Thanksgiving in Bucuresti

It is interesting what we get used to and what we can live without. I am not a fan of turkey, although I love the stuffing and cranberry sauce. I did rather miss all the planning and baking. I enjoy cooking when there is someone to cook for. It is not any fun to cook for one and so I don't as a rule. We were supposed to bring something with us for the dinner. I offered to make pumpkin pie as mine always gets rave reviews. How hard can that be?

First I had to get the pie pans which really don't exist here. I finally bought two round glass dishes with 90 degree rather than 45 degree sides. Not exactly pie pans but they will do. Then I started looking for the ingredients. You would think I was looking for gold. First, I found cinnamon and whole cloves. Those were the only spices I could find. I tried to find ginger and nutmeg. I looked in all the local shops and asked for these items. No success. Then I went to Suceava to look in the bigger stores. I couldn't find anything anywhere.

In the meantime, I was working on getting the pumpkin. There are several kinds of pumpkins. The orange pumpkins that we use for pies are only used for jack-o-lanterns here. I tried to get one to make pies but was told it was pig food. Everyone made a face and shook their heads and adamantly refused to help me get a pumpkin. They use a white, oval-shaped pumpkin to make pies with. I have not tasted one as yet, but I really want an American pumpkin pie. I actually considered jumping the fence to get a pumpkin but that seemed very undignified and I can't imagine stealing a pumpkin from someone's field. I have offered to buy one but they refuse to sell me one.

Finally, I got a pumpkin, but still no spices. There are plenty of spices for meats and soups, but very little to be had in the baking department. I finally resorted to a bottle of wonderful wine from this area. Someone else had better luck with the pumpkin pie. Apparently, they were privy to the American grocery store in the American Embassy. If only I had thought of that. I will ask my kids to bring me what I need at Christmas and then I will make a pie.

In the meantime, Bucharest is getting ready for the holiday season. This is a Romanian mall. It is a huge building with lots of little shops inside. It is a frustrating experience to shop here. There are five floors. The top floor seems to be dedicated to appliances and electronics, a floor I can disregard. The escalator is in the center of each floor and the shops are arranged around it in a huge oval. The escalator forces you to walk halfway around to go up again. Many of the shops have the same sort of things, but you have to look at each one to see what is there. There are no maps that say where anything is and so you are on your own with only the escalator to keep you grounded. I think I will be saving a lot of money her in Romania because there does not seem very much to spend it on which is not all bad.

Dinner was fabulous as it turned out. It is so nice to see people who understand what you are saying the first time you say it. I am always happy to spend a few days with the other Fulbrighters in Romania. It is a breath of fresh air. There was plenty to eat and we made short work of it all. I doubt there were many leftovers to send home. No turkey sandwiches for the big football bowl games. I wonder if they are even broadcast over here?

Most of us had no real agenda after dinner and so we went – you guessed it – out to eat. Are we Americans, or what? We found ourselves at a wonderful little Mexican restaurant somewhere in Bucharest.