Foot Races and Stuffed Faces

Well folks, my journalistic talents (or motivation) seem to be on the wain, considering the fact that I've had fewer and fewer photos to show for myself recently -- and have thus been pirating more and more from my friends (case in point: above photo, courtesy of PCV Jesse Lee). Oh well, it must all mean that I'm devoting more and more of myself to the work at hand, immersing myself in the process of international collaboration...or something.

Don't be fooled by the distinct lack of any real photographic proof: November was yet another "luna ocupata" (busy month) around here. Just before Thanksgiving, a group of us volunteers got together in Zalau (northern Transylvania) to help with the running of Special Olympics -- this being the second year that Special Olympics events have taken place in various locations around Romania. The Zalau event was organized by the Romania chapter of the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association (where my fellow volunteer Dave Donaldson works) and featured various events, from soccer, to relay races, to table-tennis. Around 100 local children and young-adults with special needs participated, and everyone received medals, certificates, and bag-dinners. The day even ended with a pretty incredible exhibition of local break-dancing skills by some of the kids. All in all, it was a wonderful time for everyone, and I'm glad that Romania's special-needs population can now benefit from the comaraderie and self-esteem that Special Olympics emphasizes. After all, we could all use some positive-reinforcement now and then.

Immediately after the Special Olympics, I headed back south to Arad, where we PC volunteers from western Romania celebrated our second Thanksgiving together, along with various Romanian friends and colleagues. The event was held at the impressive new conference center recently built within the national park where my fellow volunteer John Thompson works, and it didn't disappoint. With the help of the roughly 15 PC volunteers and 35 Romanian guests in attendance, we put together quite a meal -- with rabbit chili, grilled turkey, mashed potatoes, various salads and casseroles, cornbread, and every type of American and Romanian pie imaginable. The heavyweight champ (at least with my host family)?: pecan pie! Anyway, it was a great time, and we Yankees were happy to share just a little more of ourselves and our culture with our Romanian friends. And this being the last Romanian Thanksgiving for most of us volunteers who arrived a year-and-a-half ago, the day had a twinge of bittersweetness to it. Thanksgiving has always been such a wonderful holiday, in my mind, because it is a celebration distilled down to the basic element of "breaking bread together" -- no hypermanic Christmas-gift shopping, no race to outdo your neighbor's decorative, pathological lawn-lighting scheme, no griping that there are no more first-class tickets to Gstad for New Year's. No, Thanksgiving has always been about enjoying each other's company, pure and simple...well, that and stuffing yourself to an extent that would give your cardiologist nightmares.

Because I have no photos for you to feast your eyes on this month, I thought perhaps I'd start a little discussion on the best in Romanian music, since I'm sure this is a subject many of you are curious about. And so the next few postings will be devoted to particular types of Romanian music, all of which embody the culturally rich and diverse terrain of Romania. Enjoy, and do let me know what you think!

Peace, have a terrific December, and I'll check in with everyone around Christmas.