Înghețat but Thawed by the Serenading Sheep

Although I found frost in my bathroom and couldn’t seem to get warm anywhere I went, today was definitely one of the better days I’ve had in a while. Lots of new and “only in Romania” moments that reminded me of why I stayed.

Since there isn’t any heat in the old house where my organization rents a room it had completely frozen over by the time participants had come for cenaclu, the literary club. Only those who came in from the villages opted to stay and much to my surprise for the entire 2 hours. So there the 6 of us sat fully dressed head to toe, not staying anywhere near warm but having a grand time. One of my favorite ladies, Steluța, was wearing a giant coat made from an animal – perhaps even two. She kept saying, “I’m not cold, I’ve got this little sheep keeping me warm!” and then proceeded to sing traditional Romanian folk songs the entire time. If you could only see this lady in action, you too, would be grinning from ear to ear! I found a jug of water in the protection of a cupboard so it wasn’t frozen solid. We opted to make some coffee and since no one else had ever used a coffee maker with a filter before…I got voted most likely to know what to do. For the record, I never really made coffee until I came here and even now it has never been with a filter. Anywho, I gave it a whirl, adding the slushy (ice chunky) water into the apparatus. It eventually came out hot but they all asked if I had made tea. Apparently we Americans drink our coffee entirely too weak. More than anything, I was impressed by their enthusiasm to simply be there together despite the circumstances.

While the day progressed, only my heart continued to thaw out as I made my rounds to my tutor, running into little Amelia and her mother who I had recently met and were full of nothing but kind words, spending some time with a good friend’s family, having an English lesson with my neighbor girl and finally over to my landlords, who always insist I come in for at least 1 glass of țuica. For the first time, it felt like home everywhere I went. Days like this, even just the individual moments are what I’m going to miss. When I left home it was difficult but I knew I’d be coming back; but this time around, I’m not sure if I’ll ever have the opportunity to return.