Training's almost over!

Here we are coming into our last week of the 10 weeks of training: next Friday we have our "graduation" and then it's off to our permanent sites for 2 years! Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting my site for the first time (check out my new photo album on Winkflash), Recas in the extreme west of Romania. As you will see, it's a beautiful little town of 8500 people amidst rolling farmland and vineyards. The region in which it sits, the Banat, is the former stronghold of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and thus the part of Romania most culturally connected to Central Europe (much of it was officially ceded to Romania only in the 20th Century). My new host family for the first month at site is yet another wonderful Romanian family, and as is becoming the norm, they smother me in hospitality (i.e. food)! And on that note, a word or two about Romanian cuisine:

FOOD: In so many different ways, Romania is a cultural melting-pot of Western European, Slavic, Mediterranean, and Turkish traditions and influences. From the goulashes and paprikas of the Hungarian west, to the Turkish shaormas and kebabs of the Black Sea coast on the eastern edge, to the sarmale of the south (demonstrating the Greek and Macedonian influence). There is a strong presence of spiced meat and sausage throughout the country (for instance, "mici" is a grilled case-less sausage that everyone here, including myself, loves), and no end to the bread that is eaten with each meal. Starches provide the basis for most meals, whether in the form of potatoes, rice, the egg noodles that people of the Banat like in their soup ("supa"), or sticky polenta dumplings ("mamaliga"). The "sarmale" I mentioned above is spiced ground beef, pork, rice, and onion rapped in cabbage leaves and served either alone or with rice and red or white sauce, sometimes yoghurt ("iaurt"). Romanians universally love sweets, whether in the form of pastries, cakes, filled crepes, various puddings, or ice cream ("inghetata"). Though fresh fruit can sometimes be difficult to obtain during the non-summer months, preserved jellies and sauces are always easy to find.

As for drink, my town of Recas has one of the country's most well known wineries, Cramele Recas, whose products I will no doubt be pretty familiar with before long. Aside from Romania's excellent (and cheap) wines, there is of course the plum brandy that is generally considered Romania's national spirit: "tuica". Many people, like my current host family, distill it themselves from plums they grow in their own yards. You learn very quickly in Romania to get over your silly American squeamishness with regards to the hygenics of food and drink production. The milk I usually enjoy is thick, aromatic, slightly chunky, and straight from the bovine. And thusly for the tuica: my host father distills it in old rusty barrels, over an open fire -- and it is generally served in whatever empty bottle or vessel is available. You quickly get used to "floaties" (i.e. miscellaneous particles floating around in the liquid). But frankly, not only am I still alive, but I feel great and love the stuff! A little more dirt and a little less hypercleanliness in our lives makes us all better and healthier people, ironically. No homogenization or pasteurization here! (yet...as a side note, if and when the E.U. accepts Romania into the club this coming January, there will be vast regulations about food production and agriculture that Romania will need to adopt).

In summation: Romanian cuisine is spectacular...just don't expect to find anything low-fat or low-carb here! CHECK OUT MY PHOTOS.