Fire It Up!!

This past weekend ushered in my long-sought, much-dreamed-about BBQ party here at the family house in Recas. For some time now, I had this vision of Romanians, Americans and whoever else is crazy enough to accept one of my invitations, celebrating and grilling together. And considering how beautiful a month September is in western Romania, I jumped at the opportunity. Thus various Peace Corps volunteers from all over the country joined my Romanian family, friends and coworkers for some American-style hamburgers -- with a sprinkling of Romanian dishes (e.g. "sarmale": rice and meat rapped in cabbage leaves) to balance it all out.

Afterall, Romanians love to grill (and shoot the breeze, and dance, and...) as much as Americans do. And so, before the first frost of real autumn arrives, we ate, drank, and enjoyed each other's company, well into the wee-hours...and somehow, managed not to burn my host family's house down (much to the relief of the neighborhood). My friend and fellow volunteer Adam even introduced some lucky Romanians to a new use for Jell-O (ask a college student). The evening was an incredible success, and will be even more so if my host family doesn't kick me out! Be sure to check out the photos on Picasa.

Note: I've also added some online photos I recently uncovered from a Habitat For Humanity build I took part in with some of my volunteer friends last November (see "November 2007 Cont'd" on my Picasa site). I can never get tired of seeing families in need (and their children) receiving the keys to their newly-built house. And this event was an interesting follow-up to my architectural work in Charlottesville immediately before departing for Romania -- where I was managing a Habitat For Humanity house design for my firm.