More Turda

Photos courtesy of the lovely and talented Courtney Brown.

Really? Wouldn't you?

Salina Turda

Two weeks ago I spent a very enjoyable weekend in Cluj, my favorite city in Romania. We had a variety of Peace Corps committee meetings which were also very successful and pleasant. I went a little early so that I could seek out the museum of speleology. Alas, it was closed for renovation...my second attempt, my second failure. I am not meant to see the speleology. But I bought a good supply of tea and a cute hat, ate Japanese twice, Indian once, and spent time with good friends.

Then I went to Turda (you love the name Turda...we do too), a smaller city south of Cluj and home of our volunteer Amanda. Courtney and I went down and had a meeting with an NGO there about human trafficking--seeing if our GAD group could partner with them on a project. We'll see. And we had a very nice visit to Salina Turda, the local salt mine now open for tourism. You walk into the side of a mountain through a long, narrow tunnel. Eventually we came to a dark chamber advertised as the Echo Room. Sure enough, we got silly and meowed and clucked like chickens to make fun echoes. Then we continued on to the main chamber which we hear will become the bat cave in the latest Batman movie, scheduled to shoot at least partially here in Romania. It would make a cool bat cave. The main chamber is well lit and huge, I mean deep. We took an elevator down down down to the main level where there are many amusements for young and old, including a mini-putt, a couple of bowling lanes, and a ferris wheel. And a lake with boats. Evidently the air is a good cure for what ails you.

In addition to the cool cave, the productive meeting, and the incredibly picturesque town, we also got to eat Yumm sauce. Amanda is from Oregon and told us about this great restaurant and their Yumm sauce. She sauced up some rice and lentils for us. Pretty delish.

And then home on the night train. Bought ridiculous strappy spring sandals at the Carrefour mall waiting for my bus to leave. Great trip.

Findings from the COS

I've just returned from my Close of Service conference. Oh yes, the end of my time in Romania is near. Let's forget about the roller coaster of emotions for a moment and make a list. Some of this, alas, is related to inside jokes which I can never explain. Just know it was fun, and...
*wherever you go, there's a chicken
*if you dance with Courtney, she wants to be the man
*I'm not the only fan of Ted's hair in a Mr. T mohawk
*and we have 265 lei to prove it
*Romania has nice castles too
*I'm pretty sure Dr. Dan mis-spoke when he offered to father my Romanian love child
*I don't have tuberculosis
*Sinaia is a papanasi town
*a beer and some old Bonnie Tyler is a great way to prepare for a language exam
*meat wrapped in meat would really be improved by some meat sauce
*I'm the Most Genuine volunteer in Group 26
*the storks said it was OK to wear my strappy sandals in a mountain town in March
*the pretty girls ran around the hotel in their bathing suits this time instead of their underwear
*Brosex4eva
*I think I need to get a train out at the end
*and then we eat IIIICCEEEE CRRREEEEAAAAMMMMMMMM

Peles Castle

We did some work too.

Cum Se Spune?

In Romanian, "cum se spune" translates to "how does one say..." It's a handy phrase, especially if you are talking to someone who knows english and can answer the question. Although, I use it also talking to non-english speakers to indicate that I don't know the word I want, but here...I'll explain it. As you can imagine, it's a handy phrase because I often don't know how to say exactly what I mean to say.

And sometimes that happens in english too. Like now. It's March, and not even early March. I have slightly less than 16 weeks left here. And my friend Mary, who has been here 10 years, flies in less than two months. I'm also helping her land her plane gracefully. Part of me feels relieved that, compared to Mary, my absence won't be felt as acutely. I really don't know what these kids will do without her. But we hope for a replacement, and we wonder where we will go and who is now waiting for our help in our future lives. If I think about it too much, I will cry. And in part it is with joy and gratitude that I found something, even a little thing, of value to do. Not that the thing is little, but my contribution feels so small.

Let me explain that I spent a large part of my life not enjoying children at all. That had changed before I arrived in Romania. But certainly I had no experience with children. And there were still demographics that I didn't enjoy, namely teenage boys. Now even that has evolved. I love them all. Part of that is direct experience. Part of it was an unforgettable Peace Corps session where volunteer Melody explained that for all the chaos that a troubled kid can cause, it is worse within his or her head/soul. I look at some of our kids and don't know how they have the courage to get out of bed each day. But they do. We do.

A veil has been lifted, to quote my friend Jenn with a luminous son with special needs. I know more than I ever wanted to know about the darker aspects of human nature. And yet I know so little. I don't know how to talk about it, and I don't really know what to do about it. But I know this: it all comes down to the children. I selfishly am ready to come home and get back to work in my chosen career. But I will never take for granted the importance of finding a way to be a teacher, wherever I am. And a mentor. And a friend.

Which reminds me: Dear Wisconsin Governor, SHAME SHAME SHAME on you. And your ilk. And everyone who doesn't think that teachers are worth everything we can give them. I suspect my first purchase when I get home should be a good pair of marching shoes. It might be time to take to the streets.

Yes, Amy Goodman, go to where the silence is and say something. Even if it's never enough.

Cum se spune goodbye?

Landing the Airplane

It occurs to me that I am entering the phase in my Peace Corps service that could be called the home stretch. With about four months to go, I’m starting to make the packing list, the take-it-to-the-office list, the give-to-my-friends-and-neighbors list, the places-I-still-have-to-go list, the oh-I-have-to-find-a-job list, and so on. And so the metaphor has come to me that this is the landing-the-airplane phase of my service.

This was brought home to me clearly just this past week when I went to Bucuresti to help prepare for our 16 Days exhibit. I took with me Ionela, a young woman who lives in the group home for children without parents. She turned 21 on Tuesday and Mary paid for her trip as a birthday present. She had a great time and was a big help. But still, by the end, I was very exhausted and was selfishly losing patience. I had to stop and remind myself that I could not get cranky simply because we were on our way home. The trip wasn’t over until it was over and I must not ruin it. In other words, regardless of how we see the end of something, it can often be the most important part.

Just like a flight in an airplane has its phases—excitement at lift-off, getting adjusted, the long middle part of accomplishment, and then the landing—so too our adventures and experiences follow a similar track. And now in Peace Corps, I must summon all of my strength to finish appropriately. This means that I must remember my audience. My joy at going home must not be translated as joy at leaving. That would not be true and it would not be sensitive, but it could come out that way. And I must always be mindful that although my life is changing, the friends that I leave behind will only know this change as the loss of me. It is about grace, I think, as I navigate the excitement of what is to come, and the bittersweet feeling of leaving behind my beautiful city, my dear friends, and the children.

Grace. To live in the moment, filled with gratitude, honoring the preciousness of this experience, yet in some ways exhausted by the enormity of it. I fly in four months. Wish me luck.

I found this on the internet. Pretty much sums it up.

The Official Report of March 1st

Peace Corps Romania celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Peace Corps on March 1, 2011, with an opening reception for an exhibit of art and writing by Romanian youth. The exhibit was on the theme “School: Violence-Free Zone” and was the culmination of a national contest commemorating the international campaign 16 Days Against Gender Violence. Thirty-five people attended the reception to view the exhibit and help Peace Corps celebrate this special anniversary.

The exhibit and opening were sponsored by the Gender and Development Committee of Peace Corps Romania (GAD) in partnership with Fundatia Sensiblu, a Romanian NGO involved with supporting women and children survivors of domestic violence with their Casa Blu program, as well as being the only NGO in Bucharest working in the domain of domestic violence prevention with annual informational and public awareness campaigns. GAD is a Peace Corps committee made up of Peace Corps Volunteers and Host Country Nationals that promotes gender equality in the social and economic development processes of Romania in partnership with Romanian NGOs and governmental organizations through national and local campaigns, outreach, resource development, and financial support of small relevant projects.

The competition was open to all general schools and high schools in Romania with interested students and took place between November 25, 2010 and January 14, 2011. The time period for submissions included the internationally recognized 16 Days Against Gender Violence in November and December that coincides with important international dates for women’s and human rights issues. GAD solicited creative interpretations of the theme “School: Violence Free Zone” from middle school and high school students across Romania in the form of a piece of writing, a photograph, or work of art using our network of volunteers and teacher counterparts. Schools were asked to hold local competitions and send their top five writing and top five art and photo entries at the high school and middle school levels. Forty-eight art and photo entries and 29 writing entries were received from 15 different high schools and middle schools across Romania. Representatives from Fundatia Sensiblu and GAD judged the submissions. Winners were recognized at the national level in four categories: High School Art and Photography, High School Writing, General School Art and Photography, and General School Writing. Each participant received a diploma, and the winners in each category received a gift certificate to a local art store or bookstore.

The reception was held at UN House in Bucharest where the exhibit will be on display throughout March. The UN House is open to the public and offers answers to public questions related to the UN mandate and activities in Romania and in the world, as well as organizes special events to mark international days. Mr. DI Edmond McLoughney, UNICEF Representative, spoke to those in attendance, focusing on the exhibit’s power to bring UN issues down to the level of individual students. He noted that even with important policy work, violence will never be eradicated unless young people take ownership of the issue, as is reflected in the thoughtful work of the submitting students. Mrs. Libby Gitenstein, wife of the American Ambassador to Romania, spoke about the need to bring peace to the world one step at a time through projects that empower children to create a better future. And Cristina Horia from Fundatia Sensiblu spoke about the international 16 Days campaign and how the student participants were sharing their voice and bringing public awareness to the issue of domestic violence. Peace Corps Romania Country Director Sheila Crowley and Peace Corps Volunteer and GAD co-president Courtney Brown also spoke, talking about the significance of volunteerism and the Peace Corps anniversary and the goals and projects of the GAD committee respectively. To conclude the program, Malina Serban, an eighth grade student from the community of Teliu, read aloud her award-winning poem, “Violenta,” and UNICEF presented the students participants in attendance with gifts.

Because March 1st is also Martisor, a holiday celebrating the arrival of spring, GAD provided martisoare to all guests. Martisoare are small tokens of spring given to women on the first of March. The token can be a pin or a bracelet with symbols of luck, happiness, or spring, and most significantly including a symbol-filled red and white ribbon. GAD handed out martisoare flower pins made by youth with disabilities at Fundatia de Dezvoltare Locala “Speranta”, the host organization of PCV GAD member Veronica Barker.

The exhibit contains approximately fifty works of art, including photographs, drawings, and paintings, as well as two binders of written submissions including letters, poems, and essays. UN House is located at Bulevardul Primaverii, nr. 48A and is open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibit is free to visit. To learn more about GAD Romania, please visit our website at www.pcrogad.wordpress.com.

Winning entries in the high school and middle school art competitions

A bucket full of martisoare

Prepping the art, left to right: Ionela Toma, HCN volunteer, Gretel Enck and Shaneka Davis, PCVs and GAD members.

Installing the art, Shaneka Davis

GAD co-president Courtney Brown (in yellow) with her students and counterparts who participated in the competition, and Mrs. Gitenstein (center).

Left to right: Manuela Lapadat, PCRO Training Coordinator and GAD liaison; Sheila Crowley, PCRO Country Director; Libby Gitenstein, wife of the American Ambassador to Romania.

Mr. DI Edmond McLoughney, UNICEF Representative, and his colleague who translated.

The Unofficial Report of Martisor

Hey, everybody. I'm back, the random blogger writing random notes about this funny little life. Today I'm exhausted, but in a very good way. I spent the past three days in Bucuresti helping to mount an exhibit and having an opening. Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps around the world. And it was Martisor, my favorite Romanian holiday. It celebrates spring, which is still looking very far away. Asta e. And we opened our exhibit. I will have a more formal post soon about the exhibit. But for now, it was art and writing from students around Romania on the theme of School, A Violence-Free Zone. This was our 16 Days campaign. It was undertaken by the Gender and Development Committee that I'm a part of. We are a group of volunteers and Romanians who work on gender issues. The 16 Days campaign is just one of our projects.

Anyway, you'll hear about the exhibit soon, but for now, I just want to proclaim my great love, admiration, and gratitude for my fellow GAD gals. We make one hell of a team.

Shaneka

Courtney

Veronica