Floriilor

In addition to the beginning of Passover, today was the Orthodox Palm Sunday, or "Floriilor" in Romanian. Thus it's also the namesake day for people with names like Florin or Florentina. To celebrate, the weather put on a fabulous showing: the warmest sun and a light breeze...lovely.

Coming up in the next two weeks: Easter and the "Days of Brasov." Stay tuned for what I hope will be some awesome photos of these Romanian traditions.

Today I also was treated to an evening with my two new favorite people: Andreea and Serban. Here's some photos from the day.

Andreea and Serban at work in the kitchen.

Serban, me, and Andreea play with the camera after having accidentally discovered the oh...what do you call it? 10-second delay?

The view from Serban's apartment.

Rainy Transilvania Weekends

Between the weather, class, living without water one week and without heat the next—not to mention my 5-week illness (I know—I need to go to the doctor)—I forgot to write about Sibiu. 

Luckily, since that was awhile ago, I can get away with just posting photos...

Some old friends run into each other on a Sibiu street.

Alina tells Cristina about a painting by her friend.

A group gathers by the fountain in Piata Mare.

Digging into dinner

Iron Bridge/Liar's Bridge

Poetry and Springtime

Springtime came again this past weekend. I found myself wandering around, intentionally taking wrong turns just so I could draw out the walks a little. I also brought my camera so I could spy on sunshine hiding behind the doors on my street. This drew a few suspicious stares from my anonymous neighbors and some passersby, but that's okay; I deserved it. Somehow in the spring, I don't feel the need to hide my foreignness; instead I embrace the chance to hang my camera around my neck and act like a tourist.

I also made it to the fresh foods market a few more times. Mostly for strawberries. This is something I can't resist. But look at how many I got for a little over a dollar! I'm also encountering other (imported) bounties of spring...like baby spinach, fresh basil, and seedless grapes. If only I lived in Italy; they would all be freshly harvested.

We had another slice of American pie this week, as another Fulbright professor took some time out from Bucharest for a visit. This time, we actually had a poet, who doubles as a professor. He gave a poetry reading on Monday night, followed by a talk on "The Situation of the American Poet" in one of the courses today.

The poetry reading was hosted by the American Culture Club, and I considered it to be a very successful event. We had a sizable and diverse audience, including a few eloquent high school students, some American studies professors, and several new faces.

And the poetry wasn't so bad either! Students who last week claimed they hated poetry found themselves reassessing that view.
For me, a typical American who hasn't read poetry since 12th grade, it was also a fascinating experience. And we had the pleasure of hearing a new poem, inspired by the NATO Summit coming to Bucharest, as it was read to the public for the first time.

The talk today was also interesting, well at least to me as an American. At both the reading last night and the talk today, the poet suggested that poets in America, first of all, are currently invisible, but also that they are the ones we look to in order to give words to horror. So, not only do they praise what's good in the world (his example was a flower growing out of a crack in the sidewalk), but they also dispraise that which is evil in the world. So, at last a concrete answer to why humanities are so important.

In a somewhat poetic gesture, the warm spring weather today shifted to a very wet drizzle. To me, this is acceptable, as long as winter doesn't return. As I was walking to the university I noticed the mist rising out of the trees on Mt. Tampa, which up until now have mostly clung to the dead brown color of winter. But, as the mist rose it exposed a lot of new growth—imagine my shock! What, green on the mountain? Is it really time? Here's the view from my house. This is why rain can be wonderful.

Acculturation

On Tuesday, the USA came to town. One of the American Fulbright professors came to speak on "The Current State of Identity Politics in the United States." First of all, maybe one or two people in the room (about 40 people) knew what "identity politics" means. A handful more could separate politics from politicians. But with a good dose of American-style communication, by the end of the class period students were arguing over whether individual freedom trumps the integrity of culture. And of course, a debate erupted over whether Hungarians should integrate or Romanians should be more accommodating.

American Culture Club meeting

The professor also joined us at the American Culture Club later in the day for an informal chat. First of all, I should mention that the group we had was very diverse: four club members; two other American studies students, including a Hungarian student whose uncle lives in the U.S. and one in her 40s who briefly lived in NYC and Portland; two boyfriends, including one who goes to Georgia every summer; and one new club member, a grad student. And me, too. We talked about everything from Barack Obama and his political abilities to the NCAA Final Four and the phenomenon that is American college sports. We also talked about Romanians being excessively self-critical and disrespectful when it comes to other generations. Neither of which were denied by either.

Tonight I went to a performance with 4 in 1: dance (yes, "Exotic Dreams"), singing, comedy, and fashion. It was kind of like a talent show for college students. The dancers were really good and barely dressed; in fact in one "comedic modern dance" number the only male left the stage in a thong. That was awkward, but to be fair, most of the girls entered the stage dressed like that. I went to the show because one of my students was acting in it. Her piece was very funny and I could actually understand it (it helped that the whole scene/script was repeated 5 times) - there was one character that I particularly liked because he had a stutter, which meant it was impossible for me to miss a word (Eu-eu-eu-eu am-am-am-am o-o-o-o prob-prob-problema). Cristina proved her acting was great and held her own as the only female in the scene (a big contrast to, say, the fashion show with the Oh-My-God-these-women-are-hot models and the Exotic Dreams/stage full of half-naked dancers).

The theatre where all this went down was the Student Cultural House. It was packed with spectators, but the door was left open to the courtyard so people were coming and going continually, especially for cigarettes. The audience talked throughout the whole thing, especially during the songs. Here are some photos of Cristina's scene.

Cristina, as the manbaby's mom, calling the doctor.

Everyone's favorite worthless Communist doctor

Measuring the dead manbaby's body

A poster for the show

Anecdotal Evidence

Today, I saw one of my students twice. I saw her after class at the xerox place. And I saw her before our club meeting at the bus station. I knew she couldn't come to class, and I knew she couldn't come to the meeting. Her reasons? I asked:

Me: "Can you come this afternoon?"

She: "No. My parents are gone for three weeks so I am at home alone. I have to take care of the dog and everything."

Me: "Where did they go?"

She: "To the countryside."

Me: "Oh, and they didn't take you?" (Remembering that the topic of her recent essay was her childhood trips to the countryside)

She: "No, well, I have school."

If/when I have kids someday, I'll be sure to take the dog with me when I leave my kids at home for school days, so that they can actually go to school. Or, teach them how to lie more logically.

reasons why I'm special

Photo one: Mine. "House of the People" in Bucharest. December 2007.

Photo two: Same.

Photo three: AP. Same room, but today, April 2008.

Though I wasn't personally invited to the NATO summit, and most people I know in Bucharest have escaped for the week, I can at least say this: "You know that room you see on TV? I've been there. Twice."

A Week - it's not boring, it's Brasov. It's Simple.

Given that this is a relatively normal week (for example, no handsome American dragging me off to Budapest this week), I thought it might be a nice time to do a "week in the life" type thing. And, also, I'm procrastinating. What a great way to do it.

Sunday morning...I slept through. Given that I went to bed at 5:30 am, this made sense. I needed some hours in bed to recover from the fun night before at Oldies, a ridiculous dance club here in Brasov that plays an equally ridiculous selection of music. So, late nights follow. (Although we must also account for the time change, which skipped an hour and made everything a little later.) And with them, late awakenings.

Monday I had meetings with students starting at 9:30. These meetings are related to my Effective English Writing class. Their first drafts of the first assignment were due last Thursday. Because of the limited schedule (7 class meetings the whole semester), the only way they can get feedback from me on their first drafts is to have a one-on-one meeting with me.
And of course, the ones who show up are the best students. The meetings were productive - we did a lot of simplifying. The silly part is that we have to meet at McDonalds. But there's a good reason for this - it's the only place (aside from KFC) where you can buy something at the counter and then sit at your table undisturbed. A lot of students feel uncomfortable meeting at a cafe where they feel pressured to buy something. But at McDonalds, it's not a big deal. Seeing as I was sitting there for several hours, I had an orange juice and later a cappuccino, so as not to be rude. In the evening, I finished reading the first drafts, as well as make up assignments from people who missed class the week before; updated grades and attendance on Yahoo (I set up a class Yahoo group for such things); and sent some e-mails to the students.

Tuesday involved some boring moments; my apartment is not very inspiring. This is what happens when you don't have an office but still have work to do. On Tuesday I did some planning for various things - mostly American Culture Club, a little for advising. In the late afternoon I took off for a meeting, and ran into my (former?) Romanian tutor on the way. I haven't seen her since January, and I didn't even recognize her - she lost weight and dyed her hair. So we had an awkward and brief conversation, and promised to stay in touch on e-mail. I also ran into one of my students from last semester, who I swear grew like 5 inches. Or maybe she was wearing heels and I wasn't? I dunno. But she was tall.

The meeting, for the American Culture Club, was our first real meeting at the public library, which has graciously given us the space for at least 2 hours a week, as well more when we need it for events. We had a small turn out with just me and 5 students, but it was productive. We talked about our first event, which was over the weekend - the Multicultural Film Forum. We also talked about some of our upcoming events and leadership in the club. Next week we're having a visit from a Fulbright professor, so we discussed some of things we can ask him about. We're also planning a weekly documentary film series for Fridays, but we're still deciding which films to show. I think it's going well. I think. But sometimes emotions fly high and people start yelling in Romanian. This is when I get lost.

Wednesday I purposely slept in, because I've been sick for three weeks and finally had some time to rest up. When I woke up I realized I had a meeting with a student to run to, so I quickly got ready for the day. Sadly, she didn't show up, so I just sat for half an hour. To be fair, it wasn't rudeness or forgetfulness. I honestly think she didn't get my e-mails. This seems to be a problem a little bit too regularly, with e-mails to me and from me.

After waiting, I headed off to Kaufland for some grocery shopping. This is practically a whole-day event. First is the matter of catching the bus - which I happened to work out just fine on this day. However, sometimes I have to wait for 10 minutes or so. The bus ride takes about 20 minutes, as I am going to the end of the line, and it's not very direct. I was prepared for Kaufland: shopping carts cost a refundable 50 bani (about 20 cents). I know what it's like to show up without one, so I always check before leaving for Kaufland. And since I've been there, I also understood the woman who asked me if I had 50 bani I could give her in exchange for 1 leu, which was exciting. I like helping people - and I don't get many opportunities here. Inside the store, I bought many of my favorite things (pears, strawberries, the best bread ever), but skipped the avocados, which have been climbing in price since I got to Romania.

Wednesday afternoon and evening I spent planning. Most of this was for my presentation tomorrow, at a local high school. I also had a little work to do for class - specifically for next week. This week I only have one class, and I taught the same lesson last week, so planning is minimal. Next week I have two new classes to plan for, and three to teach, so I try to balance the load by getting some work done this week.

Today (Thursday) I had one morning class for Discourse of American Media. The first half was me talking about the article we read about media as political actors; the second half was students presenting their Class Project assignment. I called it that because they freak out when they hear "Presentation." So today there were supposed to be 4 partner groups presenting for a total of 8 students speaking. I had three actually speak, and all on their own. One of the presentations was excellent (she found 5 different media stories about Bush in Ukraine and did a decent job analyzing them), one was sufficient, and the other was a good attempt. But I was proud of all of them because they actually came to class prepared for their presentation. This can be rare.

When I got home, I learned something that made me celebrate the fact that I took a shower this morning, and washed dishes last night, and more importantly, did laundry yesterday. However, my plans to mop today, as well as my plans to do fun things like wash my hands and flush the toilet, must be postponed. Why? Someone apparently hasn't paid the water bill for awhile. This is the first time this has happened to me, surprisingly. I have a tricky water situation, as my water is on my neighbor's bill. Generally she comes by and timidly knocks on my door to ask for the money. She hasn't been here for awhile. Did she already move? I hope not. If so, I'm screwed, because I don't have the bill. If I don't see her tonight I will have to 1. suffer a showerless day tomorrow, and 2. call my landlord. I know you're wondering why I didn't call him the instant water didn't come out of the faucet. Well, he's in Bucharest until tomorrow, my neighbor pays the bill, plus I have 2 litres of water from the store. You see, This is Romania. You just gotta go with the flow (or lack of it).

I quickly ran to pay my internet bill in fear of losing my connection to the world. I have to go pay it at the cashier, which is a 20 minute walk from here. Strangely, I like the walk - strange, because it's along the main road, with all of its exhaust and dust in my eyes. But it's interesting nonetheless. Afterwards I wandered through the fresh fruit, flowers, and vegetable market and bought more strawberries. Now I'm sitting at home, thinking about what to make for dinner, thinking about what to wear tomorrow, thinking about what else I need to do to prep for tomorrow, and trying not to think about the water situation.

Tomorrow, Friday, I will spend the morning at an academic conference here in Brasov. Most attendees are from Romania, with the keynote speakers coming from the U.S. and Hungary. The conference is called "Interface Between Theoretical and Applied Research," which seems at the same time possibly vague, boring, or interesting. I can only make it for a few hours. Hopefully those are interesting. In the afternoon I have a presentation at Andrei Saguna High School, which is considered by many to be the best high school in town. The presentation is about studying in the U.S. at the undergraduate level. It's mostly an introduction to the idea, since the college experience in the U.S. is totally different than the idea most Romanians (especially in Brasov) have of being a university student. After the presentation, I'm apparently hopping a train to Sibiu for the weekend. Sibiu is 2.5-3 hours by train, to the West. I've been told some Fulbright women are gathering there. Should be a good time.

Which means that Saturday I will be in Sibiu, hopefully getting to know it a little bit. I've been there twice but only for a matter of hours: once for a Fulbright dinner, and once for a train to Timisoara. And it's good to get out and see more of Romania, especially my neighboring cities!

Corn Tortillas

My corn tortillas are almost gone; they probably won't make it to tomorrow night. But it's okay - I'm feeling okay. The purpose of corn tortillas in my life here is to provide a sweet refuge in my memories of American food. The variety and combinations, the accessibility, and the tastes. I've had people import corn tortillas for me twice now. Soon, they'll be gone.

But I have a plan. More polenta. I've grown to love polenta. Which is not a hard thing to do here in Romania. As of today, I have three months left here (I fly back to Providence on July 1st). So for three months, I can embrace the simplicity of the Romanian vegetarian diet, and eat my fill of polenta.
(and no, the meat in the photo is not part of the veg diet)