va multumesc prietenii mei in romania! va iubesc!!!

couldn't have done it without any of you...

la revedere românia... pentru acuma

since viaţa mea is no longer in românia, i guess it is time to sign off... at least until my next visit. thanks for checking it out!


some memories...

am ajuns in românia cu mulţi speranţa...



















dar am pregatit in espania- granada with the sierra nevada and alhambra... i didn't want to leave
















a hundred operas... oh romeo, romeo

















at moments like this, i marvel at human abilities...


















and all the little animals


















got a bathroom story for every city i've been to in romania... and of course, a train




















the first snow of the year














cal cu caruta... in true romanian fashion

la pata... ue nu face diferinţa

this is the construction of a garage to house the garbage trucks. many folks had to relocate behind it.















this is the medical cabinet that was built with EU funds two years ago... still sits empty

pata rât… şase luni mai tarziu

the same beautiful faces...

am intors în românia... yay!

so after six months, i went back to do a little follow-up research, now that romania is in the european union. i wanted to see what differences there might be and what new plans are in motion. also, i came to visit my friends, of course... once again, i forgot to take a picture with heidi, vera, and margarit... why do we always do that? i think we just have too much fun and forget the camera.

karaoke... amy and ben won that meter of tequila with their rousing rendition of paradise by the dashboard light. you guys totally rock!













ben primed our tummies for beer with delicious puerto rican food... yum















okay, so this was the view from my balcony a year ago. that is the magnificent orthodox cathedral...














this is the same view a year later!!! cluj is changing













zsuzsa si eu la gradina botanica. zsuzsa este mama romaneasca pentru mine














didn't some people get impaled last time he was in charge?

Weekendul cu Cruce Roşie

Last weekend was the annual summer meeting of the Norwegian Red Cross (Røde Kors) and the Romanian Red Cross (Cruce Roşie) in Târgu Mureş. I was honored to be invited to take part in their weekend activities and become a member. This was a great international effort with so many projects aimed at helping Roma communities and promoting health and well-being throughout the city. Here are some pics:



Delivering some much needed used windows to a local Roma community


















A VIP tour of the SMURD unit (the emergency response team in Târgu Mureş)and their chopper















The tent where we offered health information, condoms, and blood pressure tests















A few special people who received much deserved recognition and certificates for all their extra efforts in their Red Cross service















These charming Romanians... See how they just steal kisses!















A good team: Moi, Magda, Flavius, and Hochen

Laundry Day (Ziua de Curăţătorie)

Every Saturday I walk towards Cartier Zorilor (uphill) with my giant bag of laundry to wash at the spalatorie (trudge, trudge, trudge) and until a couple of months ago, when it opened, I spent my entire weekends washing all of my clothes in the bathtub, piece by piece, trigger finger aching all the while. I feel such relief now that I can actually go to a real laundromat where a machine washes my clothes and all I have to do is lug them there, dirty... and lug them back wet and clean to hang them on my balcony. I have grown so accustomed to this luxury that I forgot, until last week at the river in Floreşti , the grueling nature of hand-washing.This is laundry day in Floreşti where the children complete their daily summer chores and hopefully take a dip in the cool water too! I felt empathy for them but I must admit... they looked like they were having much more fun than I did washing clothes in my bathtub!

Valea Fânaţelor

Wednesday we went to Valea Fânaţelor for two interviews. Vera had a blast teaching the children how to throw wet sponges at one another without getting into trouble... a fun game. I just watched... I had my own fun taking pictures of the donkeys (they make such funny noises!). href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7894/2591/1600/DSCN1789.jpg"> href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7894/2591/1600/DSCN1799.0.jpg">
This community is about ten kilometers outside of the city, in the beautiful hills... pretty far from even any stores. What a refreshing break!
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Intorcam pe rampa din nou

Vera and I made a return appearance at the ramp on Tuesday, this time to go to work. Not our usual ethnographic work. This was hard labor. We intended to go with Braita to pick through the garbage for recyclables but she was unable to work. Vera and I went to Luci's instead to bag sorted bottles. Okay, so let me explain how this whole process works. We learned so much! There is no formal recycling program in Romania and so many people who live on or near the ramp (the dump) make an informal business of scavenging and recycling plasic, glass, and iron. The first step is to dig through the garbage and pick out recyclable materials (mostly plasic bottles) and collect them in huge canvas/plastic bags that can hold about 60-70 kilos. Then the bags are taken off the side and dumped on the ground. From there, the bottles are sorted into piles, according to color. Then the bottles are rebagged and compacted (by jumping on them in the bag) so as many as possible fit. There is a private company in Cluj who buys the bottles (for about 50 or 60 new lei a bag- $15 or so). They cube the bottles and sell them to a larger company who processes the plastic and the cycle starts all over again.

It was a dirty task. It is no wonder so many people there have health problems. They deal with all sorts of parasites and bacteria and don't have ready access to washroom facilities. The bugs are large and well, they live in the garbage. I squashed a big greenish one with pichers that was crawling up my leg. I tucked my pants in my boots a little too late. There is no end to the infections and injuries that will occur from this line of work.

>Despite the fact that it was probably the dirtiest job Vera or I have ever done, it was easy enough to just to suck it up, plow right in, and get dirty. No prima donnas here. I mean, the people who do it every day... it is their life, their livelihood. We wanted to do what they do.

In all, it was an interesting experience to learn the finer details of the lives of those who live and work there, see first-hand the health challenges these people are up against (coupled with their lack of access to medical services), and just to get a good dose of reality and remind me that we are all human and none of us are above desperation to survive and eat. It is a good reminder, for me, of how often luxury becomes ordinary and taken for granted.