World AIDS Day

This is the 22nd annual World AIDS Day around the world. In the United States, AIDS has largely gone from being a death sentence to being a manageable chronic illness. Around the world, especially in Africa, that is not the case. Perhaps, though, more pervasive, is the stigma and discrimination that goes hand in hand with the diagnosis of HIV/AIDS. And that is something that we can all do something about.

Last year, on the occasion of World AIDS Day, the following people had this to say:

Michel Sidibe, Executive Director of UNAIDS
On this World AIDS Day we are filled with both hope and concern. Hope because significant progress has been made towards universal access. New HIV infections have dropped. Fewer children are born with HIV. And more than 4 million people are on treatment. Concern because 28 years into the epidemic the virus continues to make inroads into new populations; stigma and discrimination continue to undermine efforts to turn back the epidemic. The violation of human rights of people living with HIV, women and girls, men who have sex with men, injecting drug users and sex workers must end.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, The Global Fund’s Ambassador for the protection of mothers and children against AIDS
No mother needs to die from AIDS and no child should be born with HIV anywhere in the world. We must ensure that these disparities end. These are goals that are achievable, that accelerate the pace of our efforts, and that will not only help us save lives from AIDS but, as we increasingly see, will benefit maternal and child health more widely.

Emmanuel Adebayor, UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador
Do you know that HIV is treatable?
- And still… too many people around the world do not have access to proper treatment, care and support. This is unacceptable! Everyone deserves to live their rights. Join me and stand up for equal rights for all.

Toumani Diabate, UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador
Listen…
- to my message…Listen to my words…
Discrimination and stigmatization are some of the biggest challenges facing the HIV epidemic worldwide. We can change that – people affected by HIV should have the same rights as everyone. Please join me on this special day to honor the courage of the people living with HIV and let us make sure our voices and support is heard.

Salman Ahmad, UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador
I believe we have to rediscover and relearn how to see the world with compassion. When we see with the heart, we see a diverse and beautiful humanity including those of us, women, children and men who are living with HIV and AIDS. Love is the way back to rediscovering that compassion. Love can take us back.

Today, especially, I want to thank all of the Peace Corps volunteers and staff in Africa and other places who work with and on behalf of people and families with HIV/AIDS. Let us all have open hearts and work to break down the stigma and discrimination associated with this disease. It is just that—a disease, not a judgment, and it is a part of all of our lives.

And just cause I can't not soundtrack anything these days (and because I adore Anthony and Jesse), here is a small taste of Jonathan Larson's soundtrack to the AIDS epidemic in NYC in the early years:

Goodbye NaBloPoMo

Searching this gray November morning for a rousing topic to close out a month of blogging, the spartan willows and bored crows outside my window remain mute to my need. A backhoe continues the drainage project, kids play a game of recess soccer on a cold asphalt square. The dogs and cats are curled up together somewhere else, where I cannot find them. Unlike other parts of the country, however, Tulcea remains for the time being free of snow. Oh, small blessing.

And so I go in search of inspiration again from The Pioneer Woman. Or maybe I'm just looking to enter another giveaway--leather boots or a fancy mixer. And I came across her "Ten Important Things I've Learned About Blogging." In particular, I like #7, don't be afraid to embarrass yourself; #9, if you have writer's block, push through and blog anyway; and #10, value every person who takes the time out of their day to stop by your blog. What Ree is saying is that I should dedicate myself to blogging every day always. As I said before, y'all (that's what Ree would use) get a lot of chaff that way, but maybe it's the best way to get the good stuff. I don't know. We'll see how it goes.

At the end of her post, a woman commented on how beautiful Ree looks in the picture, like Martina McBride. And that made me think of a really great singer you've probably never heard of. She's talented and gorgeous, and I don't know what she's up to these days. And alas, I lost my tape of her music in the flood. But thanks to Laura N. to introducing me to Matraca Berg. Check it out for yourself. A little bit country, a little bit sexy-fun, and a whole lot fabulous.

I also want to say thank you to my NaBloPoMo friends, Angela and Julie, who are not only accomplished and delightful women in their own right, but also are inspiring mothers and wranglers of Handsome and Creative Ranger Men. When I grow up I want to be just like you!

Peace Corps Dream

My mom used to tell me that long after she finished college she would have dreams of missing deadlines and class assignments. After I left the film biz, I still had dreams about being on set where nothing was happening because I wasn't making it happen. And now I'm having Peace Corps dreams even though I'm still in the Peace Corps.

Last night I had a rather clear and detailed dream about preparing to go to Cameroon. It's July, 2011, and I've returned for a brief stay in the states before beginning my re-up in Cameroon. I suddenly realize that I need to be to staging in Chicago on the 29th, only a few days away. I haven't studied any French, haven't joined the facebook group, haven't even looked at (or possibly received) my info packet. I'm going to be an environmental volunteer, but I don't seem to even want to go. I rationalize that I can just go for a couple of months, maybe I'll just early terminate after training; that way I can get a little cultural exposure and language but won't be stuck there for the long haul. If I can just figure out how to get to Chicago...

A Little Light Reading

In preparation for the long upcoming winter, I acquired for myself in the big town all 1300 pages of War and Peace. Since I pretty much breezed through the 700 or so pages of The Brothers Karamazov, I'm feeling confident in my ability to tackle Russian literature. So I figured I might as well strike while the iron is hot, as they say. Also, I'm fortified by my delicious Russian tea. Really, now or never. Have you read War and Peace?

Dear Bloggety Blog

Dear Bloggety Blog,

Thank you for being a way I can tell my little stories to the world (or at least my mom) that is free and without a panel of critics. Thank you for letting me post pictures and an occasional video, and letting me post my favorite quotes along the side. Thank you creating a nice selection of templates for the luddite in me. And most of all, thank you for waiting patiently between posts while I go out and live my life...except in November.

Yes, blog post month is almost over and I must say I have mixed feelings. I will miss reading my friends' daily blog posts, which while sometimes are blah like mine occasionally take on something akin to brilliance which I posit would not occur without the daily posting, ie we must all sift through chaff to get the wheat, or the really excellent blog post. But I also understand that other activities can and probably should take precedence.

Meanwhile with a few days left on the challenge...

Bought some tea in Bucuresti called "green and gray" meaning that it is green tea with bergamot, the not-so-secret ingredient in Earl Gray tea. I was hoping this could be my signature I-can't-wait-to-get-back-to-the-NPS tea. Alas, it's not that exciting. Just a good name.

Happy to be home to healthy food, I went to Kaufland today to stock up. Too bad I seemed to have forgotten my bankcard pin. How does that happen in the span of two weeks? Eh, I had enough money to get a few days' worth of food. I'll go the bank Monday. The ladies there are very nice to me.

And yesterday before I left town I visited the same nice music store where I bought my guitar last year. They had a beginner guitar book that I bought for one of my kids. And I asked him about some of the specialty instruments on the wall. I explained that I had admired them last year, but still hadn't seen any of them in use. The triangular one is a Russian balalaika. The long one is a baglama, common in Turkey. We saw these played in Istanbul but with a round back. The one in the store had a flat back. And also he had a Ukrainian domra, a small round mandolin-type instrument. All of the instruments are made by a company in Romania named Hora, which is also the word for a popular circle dance. They also make beautiful violins and guitars. My guitar is a Hora but I went cheap, and I don't plan on bringing it home. But maybe a domra...

And that, dear bloggety blog, is the way it was, November 27th, 2010.

After Midnight

This really shouldn't count as Friday's blog post since I haven't gone to bed yet from Thursday, but I'll be on a train a good part of the day and trying to get out of Buc the other part. A lovely stay in our capital city, highlighted by Thanksgiving dinner at the Ambassador's. The Ambassador and his wife are so delightful and gracious to us and so appreciative of what we do. And the food is terrific--lots of heavenly vegetable dishes and maybe the best stuffing I've ever had, and that is saying quite a bit. When Courtney sends me her pictures, I'll post the one here of the superb kitchen and wait staff. They treated us like royalty. It really is quite a special event, and the Gitensteins host it solely for the Peace Corps staff and volunteers. Then I went out with the young folks and watched them play drinking games, which is actually kind of entertaining. They are, after all, a good group of people. But Courtney and I came home early from the bar as she has an early start home tomorrow. And now to bed.

Thanksgiving

I'm grateful that I've lost nine pounds (although three of that could have been my hair). And it hasn't been a hardship at all with all my delicious Kaufland vegetables and peanut butter. I know that's pretty lame for Thanksgiving, but my life is weird and we take any kind of victory we can get. And I'm grateful for the opportunity to get together with my friends and have a laugh.

Wherever you are today, I wish you all good food, laughter, some enriching conversation, and mostly I wish you peace. It's a great big wide blue world, and you are loved.

No Pictures Were Taken

After the glorious sunny weather of Sunday, Monday arrived wrapped in low clouds. We sat far too long at the kitchen table before getting up the energy to have a small adventure to a local monastery. We had planned on visiting two, but the day got away... Instead we got on a bus and got dropped off four kilometers from the Agapia monastery for nuns. The monastery was nice and the nuns were out stacking wood for the winter, but the best part was the walk up the road through the woods on the grayest and lowest of November days. Fortunately the weather suited the terrain of close, small, wooded hills. The road followed a small river, the water low in its rocky bed. A horse cart went by with the horse ringing its bells. A bit later we heard bells on sheep in a pasture, the low clanking like a cowbell. It reminded me of a documentary called Rivers and Tides about artist Andy Goldsworthy and his ramblings out in the sheep pastures of Scotland, which then reminded me of our wonderful trip last year (pre Peace Corps) to Storm King Art Park on the Hudson which features a Goldsworthy stone wall. And then along the road, we saw a small stone wall.

We had a good time looking at trees. There were some big beech in the woods and I looked for nuts, but alas only the burrs. My friend noticed a barren evergreen which he identified as larch, a species that I know of, but I guess have never lived around. We ended up seeing quite a few, and some large, including one very yellow in the yard of a house with a yellow wooden fence. It looked so pretty together, and unusual. And because they were so distinctive, I called the ever-narrowing valley Valea Larchilor, or Larch Valley in a really bastardized rom-english way.

Just outside the front gate of the monastery, a nun was selling bread, rolls, and bottled edibles locally made. We bought a bready snack and I asked about one of the bottles. She explained it was a local plant used for medicinal purposes. It was not a plant I knew, unlike the spruce syrup that she also had. Spruce tips are picked here and made into syrup that is good for coughs and illnesses. I should have bought the syrup since I've only ever heard of it, but it seemed like a lot of syrup to consume. So we just enjoyed our rolls.

We were followed down from the monastery by two dogs. I tried to feed them both some bread, but they evidently had an arrangement that only the mommy dog got to eat the bread. They were good companions on the walk even though I worried greatly about the little one who didn't seem to know how to get out of the road for cars. Along the way we also passed interesting wooden gates and trim on the houses. And a few birds, great tits mostly, hanging around for the winter.

Then we hopped a bus back to town just before it rained. The most perfect and simple of days.

More Pretty Girls Than One

Leaving the north today for Bucuresti and more controlled chaos. Had a great few days with everyone, really fun time with other volunteers and friends. And although we all enjoyed a little Cee Lo Green (Warning! Rated R) soulful vulgarity, for me the real song of the weekend was the one in my head this morning as the milk run pulled out of Targu Neamt. Leave it to Lyle.

Mama talked to me last night
She gave to me some good advice
She said "Son, you'd better quit this old ramblin' all around
And marry you a sweet lovin' wife"

But there's more pretty girls than one


Indeed.

A Little Post-Turkey Stroll

The day after thanksgiving was full of delicious left-overs, but we also got up off our butts on a beautiful fall day and walked up to the cetate (chuh-TAH-tay)(fortress) that overlooks the town. Along the way we read some very nice interpretive signs that were fabricated by Veronica's center. And we had a nice tour of the rebuilt fortress that is anywhere from maybe five to eight hundred years old.
So that was the culturally and aerobically enhancing part of the day. Otherwise we behaved like frat boy juvenile delinquents with potty mouths. And laughing like we invented it. Honestly, it's like we have been living in caves or something.

Thus it Begins

Well I missed blogging yesterday as we had a marathon day of cooking and eating. Lots of volunteers, a huge turkey as well as a chicken and some smoked quail, a fair amount of drinking (including an especially delicious distilled berry firewater), a sufficient amount of two kinds of cranberry goodness, and of course me licking whipped cream off of Ted's forehead. Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, thanksgiving part I in Romania. Life is good. And we found a funny vulgar song about being bi-lingual to be our holiday theme song, but we can't share that on the blogety-blog. Stay tuned for more as I tour the country with a smoked quail in my pack.

Small Holiday

I'm leaving this morning for a week-long Thanksgiving extravaganza. Like last year, I'll start up north with Veronica's tour-de-force pre-Thanksgiving volunteer dinner, as only a southern gal can do. My bag is packed with cranberries from Mom and the fixings for a jewel salad. Then some of us head down south to Bucuresti for the day itself, which I shall report on later next week, as well as the scouting report: I'm looking for music books for some kids and tea for myself and Aurelia.

But for today, it's all about spending 9 hours on buses (if I'm lucky and they are all running). There is a certain peace to knowing that all I have to do today is ride buses. It's still dark outside, and a bit foggy. But soon that will clear and I'll be staring out at the Romanian countryside, contemplating all of my riches there are to bless.

My Buddy, G. W. Carver

I suppose I like peanut butter as much as the next person, especially since my vegan days and since I found the very inexpensive and completely simple Trader Joe's PB: peanuts and salt for two bucks (yes, Dad, you paid more for the organic and I appreciate it). But overseas, we Americans develop a special bond with this American staple. First of all, it can be hard to come by, generally inferior, and nearly universally loathed by non-Americans. But between the recent shipment to me direct from TJ's Pasadena (where the dream began)of the best PB in the world, and the arrival of Kaufland supermarket in Tulcea which usually carries the one good brand of PB in Romania (Cinderella brand), I'm in business. Most days I make an open-faced sandwich of peanut butter and apple slices for lunch. And now I'm perfecting another recipe which sends me over the moon: peanut sauce and peanut dressing. It makes a great stir fry sauce for veggies over rice. Or with winter coming on, and cabbage taking a starring role, here's my new favorite meal this week:

PEANUT SALAD SUPREME
Fill a bowl with chopped green cabbage, a chopped or grated carrot, a little sliced onion (I like green onion for this, some red onion would be good too) and slivers of sweet red pepper.

On top of the salad, put some tofu and something starchy. I think traditionally an Asian noodle would be good, but here I've got brown rice so that's what I use. This can be either hot or cold, but cooked. I'd love some TJ's baked tofu to go on this, but my local plain tofu works fine.

Peanut dressing:
Mix a quarter to a third of a cup of peanut butter with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, a teaspoon of vinegar, a teaspoon of sugar, a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce, a heaping teaspoon of hot pepper paste (more to taste), a good sprinkle of garlic powder and powdered ginger. Yesterday I diced up some of the sweet pickled ginger root I made. It gave it a nice bite. Also, because I have it, I put in a half teaspoon of my veggie broth-making paste. It's rich and brown. Then I mix it all up with a little water to get to the desired consistency. I like to keep it thicker than a regular dressing, especially if I'm doing the stir fry thing. But play with it, it's a very inexact science. Also, you'll find recipes that add coconut milk. That's probably a good idea, but I don't have any. Oh, and best of all, at the end, chop up some cilantro on top. Don't worry if it's gloppy, that's why we like cabbage instead of lettuce. Slouching toward America, one peanut dish at a time.

16 Days

16 Days Against Gender Violence is a worldwide education and activism campaign. It takes place from November 25 to December 10, marked at the beginning by International Day Against Violence Against Women, and at the end by International Human Rights Day. In between we have World AIDS Day on December 1 and International Women Human Rights Defenders Day on November 29. Here in Romania, our Gender and Development Committee works every year to distribute and promote lesson plans and any activities that we can create at our sites. This year, we are partnering with an NGO in Bucuresti to once again host an essay and art contest on a theme. I have to give a lot of credit to my friend, and committee co-pres, Courtney, who has done so much work to make this a reality. All I did was design a poster.

Any of you with kids or classrooms, I highly encourage you taking a look at the 16 Days website. We're not as far along on this issue as we would like to believe.

Post-Its

As another sign that I'm not in Kansas anymore, whole functional organizational systems that I developed and used in the States, both personally and for work, have collapsed in This Romanian Life. Part of it is the lack of elaborate organizational systems since heretofore I haven't been juggling as many responsibilities (although yesterday tested that theory--in a good way) and therefore haven't needed to be as organized. Part of it is an attitude here that doesn't value such intense planning. Whatever the cause, I've lost my edge. And so now, it's come to this. I have adapted a post-it style of organization. You should know I abhorred this in the States. But even now, as I am getting busy with projects, I can't seem to abandon my colorful little slips of paper. They are just so disposable and quick.

I'm hoping that when I have enough work that I in fact have to plan my work, I will cowboy up and regain some of my past skills and tools. Goodness knows it is my specialty, this 3-D chess that life can become. There are so many things that do not come naturally to me, but organizing stuff? I can take on a whole Staples catalog full of post-its blindfolded with one hand tied behind my back. (gulp, I think...)

Today's Round-up

It's too busy a day to find a theme, so I'll just share some highlights:

The cranberries arrived, sweet blessed post office. Real, fresh cranberries straight from America. The nice man at the post office told me he knew all about American cranberry sauce and about Thanksgiving. There will be a follow-up on this topic.

Got an email last night from a man in Germany with whom our park has been working to set up a "twinning" project, or in other words a sister park somewhere in Europe. He sent a list of potential parks and suggested that I could review them and find a few that might be appropriate for our park. This was actually a very enjoyable activity that unexpectedly took up half my day. I'll take my written suggestions into the office tomorrow.

Wrote up the notes from last nights conference call about logistics for our Peace Corps anniversary Habitat build next May. Also worked with others to set up a Thanksgiving day meeting for those of us on the committee going into Buc for the holiday.

Ate yummy lunch of leftover broccoli, red peppers and scallions in peanut sauce over brown rice. Half a pomegranate and a Mad Men episode for dessert.

Now at 4:00 sitting down to my proposal-length discussion of Leave No Trace.

No tutoring today, though. Aurelia texted me this morning to say that she was in the hospital with pneumonia. Yikes! I hope it's not serious, maybe the flu. I'll get my flu shot next week when I'm in town.

And today out the window I've watched children playing, another beautiful warm day. We've had a work crew out there for at least the past week. I think they are addressing our drainage issues. There are four sections of pipe on the grass that have been there three or four days. They are fifteen or twenty feet long and the perfect diameter for children to climb through. So they do. More fun than a swing set evidently.

OK, off I go with Leave No Trace. I'll try again tomorrow.

Wide Blue Lake

This past week has given us the blessing of perfect autumn. Temperatures have lived in the 60s with a couple of days hitting 70. The balmy wind has taken most of the leaves from the trees. And the building heat that came on finally last week has now left us again. What better place to stroll on a sunny Sunday afternoon than the park at the end of the street. As you'll see, I was not alone. I'm not sure what they are fishing for since the lake is only six months old. Which is not to say there isn't life; I've seen plenty of frogs and turtles over the months. But I have not seen a fish that I would consider worth catching unless I were a heron. On a day like today, though, I guess we'll take any excuse to go soak up the last of the sunshiny autumn goodness.

The Story of my Life

And really, I don't envision changing. It keeps things interesting.

No, Angela, THIS is cheating...

This story arrived in my email this morning from our country director, Sheila. She refers to it occasionally as a reminder to focus on what is important and to be patient and present. She sent it to us as encouragement, that our everyday interactions are important. As regular readers of this blog are aware, it is sometimes difficult to find satisfaction in work accomplishments here. I hope you will agree that while Peace Corps volunteers definitely need a reminder of this wisdom, it's pretty good advice for all of us.

The Three Questions by Leo Tolstoy (synopsis)

A king determines that he will be able to cope with any occurrence only if he has the answers to three critical questions:

·What is the best time to do each thing?
·Who are the most important people to work with?
·What is the most important thing to do at all times?

Many educated men attempted to answer the king's questions, but they all came up with different answers. The king decided that he needed to ask a wise hermit in a nearby village. The hermit would only see common folk, however, so the king disguised himself as a peasant and left his guards behind to see the hermit. The hermit was digging flower beds when the king arrived. The king asked his questions, but the hermit went on digging rather laboriously. The king offered to dig for him for a while. After digging for some time, the king again asked his questions. Before the hermit could answer, a man emerged from the woods. He was bleeding from a terrible stomach wound. The king tended to him, and they stayed the night in the hermit's hut. By the next day the wounded man was doing better, but was incredulous at the help he had received. The man confessed that he knew who the king was, and that the king had executed his brother and seized his property. He had come to kill the king, but the guards wounded him in the stomach. The man pledged allegiance to the king, and he went on his way. The king asked the hermit again for his answers, and the hermit responded that he had just had his questions answered.

·The most important time is now. The present is the only time over which we have power.
·The most important person is whoever you are with.
·The most important thing is to do good to the person you are with.

Have a great day out there.

Ode to a Pomegranate

At Kaufland yesterday I picked up five more pomegranates to keep me through the next week. Our pomegranates are not native to Romania. They are coming up out of Turkey and Italy right now. But as we’ve learned, Turkey’s really not that far away.

My enthusiasm for these funny fruit was renewed in Istanbul, but it really started when I lived in Utah. That fall in Hurricane, our friend Lori often visited with gifts of foraged fruits and nuts. She rode around town on her Xtracycle looking for homes with fruit on the ground, obviously going to waste, and she would get permission to harvest. She had a solar dryer for fruit like peaches and pears. We would feed her dinner sometimes and she would share her harvest. This was also the talented woman who made her own adobe complex—one room to live, a humanure/storage room, patio with water pump and fireplace, and hot-tub-from-cattle-trough. Anyway, Lori brought us pomegranates that she had found around town. They were small, but delicious, and I found that they made a great substitute for popcorn while watching movies. And now it’s the same, although my guilty viewing pleasure right now is Mad Men. But since pomegranates are time consuming to eat, they make the perfect snack/dessert. And since they may seem a bit intimidating if you’ve never eaten one, here’s what I do:
*Make sure you have a paper towel handy.
*I take a knife and core out that top stem thing.
*You can cut in just an inch, then use your hands to rip it in half. This makes it easy to share (yeah, whatever!) and also makes it easier to gain access. Don’t cut it all the way or you’ll lose precious juice.
*Carefully separate the lobes of what seems to be a big red brain. Pick away the cartilage—you don’t want to eat it, it’s bitter.
*The seeds pull away easily and you eat the whole chewy, juicy seed. By the handful.
*If you are good at delayed satisfaction, save the seeds for use in a salad. Otherwise, enjoy.

Martha Stewart’s Jewel Salad (adapted a bit)
Melody and I like to make this salad for Christmas since it is perfectly red and green. It is a layered salad, best made on a big plate. Layer one at a time the following ingredients:

Red cabbage or radicchio, thinly sliced
Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
Red apples, sliced
Celery and fennel, chopped up
Anything else yummy that sounds like fall and is red or green
Top with crumbled blue cheese, walnuts, and pomegranate seeds

Dressing:
4 T olive oil (or walnut oil if you have it)
1 T fresh lemon juice
1.5 t Dijon mustard
1 T orange juice
Pinch of sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Kind of waldorf-y but light, fresh, and festive.

Also, just reading on Pioneer Woman a recipe for cranberries that uses pomegranate juice. Just cook your bag of cranberries with 16 oz of bottled p. juice instead of water. Mmm. Sounds good.

And if tasty weren't enough, of course they are ridiculously good for you. So buy a few at the store this week. They are a seasonal item and it's high season. Yum.

Bird House

Over the summer, Mary’s group hosted some visiting Americans. They went to summer camp with some of the kids, and I imagine Mr. Dinu and the kids showed them a very good time. One of their projects was a birdhouse build, and then the kids decorated. I’m not sure how many they made, or if people actually stuffed them in their suitcases to take home. All I know is that this one ended up at our clubhouse and sat there for months. Finally, I asked Mary if I could have it. I really love it. I’m preparing to pack it up and ship it home to live in my future bungalow. At some point I'll have to get a little bird to sit on the stick.

And it reminds me of the great song by They Might Be Giants. If you don’t know TMBG, you’re not a regular listener of This American Life and or a teacher or parent of young kids. They do great adult music and also very original stuff for the free spiritedness of childhood. Check ‘em out.

Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I’m the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

Ruth Harlow Enck

As I'm sitting here this morning, looking out my window on a sunny breezy November day, I am contemplating a topic for today's post. And I am reminded of my grandmother, Ruth Harlow Enck, who wrote a monthly column for a magazine for over forty years. Sometimes she too would confess to a lack of topic and refer back to diary notes, similarly I suppose to how I occasionally reference facebook notes. Because the magazine was a regional dairy farm publication, her column, titled "One Woman's Household," told stories of the daily life of a farm family of which they certainly were. From a little white house at the foot of Crumhorn Mountain, my grandmother wrote of household maintenance, of growing boys, of the challenges of modern society, and most and best of all, her escapes to the wondrous natural world. She wrote of finding arbutus in the spring, of soaking her feet in a summer creek among the gentians, and using the excuse of the utility of pine cones for a visit to the cathedral space of a pine forest.

Alas, I'm a few thousand miles away from my copy of her book of collected articles so I can't quote extensively. But I will tell you this: although she never achieved her goal of writing a novel, and alas probably I will not either, she passed it on, this love of the natural world and a need to somehow put it down in words. Amazing what you'll find on the internet. This is a Harlow family reunion; my grandmother is in the front, second from the right, with her parents and siblings. Bridgewater, Massachusetts 1946.

Halloween, Revisited

Yesterday we regrouped for our second Halloween party at a home for 24 children with disabilities. We had beautiful weather, and as promised at least half the chaos. We scored big with the kids and the adults there too. Kids waited very patiently for their turn on the bench, and we all had a good laugh as this child (and others) wildly missed the mark. Ionela blindfolded kids and spun them around. Florin helped keep order, although this group was pretty orderly. I'm still vacuuming paper mache out of my carpet, but that smile below makes it all worthwhile. Above, our solution to pin the tail on the donkey: stick the nose on the pumpkin. Officiated by Cristina and Petrica. Below, Colin leads bobbing for apples.Mummy-making and the results.Above, Mary and Aurelia who came to help out and ended up the master mummy-maker. Below, Ionela and Cristina looking particularly adorable. I ditched my raven costume and went this time as a sunflower. Then it sort of became Lady Liberty for a minute. Eh, all in good fun.

Mom

I love you and want to thank you for always supporting my crazy ideas and loving me just the way I am. I know not everyone is nearly as lucky as I am in the mother department. I hope you have a great day as we get to celebrate you.

Extremely Satisfying

Or extremly sick...
Or extremely horrifying...
Or extremely telling.

One Good Thing

Just got off the facebook from the most important conversation I expect to have this week. Nothing earth-shattering in the news of the world, simply talking to a friend who just lost her father. What an honor it is to be able to comfort, even with mere words instead of a hug and the sharing of real tears—impossible across the continents. Holly’s dad Noel was 90 years old, but I guess that doesn’t make it any easier in the end. In his eyes, his daughter was beautiful, creative, compassionate, and adventurous—and so she is. He lived his life in grace, loving and loved, with zest and a daily martini.

Holly’s parents came to visit us when we were living together outside of Zion. Holly had to work late, and Noel and Linda were in their room. I knocked on the door and told them I was going to watch a movie if they’d like to join me. Uh, maybe. Then I said the magic words: popcorn and gin. We had a fun evening together. Holly told stories of catching her parents, in the end married 44 years, holding hands in a museum or at the beach.

Understandably this is a hard time for them, the days when simply breathing is a small victory. I’m grateful that Holly reached out and let me say all the useless things we say. In the way of all true things, it was very small. Rest in peace, Noel, and thank you.

And Some Days You Get the Chaff

In other words, on only day 5 of Nablopomo, my genius has been exhausted. So here's a round-up of the week's news:

On health, my cold is clearing up with no sign of the pesky coughing phase, the ringworm is still hanging around, and I've got a cold sore coming on.

In food, the big finds this week were more pomegranates (love to pick and eat with tv shows or movies) and packets of Asian-style sauce from Germany. I picked Thai red curry and Japanese Teriyaki. Mmm.

In clothes, life is too short and I am too tall for pants that don't fit. Love my cords. Also, good shoes are worth every penny. Still digging my Keens.

In arts and crafts, finished up the last pinatas for Halloween, part II. Now making a sunflower headdress from cardboard and paper as this week's costume.

And what's keeping me busy these days? Two new projects: Finally getting back into my thesis, hope to be done by June. I'll expound on this a bit more soon, once I have a better handle on it. But I have an advisor and a topic. Also working with Peace Corps to plan a celebration event next spring in honor of 50 years of PC worldwide and 20 years of PC in Romania, both being commemorated in 2011. Also more about this as we get into it.

On the reading list this week, two memoirs by Ruth Reichl that Chiemi sent me. Just devoured Bomber County by Daniel Swift, a story of WWII bombers over Europe, mostly. It combines quite eloquently the stories of the bombers with the poetry of war. Kind of a niche thing, and I would be that niche I suppose—WWII and poetry.

Crazy thought of the week: If I get this dang thesis finished, I could walk August 13th. Denver's nice in August.

A Slight Rip in the Space/Time Continuum

Yesterday after I finished up a list of things to do, I put on some Johnny Cash by which to eat my lunch, finish the dishes, and do a puzzle. As I was finishing up with his version of Wayfaring Stranger, I remembered that last Saturday’s Vin Scelsa radio show should be available on the internet. I actually shut down Johnny a little early, but laughed to myself that maybe Vin would play me some Johnny today. Actually the first song out of the gate was someone else’s version of Wayfaring Stranger. How crazy is that!! And then Vin played the Johnny version. I know it doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things. But, dang, I love it when that happens. And Vin is fairly magical himself anyway. You can hear him on WFUV in NYC on Saturday nights. Also, he was having a show on Sunday nights on satellite radio, but I don’t know if that’s still going. And on computers all over the world.

I'm just a poor wayfaring stranger
A-traveling through, this world of woe.
Yet there's no sickness, toil nor danger
In that bright land, to which I go.
I'm going there to see my father
I'm going there no more to roam;
I'm just go-ing over Jordan
I'm just go-ing over home.

I know dark clouds will gather round me
I know my way is rough and steep;
Yet beauteous fields lie just before me
Where God's redeemed, their vigils keep
I'm going there to see my mother
She said she'd meet me when I come;
I'm just go-ing over Jordan
I'm just go-ing over home.

I'm just a poor wayfaring stranger
I'm just go-ing over home.

And then Vin closed with Lou Reed singing Halloween Parade which takes me back in all kinds of ways. My neighbor in Boston had dead Christmas trees in his yard and called it his Evergreen Parade, in honor. My god, youth.

There's a downtown fairy singing out "Proud Mary"
as she cruises Christopher Street
and some Southern Queen is acting loud and mean
where the docks and the badlands meet
This Halloween is something to be sure
especially to be here without you
There's a Greta Garbo and an Alfred Hitchcock
and some black Jamaican stud
There's five Cinderellas and some leather drags
I almost fell into my mug
There's a Crawford, Davis and a tacky Cary Grant
and some Homeboys lookin' for trouble
down here from the Bronx
But there ain't no Hairy and no Virgin Mary
you won't hear those voices again
and Johny Rio and Rotten Rita
you'll never see those faces again
This Halloween is something to be sure
especially to be here without you…

…The past keeps knock knock knocking on my door
And I don't want to hear it anymore
No consolations please
for feelin' funky
I got to get my head above my knees
But it makes me mad and mad makes me sad
And then I start to freeze
In the back of my mind I was afraid it might be true
In the back of my mind I was afraid that they meant you
The Halloween parade
See you next year---
At the Halloween parade

It really is all that, The Halloween Parade in NYC. And speaking of Lou, I was just thinking that my hair is entering that Laurie Anderson phase and it’s maybe time for a cut. (I once saw them walking down Canal Street, a couple of wayfaring strangers who perfectly found each other, like Johnny and June.)

Election Results

I must say that I don't have a lot to say about the election results. As these things go, it actually didn't go as badly as I'd feared. Many of the crazies went packing: Paladino went home with his baseball bat; Angle and O'Donnell have more time on their hands to perhaps ponder the difference between Latinos and Asians or to read the first amendment; Brown is back in Cali; lots of rich people are millions of dollars poorer with nothing to show for it; 38,000 Alaskans--turns out--do know how to spell Murkowski (I guess Palin had us misunderestimating her statemates); and although California did not pass the measure to legalize pot, it's not the hurtful and discriminatory measure against gay marriage like last time. No, in all honesty, it could be a lot worse. We will miss greatly, however, especially, Russ Feingold.

In other news, E. asked on facebook for people to vote: bake the cookies or eat the dough raw. Winner: both, or half/half.

D. said that all the people who don't like government should move to Somalia.

M. reported that election day fell on Day of the Dead. Hmm...

A. bragged that she got a "super-cool voting sticker, too. Much fancier than the typical 'I voted' sticker." (Awesome. Romania needs those.)

C. invited us (while we are voting) to vote for her film to be a nominee at an upcoming film festival. (Yay!)

A. wrote, "Maybe I'll write in my own name. Surely I could do a better job than most of these yahoos."

I wrote that I'm pickelicious, but that actually had nothing to do with the election. It's just that I took my first crack at Romanian pickle-making yesterday. A little bit salty, a little sweet, vinegar to tart it up, and a spoon of hot pepper paste to kick it up. Eh, maybe it is like an election these days. Only I spent very little money.

Anyway, wherever you are, celebratory or depressed, just remember...this too shall pass. Can't we all just get along? And remember, there's always Somalia...or Denmark, depending...

Cravings

Day 20 of the renewed Eating Healthy Plan—mostly vegan (still have milk and yogurt, and meat if it is served to me) and a serious reduction in sugar. This is made possible by brown rice, peanut butter, and a cornucopia of fruits and veggies from Kaufland. Yes, I hear you asking about the folks at the piata selling their local produce. Here’s my defense: a lot of what they sell at the piata is not “home-grown” as we know it at a farmers market, and they import as well. And there is no doubt in my mind that the more variety I have in produce, the more I eat. So I’m putting my health over eating locally. In the past couple of weeks I’ve enjoyed cauliflower, broccoli, beets, butternut squash, kohlrabi, avocados, red peppers, apples, bananas, oranges, pomegranates, figs, and even a mango.

Even Aurelia is on board with our Friday night dinners going vegetarian. She likes a good challenge, and Gabi is game to go a night without meat. This past week she made a deceptively simple salad that was delicious. Boiled diced potatoes tossed with oil were the foundation, topped by chopped boiled egg, sharp black olives, and a lovely pile of slivered pickled onions. They provided the vinegar foil to the oil and potatoes. Wow, definitely exceeded the sum of its parts. For dessert she made what was essentially a pineapple upside down cake but with squash slices instead of pineapple. It was slightly syrupy and nicely caramelized around the edges, with some raisins, on top of a nice white cake. Let’s see if I can get a recipe, it’s worth sharing.Upside down pumpkin cake

the filling:
-50 gr butter
-1/5 cup sugar
- ~250 gr peeled & sliced pumpkin
-some raisins

Place the butter, sugar, and pumpkin on the skillet and put it in the oven for ~20min (until the pumpkin becomes soft) 220C (425 F)

the crust:
-2 eggs
-1/3 cup sugar
-50 gr butter
-1/2 cup flour
-1 tsp baking powder

Beat the butter with sugar, add the eggs,flour, and baking powder. Pour on the filling and place in the oven for ~15 min. 220C
Enjoy! :)

Happily, I haven’t been craving bad food at all. I keep a little sugar for my coffee and honey for my tea. And with the abundance of fruit for dessert, I really don’t miss the pastries.

Alas, what I am missing these days is the cigarettes. Romania is a hard place for a former smoker. It’s not that everybody smokes—actually very few people with whom I have direct contact smoke. But it’s allowed at restaurants and often bus drivers are smoking. Certainly much more prevalent than in the states these days. It’s funny, I sort of associate it with eating meat. I’ve had more than one person tell me that they could never be a vegetarian because meat is just so darn good. Yeah, I think, and so are cigarettes, heroin, and casual sex, but that doesn’t mean they are good for you or are a wise part of a sustainable lifestyle.

And so, allow me, carnivores, a moment to wax poetic about really probably my favorite drug, the cigarette. And by the way, make a note, for my 80th birthday I would like cartons and cartons of cigarettes. If I make it to that esteemed age, I would like to start smoking again. In the meantime…David Sedaris writes in his story A Plague of Tics about being saddled from a young age with all kinds of OCD behavior, the outward kind where his behavior drew unwanted attention. At the end of the story, he reveals how cigarettes helped channel that and let him lead a more “normal” life. I have never had much outward OCD, but goodness knows I’ve had the number games and other mayhem in my head. I too credit cigarettes for helping to calm that. These days they prescribe stuff, but honestly think of the good that cigarettes have provided, and to shy people and others in need of a prop. It’s also a great anger management tool as smokers constantly take deep breaths, ok maybe not cleansing breaths, but a pause nonetheless.

My point is not that anyone should take up smoking, and I am successfully resisting re-upping. Simply that even if nicotine is not your drug of choice, and accepting all the horrid and deadly side effects, know that smoking is really enjoyable. It’s more than enjoyable; it’s a friend, a comfort, a ritual. Ah, yes, it is a drug. And sometimes I miss it. Proponents of carnivorism, heroin use, and casual sex—you’re on your own.

Halloween, Romania-Style

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have entered National Blog Posting Month. I have accepted the challenge again this year to post something here every day for the month of November. For better or worse… The good news is that we did our daylight savings switch yesterday, so I’m getting up at a decent hour again and may have more to report (right, whatever).Yesterday we had our Halloween party. Forgive me for not having more pictures, but I was a tad busy. I will try to encapsulate the chaos in words. The party was at Speranta, the state home for children without parents. We had 64 children ranging in age from about 6 to 20. A few of the older ones were incredibly helpful as party hosts. The event was my idea, but Mary did most of the work—or delegated it to her tireless and good humored assistant, Cristina. Then she wrangled various adults in her NGO to help, as well as some of the employees there, and as I said the older kids (including Mihaela, Petrica, and Colin from last week’s field trip).

In preparation for the party, we’ve slapped paper-mache on balloons with the kids for the piñatas, printed out masks from a great website for the kids to choose and color as they like, we’ve made hats out of construction paper and costumes from plastic bags. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings were spent with various chaotic groups of excited kids making something out of nothing, all held together with water soluble glue. The party got started a little late on Sunday afternoon. The kids filed into the dining hall to find their seats and their trick-or-treat bags. Mary gave a brief explanation of All Saints Day and the history of Halloween. Then she told a quick spooky story to set the mood. After that, the children broke up into their four groups, each with an adult leader. For the next hour, they rotated among four activities—bobbing for apples, tape the nose on the pumpkin, something similar to musical chairs, and the piñatas. I had only made three, so the little little kids had a coloring activity instead of a piñata. We had a great time beating the crap out of these pumpkins. Turns out, you really don’t need so many layers on a piñata. But it worked great, nobody got hurt, and most kids got some candy. I think they enjoyed it. And Ionela, a young resident currently attending Jr. College and very good with English, helped me run the piñatas. She was great, but was concerned ahead of time that it would go too quickly because the first person would break it. Actually, it usually occurred around the 14th person and because I was secretly ripping holes as Ionela was blindfolding the next person.

After the activities, nine of us scrambled to get in place for trick-or-treating. We had nine stations which were actually bedroom doors with a special Halloween sign on the door, three on each floor. Groups came around and knocked on the doors and those of us behind then distributed something good—a cookie or toothbrush or toy. Finally, when this was done, we had cake and danced a little bit. As we were packing up and leaving, a man from the center broke out his accordion and the kids were doing traditional dances in the hallway.

My friend Courtney is a volunteer here and a teacher. I should say, in this life she is a teacher but I doubt she will be in the future as it’s not her calling. Anyway, she describes her work here as “keeping a lid on the chaos, forty-five minutes at a time.” That is with “normal” kids from her villages with parents and a regular home life. The general consensus from my teacher friends here is that discipline problems are rampant and that simple classroom management occupies far more time than it should.

So with that in mind, imagine 64 kids without traditional parental figures imposing discipline. The chaos on any given day at Speranta is…oh, how to describe it? So imagine injecting them with sugar and plastering them with fun paper costumes. Fortunately, these children are so precious and sweet. I think they had a really amazing time, and for that I am eternally grateful. I can’t say it was all rainbows and unicorns for those of us planning it, but this party rocked and I’m so glad we did it. In other words, we blew the lid off the chaos for two glorious hours.

Oh, I went as a crow. I made my Tlingit headwear and some cardboard and construction paper wings. Most of them didn’t get it, or why I would make it. But by the time we were dancing at the end, the kids were taking turns wearing the hat. Which reminds me of one of the more fun Halloweens I’ve had in the past, at Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley about 9 years ago. I made the same costume, having just returned from Raven-land in Juneau. Alas I was beaten out by Dana who went as a marsh and painted his face green and tied reeds around his waist. He also beat out Mike who came as a cottontop cactus with cotton balls in his hair and cactus spines woven into his t-shirt. Now THAT is halloweening with a bunch of nature freaks. This time we were more tuned into Spiderman, Frankenstein, and fairy princesses. And that’s pretty cool too.

Now you'd think I could remove all traces of the holiday from my apartment, but we've still got more to go. Next weekend, Mary wants to do something similar (tho' much smaller) for another group of kids with a range of disabilities who live together in another facility. I've got two more pinatas on deck. Should be half the chaos, all the fun. Here are a few more pictures, below, taken by Petru Solca.