Presentation at the Bi-lingual high school in Bucharest

I arrived a bit early for Thanksgiving and was able to accompany Kymber, another Fulbrighter, to the Bi-lingual high school in Bucharest. I met the director a few weeks ago the RATE conference in Timisoara. It certainly is a small world. She was looking for an English teacher at the time and wondered if I knew anyone interested.

Darkening a room in Romania is an interesting procedure. In this room the shades are a salmon color and so most of the images have a salmon tint to them. I have not figured out how to untint them as yet. We spoke with two groups – the underclassmen and the upperclassmen. It was an interesting afternoon. Both groups were interested but there were so many of them, it was hard to say if they will consider coming to America for their university studies.

I enjoyed seeing another high school in action. These kids are much more serious about their future than most of their counterparts in Gura Humorului. There is a group of students in GH that are very serious, but on the whole, the students' ambitions do not run high. I have seniors who have no idea what they want to do after graduation. Although I do think that our system of starting career training in the elementary school is a bit much, it is also obvious that there is little if any direction given to students regarding a realistic future for them. Most of them are without real purpose in their education. There are certainly fewer opportunities for my students in this rural region, but even so, they seem to be simply enjoying high school. My students are a wonderful group and have a delightful camaraderie amongst their classmates.

These students have heard presentations from several British and other western European universities. These are some of the best that Romania has to offer and many schools are interested in them.

It has been snowing all week

Every single day this week, it has snowed. Big, white, fluffy snowflakes keep floating down from above. I have actually been enjoying it this year. Maybe it has something to do with not having to drive in it. I did get an international drivers license in case I needed it, but I have no intention of using it if I can avoid it. I am actually enjoying the snow this year, even though I have to walk what I imagine to be great distances in it. This morning I woke at three to a soft soughing at my window. When I looked to see what it was, I was greeted with this delightful image. The snow had made ghosts of the apple trees in the back yard.

In the morning the snow was frozen to the tree branches. I am not sure if it was actually frozen or simply balanced ever so delicately. It was a light snow and so it just stayed there on the branches. It sparkled in the morning sun. I actually enjoyed waiting for the bus to take me to school.

It is always interesting to watch the traffic go by as I wait. This morning there were several gentlemen on bicycles on their way out for the morning. They are usually rather well dressed as they cycle their way to their destination.

Along comes a stack truck laden with logs for the lumber mills. He careens around the bend as if his life depended on it. I can only imagine what would happen if it went end-for-end. Logs would be flying everywhere. As it is he is taking up most of the road. It is scary being a pedestrian here, although no one ever seems to get hurt.

And, of course, the horse and carts. They are out in force today. They seem quite happy to be prancing down the road in the frosty air. Steam rushes from their nostrils as they breathe. This one looks especially sprightly as he clatters down the road. The winter shoes have studs on them similar to those on snow tires (for those of us who remember them). He trots down the road with his tassels and mane swinging back and forth to the rhythm of his trot. The bus takes us down the road that follows the Humor River. It is very low this time of year, but they say it will be another thing entirely in the spring when the snow melts in the mountains.

When we get into town, this coat takes my eye. It is quite elegant. Many of the ladies here wear fur coats, the real thing, because they keep you very warm. This one is exceptionally stunning.

All too soon it is time to go to class. I shall be thinking of after school when I can enjoy the snow again.

A Snowy Day

It is a snowy, snowy day. A day to stay at home and watch the snow from the window with a cup of hot chocolate in hand. But I am going to Suceava again. I am amazed at the tanacity of the people here. This is the main thoroughfare between the two towns. The black and yellow paint on the guard rails indicates it is dangerous here. I am in a hitch-mobile. It is not really warm, but I am out of the elements and traveling at a pretty fast clip. As we round this curve, there is a lady walking along the shoulder with her purchases in hand. The cart is laden with goods from the market. We are passing a slower car and there is a semi further ahead around the bend. I am first surprised that we are all alive, and second that this is a commonplace sight. It is not unusual to see people walking, carts and horses, cars, minibuses, trucks and huge touring buses - all on the same road passing each other as if it is the thing to do. Back home, they would all be arrested for reckless driving and endangering the lives of the passengers.

Dedication of the Refurbished Canteen

On another note, teachers' meetings have taken a turn for the more interesting. In the past two weeks there have been two saint's days which were more cocktail party than anything I would have imagined. Apparently, Saints Michael and Gabriel are the patron saints of Gura Humorului. These saints have a lot of pull in Europe. There is an interesting Name Day tradition that if you are named for a saint, then you celebrate your "name day" on the saint's day. It is like having an extra birthday. Nothing is left uncelebrated here in Eastern Europe. It is wonderful to be able to look on the bright side of life. I just wish I knew when these things were coming so I would be prepared. Or maybe less prepared is a better way to put it. I am ready for class and then there is no class to be ready for. In their honor, school is unofficially dismissed at 11 in the morning and a huge spread is laid out for the staff. The announcements are written in chalk in the Teacher's Room in each building for everyone to see and take note of. Unfortunately, I can only read English, not Romanian. I ask every week if there is something I should know about and usually they say no. And so I seldom know about these other events so I am usually caught off-guard.

Tuesday, there was a mandatory staff meeting for the dedication of the refurbished canteen. Initially the staff was herded into the Teacher's Work room. We waited until we were told to report to the canteen and so we went. When we arrived, it was absolutely lovely. There were table decorations everywhere. When we were finally assembled, the priests set about blessing the building, the kitchens, and the staff by name. There were the two staff priests who teach religion and a cantor I did not recognize. This was a very elaborate ceremony, involving the blessing of the building with holy water splashed around on a lavender twig. Candles were lit and bread was given to each table representing the north, south, east, and west sides of the building. This dedication involves much singing and chanting, candles and incense, genuflecting and blessings. We faced east for part of the service. It was really quite elaborate, but interesting.

Finally, the canteen was blessed. Then we turned to the delicious hors d'oevres and wines on the table. There was regional blueberry wine, an excellent Romanian wine, twika, and I lost track what else. All very good. I tasted each one to be sure. The Romanian wine was especially good. My glass was kept full as the dinner arrived. Wonderful roast pork and vegetables. Then dessert. Can you imagine that I could not finish it because I simply had no room for it!! This was a splendid affair.

Throughout dinner there was a three piece band playing traditional music. Each of the band members had graduated from Alexandru cel Bun and so it was old home week for them. They really were quite good. As the dinner dishes were cleared away the Director took to the dance floor and started the evening's festivities. We danced the rest of the night away.

And then we all had 8 o'clock classes in the morning. I am getting to thoroughly enjoy this Romanian system of education.

Chilean Street Concert

On Saturday afternoon after an excellent turkey dinner, a few of us decided to go shopping. Need I mention that I have not seen a real store in months? We headed out in a group to the mall. It was a great idea. Ross and I found some excellent pictures and so straggled from the group. We dawdled through Unirii Piata checking out the Christmas decorations and lights. The buildings here are so huge. It is not that they are skyscrapers like in New York City. There are fifteen or twenty stories high so it is not the height so mush as the length of them that is surprising. Atop every inch of these behemoths is neon advertising. It is quite a sight to behold.

An immense Christmas tree is going up in the park in the center of the Piata. The top is missing, but otherwise, it is nearly complete. I can only imagine what it will look like when it is lit up. Across the Piata is one of the malls. I am almost there. We are supposed to cross over and catch bus number 123 or 124 to the big mall.

Twilight is waning and it is becoming dark. The lights twinkle above. It is a wonderful place tonight. We are mesmerized by the lights. We continue across the piata through the park. Music filters through the sounds of the cars and buses in the round-about. It is a street band or a concert in the Piata and it sounds interesting. IT is not rock music or classical music, but something more haunting. Finally, across the very busy round-about are lights and a large crowd. That must be the band. We head that way to take a look ourselves. We are just in time for them to take a break. We hear the last strands of their music die away as we get there. There are three band members with enough musical instruments to outfit a high school band.
There are dressed in buckskin from head to foot. They have buckskin shoes with crepe soles to keep their feet warm. I have no doubt that in the summer they wear moccasins, but in the freezing temperatures, it is impossible. They have buckskin pants, buckskin shirts, and buckskin over-tunics. Their faces are a ruddy brown with three parallel black stripes running diagonally from the center of their foreheads to their right ears, as if they have been swiped by a bear and lived to tell the story. Their hair is thick and black, held back with a wide red headband. One of them is wearing a war bonnet. I am not sure what the significance for that is here, and maybe there is none.

We stop to talk to one of them while they are taking a break. It turns out that they are Chilean and the costumes are authentic. I did not know that any South Americans had war bonnets. Close up, it is easy to see that he probably is from Chile from his bone structure. It is a bit different than our own Native Americans. He tells us that the music is traditional Chilean. We walk over to look at the array of instruments. I do not recognize all of them. Many of them are percussion and wind instruments. Flutes and pipes of all different sorts and sizes. It seems that the break is taking an awfully long time. I really want to hear them again as they sounded rather good from across the Piata.

Finally, they begin to plug in the portable generators, two of them. The lights illuminate their corner of the square. Soon the haunting melody of a single flute begins to drift through the crowd. The fog machine starts to bellow out smoke and the concert begins. Now it is apparent now that the music is essentially a recorded synthesizer that they use to accent with their various instruments. I have waited forty-five minutes to hear an enhanced recording. They have three cds that the Indian with the war bonnet is hawking to the crowd that has gathered. One is called Mohawk, one The Great One, and the last one Apache. They are Chilean, remember. The cds were published in Poland – interesting. There is an admonition on the back cautioning against copying, sending the files over the internet, unlawful sharing, unlawful hearing of the music. Apparently, I can buy the cd, but I cannot let you listen to it at my house unless you pay for your own copy.

Each one of them has a talent. The one in the war bonnet is a gifted salesman. One of them plays a mean flute. The last one has been watching the Discovery channel as he has the dancing down to a T.

They are obviously making money as they have two generators, a fog machine, lights and amplifiers, and a whole host of instruments. Their costumes cost them a pretty penny. Apparently, everyone is paying attention to the warning about unlawful hearing.

Gaudeamus International Book Fair

It has been interesting to me what there is and isn't in Romania. I have found a dearth of English reading matter. I brought boxes of books over with me, mostly for teaching, but a few to read. It is a good thing as I have only been able to find one book in English in Suceava and a shelf of them, mostly classics I have already read, in Timisoara, but I hit paydirt in Bucharest at the Book Fair. There are not just books, but dealers with whole walls of books in English. Recent books in English. Two I actually have on my "to Read" list! I had such a wonderful time there on Friday that I went back on Saturday for more.

On the way to Gaudeamus there was a musician playing a classical piece as we rode the Metro. I am getting better and better at finding my way on the subway system. It is always so interesting what you find.

You have to love a country where the Minister of Culture and the Minister of Education come to the Book Fair to welcome the booksellers and the public. I am not sure there are many other places where reading and philosophical discussions are so celebratedAs I wandered about the stalls, I found that there were hundreds of books in English. There were gazillions of books about philosophy which is heartening to see. One thing they have right here is that the students are taught to think about the decisions they make. Authors are celebrated and thinkers are listened to. What a unique way to behave as a country.

The Book Fair is held in what looks like a huge arena, but is apparently, the Exposition Centre. They are rebuilding the main drive and so an alternate entrance has been arranged. As we walk to the building I have the feeling we are headed to a spaceship and that we will soon be transported to another planet. I guess the world of books really is another planet, so it is well situated here.

On Saturday morning, I noticed traffic was exceptionally awful this morning. This motorcade passed as we walked. Offhandedly, I wondered aloud if it was the President going to Gaudeamus. Turns out, it WAS doing just that. It seems that I was walking to the Exposition Centre at the same time as the President was arriving. He spoke for quite a while. I imagine he was talking about great books he has read and how reading is good for you. I was not able to follow much of what he said and there was no one to translate. I was able to get within arm's reach of him which I found interesting. Certainly would not have happened in America. He looked like he had just left his overstuffed chair in the library. A casual man today.

There are thousands of people here at the book exposition. Browsing is not really the word for it. It is pretty much push-and-shove to get from booth to booth. It is certainly wonderful to see so many interested in books. People are carrying sacks and sacks of books away with them. I am looking for a book written by a Romanian that is currently on the New York Times Best Seller list. The language barrier makes it interesting. I have been directed to all sorts of displays, none of which have the book I want. Finally, I find it, newly translated in Romanian. I was actually looking for the English version. The author is working at building a bridge between America and Romania through her writing. There are now four books published in this YA series. The latest is Vampirii Sudului, Vampire Witch in English, a rather odd translation. I have finally found a copy and it is a good read so far.

I had expected to find the classics as I have found in the bookstores, but there are best-sellers too. I had planned to go home lighter than I had arrived. I see that is not going to happen. As it turned out, I broke the zipper on my suitcase trying to cram too much in it. I have Bill Bryson's latest and an interesting series of essays about Romanians titled, Us Against Ourselves among others. I will have plenty to read over the winter.

I found a lovely book of photographic images of Romania by George Avanu. The artist was there and he smiled for the camera. His pictures really capture the flavor of the country. I am sure it will be on my coffee table when I return for some time.

I thoroughly enjoyed spending the day surrounded by the smell of new books and readers of all sorts. Somehow the day slipped away and it was twilight when I began my walk back to the hotel. It is late and I have managed to fill my backpack with some excellent reads for the long winter months. The moon shines through the trees on this early autumn evening while thousands of Romanians rush home in their cars. It seems that there are two million people in Bucharest and one million cars. I don't think we are even that bad in America. Mostly the cars sit. I had been on a bus but when it took 45 minutes to go three city blocks, I decided that I could get there sooner if I walk. It was a warm day and so the fog is settling in for the evening.

Snowball Snow

Today it snowed again. Big, fluffy snowflake snow. Snowman snow, but there isn't enough of it to build a whole snowman yet. The streets are not plowed.

On the way from one bulding to another I ran across this gentleman. What a fabulous outfit. He is wearing traditional clothing for the mountain area. I don't know that I have ever seen someone dressed as he is in town. In the villages, yes, but never in town.

It is definitely boot weather. I have new shoes still in the box and it is boot weather. The road is very icy although I have not seen an accident yet. Probably because it is still early for folks to be up and about. The little ladies at School Number Two were out early this morning. They swept the sidewalk from the street to the building before we arrived. They are so sweet. They don't speak any English but they always smile and say, "Buna Ziua," when I come in. They open the doors for me if they are still locked. They always smile.

Today I noticed that the Lions Restaurant is a mirror image of the house across the alley from it. Amazing what a little paint can do to completely change the image of a house. I understand that they are Jewish houses. Several people have pointed that out to me. It is interesting that once you know what to look for, it is quite obvious. Apparently, the Jews who once lived here built single story houses, but very tall buildings. I wonder what the story is here.

Ben’s cousins

It is amazing how small the world really can be. I forget who started the whole six persons removed plan, but it certainly works. Here I am, about as remote as you can get in Romania, and it seems that one of my students in America has cousins and family here. In fact, they are only on the other side of the mountain in Suceava. I finally was able to get in touch with them and we managed to meet after one of my infamous trips to Suceava for my Legitimate which I still don't have. After I had concluded my discussions with the police again, I called Anca who lives in Suceava. Her sister Alina actually met me and we met Anca at a lovely Italian restaurant in town. They had excellent desserts!! We all know how that cheers me. We talked for quite a while. I have made it my mission to help as many Romanians as I can to improve their English as my Romanian is still not conversational as yet. I can get essential directions and order from the menu, but I am not able to actually put enough words together to make a sentence.

After a delightful dessert and conversation, we went to their parents' home. They live right near the only place I know to buy really good ice cream. That is a good sign. Of course, we started with homemade blueberry wine and then another excellent wine. They own a grocery store and so dinner was excellent. Typical Romanian breads and salamis and vegetables and cheeses. Delicious. I couldn't have asked for anything better. While we were there, Anca's husband and son arrived on the scene. The little one stole the scene. He has such bright eyes – he is going to be a smart one. Her husband is a traditional dancer and has promised to invite me to watch the next time his group is dancing nearby. Anca is in school in Cluj but gets home every few weeks. They are a great group – full of life and fun. Her father is from Moldovita and has offered to take me there to see the monastery in the spring. I am looking forward to that trip.

In the meantime, I have a student in class who is the spitting image of Ben, my American student. Interestingly, my Romanian student is also named Ben. What a small world.

Halloween

Halloween is not a Romanian tradition at all, but this year the kids have decided to participate in some of the American traditions. They have organized a party for the evening. They have published invitations which are posted around the school. This is going to be a really wonderful evening. I have been invited and decide that I should go. I have no costume so decide to go as an American. The gym is decorated for the occasion. There are lights strung from the rafters that are intertwined with red and black taffeta. Pretty yellow and red leaves are scattered on the floor. There are carved pumpkins glowing around the perimeter of the gym. It is quite a sight.

All the kids have costumes. There are mostly high school students, but there are also some younger siblings who are welcomed to the festivities. There do not appear to be any chaperones. Several of us teachers have arrived as we were invited and it sounded like fun. These kids don’t appear to do stupid things and are capable of making intelligent decisions. I am not sure why this is. It may be that it is a small, isolated community and peer pressure to behave is very strong.

They are all in costume and it is hard to tell who they all are. Some have come in traditional costumes of sorts. Some are dressed as ghosts and ghouls. Some are dressed as cats and clowns. Some arrive in evening gowns while others wear rags. Cross-dressers and gypsies. Even Santa made an appearance. It is quite an amalgamation. The MC for the evening has a fabulous set of tails with a striped shirt to set it off. He has spent some time making his face look pretty scary.

As the evening moves along, there is a pumpkin carving contest. I have been asked to be a judge. It is really difficult to decide. One little boy has made an excellent jack-o-lantern. It even has long strands of twine for hair. It wins first place. There is dancing and vamping for their friends. Finally, it is time to leave before the last maxitaxi leaves. These kids have had a wonderful evening and so did I.

Botosan Theate Group

A theatre group came from Botosan to perform an excellent little play called Zapezile de Altadaya. Two actors played the parts of a couple who grew from young lovers to a more mature, married couple who had become complacent with each other. The woman felt she was not being appreciated and tried a variety of ploys to get her man to be more demonstrative toward her to no avail. She even went to the trouble of having her mother call at an opportune time so that she could pretend it was another man. Her husband replied that he “must be another man who is not sleeping” and rolled over for a snooze. She has a fit at one point and completely trashes the apartment. One of the interesting scenes occurred shortly after when they had made up and were sleeping. They held the mattress upright against the back wall and leaned into it as if they were sleeping. He managed an excellent slump that exuded pure comfort while standing on three toes. They fought, although he was resigned to his fate and did not fight back. She threatened to leave several times and threw him out several other times. She could not seem to come to terms with the simple comfort he offered, but wanted more passion in their relationship. She was sure he did not love her. Finally he had had enough and then he threw a fit. The closing scene they kiss and make up.

Not bad for someone who does not speak the language. I am sure that I missed a few of the nuances. A few times the audience laughed and I had no idea why, but all in all, I understood what was happening.

Many students were at the play this afternoon. The English Department was out in force. At the conclusion, including a standing ovation, several of us found our way to a little bar outside the Casa de Cultura and had a Campari. It was the weakest thing they had. They said it was brandy. I don’t remember it as a brandy but then maybe I forget. When it arrived I found that I was not wrong – it is close to straight alcohol! We sat for a while in the bar. There does not seem to be any heat here and it is open to the elements at the other end. Although we could not see our breath as we sat there, we might have without the Campari.

Later, several of us went to Botosan to see Romeo and Juliet performed by the same company. They were excellent. The building stands in honor of the Romanian playright Eminescu. The little troupe is quite good. The stage was Shakespearean in that there was no scenery to speak of. Six blocks that moved all over the stage in gepmetrical figuartions.