man wearing a kilt, who came up approximately every 45 minutes

asking for another “cup of tea.”