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.

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!

Balkan Odyssey

*Map courtesy of Yale University Library Online

After three terrific weeks on the road, spanning much of the western Balkan Peninsula (and most of former Yugoslavia), I am once again back in Romania -- not necessarily rested, but reinvigorated for my second year of Peace Corps work. More than anything, the trip has underscored for me how far the Balkan countries have come since the revolutions and wars of the late 1980's and 1990's , both physically and psychologically. Though they were dodging snipers and mortar shells on their way to the store less than 15 years ago, Sarajevans are prospering and ready to move on. Though beautiful coastal jewels like Dubrovnik were heavily damaged during the war, Croatians have quickly rebuilt and are flush with the profits of international tourism. And then there is Slovenia, almost indistinguishable from its neighbors to the West and North (Italy and Austria) in its advanced level of development.

Each Balkan country is having to chart modernization on its own terms, and define its own priorities in this age of rapid growth. All have unique potentials and problems, and yes, the pace of development contrasts starkly between the various countries -- but this is a testament to independence: each nation is charged with making its own way, assisted by external aid but unfettered by external control. This is truly an exciting time to be living and working in the Balkans, and this trip has revealed to me many of the best-kept-secrets of Eastern Europe that are only now beginning to attract international tourists. Following are some quick notes about the various stopping-points on our trip (*be sure to checkout the photos as well, at the link to the right):

Belgrade, Serbia:
I've described Belgrade once before, back in early Spring, and so perhaps will let you look back on that posting for a fuller picture of the city (I didn't take many photos this time either). Suffice to say, however, that Belgrade is an even more beautiful and wonderful city in the height of Summer. It's strikingly tall, gorgeous Serbian residents stroll through the parks and along the Danube, sit at sidewalk cafes, and wile the night away at the floating bars that line the river's edge. Romania and Serbia share a border and, at least from my brief observations, a similar contrast in infrastructure and development between urban and rural areas. Like Timisoara here in Romania, Belgrade is a city working feverishly to pull itself out of its recent torpor -- and succeeding pretty handily on that count. I haven't traveled yet to Kosovo, the heavily-contested region in southern Serbia, and have received varying reports about the safety of doing so. But if there is unquestionably one place one must visit while in Serbia, it is this terrific city, which has managed to happily surprise everyone I know who has visited.

Novi Sad, Serbia:
I've been told that Novi Sad, in the north of the country, is Serbia's second largest city after Belgrade. It is, however, a much quieter, more relaxed urban center, without the bustle you'd expect from a major city. Sitting serenely between the mountains and the Sava River, Novi Sad seems content with keeping a low profile, and revealing its charms in an understated way.

This being said, Novi Sad recently hosted the EXIT Festival, one of Eastern Europe's largest "Lollapalooza"-type music festival, drawing performers and camping concert-goers from all over Europe. Some fellow volunteers attended, and said it was a lot of fun. Overall, Novi Sad would make a great day trip if you find yourself with time to kill in Belgrade, but I wouldn't call it a Serbian "must-see".

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina:
Looking back at photographs from the 1984 Winter Olympics, Sarajevo was truly one of the world's most stunning cities, surrounded by immaculate, fir-treed mountains on all sides. It is perhaps a testament not only to this latent beauty but to how far Sarajevo has come in recent years, that even after 4 years of constant siege during the 1991-95 war (with up to 300 shells and sniper bullets pummeling the city each day), Sarajevo is still stunning - even with its ubiquitous shrapnel pock-marks and the empty hulks of firebombed buildings. Since medieval Ottoman rule, the city has been a model of cultural diversity and harmony, with Orthodox Bosnian Serbs, Catholic Croats, Jews, and Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks) living tightly together. This did not change during with war, with all of the above groups contributing to the defense of the city against the besieging Bosnian Serb militias (there were Bosnian Serbs fighting on both sides). The new graveyards established to accommodate the casualties of that war attest to the diversity of those who were fighting together.

It's humbling to walk down streets where, only 12 years ago, a trip to buy bread at the store might get you killed from sniper fire; or to stand in the surrounding hills and experience the same jaw-dropping vistas the Bosnian Serb army saw as they fired shells into the city below. It's also a testament, thankfully, to how quickly things can change. Rather than fearing for their lives, Sarajevans now concern themselves with catering to the ever-growing hordes of travelers. Sarajevo always seems to find itself at the crossroads of war (WW I, the Balkan War, etc.). I can only hope it's next chapter in history is a more peaceful one.

Dubrovnik, Croatia:
Jutting out on a spit of land into the impossibly blue, impossibly clear Adriatic Sea separating the Balkans from Italy, Dubrovnik could easily be mistaken (in all but price) for the Riviera -- like much of the Balkan Adriatic coast. And judging from its idyllic setting and strategic positioning, it's easy to see why Dubrovnik (Ragusa until WW I) was coveted by so many empires: Slavs, Venetians, Ottomans, Napoleon, and the Habsburgs. The walled old-town section is a striking Renaissance jewel: almost completely surrounded by water; defended on all sides by formidable battlements; constructed from head to toe (including streets) of the immaculate white travertine marble that is abundant throughout the region.

As you will see from the photos, the Croatian coast is an exceedingly dry landscape, comprised mainly of rock and low scrub brush (northern Mexico also comes to mind). The rocky shoreline is starkly beautiful, but won't be a welcome sight to anyone looking for sandy beaches (they've imported a few, here and there, for tourists). The thousands of islands that line the coast mean that one could spend weeks hopping from one to the next, via ferry, kayak, sailboat, etc. I got the sense that there would never be enough time to truly get to know the thousands of miles of serrated Croatian coastline. We did take a boat-trip one afternoon between a few of the smaller islands (many of which have one or more small villages of their own), and we spent one night on Korcula Island which, along with Hvar and Mljet, are perhaps the most visited islands in souther Croatia.

Plitvice National Park, central Croatia:
The elaborate series of natural terraces, pools, and waterfalls you see in Plitvice (which descend several hundred meters in elevation) are the product of the mineral travertine, which produces travertine marble as its sediments collect. Without getting too geeky-scientific here, travertine sediments in the park's flowing waters have built-up over millions of years, forming natural dams that, in turn, have created various levels of terraced pools. The high mineral content also lends the water an extraordinary clear, blue brilliance that easily comes through in the photos. Nothing here is fake!: all is exactly as it looks in real life. The uniqueness of this spectacular landscape has won for it protected status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Any trip to Croatia should include a stop in this magnificent park.

Rovinj, Croatia:
Sitting on the western coast of the Istrian Peninsula, near Croatia's northern border with Slovenia, Rovinj is only 100km or so from Italy and Venice - and with its brightly-colored, closely-packed buildings skirting the water's edge, you can feel that proximity. Like Dubrovnik, old Rovinj (Rovigno in Italian) is perched out on a spit of land surrounded by water, like Dubrovnik it was vied for by a succession of different empires, and like Dubrovnik the town is a living postcard image. Because most (non-Italian) tourists had traditionally headed further south to Croatia's Dalmation Coast to vacation, the Istrian Peninsula was known for being a somewhat quieter and more relaxed region than its Croatian neighbors. Due to more recent coverage in the NY Times and elsewhere however, this is quickly changing. While still not as bustling as Dubrovnik or Split, towns like Rovinj are getting noticed, and with good reason: they have all of the beauty of the Mediterranean further west, while being much cheaper...well, for anyone other than a Peace Corps Volunteer!

Pula, Croatia:
Our terrific week-long amble through Croatia ended in this pretty, medium-size town on the southern tip of the Istrian Peninsula, before crossing the border into Slovenia. Pula's establishment as a Roman settlement is still evidenced by a variety of Roman ruins scattered around town: a coliseum (pictured to right), a triumphal arch, an open-air amphitheatre, a temple, and a variety of odds and ends (there's literally a heap of Roman stone artifacts next to the amphitheatre). Due to the major shipyard in town, and to the fact that the guidebook wasn't overly enthralled with the place, we weren't expecting much out of our visit to Pula -- and were pleasantly surprised: Nice pedestrian streets, cafes, restaurants, and then of course that incredible blue sea nearby. The reality is that, when you visit Croatia, you are immediately confronted with a dilemma as to which if the countless beautiful coastal towns and cities to visit (in and out of the guidebooks). Sometimes it's nice to get off the beaten path a little bit, to towns like Pula that, although not necessarily raved about in the travel books, offer quite a lot.

Note: My Romanian friends reading this will have already noticed that Pula shares its name with the Romanian term for, uhh, a crucial part of the male anatomy.

Ljubljana, Slovenia:
Slovenia is a country that, to my mind, demonstrates the absolute diversity of countries categorized as "Balkan". Although they (marginally) share the South Slavic language group, and although they were once both part of Yugoslavia, Slovenia and Serbia (for example) look and feel like completely different cultures. While Serbia has the unquestionable feel of a Slavic country and peoples, Slovenia could just as easily be Austria or northern Italy. The point has been made that, among Yugoslavian countries, Slovenia maintained the closest connection to Western European ideals and culture, throughout Communism. And today it's clear that, whatever advantages it may have had over it's Balkan neighbors, it has capitalized on them. Much the same as with Croatia, foreign money and involvement have put Slovenian infrastructure on the fast-track to "first world" standards.

As for Ljubljana itself (it's close enough to say "Loob-yanna"), the Slovenian capitol is a calm but urbane center of culture, only 2-3 hours from Vienna. It is bordered on the north by the dramatic Julian Alps, a region of intense fighting during the Second World War. You could probably spend all day (and all night) hopping between the cafes bordering the winding Ljubljanica River on both banks. And since we weren't particularly in a museum state-of-mind, this is more or less what we did! Although we were constantly awed by the jutting Julian Alps looming in the distance, we didn't have the chance to take a trip into the mountains this time. It's amazing how quickly 3 weeks can go.

Budapest, Hungary:
Budapest is another city I've covered in past postings, and since I was only really able to stop over for the night here (I had a wedding to get back for), my latest experiences wouldn't add much to what I've said about it. It should go without saying that Budapest is a terrific place whose level of development and infrastructure, like Ljubljana's, rivals any in Western Europe. As with just about any other city in Europe, I would recommend visiting in Spring or Fall, when the weather is cool and pleasant, the prices are cheaper, and crowds of tourists aren't trampling you on their way to the next tour stop. Frankly, I haven't visited many places that wouldn't be even nicer in September than in July.

Just as a conclusion to what I've said here (and in the past), I can't emphasize enough how strongly I recommend Eastern Europe as a travel destination...whether you see it while I'm here or not! And sooner rather than later. The Balkans, like so many other developing parts of the world, is changing at almost unfathomable pace -- and at this moment you have the opportunity to see the colliding of the "old" order with the new, and the positive and negative ramifications of this process. Eastern Europe is, in the minds of many Westerners, essentially a dirty word, saddled with various stigmas about Communism, corruption, and crime. And while elements of this darker side certainly persist, there is much about the Balkans that is as unknown to the outside world as it is wonderful. For every example like Croatia, there are myriad other "hidden jewels" in this region that await exposure. Yes, one must be willing to be an adventurous, flexible, and patient traveler in the Balkans: transportation, toilet facilities, and pricing charts always keep you on your toes, without a doubt. But once you have surmounted these issues, the world they open you up to is one worth the effort.

And don't believe all the rumors. After a year, I have yet to run into a black market gunrunner (though we're pretty sure they were smuggling tablecloths on the train to Serbia).

Enjoy the rest of the Summer, wherever it takes you...

Forward Ho

Hello everyone,

Well, after yet another needlessly long pause, here I am. And as usual, much has transpired since I last wrote. As those of you who've seen the latest photos will know, life in western Romania continues to demonstrate just how diverse, joyful, and wholly unpredictable it can be.

Our park renovation project continues to progress, if sometimes in fits and starts. June 1st was especially busy with park-related activities: my colleagues Victor, Andreea, Silvia and I started the day by taking part in the celebration of Romania's "Day of the Child" at Recas's local school for children with special needs. We held a drawing competition as part of the festivities, intended to get the kids thinking about what they would want in a town park -- and they happily threw back at us a horde of great ideas and beautiful drawings, for which we happily awarded lots of prizes and candy in response. Activities for children are, aside from being important in general, a great first step in approaching a broader issue in the community. Kids can be a formidable motivating force in any community!

The second important event of the day was our first major public meeting regarding the park (see photos). Not exactly a fully public meeting, we intended this forum as a meeting of specific community representatives, and so we sent out about 25 personal invitations to the Fire Department, the Police Department, various local churches and community groups, local business owners, and other sectors of the population. Though we received only about a 50% attendance rate, we still had to view it as a success: it was, after all, an opportunity to gather together a body of local citizens to discuss issues important to the community. Organized as a public "workshop", the meeting sought to answer a variety of our questions about what people do and don't want in their park, and what they would personally be willing to do (donations, labor, maintenance, etc.) to make it happen. One group even put their design ideas to paper, and began to visualize various possibilities for the park layout. My colleagues and I really envisioned this meeting as the first (rough) template for a series of public meetings in the future about any number of topics, and we were extremely pleased even that it took place at all. Now we can move forward with the project knowing we have the public on-board.

Another important event in June was a trip I took to Odorheiu Secuiesc to consult with fellow volunteers about a future conference center two of them want to build. Nestled in the Carpathian foothills of Transylvania, Odorheiu sits in the heart of Hungarian culture in Romania -- like the Banat region in which I live, Transylvania was only transfered from Hungarian to Romanian control after World War I. In fact, many in this part of the country still consider themselves Hungarian rather than Romanian, making for an interesting political situation. In any event, the organizations with whom two friends of mine volunteer want to build a small barn structure to house a center for conferences, art openings, a community library, and various community events. And they had gathered a few of us PC volunteers with design experience to brainstorm design options with them. Sitting on a hillside overlooking a beautiful agrarian village just outside town, the building site is spectacular and will one day accommodate a terrific community resource (we hope). Do take a look at the pictures, and I'll let you all know how this project progresses.

The other big news of the moment is my upcoming trip through the western Balkans, for which I leave in a few days (and with the other John Moore, among others). A few of us plan to travel through Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Hungary, before swinging back into Romania from the north. All will be seen by land (bus, train, etc.) and none will be reserved ahead of time, so keep your fingers crossed and wish us luck...we may be getting to know park benches rather well! I have to say: Much has been written recently about the benefits of "slow" travel (i.e. by some means other than flight) and I fully agree: after a year of traveling on Romanian trains and buses, I have come to appreciate the rich, experiential nature of traveling overland -- wherein all of the delays, complications and hangups really ultimately make for a fuller, deeper understanding of a country and its people. When you have the time and flexibility, I highly recommend going by train, bus, ferry, bike, wagon (though not possible everywhere), or horse. Your sore backside will continue to remind you that you are truly alive! But more about all that when I return.

Perhaps I'll end with a kind of a proverb (which I love to dole out, not always follow):

My continuing work and experiences here with the Peace Corps only serve to further reinforce the belief that a little patience and flexibility will take you a long way in life. I, like everyone else, love to impose my own rules on a situation, my own time-frame, my own understanding about what needs to happen and why -- only to be disappointed when those standards prove to be insufficient or irrelevant. While we all should continue to harbor a core of belief within ourselves about what is possible (in ourselves, in others, and beyond), we should also be willing to accept the fact that the mutable world in which we all live doesn't read our rulebooks. We are constantly modifying our expectations of time and place, and this is not a bad thing, as the destination at which we ultimately find ourselves is often far more wonderful than we ever could have imagined before, on our own, with our old expectations. This lesson reaffirms itself everyday for me.

Hope everyone is well.

Small Victories

I'm back, after a lengthy hiatus. In the time since I last wrote, green has returned in full force, along with summer-like heat (32C today, or roughly 90F). The outdoor cafes (terasas) are back in business, pedestrians once again crowd streets and sidewalks, birds are singing, schoolchildren dream of the end of the schoolyear (as everywhere on earth), Romanians find themselves in a flurry of activity to plant their gardens so as to have fruits and vegetables all summer, and canned-goods all winter...and I too begin to recognize all that I'm hoping to get done before the weather turns cold again next autumn.

I'm happy to say we had our first major meeting involving the park renovation project: this one with teachers at the local highschool. We are trying to emphasize the importance of public involvement in this project, young and old alike -- a renewed sense of public ownership of open spaces. To this end we will be: coordinating student projects and contests with the school; holding workshops for local citizens and coworkers at the town hall; and eventually getting everyone to pitch in their sweat and toil during the construction phase this fall. The general concept is that this project will be not only an improvement of an important public space, but a motivating precedent for future public actions. Of course, this is all just "waxing philosophic" until the shovel hits the dirt!

In other news, I had the chance to visit Budapest with friends several weekends ago (see photo link at right). I find Hungary to be an interesting case-study to set against Romania's own situation: both overthrew Communism and the Warsaw Pact at roughly the same time (1989) and began moving towards democratization and liberalization; both eventually joined NATO (Hungary in 1999, Romania in 2004) and then the European Union (Hungary in '04, Romania in '07); and both have seen dramatic improvements in living standards and infrastructure in the past 18 years. There is little questions, though, that Hungary's ascendancy to "1st world" status is far more advanced, at this point. Budapest, to any visiting foreigner, resembles any of Europe's other major tourist cities, with the level of polish and sophistication that that implies: public spaces are clean and well-maintained, transportation is efficient and safe...and prices are as expensive as those in, say, Berlin.

The debate over why Hungary seems to have (outwardly) surpassed Romania in these and other areas is a complicated one, and I'm no political scientist. But I think Hungary's physical proximity and deep cultural ties to Western Europe (the Habsburg legacy, etc.) have played a large role in development assistance. And in any case, regardless of the specifics, Hungary represents for me a model of all that is possible here in Romania -- given an internal will to improve, and a generous helping hand from the outside world. As with various other Balkan nations, the stigmas of Romania's political legacy are difficult to shed (inside and outside of Romania). Luckily more and more internationals and international businesses are stepping up to the plate.

Well, I guess some of my postings have to be serious! Enjoy the photos, and be in touch...

Spring In Romania

Well, it seems the thaw has finally arrived here in the central Balkans: the trees and flowers are in bloom, the sun is shining more often...and people are actually going outside!

Two or three weekends ago, I had the opportunity to take a long-weekend trip with friends just across the border to Belgrade, Serbia. Belgrade is only about 100km from where I am in Romania, but when you take the train, you have hour-long customs stops on BOTH sides of the border, turning it into a 4-hour journey. It was worth it though: Despite the fact that less than 10 years ago parts of the city were being bombed by NATO forces during the Kosovo war, Belgrade is a gorgeous and friendly city (as are Serbians themselves, who are among the consistently tallest people I've ever seen!). Like so many European cities, Belgrade was founded around a fortress, perched on a spot overlooking the joining of the Sava and Danube Rivers. It is a city easily navigated on foot, and welcoming to tourists -- so for anyone who comes to Eastern Europe, I highly recommend a visit. In my opinion, there seemed to be little evidence of bitterness or animosity about recent events. Serbians seem to want to just move forward into the future and are, like Romanians, quite knowledgeable about the world, current events, and foreign languages.

In other (minor) news, I have transferred all of my online photos over to Picasa (the link on the right now directs you there), which I think will be a better, more user-friendly way for people to see my pictures...with full captions! You can access my web photo albums anytime at http://picasaweb.google.com/jonathan.c.moore.

This was a short post, I know, but I promise to write more soon. I hope everyone is well, and ready for warmer weather!

Holy Raining Books, Batman!

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...

Ho Freakin' Ho...

Ah yes: the holiday season has rolled into town, like those carloads of delightful, crazed relatives who are no doubt breaching the barricades of your quiet home at this very moment [fade to fruitcake jokes and tales of Uncle Cletus's kidney stones]. Luckily, I'm safe and out of reach (yes, that was a joke). Now is the time to reflect on family, friends, the exploits of the past year...and where we're going to sleep, now that the cousins have taken over all of the beds.

Thanksgiving was actually terrific here: a few of us volunteers from western Romania got together at a cabin in the mountains, along with Romanian friends and coworkers, for a nice cross-cultural feast. Because my friend Kenny is a former rancher and current agro/animal-husbandry volunteer in his village, he managed to procure two of the largest turkeys I'd ever seen -- one cooked the conventional way in a wood-fire "soba", the other deep-fat fried...which was, for the Romanians, a glorious and terrifying experience indeed. The meal was a wonderful combination of American and Romanian fare, and because I had brought a young French couple along from a nearby village, we even had home-bottled French wine to wash it all down. Considering that the first Thanksgiving was an intercultural event (i.e. the Indians providing, the Pilgrims eating), I think we really got back to the spirit of it all, here in the Romanian wilderness.

December 5th is Saint Nicholas' Day (Sfantul Nicholae) among the Romanian Orthodox, at which point you opt either to buy little gifts for loved ones or, far more entertainingly, buy a decorated stick or large wooden spoon/paddle with which to "beat" them for their failings...or both. An odd mix of the carrot and the stick, but everyone seems to enjoy themselves and the punishment is not meted out with any real conviction. My class of volunteers were all in Sibiu, a stately old medieval city in Transylvania (central Romania) for in-service training at the time, and thoroughly enjoyed watching everyone chase each other around with presents and weapon in hand.

Christmastime is a wonderful season in this country, even when many people (and local governments) have very little money with which to "deck the halls". Anything that is worth looking forward to is a good thing in this life, as far as I'm concerned. Say what you will about the commercialism and excess, but now that Romanians are at last beginning to find themselves with even a little disposable income, they are coming to learn how great it can be to spoil one's self here and there -- with a few more Christmas gifts, with a few more strings of lights or garlands over the door...or with that terrible, tacky plastic "animated" Santa that no town seems able to resist. Timisoara, our nearest city, is absolutely ablaze with Christmas lights [see pictures], and given the approach of E.U. accession on January 1st, it's an understatement to say that there is a crackle of excitement in the air at the approach of Christmas and New Year's. Romanians, in general, are somewhat skeptical of the effect that accession will have on their country, but for now, most are willing to suspend that disbelief, at least temporarily.

The other holiday tradition that you will see represented in the photos (a warning to anyone without a strong stomach) is the annual killing of the pig. Every Romanian family goes through the process of killing, butchering, and eating a pig at some point in the holiday season. I'd tend to think, though, that this is a tradition that goes back to long before the founding of the Christian church: a sacrificial offering for Winter Solstice (Dec. 21st) perhaps? In any event, it was quite an event to behold. On this occasion, the pig was actually slaughtered not at my family's home but in the next village over, and then was slung in the back-seat of the family car. It definitely gave me a new appreciation for the origins of pork, bacon, sausage, and other delectable pig products, to see this feast go from "stable to table" in a few hours. As Romanians say, pofta buna ("good appetite").

So as not to end on a sour note (or sow note, as the case may be), after spending Christmas with my terrific host family, I am due to head back to Sibiu for New Year's, where people will celebrate not only the joining of the E.U., but also the designation of Sibiu as one of two "European Cultural Capitols" for 2007, along with Luxembourg. Not too shabby.

So light the yule log, have some of that lighter-fluid eggnog your cousin makes, and enjoy those visions of sugar plums, Mos Craciun, Hannukah Harry, Kwanzaa, the Great Spirit, Nordic gods, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or whatever tradition you subscribe to...

Happy Holidays, everyone!!

P.S. - ANOTHER NOTE ON PHOTOS (why do I feel like I do a lot of these?!): for those of you wanting captions or more information on each photo your viewing in Winkflash, just go to the "Comments" tab for each photo, where I usually put a full description of what's going on. Yes, I wish you didn't have to click to a separate page for comments...but such is life! Check it out.

Getting Around

I think a theme worth expounding upon this time is the wild, wooly, wonderful world of transportation in Romania, which seems to get only more interesting as Romania goes through its growing pains. Much like the food in this country, the various ways you can get from here to there make up a kind of smorgasbord of traditions, cultures, and eras (ancient and modern). In my town, for example, many residents still get their families, belongings, animals, and wares (to sell at the market) around in the "căruţă", an open horse-drawn wagon stitched together, rather Frankenstein-esque, from whatever wood and metal can be scrounged-up, and completed with four (not necessarily matching) auto or truck wheels, often with the original hubcaps intact. These wagons can be seen in just about every part of Romania, including many cities, and ignoring their drawbacks in inclement weather (got a raincoat?), they're vehicles whose simplicity and utility will probably keep them on Romanian roads for quite some time to come.

Another popular way of getting around town and around the countryside is on one of Romania's gigantic fleet of old buses ("autobuze"), many of which I'm sure represented the absolute peak of modernity back in the '60s. Many among these were donated at some point by German cities, and thus have old German signs and stickers that no one bothered to remove. Suffice to say, I've taken enough multiple-hour trips on such buses, on winding, unpaved mountain roads to know that any supposed comfort vanishes after the first ten minutes. And pray that it's not too hot outside, since many Romanians have a strong aversion to open windows (on trains, in cars, at home, at work...), as it is believed that the "current" (i.e. the draft) causes ill health. Yes, as you may guess, a bus full of people with varying perspectives on personal hygiene, coupled with no open windows...well, let's just say you feel somewhat like you're in a crockpot on simmer.

And then of course there are the ubiquitous blue Romanian trains, which date from roughly the same period as the buses, though these may never have looked all that nice, even when new. Much like the Hindu caste system, there is a caste system of Romanian trains: "personal" trains are the lowest and cheapest (and often approximate traveling in a metal filing cabinet); then there are "accelerat" and "rapid" trains, which are more expensive and supposedly better (perhaps they changed the ashtrays periodically or something). Truth be told, those names are cruel jokes, since there is generally very little "accelerating" going on, and definitely no "rapid"; Lastly, is the "inter-city" level, which is often in the form of a hyper-modern "bullet"-type train, and for which we volunteers can easily fork out half of our monthly spending budget for one trip. Since flying is prohibitively expensive for most Romanians, everyone takes the train, and honestly, if you are willing to be patient and travel with a spirit of adventure, taking the train can be extremely fun...it all depends on the people in your cabin.

Yet another major form of transportation, and certainly one of the most popular, is hitchhiking. Granted, it's not officially condoned by the Peace Corps (and I naturally would never think of it myself), but hitching a ride in someone's lovable old broken-down Dacia, whether across town or across the country, is simply a matter of sticking out your thumb on any road (major or minor) and waiting a few minutes. It is generally quite safe as well. There are actually coworkers of mine in the town hall who commute this way every day, on the 20-min. ride to and from Timisoara, the nearby city. You meet interesting people, see interesting vehicles (ever hitchhiked on a tractor?), and get to your destination much quicker than the alternatives, even if the car sounds like it's about to explode. You get used to that sound.

Romanians also walk and bike over distances, and with payloads, that you would never think possible...in all sorts of weather. I guess necessity forces one foot in front of the other. I actually saw one guy walking down the sidewalk recently with a washing machine on his back! He was whistling.

I love this country. Oh, and don't forget to check out my new photos at the link on the right.

Well, as those of you who check my blog and photos regularly (why, I really don't know) already know, waiting for my updates to arrive online is about as riveting as watching your fingernails grow. Due to the fact that my dial-up connection here in Recas is apparently powered by hampsters, and the fact that I actually am getting work done over here, I haven't been in touch as often as I would like. Then again, those of you checking my blog probably know me well...and thus know that this lack of communication is normal for me, even when I don't have that terrific "Eastern Europe" excuse! So be grateful for what you are getting.

The truth is, I have been quite busy: last week, I was running around the country by train, between meetings of Local Development Agents in various Romanian counties, along with playing host to my PC program manager (Community & Economic Development) from Bucuresti. And lastly, I made a presentation to my local Town Council on a project I am hoping to get started to renovate our public market space. And then this past weekend, it was off to another meeting/retreat in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains (if you wait the usual 6 months or so, you can see the photos!) This week looks to be much the same: other than the usual language tutoring sessions, we are hosting a visiting delegation of Polish farmers to our area, through a sister-cities program. Heck, I may even go to a ballroom dance class tomorrow (Oct. 5) night in Timisoara. Ah yes, the solitary life of the Peace Corps Volunteer!

I promise I'll get some new photos up soon. In the meantime, start planning those trips to visit...

Work

I realized recently that, up until now, I haven't really explained what exactly my job is here in Recas. I am working in the Local Development Office of the Recas Town Hall. In this function, my local counterpart and I are involved in everything from the upgrading of infrastructure (water, utilities, garbage, etc.) to the development of tourism, attracting new business, and applying for EU and international development funds. In other words, our office is something of a catch-all for local issues and projects. For the first few weeks, aside from familiarizing myself with the community, the major needs, and the major players, I have for instance begun to develop architectural drawings of the town hall and several other publically-owned buildings in town (for which drawings have never really existed). The hope is that I may be able to spearhead various renovation and reuse projects. Another "possibility area" is the town park, which the mayor would like to redesign (along with the introduction of a new recreational park for young people) to be more welcoming and usable by the public. If you take a look at my PHOTOS, I included a shot of the park (with the Catholic Church in the background). Another photos I included is of the existing town market space, to which the town hall would like to give a facelift. The key will be to see how much can be done for barely any money! And then there is of course the Strategic Development Master Plan for the area, which has until now not really gotten off the ground -- and yet is vitally important for plotting out how the town will manage physical growth in the coming years. So as you can see, there is plenty of work to do: some projects will be achievable in a matter of days, others may take my entire two years (and then some).

It has been nice to be busy, and feel that I am already filling a need on the town hall staff. Now if I could only figure out what people are saying to me!...

Gotta run, but enjoy the pictures, and please feel free to respond.

A few words on my new home

I've already mentioned a little bit about my new town, Recas, which sits on the rolling plains of the Banat, in western Romania. While I have a few minutes though, I thought I'd fill in the picture a little more: Recas is actually a collection of a few villages (Recas being the largest at 8500 people, and in which I live) that were only incorporated into "localitatea" (i.e. town) status two years ago. It is a town that sits among vineyards and substistance farmlands. Every morning I am awakened by the crowing of roosters, the bleating of sheep, the mooing of cows, the strangely abrasive chatter of goats, and of course the song-birds. You constantly smell the barnyard and the animals, and the fresh air from the hills. It's wonderful. When I jog, I dodge cow-pies (and what, from Romanian, literally translates as "vagabond dogs"). Recas is a town, like so many, wrestling with itself over its place in the new world -- a stronghold of rural tradition on the one hand, and a modernizing commercial district on the other. Recas is already home to Cramele Recas, one of Romania's most well-known wineries, and it will soon be home to the oddly named "Eurocheese" factory, exporting dairy products all over the continent. And yet we still buy our fresh bread every morning from the local bakery. Everyone lovingly tends their own garden plots during the warm months, saving and preserving all that they can before the cold sets in. In the past, I suppose, one's garden was one of the few sources of sustinence over which you had (relative) complete control...which leads back to the homemade liquor discussion.

All of this and I'm only a 30-minute train ride from the beautiful city of Timisoara! Gotta run--