Its always an adventure...

this is story worth telling that happen two weeks ago...

I am on my way to the office walking with my friend Laura. We split up to do some errands before meeting back up. I head to bank machine outside our favorite bread store. I walk up and about 5 people are standing around the ATM , but the ATM is not being used. I wait a few moments trying to figure out the scene, before turning to the grandma on the my right and say " "de ce?" (=why? ) shes spurts out something quickly in Romanian that i don't understand. Okay....so I look up thought the window of the store and inside the door is a policeman peering outside apparently looking for something/one. ( A note on Romanian policeman I am scared of them and their post communist legacy) So has the place been robbed, whats going on? Than the man in blue opens the door, points to me and says (in Romanian) "Miss, come here" i try to play it cool, he can't be pointing to me. But he points again "Come, come" Quite clearly he is referring to me. I apprehensively walk to the door "De ce?" I ask him with a puzzling look on my face (why the heck would you want me to come into the store) "Come, come miss" he says, as he opens the door I see the Bracu lady who works in the store, which eases my mind, she is a sweet and trustworthy women. So i walk in and the back of the bank machine is open. A man is stand over the machine with an open tool box at his feet. He says something in Romanian, I understand something about "small fingers" The Bracu lady repeats the same thing, something about "small hands, and "money" and points to me and then the machine. Okay, so I look into the machine and see 50 lei logged up inside it. I stick my hand into the machine "Like this" I say, you want me to try to free the money from the machine because I have small hands? "Yes, yes, yes" they all nod. I reach in a fiddle out the bill, they all clap in thanks. "Bravo, thank you miss" Fixing a bank machine, all in a days work in Romania :)


Soo....wow, I am leaving Romania in less than a month. 8 months passed so quickly. My last major project with the foundation was a 7 day backpacking trip with students in the abroad program. We traveled in Retezat National Park in the Carpathian Mts. The mountains here are more craggy and rugged looking than those in the east, the landscape was beautiful. The trip was going great, until four days in two of the girls started pucking their guts out (we think food poisoning or bad water) it was a long night and a very exhausting next two days, waiting for them to get healthy enough to hike out. As I leader it was one of the most stressful trips I have experienced. I am glad to be back to civilization. Another volunteer here was having a rough day yesterday, one 'those' days that we have all had here, she said 'its not easy living here, sometimes I forget that, its not suppose to be easy' Its true. Romania, the valley, Lupeni are not easy places to live. But when I think about leaving my heart is sadden. Romania has taught me and changed me. Many things I will miss; the community I built here (both Romanian and N American), the purpose i feel in my work, the simplicity of life, the random craziness that always happens upon us in Lupeni (for example like fixing an bank machine), and more. In Romania, I struggle with things, in my young and idealistic mind, that I want to struggle with. "its always an adventure" is Davia and I's saying for living in Romania. I am not sure what waits for me back in the states. And that almost seems more scary than staying here. Yet there are somethings I am so ready to be home for to see friends and family and indulge in a few N. American treats...maple syrup, coffee shops, Mexican food, soy ice cream...yumm.

Romania and the EU

A cool article about Romania agrarian lifestyle and the changes that might come with the entrance to the EU
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6977597.stm.

First, I want to apologize for not blogging all summer. Tabara Viata is over, and it was full of challenges, surprises, inspiring moments and lots of laughs, I will miss being up in the mountains. As Viata just ended, another exciting time for the FNO just began. On Monday August 27, 7 students from Northwestern University (in Iowa, not Chicago) arrived for a 3 month study aboard program. This is the first (of hopefully many) fall study aboard programs the foundation hopes to host. Alot of ground work has gone into this fall, but lots more is still need so my last months with the FNO will be busy. Luckily we have a great staff, I especially appreciate the three other N. American volunteers-Davia, Janelle and Daniel, we all compliment each other well with our skills. The students all seem great, flexible and eager to learn! So I have a feeling these last months will busy, but fun! My main contribution to the fall will be with the experiential education class, we are in the midst of finishing plans for a 7 day backpack in Retezat National Park! I feel so torn about leaving in October, I am so happy to be able to go home for to see family and I have some close friends getting married around that time. But I will be leaving half way through the semester, which makes it hard for me to really try and invest in the students. Leaving Romania will be so bittersweet. I struggled alot here, but through all the struggling I have found a community, a "Ro-family" as Davia and I call it, that I deeply appreciate. Romania has taught be so much. I hope that I will be able to come back someday.