I'm getting the feeling some of you have grown weary of looking at that fake Christmas tree in the previous posting -- wishing desperately for that update that will make your lives complete. I was about to say that nothing much has happened in the past month and a half...but that just wouldn't be true, now that I think about it. So as not to make myself a liar:
Some of the biggest news is directed toward all those of you who generously contributed (or are still in the process) to my book donation project for the local highschool, in coordination with the US non-profit organization A Thousand Books. About two weeks ago, the first 8 big boxes of books arrived (see photos), including textbooks, storybooks, young-adult fiction, classic literature, songbooks, National Geographics (a whole box...wow!), teaching materials, some adult fiction and -- I thank you personally for this -- a box with a few American food items wedged here and there!: hot sauce, peanut butter, brownie mix, mac and cheese, chocolate chips, pizza kits, and even chili mix. Yes, this past weekend, I treated my host family to their first bonafide American chili cook-up (ok, maybe I made it a tad spicy for first-timers)! Anyway, back to the books: my friend Valentin and I have begun cataloging and sorting everythin, with the aim of creating an all English-language section in the school library. Some of the more advanced fiction will probably even go to the town library, for all to enjoy.
The official word is that there are another 6-8 boxes of books already on their way, and this doesn't even count all of you who are doing book drives of your own back home. The folks at A Thousand Books wanted me to let you all know that you have been a "freakishly" generous group of donors. Thanks for pitching in, you latter-day saints. You all have my deepest gratitude. I will definitely get some photos up of the kids and the school soon.
Well, if you're still reading at this point -- and not pacing the room, gloating in your saintliness -- I guess I should go on reporting:
In work related news, some major projects have really taken off and some have, for various reasons, been mothballed for the time being. Even though the project to renovate the town farmers' market space has unfortunately been put on hold, our project to renovate the town's central park is full steam ahead. I am in the design and paper-work phase at the moment, with construction hopefully starting this summer (more pictures to come). The basic concept will be to replace and expand the existing system of walkways; replace all benches and park furniture; replace all park lighting; and add new trees, plants, grass and flowers. In terms of overall work, it won't be anything gigantic, but I think a prettier, more usable park will have a broad effect on the town center as a whole. Anyone with a craving to pass through Romania this summer or fall and spend a weekend volunteering and getting dirty...you've got the job. My degree isn't in landscape architecture, but like Kinky Friedman said during his campaign for the governership of Texas: "How Hard Can It Be?!"
Another major project well underway right now is our push to officially name all of Recaş's streets. Due to the fact that some streets are known by three names, and others by none (don't even try to ask for driving directions to my house! What, "#884" isn't clear enough for ya?), this town is something of a Bermuda Triangle of lost delivery-people looking for addresses. Thusly, it's time for new street names and signs. Because of my insistence that the public have some sort of say in the process, we sent out ballots in the last edition of the newspaper, asking people to vote on their own street's name (see above photos). After some deliberation, we divided the town into three naming "zones": Romanian historical figures, Romanian plants/flowers, and Romanian wines (this being a wine-making area). I think many people found the ballot-concept somewhat odd and foreign, but I wanted them to have the option, at least. And hey, although having 40 ballots submitted out of 5,000 sent-out may seem like a slim turnout...but heck, it means 40 people did vote! Maybe next time, it'll be 80. There's still much work to do yet on this project (I don't even want to think about the address renumbering process), but I find it enormously exciting and satisfying. And no, just in case you're wondering, there's not going to be any "Jonathan Moore Boulevard" or "Moe Lane".
Ok, gotta go. Keep the home-fires burning...
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