Train Ride through Mountains

Pieces of Bucharest

Outside of Class

Since I’m teaching American Studies, most of my conversations with my students are about the U.S. I occasionally learn something about Romania (like bribes for surgeons or free dentist visits till age 18). But I want to get to know the students better, so I’ve started inviting to my house in small groups. A few weeks ago, I had 8 girls over, all of whom I’d talked to outside of class before. So I knew some things about each one already. But it was interesting to be with them in a group, since they have their cliques but don’t know the others very well.

Sitting around my apartment for about 3 hours, they really liked the tortilla chips but barely touched the salsa. They said the veg curry looked like a Romanian dish but didn’t taste like one. And they ate a lot of chocolate and drank pink champagne (it’s for kids, kind of like sparkling cider. Except it’s pink and quite common). We talked about music in the states and what they liked and didn’t like. Likes: Bob Dylan for some, pop singers who I can’t remember for others. They talked about Romanian bands and Christmas songs, and I learned a lot about the village where one of them is from. She is going to take me there some weekend. They have horses and her dad works for the mayor, so it should be a good time.

Today just two students (instead of the 6 or 7 I was expecting) showed up. We had a long conversation about the U.S. and consumption. One of the two, Ruxie, spent last year working as an aupair in New Jersey. So we talked about customer service and how ridiculous it can be. She told me about some of her Romanian friends there who were shocked by Costco’s return policy, so they bought a cake, ate half of it, then took it back and said they didn’t like it. So Costco gave them a new one.

We also talked about Romania. It hurts to hear that intelligent young people have no interest in politics or even in Romania. They don’t see any future for themselves here, even if they aren’t excited about leaving their home. To me, it’s as simple as just start a social movement – there are enough of you young people to reform politics. To them, “one flower doesn’t make springtime.” And it’s hard to do something so idealistic when they don’t have any money in the first place.

Jingle Bells

Two and a half weeks ago, the first big batch of snow came. The same day came the snowflake lights which promised to light Republicii in the early December (at that point November) nights. But, no light. They stayed unlit. Just empty promises hanging over the street. The same Monday, a giant tree appeared in the square. A week later I watched the decorators hang the red and gold bows. I even thought the tree would fall over in last Monday’s wind but it made it through (unless it toppled and was restored while I was sleeping).

The signs of Sfantul Nicolae first hit me on 5 December. People stuffed into shops carrying twigs, buying Kinder Surprises. The twigs are like coal – they are for kids who have been bad. But everyone buys it anyway. I bought one (it’s just a branch spray-painted silver) because I felt a little left out, knowing that Sfantul Nicolae wasn’t coming to visit my house.

On 6 December, the entire child population of Brasov showed up with parents in tow to watch the tree light up. It was snowing, so it was freezing and my feet were wet, but being in the middle of a thousand people kept me warm, as did the vin fiert we bought. The whole event was actually quite fun – the mayor spoke, reminding us that Brasov is a fairytale city (not hard to believe in the snow). Then we counted down zece, noua, opt, sapte, sase, cinci, patru, trei, doi, unu. And lights. It was lovely. Kids sang. There were more fireworks (which I missed again). And my feet were really cold.

windy winter

The weather here is infecting me with memories. For the first time since I've been here, it's a windy windy 48 degrees. It's so warm compared to most days, sure. But it's the wind that's getting to me. It's the kind of wind you feel when sitting in Boulevard Park on a summer night, as it blows in off Bellingham Bay. It's pretty exciting.

But aside from the exceptional autumn-like weather tonight, it's been feeling a lot like Christmas around here. For some reason, I've been falling into all the traps of a commercialized Christmas. If I had anyone to buy presents for, I probably would. It's that bad. There have been so many holidays lately, going all the way back to Halloween. First 15 November and Thanksgiving, then Unification Day (this past Saturday), which meant more fireworks. Thursday is Saint Nicolas Day. I'm looking forward to that because all of the lights that have been going up around Brasov over the past 2 weeks will finally be lit up. It's like Grand Illumination in CW. Carol singers and the like. And the giant Christmas tree in the square will light up too (although, I was watching it this evening and I'm not so sure that it's going to make it through tonight's wind.

So, although I get upset every day when I wake up and the ground isn't covered in snow, a night like this is one that I can handle. Wind. Lovely.

the weekend is over

For lack of anything interesting to say, here are these. They are from my journey to Bucuresti this past weekend...
(though numbered, they are in no particular order. try to figure out the best match)
1. Brasov Gara 2. While walking 3. Plan to avoid Taxi D'artex 4. Piata Uniri

i feel a list coming on...

Now that I've been in Brasov for six weeks, I am starting to feel the urge to travel. Where do I want to go?

December: Sighisoara, Sinaia, Sibiu, Istanbul
January-February: Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Edinburgh
March: Craiova, Cluj
April: Timisoara
May: Danube Delta
June: Lithuania & Poland, Hungary & Croatia, Bulgaria
July: California

Oh, and before I set the date of my return ticket (from Romania): is there anyone out there who would want to travel with me next July, around Eastern Europe or even to Israel and Egypt? Basically, my lease ends July 5th, so I was thinking I would head back to the U.S. then. But I wouldn't mind sticking around this side of the Atlantic either (it's not like I have a job).

thinking Romania

The most common question people ask me here:

"How are you finding Romania?"

Everyone wants to know what I think of their country. It's a simple answer - I like it. Obviously. Sometimes I have to elaborate - it's not what I was expected, the mountains are cool, blah blah blah. I find it more interesting to hear what Romanians think foreigners think of their country.

Apparently, many Europeans look down on Romanians because the majority of people who emigrate from here are the Roma. So when Europeans think of Romanians, they think of the Roma. However, I've found that Romanians like their country and don't want to leave - many know that they can make more money somewhere else, but they don't like the way they are treated simply because they are Romanian.

Of course, I've also encountered a number of people (including many of my American Studies students) who want to go to the United States and never come back to Romania. For some, it's because they are pulled to the U.S. because of the lifestyle they see Americans living. For others, Romania is backwards and "exotic," as one of my students put it today. "I think my own country is very exotic, to me." She meant that she identifies more with the American (and Western European) way of doing things than she does with the way Romanians do things. I believe that she was talking specifically about higher education when she said this.

Many people like to hear that I can find everything here that I would want, just like in the U.S. I had a conversation yesterday with my Romanian tutor, who is a 4th year student in Romanian and English. Prompted by something I said about the differences I've observed between the old and the young here, she postulated that the elderly still have a Communist mindset. Meaning, they live like they did under Communism. So they buy something when they see it, instead of recognizing that there is plenty available. "We're a democracy now," she said, and stated also that the young people are the ones who recognize what this means.

When I think about how I find Romanian, I can say (without worrying about offending anyone, in this setting) that:

1. This is a beautiful country
2. The people here act very European
3. Romanians still have a very unique culture, and the prevalence of religion stands out
4. I don't like the way people look out only for themselves
5. I find the conversations that I have about the Roma and Moldavians to be fascinating, because most people I talk to are grappling with trying to be open-minded and accepting on the one hand, and dealing with stereotypes about these groups on the other hand

One thing I would like to understand more is how regionalisms play into relations amongst Romanians. The most common dichotomy I hear is drawn between Bucuresti and the rest of the country. That's something I would like to explore a little more.

These photos here are from Bucharest. I took them when I visited this past weekend. I sadly forgot my camera one day but hit the streets on a "photo expedition" the next day to make up for missed time. Do they seem at all different from the life of photos from Brasov?

like saying George Washington was a vampire

The past few days have been packed and now I’m feeling a little exhausted.

Last weekend, my friend Kymber came up from Bucharest for her birthday. On Friday, we went to a lovely little French bistro and then met up with some friends at karaoke. Not one of my favorite pastimes. But karaoke is huge here – I think it has to do with people wanting a chance to practice their English. It’s pretty funny to watch some of them go at it.

On Saturday, we went to a local Seventh Day Adventist church for their Thanksgiving celebration. One of my students (the pastor’s wife) invited us to go. The church is this crazy skyscraper building that was built during communist times, when they weren’t allowed to have much space for something like a church, so instead of covering a lot of land, they built up really high on a small piece of land in the city. The ground floor was the coat check, then the next few floors were the sanctuary (including a balcony), then a few floors of apartments and rooms for choir practice, and then at the top of the building a large attic space that looks out at the city in four directions, and that can be used for church festivals like the Thanksgiving meal we had on Saturday.

One of the younger (my age) members of the church sat with Kymber and I and translated the entire service, which was really helpful! Since it was their Thanksgiving service, a lot of people stood up and spoke about what they were thankful for. It was really cool to hear some of their stories about their lives – a lot of the people who spoke were in their 80s so they’d been through a lot! The coolest thing about the church community itself is that they advocate vegetarianism (and veganism), to the extent that most of the preaching during the service had to do with living as a vegetarian.

So, Sunday another one of my students took us on a really cool hike. We went to this place called “Soloman’s Rocks.” Brasov is awesome for this kind of hike. Basically, you just start walking out of the center, and keep going until you’re sitting on top of a rock looking in every direction at the hills of changing fall colors below you. It’s pretty crazy. There are also tons of people who go up there each weekend to get water from a mountain spring.

On Monday I had to teach two classes first thing in the morning, but then Kymber and I headed off to Fagaras, which is a nearby town surrounded by the most beautiful mountains in Romania (which I couldn’t see because it was cloudy). The high school there has a British English teacher who asked us to come, to give a presentation about undergraduate study in the U.S. We were big celebrities there – the local TV station taped the entire presentation and interviewed us (twice). The history museum is closed on Mondays, but they got it open just for us! We had several students who showed us around town. They were amazing – but more about that another time.

Yesterday was Halloween. I met a lot of Americans – basically, if you’re American (or Australian, apparently) and living or traveling anywhere in Eastern Europe, then you come to Transilvania for Halloween. I didn’t go to any of the fancy schmancy Halloween parties, but still managed to run into a lot good ol’ Halloween cheer. Or something like that.

I need your help

I need to think of some good American movies that show American culture...vague, I know. These are suggestions for the professor teaching "Intro to Cultural Studies" in the brand new American Studies department here at lovely Transilvania University. I am bad at thinking of films, so I thought maybe I should ask other people to do the thinking for me. Thanks. Obviously, they have to be something that would spark a good discussion in class, and show something worthwhile about American culture, dealing with multiculturalism, perhaps.

In the meantime, here are two photos from Brasov. Ain't it purdy?

First (almost) Week in Brasov

Until I found my apartment, I stayed with the head of the American Studies department, whose flat was on the seventh floor of a building just outside the city center. The views from that high are amazing – mountains in every direction. Her son is going to college in Michigan, her daughter (after studying in Spain, Belgium, and the U.S.) is working in Bucharest, and her husband lives in Spain where he conducts an orchestra. With her family all spread out, I think she enjoyed having me to take care of for a few days.

I had my first day of class last Thursday. I had two sections of first year American Studies students. American Studies is basically like majoring in French or Hispanic Studies at WM, so there is some grammar and so on but also classes on government and culture. My class is special. Because I am American. It's great. This is actually a big year for these kids because it is the first year of the American Studies program (the faculty also teach in English Studies, French, and German), and it is also the first year of the 3 year (instead of 4) undergraduate degree. Most of my students are 19, some are more like 22, and one is in her late 30s (and pregnant, I think). Only 2 have been to the U.S., one of whom did so as a pro skier. She's going to teach me how to ski (we'll see). It's amazing, these kids can speak English so well (and spell better than I can), and they've seen more movies than I have, but they've never read any American books. I think they are accustomed to being told things in lectures and not finding anything themselves. But it's also their first year of college, so maybe that's normal. Anyway, I really want them to be able to read some American stuff, so I’m doing my best to get a hold of particular books.

I have another class on Monday (7:30am every other week!). I have 4 sections of the same class (2 each week), which is for students in the Applied Modern Languages program. I think it was supposed to be a translation class, but obviously I can't teach them how to translate from Romanian to English. Basically I was told to do whatever I wanted with them; someone suggested "communications." I need to get back to lesson planning, actually…

My apartment is in the old center of the city, right at the base of Mount Tampa, which overlooks the city (and is home to the Hollywood-style “Brasov” sign that overlooks the city). I haven’t yet had a chance to take one of the many walks and hikes that start from nearby places, but apparently they will provide plenty of short adventures once I get settled in.

It will be 2 or 3 weeks before I get internet at my place, so in the meantime I have to venture down sketchy alleys and into Irish pubs to get connected.

On Friday night I went to Carrefour to get some stuff for my apartment. That experience was like a cross between the textile market in Bombay and a trip to Wal-Mart: the store was massive, had an entire freezer aisle (both sides) of cheese and every vegetable grown in Europe and the Middle East, and was packed packed packed with people and their shopping carts. The experience exhausted me and I managed to leave the store without buying most of the things I’ll need.

But my apartment is coming along, and soon I will be ready to post pictures of it online (first I need to get a few more things so it looks less empty). Then it will be ready for visitors, so I hope that anyone within any distance of me will visit. When else are you going to visit Romania and have a great place to stay? Oh, and even though I have a good-sized kitchen, Brasov has an amazing restaurant scene. Come try.

Orientation

I arrived in Romania a few hours late – 27 to be exact. I consider Delta Airlines to be fully responsible for my tardiness…I hate Delta. As the last Fulbrighter to arrive, I made it to the orientation in time to hear about things like health insurance and bank accounts, which apparently was more important information that the stories about bears and condoms that I missed while still on the flight from Paris.

My first night in Bucharest included a lot of delicious food (salmon—which I now eat, by the way,—tiramisu, and wine are the only ones I can recall at the moment) courtesy of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. That night flew by, as I still hadn’t slept in a real bed for awhile.

At this point, I feel it is necessary to give a short recounting (in the form of a list) of the various places where I have laid down (or sat down) to rest for my evenings since I graduated from William and Mary just four short months ago.

1. My dorm bed (for a few hours the last night)
2. Jimmy and Guy’s extra bed (post-Skylar)
3. The domestic terminal at Mumbai International Airport
4. My bed in my lovely room in Goa (which I miss)
5. The Taj Business hotel in Mangalore
6. The floor of the plastic house/tent in the rainforest of the Coffee Plantation
7. The cabin in the back in Bandipur
8. Lost hotel in Bangalore
9. The Vintage Hotel in Panjim, Goa
10. The pension room in Hampi under the mosquito net
    
11. The bus from Hampi to Goa (though sleeping was not involved)
12. My grandparents’ condo in south Goa
13. The house of Loretta in Goa
14. Hostel in the Tibetan Colony on the outskirts of Delhi
15. Agra hostel
16. Hostel by the train station in Delhi
17. The hostel in Varanasi
18. Hotel in Bombay
19. Hotel near Osho in Pune
20. Swiss Air flight from Mumbai to Zurich
21. Granparents’ house in London
22. Dad’s house in Alexandria
23. Gordon’s apartment in Richmond
24. Heather’s GW apartment in DC
25. Gordon’s car while parked in Charlottesville region (and the next night in Shenandoah)
26. Hotel on Broad Street in Richmond
27. Jennifer’s spare room
28. Chris’ couch in Williamsburg
29. Wrightsville Beach
30. Ben’s apartment in Fredericksburg
31. Doubletree Inn in Richmond (downtown, top floor…nice)
32. Lyra’s futon in Providence
33. Mom’s reiki table in Prov
34. Mom’s couch
35. Poughkeepsie
36. Delta Airlines flight from Atlanta to Paris
37. Academica Hotel in Bucharest
38. Monstery hotel somewhere between Sibiu and Brasov
39. Liliana’s (the head of the American Studies department’s son’s room, to be exact)

But I’m skipping ahead. Back at the Academica, I slept for a bit, and that was nice. The next morning I got on a bus and slept a lot more. I also used the opportunity to learn a little bit about Romania, seeing as I was sitting on a bus full of Americans (and Romanian-Americans) who study the region and could help me improve my ignorant self. *One interesting fact: Bucharest has a severe and visible stray dog problem. Unlike the stray dogs in (to name some places I’ve been) India or Ecuador, these dogs are treated with some compassion and considered to be stray dogs rather than say, wild dogs. The problem exists because people had to dump their pets when forced to move from larger houses and country homes into the Communist blocks which line many streets in the city. Cramped into these tiny spaces, many people did not have space for their furry friends. And so, the problem.

Our bus brought us to a lovely monastery, and our visit there included a lunch which I certainly enjoyed: Orthodox monasteries like this one serve “fasting meals” which are vegetarian. I also enjoyed the wine.

Our next stop was the town of Sibiu, which is the European Culture of Capital for 2007 (and there’s no way one could possibly be there without knowing that fact). I got to visit a bookstore, climb a clock tower, and dine on more fish, though that dinner consisted of wine, mostly.

At midnight we pulled up to a sleepy monastery, where I climbed into bed and continued my habit of taking a picture to find out the time. I started doing this because I don’t have a watch or an alarm clock, my American phone would not tell time, my other phone was in another bag, and no hotel rooms have clocks. The TV would have been another option, but I usually forgot that. So instead, I kept my digital camera next to my bed, and each time I woke up during the night I would snap a photo, change the mode to “view,” and find out the time that I took the photo. This provided me with several nights’ series of snapshots of my blanket, curtains, lens cap, and floor. I have deleted all of those.

We explored the monastery the next morning, as it was bathed in sunlight, and also discovered that it was surrounded by green mountains on nearly every side.

Our final stop was in Bran, a town just 12 kilometres or so from my new home in Brasov. Here we had an enormous meal of cheese (Literally. As a vegetarian, I had three courses of cheese. Non-vegs had two.), a taste of Romanian whisky, and of course more wine. This was followed by eventually successful attempts at a group photo, and then a trip to “Dracula Castle,” which actually has nothing to do with the guy called Dracula. The castle was in all the Dracula movies though, and I have seen none of them.

Back in Bucharest I spent a sunny Sunday walking around looking for bookstores and webcams. I ended up buying a map of Romania instead. Webcams (as with all electronics) are at minimum twice the cost in the United States. I do plan to buy one still, but I need some time to process the fact that I'm paying $100 instead of $40.

My last real day in Bucharest was a training for advising. Aside from teaching, my other real duty here in Romania is to advise students on studying in the United States. However, there is no Education USA center in Brasov (my city), so I will have to be creative and find a place to carry out all this advising. Should be interesting.

waiting til I get there

At this point, I don't have a lot to say. I have no idea what I'm heading into. I've read pages and pages of handbooks and e-mails, but still lack basic knowledge like where exactly I'm going to live. Thus, I've adopted the strategy of waiting until I get there to figure it out. Probably not the best idea, but honestly, what else should I do?

I have delved into teaching myself the Romanian language, which is fun - after all, it's pretty easy at this point. I'm eager to get to Romania and learn that I'm pronouncing everything completely incorrectly.

Things I do know:
1. I'm leaving the U.S. next Tuesday, the 25th of September, on a flight route from Providence to New York to Bucharest.
2. I will be living in a town called Brasov, in Southern Transylvania.

Provided that I do have internet access at some point, I plan to update this blog frequently enough so that I have an outlet for things I'm thinking about, for stories, and for photos (of course). And also so that anyone who actually cares can stay in touch!