The Second Lap

Well, as usual much has happened and little has been said about it since I last wrote. What can I say? I'm not a chatty, pithy, everyday sort of blogger (not that there's anything wrong with that). You'd all probably grow bored with my ramblings anyway, and tune out...well, even more than usual, that is.

The summer has been filled with trips, meetings, and conferences, and August was no exception. In mid-August, my colleagues Andreea, Victor and I traveled to Sighisoara (central Romania) for the "Pro-Etnica" Festival, highlighting the incredible diversity of ethnicities represented in this country: Romanian, Hungarian, Roma (Gypsy), Jewish, Croat, Serb, German, Bulgarian, Turkish...there was even an American-style blues band one night (apparently Americans are now recognized as an ethnic group here, which is great news). Our plan was to learn more about the logistics of running such a festival, since my own town of Recas will be hosting its own local cultural festival next summer. Of course we had fun as well.

Next it was off to the tiny resort hamlet of Venus on the Romanian Black Sea coast, for my Peace Corps class's Mid-Service Training Conference (*the photo above is of all of us Peace Corps volunteers in the Community Economic Development sector in Romania). MID-SERVICE!! Holy sputtering Dacias, it causes me some serious pause to consider that my time here in Eastern Europe is now more than half over. It has been an extraordinary past 16 months: never have I ceased to learn, to grow, to gain confidence in myself and in my fellow humans, and to wonder at the diversity and potential of the world we live in. True, almost every moment is a challenge in some way -- very rarely does my brain stop having to work -- and the hi's and low's can be pretty intense. But I can safely say I've gained a newfound appreciation for even our seemingly most most minor victories. At the end of the day, a step forward is a step forward. Of course I've also gained an appreciation for the fleetness of time. Timpul zboare, as Romanians say ("Time flies.") I'm very much looking forward to the second year of my service, and my enhanced ability (on a good day) for interacting with my community and seeing projects through. And yet I realize it will also be something of a race against the clock. To paraphrase Dickens' Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, "There is never enough time to do or say all the things that we would wish. The key is to do what we can with the time we have." Amen to that.

In other news, I followed the conference at the beach with a quick trip to my friend Mark's village of Adamclisi in southeastern Romania. Now a quiet little village of 1,500 people, the town is known mainly for the impressive Roman ruins and monument sitting nearby (*see the photos). The ruins trace back to Emperor Trajan's final defeat of the native Dacian tribes on that spot in A.D. 107 or 108. As in other parts of the country, Nicholae Ceasescu rebuilt elements of the original structures for use in national parades and ceremonies during the '70s and '80s.

And finally, I'll be having a big BBQ/campout at my host family's house in Recas in a couple of weeks. It should be an interesting assortment of Peace Corps volunteers, Romanians, and other foreign expats. Hosting such a big inter-cultural shindig at my place (the neighborhood won't know what hit it) has been a dream of mine for a while now. I'll let you hear and see how it all goes. You're all invited, of course, though those plane tickets to Eastern Europe can get pricey.

Just as a further note: as I pass the halfway point and find myself getting just a wee bit sentimental, I'm also curious about how things are for many of you out there who I haven't heard from in a while. I'd love to get a sentence or two from everyone, outlining the who, where, what, how and why of your current lives. It could even just be: "Moe, I'm well. Stop bothering me." We volunteers treat new mail/emails like Christmas presents!