Oh it was a beautiful week here in Romania. Today we saw temperatures in the high 60s. Yet if I was still in college I would have been experiencing the first snowfall of the year, and it would have been a doozey of a storm. Ironically however, I am missing the cool weather that typically is experienced during November. I am even anxious for a little bit of snow. I didn't think that was going to be possible, considering the dislike I developed for snow two Decembers ago when we had a snowstorm every other day and had a slight accident involving my parents vehicle. Yeah that's right mom and dad, still never going to drive the truck again :) I am sure the snow will be here soon enough and then I will be praying for the sunshine and beautiful weather again.
This week was a very nice week, I started to watch a new movie with my film club. I decided upon Remember the Titans because I figured that most of them would have never seen the film, and it teaches a lot of great things. For example, acceptance of others regardless of appearance. This is something that I think we all need to learn, because in general we all have some prejudices towards others, even if we don't want it. I do however truly believe that everyone is capable of goodness and we can fight these feelings and discover new and interesting things about people and form new friendships where we least expect it if we just let our guard down and get to know people we wouldn't normally talk to. So far the kids are really into the movie, and I hope they enjoy it as it is one of my favorite movies of all time. No matter how many times I see it, it never gets old and I always enjoy it and discover new things about it.
We also started to write the plays in my 6th grade optional theater class. These kids have an enormous amount of creativity and I think that we are going to have some pretty good plays to present at my towns annual Special English Evening. The kids are working hard, and I love that they are able to express themselves through their creativity, but it is also very interesting at the same time. Watching several of the plays and certain things they have incorporated into them gives me a different idea of what they have seen growing up than what I saw growing up. For example, several of the kids had scenes where they portrayed someone smoking (which we instantly discouraged and would not allow), but this is something that they see everyday. Smoking is extremely prevalent in Romania, and it is likely that a majority of their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and maybe even older siblings participate in the habit. While it was something that I saw on the street growing up, it was always something that was avidly discouraged, and that is just not the norm here. Also there were certain students who choose to portray drunk individuals. Granted these were not included in any of the written versions, but were done in some of the impromptu things we asked them to perform. These kids are only 12 or 13 years old and they have been in contact with people who were excessively drunk, when I was that age I don't even think I knew what it meant to be drunk. They are just more exposed to this and it is something that you can see on the streets. Not all the time, but it does happen. I do have to say though that Romania has an excellent policy regarding driving and alcohol, it is one chance and you are done, whether it is 10 drinks or 1 drink, your license is gone. Maybe if we enabled that law in Wisconsin there would be less of a problem. I do want any of these comments to be see as the norm in the entire country, or the norm for Romania. I do not think that this country sets bad examples for its children, it was just an interesting observation that I made. It also shows just how attent children are and how much faster they are growing through each and every generation.
School was great this week as well. My classes went well, the kids paid attention for the most part. I did not need to yell too much, they did their homework. It was a good week. I am looking forward to this week because I feel that I have some pretty interesting lesson plans to offer my students. I hope they like them as I put a great deal of thought into each one of them.
This weekend was also lovely. I started writing my rough draft or my career goals statement for my primary choice for graduate school, UW Stout. They have a great Marriage and Family Therapy Program, and I hope that I will be lucky enough to be accepted into it. I do however have other schools that I am applying too, including Edgewood College in Madison, Kansas State University, and North Dakota State University. I hope that I am lucky enough to be accepted into at least one of them, so I can pursue my desire of becoming a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Only time will tell.
My Sunday was extremely filled as I joined my counterpart in a neighboring village to meet her in-laws and have a nice lunch. We had delicious chicken grilled over a fire, mashed potatoes, and a delicious meatball soup. There were also tasty apple bars to enjoy for desert. After that I went to another neighboring village where I tutor a boy from another school. He has learned so much since I started working with him, and I hope he can continue to learn and catch up in his class. He is still at a beginning stage, but he definitely has improved. For tutoring him they tend to give me homemade things such as zacusca (a stewed vegetable spread that is put on bread and is just about the most delicious thing I have ever had) as a thank you. I can tell you it sure makes me happy because they are tasty and I do not know how to make that deliciousness. I also enjoy going out there because they are an extremely kind and generous family.
Well that is all that I have for this week. I hope that you are all doing well, and if it snowed by you I hope that it did hinder your day at all. If you were snowed in I hope you enjoyed it with a nice mug of hot cocoa and maybe that you made some delicious homemade cookies to warm up the house. I love you all very much and miss you as well. Everyday is a day closer to me coming home, but everyday here is such a wonderful experience so it makes the time go by much quicker. I hope you are all healthy and happy and I look forward to seeing you this summer!! Wish me luck during my application phase, lets hope at least one school is kind enough to take me!! ;)
Va iubesc
Mi-a dor de voi
Va pup
Pana mai tarziu
~Sarah B.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Happy Fall
The leaves are changing, the days are getting shorter, the weather is getting cooler....well maybe not yet. In some parts of the world the weather may be getting cooler, but not here where I am. It has been so wonderful at my site all week. I cannot believe that it is November, it feels like September. I remember times when I was growing up and it would be snowing and cold on Halloween. Fred and I would be all bundled up Trick-or-treating and mom and dad would take us door to door in the car so we wouldn't get to cold. That surely is not the case here, I think that if they did trick or treating here, they could go without a jacket!
The trees however are changing, and I love to look out my window at the hills that are across the street. They are covered with trees that are gold, orange and red and are a true beauty to behold. It will be hard when they barren and brown for a few weeks, but then will be a little better once they are white. The only down side will be that it will then be cold. Good thing I live on the 5th floor, heat rises, and I only have a 5 minute walk to school!
Ah school, this week I had an easy week, I was down from my normal 21 hour class load to just 14 hours. I had so much extra time, I did not know what to do with myself! Now why did I have this extra free time you may ask? Well this week the little ones (1-4th grade) had the week off, so that took away 7 of my classes. That however gave me time to go into Targoviste to do some shopping and to pick up my package that had been waiting for me from my parents. I scored big time however in Targoviste as I found Taco seasoning, whole grain pasta, and brown rice! I haven't tried any of these things just yet to see if they are in fact the real deal, but I am looking forward to doing so.
This week did not bring anything out of the ordinary. I taught, I walked around town and enjoyed the weather, I spent some time with my landlord, and I took some time to relax, since I will be back at 21 hours this next week and will be exhausted. Now I know you don't think that 21 hours sounds like a lot, but when you are teaching a language in a foreign language and you have to grade papers and tests and prepare for class, it really turns out to be a lot more than that. I am so exhausted by the time I get home, I now have a completely different respect for teachers and realize that coming up with and executing ideas is extremely difficult and draining.
This weekend I was able to spend a lot of time outside enjoying the weather. I read outside in the park and took a nice long walk to the neighboring town as I tutor a boy in the 6th grade from another school. It was about 2 miles each way, but the weather was so nice I arrived there in no time. The last time I went there it took me 45 minutes and this time it only took me 30 minutes. It is amazing what good health, beautiful weather, and music can do to put some speed in your step. I hope to be able to take many more long walks outside before the weather gets too cold and I can only take short walks. I am hoping since I am further south now, I will have weather that is just a little bit warmer, but who knows we shall see.
Well that is all that I have to say today, just a short little post, but I hope that it is enough :)
I miss and love you all so very much and I think about you every day. Just think 9 more months from now and I will be home, we are less than a year away from it! I have already been in Romania for 18 months! I am 2/3 of the way done, crazy huh!
Va pup
Va iubesc
Mi-a dor de voi!
Pana mai tarziu
~Sarah B.
The trees however are changing, and I love to look out my window at the hills that are across the street. They are covered with trees that are gold, orange and red and are a true beauty to behold. It will be hard when they barren and brown for a few weeks, but then will be a little better once they are white. The only down side will be that it will then be cold. Good thing I live on the 5th floor, heat rises, and I only have a 5 minute walk to school!
Ah school, this week I had an easy week, I was down from my normal 21 hour class load to just 14 hours. I had so much extra time, I did not know what to do with myself! Now why did I have this extra free time you may ask? Well this week the little ones (1-4th grade) had the week off, so that took away 7 of my classes. That however gave me time to go into Targoviste to do some shopping and to pick up my package that had been waiting for me from my parents. I scored big time however in Targoviste as I found Taco seasoning, whole grain pasta, and brown rice! I haven't tried any of these things just yet to see if they are in fact the real deal, but I am looking forward to doing so.
This week did not bring anything out of the ordinary. I taught, I walked around town and enjoyed the weather, I spent some time with my landlord, and I took some time to relax, since I will be back at 21 hours this next week and will be exhausted. Now I know you don't think that 21 hours sounds like a lot, but when you are teaching a language in a foreign language and you have to grade papers and tests and prepare for class, it really turns out to be a lot more than that. I am so exhausted by the time I get home, I now have a completely different respect for teachers and realize that coming up with and executing ideas is extremely difficult and draining.
This weekend I was able to spend a lot of time outside enjoying the weather. I read outside in the park and took a nice long walk to the neighboring town as I tutor a boy in the 6th grade from another school. It was about 2 miles each way, but the weather was so nice I arrived there in no time. The last time I went there it took me 45 minutes and this time it only took me 30 minutes. It is amazing what good health, beautiful weather, and music can do to put some speed in your step. I hope to be able to take many more long walks outside before the weather gets too cold and I can only take short walks. I am hoping since I am further south now, I will have weather that is just a little bit warmer, but who knows we shall see.
Well that is all that I have to say today, just a short little post, but I hope that it is enough :)
I miss and love you all so very much and I think about you every day. Just think 9 more months from now and I will be home, we are less than a year away from it! I have already been in Romania for 18 months! I am 2/3 of the way done, crazy huh!
Va pup
Va iubesc
Mi-a dor de voi!
Pana mai tarziu
~Sarah B.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Happy Halloween!
Trick or Treat! Money or Eat! Give me something good to eat! If you don't, I don't care, I'll pull down your underwear! Oh to be young again, I wish that I could be carefree and go trick-or-treating once again. Hopefully I will be able to go with my nieces and nephew sometime in the near future, if I am not away at grad school that is, which I hope to be at this time next year! We shall see!
So this post is going to be much shorter than last weeks, I don't know if I can ever top that one, but I did have an awful lot to say, as it was an experience filled week! This week was a lot quieter but still busy. I was helping my school prepare for their Halloween party that they had today. It went really well, they made a lot of money and the kids had a lot of fun, so that is the important thing. There were lots of great costumes and lots of great prizes and games. They even had pumpkin bowling, which was slightly adapted. it was more like regular bowling, because there were no pumpkins. Lets hope that next year they can get some pumpkins!
Yesterday proved to be more exhausting than today. While today was long, yesterday I spent 5 hours at school helping the kids set up the haunted house. It was an extremely long process involving a lot of cutting, taping, and some collapsing. It turned out well though in time, and the kids really liked to play in it. It was amazing, something that took 5 hours to build only took 30 minutes to take down. It is funny how things work that way sometimes.
Anyway I treated the kids yesterday since they had worked really hard for several hours, so I decided to make them some goodies. I made them some apple pie bars and lemon poppy seed bars. They went absolutely crazy over them! One of my students actually told me they tasted better than anything their mom ever made! Now that is a high complement! I am just glad that they enjoyed them and it gave them a little bit of energy, because they sure worked hard for them.
Lets see other than that this week was pretty uneventful, this next week will bring more classes, but I will have a few less since the little ones have the week off, so hopefully I will make myself useful during my free mornings! Lets hope!
Alright well that is all for today, I am not super talkative today and want to get back to watching my Packers play! Let's hope they win!! Go Pack Go!!!!
I miss and love you all and can't wait to see you again and give you a big hug!
Va iubesc!
Mi-a dor de voi!
Va pup!
Pana mai tarziu
~Sarah B.
So this post is going to be much shorter than last weeks, I don't know if I can ever top that one, but I did have an awful lot to say, as it was an experience filled week! This week was a lot quieter but still busy. I was helping my school prepare for their Halloween party that they had today. It went really well, they made a lot of money and the kids had a lot of fun, so that is the important thing. There were lots of great costumes and lots of great prizes and games. They even had pumpkin bowling, which was slightly adapted. it was more like regular bowling, because there were no pumpkins. Lets hope that next year they can get some pumpkins!
Yesterday proved to be more exhausting than today. While today was long, yesterday I spent 5 hours at school helping the kids set up the haunted house. It was an extremely long process involving a lot of cutting, taping, and some collapsing. It turned out well though in time, and the kids really liked to play in it. It was amazing, something that took 5 hours to build only took 30 minutes to take down. It is funny how things work that way sometimes.
Anyway I treated the kids yesterday since they had worked really hard for several hours, so I decided to make them some goodies. I made them some apple pie bars and lemon poppy seed bars. They went absolutely crazy over them! One of my students actually told me they tasted better than anything their mom ever made! Now that is a high complement! I am just glad that they enjoyed them and it gave them a little bit of energy, because they sure worked hard for them.
Lets see other than that this week was pretty uneventful, this next week will bring more classes, but I will have a few less since the little ones have the week off, so hopefully I will make myself useful during my free mornings! Lets hope!
Alright well that is all for today, I am not super talkative today and want to get back to watching my Packers play! Let's hope they win!! Go Pack Go!!!!
I miss and love you all and can't wait to see you again and give you a big hug!
Va iubesc!
Mi-a dor de voi!
Va pup!
Pana mai tarziu
~Sarah B.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Paris Paris Paris!
So I just had a very exciting week. I was able to go somewhere that I never dreamed I would be able to go and that would be to Paris! I bet you never would have guessed that from the title of this blog ;) I went there with my good friend Carly, a fellow Peace Corps volunteer, to celebrate her birthday. Needless to say it was a great trip, in an amazing city with a great friend.
So as they say in the sound of music, let's start at the very beginning as it is a very good place to start.
So we left for Paris on October 18th, early in the morning. We ended up taking a night train into Cluj as we did not see the point in paying for a place to sleep since we would be getting up at 3 AM to leave anyway. It may have been a good idea though, since our flight was delayed for an hour when we arrived. So our trip started with waiting. Good thing we have been living in Romania for a year, we are very accustomed to waiting for transportation ;) Things seemed to be going pretty quickly and I was able to catch a couple of cat naps along the way, nothing substantial, but it was worth a try anyway. So then we took off for our adventure. It was a good smooth flight and we arrived in a timely manor (other than the hour that we were delayed -- side not it was lucky we were not going into England as their flight was delayed for 4 hours! Yikes!). Once we got there we had to catch a bus into the city, as the airport to which we arrived was 80 km outside of the city. We arrived and had to find the subway, once we found it we had to figure out how to buy tickets, but we were unaware that our cards would not work in the machine nor did the machine take bills only coin. Neither of us had the proper coin so we were a little worried, but we found a booth to buy them from, so it was all good.
The subway in Paris was really actually quite easy to figure out, but it was a long ride as we had to go from one side of the city to the other, with one change along the way. Thankfully the subway is much faster than the street traffic, because the streets of Paris are absolutely crammed full with cars at all points of the day. So we finally arrived, got a little bit lost because the street signs were difficult to find, but eventually found the place that we were staying. We made our booking through the website Air B&B which basically is a person who rents out a room in their house and it is cheaper than a hotel and quieter than a hostel. It was kind of far out, but with the metro it was really easy to get around everywhere.
So we put our things down, settled in a little bit and then decided to go and grab something to eat. We saw lots of places along the way so we figured we would find one. Carly loves sushi so I thought I would give it a try, so we tried a Japanese restaurant. I was very intimidated by the sushi and Carly had to teach me how to order, but I eventually decided on dumplings (because they don't contain fish!! :) and it was an excellent choice. They were some of the most delicious things I have ever had! I even tried one of Carly's sushi, I was not crazy about it, but I ate it nonetheless. It was different, but I am glad that I tried it. We actually ended up eating Japanese food 3 times throughout the trip and I can now say that I have tried sushi and don't really like it, but I tried it. I even tried some with raw fish! Granted when I got to the fish part I spit it out because the texture was to much for me, but I can't say that I didn't try it! :)
After that we just went exploring the street that we lived on, walked around some stores, looked at a beautiful view of the city, and saw an old church. It was a nice first day. After that it was back to the apartment as we were both completely exhausted from traveling and little to no sleep. So it was an early bedtime for us, so we could explore Paris the next day.
The second day in Paris, Carly and I split up. There was an art museum that she wanted to go to and I wanted to go to the Palace of Versailles. So I took the train out of the city headed to the palace for what I hoped to be a great day. Needless to say it was not the greatest day that I had in Paris. It was recommended to show up early to beat the crowds, so I arrived about an hour after it opened, and discovered that the opening was delayed due to workers strikes. It did not say how long it was delayed, but I decided to hang around. So I went out back and explore the gardens. While I enjoyed the gardens I think that I would have enjoyed them more if it wasn't raining out. It was so big that I was able to walk around for 3 hours until the palace actually opened and I still did not see anything. It amazes me how someone can envision something that is so big to be so beautiful and creative. Words can't due justice to the talent that is behind this vision. So once I bought my ticket into the palace, I quickly wished that I hadn't. It is not that it was not beautiful, but there were so many people in there pushing and shoving to get into every room that I could not just stand and enjoy the room, as I would have gotten shoved out of the way. Every room was beautiful and was exquisitely decorated, I just wish fewer people would have been filling the rooms so I could have enjoyed it a little bit more.
After that it was back to meet up with Carly at the Arch de Triumph, which was a spectacular creation. I couldn't believe the roundabout that it was in the middle of however, I don't think that the traffic ever stopped there. Cars were coming constantly and I was sitting on one side of the road wondering how I could get across. I saw people in the middle and wondered how they arrived there....hmmm. No I did not run across (but Carly saw some guys who did) but instead took the easy way out and found a passage that led under the street. It was so interesting to stand next to something so magnificent and look out at the traffic going around you.
Then we walked down the Champs Elysees a little bit and looked at a lot of things that we could not afford (including jewelery exceeding 25000 Euros) and made our way closer to the Eiffel Tower. It was approaching sunset so we wanted to hang around there until nightfall. We enjoyed a glass of wine, watched some American football, found an Irish pub and had a Guinness and randomly found the Romanian Embassy on a side street leading to the Tower. Then it was to the tower, at night. Spectacular is the only word I can use to describe it. The way it looks when it is lit up is to beautiful for words, and we even were able to see a light show, as occasionally thousands of lights twinkle on the tower. We did not go up the tower, because we wanted to see the view of Paris from Montmartre, but we did see lots of military men at the base of the tower...which was interesting to say the least. So after enjoying these sights of Paris, it was time to turn in.
Day 3 took us to more new adventures. I wanted to try and find a flea market as I read they were really cool, but it turns out the one did not exist. I was really bummed about this, but things turned brighter quickly, while walking towards the Latin Quarter and Notre Dame, I ran across a shop that contained the perfect present for my mom. It was affordable, and unique, so not a typical souvenir, but that is what made it so perfect. Then we arrived at Notre Dame and I waled around inside. It was a very interesting church, very dark and unlike any other I have ever seen before, but I still liked it. Again I did not go up this one either, because you had to pay, and the very top was closed. So I was not going to pay to go partially up the tower, it just didn't seem worth it to me. Next it was to the Latin Quarter, where I spent yet more money on things, and looked longingly at things that I could not afford and finally found the Pantheon. Yet another magnificent building. The pillars and the openness of the building were my favorite parts. Its size was unbelievable, but I appreciated its beauty so much. This one was probably my favorite, as there were not that many people there, it was open and uncrowded inside, and it had a pendulum on the inside that demonstrated the earth's rotation. I thought this was so cool! The pendulum itself was tied to the very top of the church, at the peak of the dome, and ran all the way down. I was actually able to see it shift just the tiniest bit, during the time that I was in there, which I thought was great. They also had a crypt in there and it was interesting to look at the plainness and the extravagance that existed in the same place.
Then we did some more shopping and walking, stopped for lunch, more shopping and walking, found a couple of parks, and then decided on getting dinner. The place where we went for dinner is something that I would never have imagined that I would have found in Paris or in Europe for that matter. We were having difficulty finding something open, so kept walking and then came across a diner that we spotted across the street. Now when I first saw this, I thought, "Well maybe it will be like an American Diner" but then quickly dismissed this as I thought it was a ridiculous thought and we were in Paris, why would they have a diner like that. I discovered upon arrival that my first intuition was in fact correct. It was like stepping into the Twilight Zone, we went from Paris to the United States just by crossing the threshold. They had American food, American drinks, music, posters, everything. I order a real A&W root beer, had the most amazing mushroom and swiss burger that I have ever had and enjoyed the taste of home. It was so awesome, I loved it! So after that little gemstone, we were exhausted from the long day and extremely filling meal that we had just consumed.
Day 4, we thought it would be good to just relax and enjoy the city. Which it turned out to be the perfect day for as it was beautiful outside. so we walked down by the Louvre, took pictures in front of the glass pyramid, walked through the park in leading to the Louvre and some of the interesting exhibits that were displayed there. Went to the obelisk, which was a really cool monument, and while there we saw someone arrive in a motorcade. Someone near the area said that it was the president of Chile, but we were never able to clarify this fact. Then we enjoyed a hot dog/Panini lunch in the park, Carly nearly got attacked by the birds because of the bread that she was giving to them and caught a metro to Montmartre.
At Montmartre we went up to Sacre Couer to start and saw the most amazing view of Paris. then we entered into the church and saw the beautiful paintings and alter which were truly magnificent. My favorite part about this place were the performers. We were able to sit on the steps in front of Montemarte and look out at Paris, while listening to live music being performed and watch the illegal vendors run from the police from time to time. (It was hilarious as you see these guys running through the crowd of people trying to get their things picked up while trying to be the first one away from the police I couldn't help but laugh.) The guy we stayed to listen to had a great stage presence, a good voice, and he even picked people out of the crowd from around the world to sing songs with him.
After listening to him we watched a soccer player do some tricks, which were unreal. he was standing on this platform about 4x4 or 5x5 feet and doing tricks and dribbling the ball then he decides to really wow us. He gets off of the platform, balances on the fence, jumps down and climbs up the light post that is at least 20 feet high and does not have anyplace to grip on as you are climbing up it, all while balancing the soccer ball on his head! I was astounded! Then he holds the ball on his foot and hangs on the light post with one and and swings around it. The strength and balance that were required for this task were unbelievable.
After this show we enjoyed some wine, went to the Moulin Rouge to take pictures. I was amazed by the line that was already there at least 2 hours before the show, after all these years, they still draw a line on a daily basis for their shows, which just amazes me. We then found an Australian Bar had a drink, then headed back to rest a little before our flight. However we were worried we weren't going to get back, because we didn't think we could fit on the subway! It was so packed there were people in every direction, we could hardly find a bar to hold onto and I swore if there were anymore people on there it wouldn't have mattered if there was a bar or not, because you wouldn't have moved anyway as we were sardines in there! This was a long journey which took me over 30 hours to get home and involved a lot of waiting, but it was okay, it could have been worse that is for sure! I did get to spoil myself when we arrived in Cluj, as I had to wait for my train because the only decent one was an overnight train. I was able to get a sleeper car though and rest, and while in Cluj I treated myself to a Starbucks and went to see a movie, which was really good and I really liked it. It was a good source of time killing. Then I went back to the station to wait and actually ran into someone from my old site who was heading back there. It was so random and I could not believe that I ran into her. So that was a big surprise. Then it was onto the train, and one more switch until I arrived back at my site. It was so good to finely be back here, where I understand the language and can sleep in my own bed. Now it is back to reality though, which is entirely alright, because it was a wonderful. This trip gave me experiences that I will never forget and created lifelong memories. I had so much fun and saw so many things and had so many experiences that can never be taken away from me. I am so thankful I had this opportunity and I look forward to creating more memories in the remainder of my service that I have left with the Peace Corps.
Well that should keep you all busy for a while, it sure took me a good chunk of time to write it!! I hope you are all doing well and having some adventures of your own. I miss you all very much and send you my love each and every day :)
Oh and if you have my current address, that is great but you no longer need to put my landlords name on the letter just my name and the address. It will find me just fine that way
Va pup
Va iubesc
Mi-a dor de voi
Pana mai tarziu
~Sarah B.
So as they say in the sound of music, let's start at the very beginning as it is a very good place to start.
So we left for Paris on October 18th, early in the morning. We ended up taking a night train into Cluj as we did not see the point in paying for a place to sleep since we would be getting up at 3 AM to leave anyway. It may have been a good idea though, since our flight was delayed for an hour when we arrived. So our trip started with waiting. Good thing we have been living in Romania for a year, we are very accustomed to waiting for transportation ;) Things seemed to be going pretty quickly and I was able to catch a couple of cat naps along the way, nothing substantial, but it was worth a try anyway. So then we took off for our adventure. It was a good smooth flight and we arrived in a timely manor (other than the hour that we were delayed -- side not it was lucky we were not going into England as their flight was delayed for 4 hours! Yikes!). Once we got there we had to catch a bus into the city, as the airport to which we arrived was 80 km outside of the city. We arrived and had to find the subway, once we found it we had to figure out how to buy tickets, but we were unaware that our cards would not work in the machine nor did the machine take bills only coin. Neither of us had the proper coin so we were a little worried, but we found a booth to buy them from, so it was all good.
The subway in Paris was really actually quite easy to figure out, but it was a long ride as we had to go from one side of the city to the other, with one change along the way. Thankfully the subway is much faster than the street traffic, because the streets of Paris are absolutely crammed full with cars at all points of the day. So we finally arrived, got a little bit lost because the street signs were difficult to find, but eventually found the place that we were staying. We made our booking through the website Air B&B which basically is a person who rents out a room in their house and it is cheaper than a hotel and quieter than a hostel. It was kind of far out, but with the metro it was really easy to get around everywhere.
So we put our things down, settled in a little bit and then decided to go and grab something to eat. We saw lots of places along the way so we figured we would find one. Carly loves sushi so I thought I would give it a try, so we tried a Japanese restaurant. I was very intimidated by the sushi and Carly had to teach me how to order, but I eventually decided on dumplings (because they don't contain fish!! :) and it was an excellent choice. They were some of the most delicious things I have ever had! I even tried one of Carly's sushi, I was not crazy about it, but I ate it nonetheless. It was different, but I am glad that I tried it. We actually ended up eating Japanese food 3 times throughout the trip and I can now say that I have tried sushi and don't really like it, but I tried it. I even tried some with raw fish! Granted when I got to the fish part I spit it out because the texture was to much for me, but I can't say that I didn't try it! :)
After that we just went exploring the street that we lived on, walked around some stores, looked at a beautiful view of the city, and saw an old church. It was a nice first day. After that it was back to the apartment as we were both completely exhausted from traveling and little to no sleep. So it was an early bedtime for us, so we could explore Paris the next day.
The second day in Paris, Carly and I split up. There was an art museum that she wanted to go to and I wanted to go to the Palace of Versailles. So I took the train out of the city headed to the palace for what I hoped to be a great day. Needless to say it was not the greatest day that I had in Paris. It was recommended to show up early to beat the crowds, so I arrived about an hour after it opened, and discovered that the opening was delayed due to workers strikes. It did not say how long it was delayed, but I decided to hang around. So I went out back and explore the gardens. While I enjoyed the gardens I think that I would have enjoyed them more if it wasn't raining out. It was so big that I was able to walk around for 3 hours until the palace actually opened and I still did not see anything. It amazes me how someone can envision something that is so big to be so beautiful and creative. Words can't due justice to the talent that is behind this vision. So once I bought my ticket into the palace, I quickly wished that I hadn't. It is not that it was not beautiful, but there were so many people in there pushing and shoving to get into every room that I could not just stand and enjoy the room, as I would have gotten shoved out of the way. Every room was beautiful and was exquisitely decorated, I just wish fewer people would have been filling the rooms so I could have enjoyed it a little bit more.
After that it was back to meet up with Carly at the Arch de Triumph, which was a spectacular creation. I couldn't believe the roundabout that it was in the middle of however, I don't think that the traffic ever stopped there. Cars were coming constantly and I was sitting on one side of the road wondering how I could get across. I saw people in the middle and wondered how they arrived there....hmmm. No I did not run across (but Carly saw some guys who did) but instead took the easy way out and found a passage that led under the street. It was so interesting to stand next to something so magnificent and look out at the traffic going around you.
Then we walked down the Champs Elysees a little bit and looked at a lot of things that we could not afford (including jewelery exceeding 25000 Euros) and made our way closer to the Eiffel Tower. It was approaching sunset so we wanted to hang around there until nightfall. We enjoyed a glass of wine, watched some American football, found an Irish pub and had a Guinness and randomly found the Romanian Embassy on a side street leading to the Tower. Then it was to the tower, at night. Spectacular is the only word I can use to describe it. The way it looks when it is lit up is to beautiful for words, and we even were able to see a light show, as occasionally thousands of lights twinkle on the tower. We did not go up the tower, because we wanted to see the view of Paris from Montmartre, but we did see lots of military men at the base of the tower...which was interesting to say the least. So after enjoying these sights of Paris, it was time to turn in.
Day 3 took us to more new adventures. I wanted to try and find a flea market as I read they were really cool, but it turns out the one did not exist. I was really bummed about this, but things turned brighter quickly, while walking towards the Latin Quarter and Notre Dame, I ran across a shop that contained the perfect present for my mom. It was affordable, and unique, so not a typical souvenir, but that is what made it so perfect. Then we arrived at Notre Dame and I waled around inside. It was a very interesting church, very dark and unlike any other I have ever seen before, but I still liked it. Again I did not go up this one either, because you had to pay, and the very top was closed. So I was not going to pay to go partially up the tower, it just didn't seem worth it to me. Next it was to the Latin Quarter, where I spent yet more money on things, and looked longingly at things that I could not afford and finally found the Pantheon. Yet another magnificent building. The pillars and the openness of the building were my favorite parts. Its size was unbelievable, but I appreciated its beauty so much. This one was probably my favorite, as there were not that many people there, it was open and uncrowded inside, and it had a pendulum on the inside that demonstrated the earth's rotation. I thought this was so cool! The pendulum itself was tied to the very top of the church, at the peak of the dome, and ran all the way down. I was actually able to see it shift just the tiniest bit, during the time that I was in there, which I thought was great. They also had a crypt in there and it was interesting to look at the plainness and the extravagance that existed in the same place.
Then we did some more shopping and walking, stopped for lunch, more shopping and walking, found a couple of parks, and then decided on getting dinner. The place where we went for dinner is something that I would never have imagined that I would have found in Paris or in Europe for that matter. We were having difficulty finding something open, so kept walking and then came across a diner that we spotted across the street. Now when I first saw this, I thought, "Well maybe it will be like an American Diner" but then quickly dismissed this as I thought it was a ridiculous thought and we were in Paris, why would they have a diner like that. I discovered upon arrival that my first intuition was in fact correct. It was like stepping into the Twilight Zone, we went from Paris to the United States just by crossing the threshold. They had American food, American drinks, music, posters, everything. I order a real A&W root beer, had the most amazing mushroom and swiss burger that I have ever had and enjoyed the taste of home. It was so awesome, I loved it! So after that little gemstone, we were exhausted from the long day and extremely filling meal that we had just consumed.
Day 4, we thought it would be good to just relax and enjoy the city. Which it turned out to be the perfect day for as it was beautiful outside. so we walked down by the Louvre, took pictures in front of the glass pyramid, walked through the park in leading to the Louvre and some of the interesting exhibits that were displayed there. Went to the obelisk, which was a really cool monument, and while there we saw someone arrive in a motorcade. Someone near the area said that it was the president of Chile, but we were never able to clarify this fact. Then we enjoyed a hot dog/Panini lunch in the park, Carly nearly got attacked by the birds because of the bread that she was giving to them and caught a metro to Montmartre.
At Montmartre we went up to Sacre Couer to start and saw the most amazing view of Paris. then we entered into the church and saw the beautiful paintings and alter which were truly magnificent. My favorite part about this place were the performers. We were able to sit on the steps in front of Montemarte and look out at Paris, while listening to live music being performed and watch the illegal vendors run from the police from time to time. (It was hilarious as you see these guys running through the crowd of people trying to get their things picked up while trying to be the first one away from the police I couldn't help but laugh.) The guy we stayed to listen to had a great stage presence, a good voice, and he even picked people out of the crowd from around the world to sing songs with him.
After listening to him we watched a soccer player do some tricks, which were unreal. he was standing on this platform about 4x4 or 5x5 feet and doing tricks and dribbling the ball then he decides to really wow us. He gets off of the platform, balances on the fence, jumps down and climbs up the light post that is at least 20 feet high and does not have anyplace to grip on as you are climbing up it, all while balancing the soccer ball on his head! I was astounded! Then he holds the ball on his foot and hangs on the light post with one and and swings around it. The strength and balance that were required for this task were unbelievable.
After this show we enjoyed some wine, went to the Moulin Rouge to take pictures. I was amazed by the line that was already there at least 2 hours before the show, after all these years, they still draw a line on a daily basis for their shows, which just amazes me. We then found an Australian Bar had a drink, then headed back to rest a little before our flight. However we were worried we weren't going to get back, because we didn't think we could fit on the subway! It was so packed there were people in every direction, we could hardly find a bar to hold onto and I swore if there were anymore people on there it wouldn't have mattered if there was a bar or not, because you wouldn't have moved anyway as we were sardines in there! This was a long journey which took me over 30 hours to get home and involved a lot of waiting, but it was okay, it could have been worse that is for sure! I did get to spoil myself when we arrived in Cluj, as I had to wait for my train because the only decent one was an overnight train. I was able to get a sleeper car though and rest, and while in Cluj I treated myself to a Starbucks and went to see a movie, which was really good and I really liked it. It was a good source of time killing. Then I went back to the station to wait and actually ran into someone from my old site who was heading back there. It was so random and I could not believe that I ran into her. So that was a big surprise. Then it was onto the train, and one more switch until I arrived back at my site. It was so good to finely be back here, where I understand the language and can sleep in my own bed. Now it is back to reality though, which is entirely alright, because it was a wonderful. This trip gave me experiences that I will never forget and created lifelong memories. I had so much fun and saw so many things and had so many experiences that can never be taken away from me. I am so thankful I had this opportunity and I look forward to creating more memories in the remainder of my service that I have left with the Peace Corps.
Well that should keep you all busy for a while, it sure took me a good chunk of time to write it!! I hope you are all doing well and having some adventures of your own. I miss you all very much and send you my love each and every day :)
Oh and if you have my current address, that is great but you no longer need to put my landlords name on the letter just my name and the address. It will find me just fine that way
Va pup
Va iubesc
Mi-a dor de voi
Pana mai tarziu
~Sarah B.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Whoops, I forgot to update!
So looks like my goal to get back into the swing of things is not working as well as I had hoped. I almost forgot again today, but remembered, so no worries.
Things have not been too interesting around here, just school mainly. We did have a pretty big project that was going on at school though, I was not a major part of it, but I was able to help out a bit. My school is involved in a bigger project through the European Union in which they are partnered with one school from Portugal, Spain, and Poland. Through this project they talk about implementing and sustaining project at their own respective schools. They check in with one another, and they help each other to succeed. So since they work together, they occasionally get together, which means that 8 representatives from these three schools came to our school. Since English is the common language, our language teachers and others who are proficient in English were busy translating everything. I was able to help with the fine tuning of the translations and to put little corrections to help the flow which was a really nice opportunity. In addition to this I was able to get to know the women that were here. I presented a little bit about the Peace Corps and what we do, the ladies were all very interested in Peace Corps and I think they were a little jealous for my school. Unfortunately for them, Peace Corps is not currently in service in any of the countries and out of the three PC has only been in Poland. From what it sounds like though, there English programs would really benefit from a volunteer, any native speaker not necessarily an American, and they are also open to new ideas. I hope that they can find a program that would allow them to have a volunteer of some sorts.
I was also able to take a trip into the mountains with them. We went to visit Peles castle and Bran, both of which I had been to in the past, but it was still nice to go again. I was actually able to help translate for them, so that was pretty neat. It was difficult as I am not fluent in Romanian but I get my point across so that is all that matters. They also had a goodbye dinner planned for them, which I was invited to, but unfortunately due to my outstanding ability to get colds, I had to stay home sick. So that is why this past week was not very exciting, as I spent most of it asleep or resting and trying to get over a cold. However I was introduced to a Romanian remedy that is very useful in getting rid of colds. My counterpart gave me some tuica (Plum brandy which is distilled and made entirely at home) which I then boiled with pepper and sugar. It was absolutely disgusting, but I slept great after that and my throat felt ten times better the next day. So now I am almost completely healthy, which makes me happy as next week I will be in Paris!
I can't believe that I am finally going to have the opportunity to go to Paris! I am so excited! I have always wanted to go to Paris, my entire life and now I finally have the chance. I will be there for 5 glorious days. I hope the weather is kind to us and I also hope that the leaves will be changing. I think that autumn in Paris would be spectacular to see. The colors of Autumn are truly a beautiful gift of nature. I am so thankful to see such beauty in this world.
Well that is about all that happened this week. There truly were no exciting experiences that happened over the last few weeks. I have just been getting adjusted to school and learning the students. I have some truly amazing students and in general they are really well behaved. Discipline is a big thing in the school and the kids are consistently reminded to adhere to this. The teachers are consistent and they do not let the kids rule them, it is the other way around at this school and I have to say that I like it. It is nice to see kids with respect, because when they respect me I have a great deal of respect for them and for their families as well.
Well I am off to do some projects and work on some information and plan for Paris! I hope you are all doing well and I miss you all very much. Take care and as always I send my love.
Va pup
Va iubesc
Mi-a dor de voi
~Pana mai tarziu
Sarah B.
Things have not been too interesting around here, just school mainly. We did have a pretty big project that was going on at school though, I was not a major part of it, but I was able to help out a bit. My school is involved in a bigger project through the European Union in which they are partnered with one school from Portugal, Spain, and Poland. Through this project they talk about implementing and sustaining project at their own respective schools. They check in with one another, and they help each other to succeed. So since they work together, they occasionally get together, which means that 8 representatives from these three schools came to our school. Since English is the common language, our language teachers and others who are proficient in English were busy translating everything. I was able to help with the fine tuning of the translations and to put little corrections to help the flow which was a really nice opportunity. In addition to this I was able to get to know the women that were here. I presented a little bit about the Peace Corps and what we do, the ladies were all very interested in Peace Corps and I think they were a little jealous for my school. Unfortunately for them, Peace Corps is not currently in service in any of the countries and out of the three PC has only been in Poland. From what it sounds like though, there English programs would really benefit from a volunteer, any native speaker not necessarily an American, and they are also open to new ideas. I hope that they can find a program that would allow them to have a volunteer of some sorts.
I was also able to take a trip into the mountains with them. We went to visit Peles castle and Bran, both of which I had been to in the past, but it was still nice to go again. I was actually able to help translate for them, so that was pretty neat. It was difficult as I am not fluent in Romanian but I get my point across so that is all that matters. They also had a goodbye dinner planned for them, which I was invited to, but unfortunately due to my outstanding ability to get colds, I had to stay home sick. So that is why this past week was not very exciting, as I spent most of it asleep or resting and trying to get over a cold. However I was introduced to a Romanian remedy that is very useful in getting rid of colds. My counterpart gave me some tuica (Plum brandy which is distilled and made entirely at home) which I then boiled with pepper and sugar. It was absolutely disgusting, but I slept great after that and my throat felt ten times better the next day. So now I am almost completely healthy, which makes me happy as next week I will be in Paris!
I can't believe that I am finally going to have the opportunity to go to Paris! I am so excited! I have always wanted to go to Paris, my entire life and now I finally have the chance. I will be there for 5 glorious days. I hope the weather is kind to us and I also hope that the leaves will be changing. I think that autumn in Paris would be spectacular to see. The colors of Autumn are truly a beautiful gift of nature. I am so thankful to see such beauty in this world.
Well that is about all that happened this week. There truly were no exciting experiences that happened over the last few weeks. I have just been getting adjusted to school and learning the students. I have some truly amazing students and in general they are really well behaved. Discipline is a big thing in the school and the kids are consistently reminded to adhere to this. The teachers are consistent and they do not let the kids rule them, it is the other way around at this school and I have to say that I like it. It is nice to see kids with respect, because when they respect me I have a great deal of respect for them and for their families as well.
Well I am off to do some projects and work on some information and plan for Paris! I hope you are all doing well and I miss you all very much. Take care and as always I send my love.
Va pup
Va iubesc
Mi-a dor de voi
~Pana mai tarziu
Sarah B.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
A successful first week
So I made it through my first week at school alive! Yay! I think that overall it was a good week to. I was able to meet most of my new students and see where their classrooms are and who they are. Of course I really don't remember a whole lot about them right now, or very many of their names, but I am confident that by the end of the year I will know them. I will work very hard to get to know all of their names to. That is what attendance is for :)
So the school year started out just like any other year with an opening ceremony. The principle and vice principle gave a speech, as well as the parent's board, the police captain and the priest gave a blessing to the school. Oh and did I forget to mention, I had to make a short speech. I had known this ahead of time and prepared some things but I was still nervous. I decided not to read from the card that I had written and that turned out okay, but by the time I had finished my 15 seconds of speaking I was shaking from head to toe! Everyone is really friendly and all, but it is terrifying getting up in front of a large group of people, all who are looking at you funny because they know your the new American. Oh well it was just another experience and I lived through it.
This opening ceremony also involved some things that I had never seen before. First off I should explain that the school that I am teaching at requires uniforms. It is not a private school they just like the way the students look when they are all dressed in nice uniforms and look more respectable. So since they have uniforms they had a little "fashion show" for the kids. It was a really cute idea and the kids had a lot of fun with it and some of them did some really cute little "routines" on the "cat walk" :) Also this year they brought in some doves to release at the end of the ceremony. They had 10 in total which represents the highest grade that you can get, which I thought was a really cool idea. So other than that the first day was pretty uneventful and involved a lot of sitting around in school and chatting with my new colleagues.
So thus started the start of the school year, I met my classes and they asked me tons of questions about who I am and where I am from and what I like to do. So many questions and so difficult to answer the "What is your favorite_____?" questions when you don't have a lot of favorites. Oh well I guess that is good practice to get me to start thinking on the spot :) The kids are really advanced though, so I am looking forward to challenging them this year and seeing just how far they can go.
I am also going to be team teaching with some optional classes. Students are offered an optional class at my school and one of those is an optional English. We have 2 types of optional English, one of the 5th and 6th graders is a drama club. So we will learn the basics of acting together and at the end of the semester they will perform a play. The second optional English class for 7th and 8th graders is a movie club, they will learn about the basics of film making and we will watch and analyze movies together. We are not sure what we want to do for a presentation yet, but there has been talk of creating an alternate ending for a movie or creating their very own academy awards ceremony.
So also this week, in addition to meeting all my classes, I have been able to make some time for the kitchen. I have so far made a rice and vegetable casserole, a celery and bean soup, carrot cake and bagels. Yes that's right I said bagels from scratch. It took me an insanely long amount of time to make them and I am not sure if I will ever do it again, but the end result is pretty tasty. So I can say that I did make bagels from scratch at least once in my lifetime and it is nice to have the taste of bagels again after a very long break from them.
So that was my first week, eventful and relaxing and so far a great start to a new adventure. I am really liking it here so far and I hope that it stays that way, and with the support and great colleagues I have here I don't see that as a problem. Well as always I miss you very much and I hope you are all well. Take care of yourselves and keep me in your thoughts and prayers as you are always in mine :) Love you!!!!
Va pup
Va iubesc
Mi-a dor de voi
~Pana mai tarziu
Sarah B.
So the school year started out just like any other year with an opening ceremony. The principle and vice principle gave a speech, as well as the parent's board, the police captain and the priest gave a blessing to the school. Oh and did I forget to mention, I had to make a short speech. I had known this ahead of time and prepared some things but I was still nervous. I decided not to read from the card that I had written and that turned out okay, but by the time I had finished my 15 seconds of speaking I was shaking from head to toe! Everyone is really friendly and all, but it is terrifying getting up in front of a large group of people, all who are looking at you funny because they know your the new American. Oh well it was just another experience and I lived through it.
This opening ceremony also involved some things that I had never seen before. First off I should explain that the school that I am teaching at requires uniforms. It is not a private school they just like the way the students look when they are all dressed in nice uniforms and look more respectable. So since they have uniforms they had a little "fashion show" for the kids. It was a really cute idea and the kids had a lot of fun with it and some of them did some really cute little "routines" on the "cat walk" :) Also this year they brought in some doves to release at the end of the ceremony. They had 10 in total which represents the highest grade that you can get, which I thought was a really cool idea. So other than that the first day was pretty uneventful and involved a lot of sitting around in school and chatting with my new colleagues.
So thus started the start of the school year, I met my classes and they asked me tons of questions about who I am and where I am from and what I like to do. So many questions and so difficult to answer the "What is your favorite_____?" questions when you don't have a lot of favorites. Oh well I guess that is good practice to get me to start thinking on the spot :) The kids are really advanced though, so I am looking forward to challenging them this year and seeing just how far they can go.
I am also going to be team teaching with some optional classes. Students are offered an optional class at my school and one of those is an optional English. We have 2 types of optional English, one of the 5th and 6th graders is a drama club. So we will learn the basics of acting together and at the end of the semester they will perform a play. The second optional English class for 7th and 8th graders is a movie club, they will learn about the basics of film making and we will watch and analyze movies together. We are not sure what we want to do for a presentation yet, but there has been talk of creating an alternate ending for a movie or creating their very own academy awards ceremony.
So also this week, in addition to meeting all my classes, I have been able to make some time for the kitchen. I have so far made a rice and vegetable casserole, a celery and bean soup, carrot cake and bagels. Yes that's right I said bagels from scratch. It took me an insanely long amount of time to make them and I am not sure if I will ever do it again, but the end result is pretty tasty. So I can say that I did make bagels from scratch at least once in my lifetime and it is nice to have the taste of bagels again after a very long break from them.
So that was my first week, eventful and relaxing and so far a great start to a new adventure. I am really liking it here so far and I hope that it stays that way, and with the support and great colleagues I have here I don't see that as a problem. Well as always I miss you very much and I hope you are all well. Take care of yourselves and keep me in your thoughts and prayers as you are always in mine :) Love you!!!!
Va pup
Va iubesc
Mi-a dor de voi
~Pana mai tarziu
Sarah B.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
A new start
So I am finally able to sit down and get back into the swing of things. This summer did not provide me a lot of opportunity to sit and write blogs. Believe me I have wanted to, but I have been on the run all summer long. In addition to this I did not have steady access to the Internet, or to a computer as my laptop did not get back to me until my parents came to visit me. However that was alright as I saved a lot of money on shipping! Yay to that!
So let's see, since my last entry I participated in my 3rd and 4th of 4 camps this summer. Each one was different from the rest, which made it very interesting. My 3rd camp was held in the city of Onesti. It was a nice city and fun to see a different part of Romania, that was also in the Moldovan region. This camp I think was my favorite. The students were of high school age and had just about perfect English. It did not matter what task was given to them, they put a lot of energy and creativity into it which made it a great experience. We also had a barbecue at the end of the camp and we put an American spin on it. While it was traditional Romanian food (chicken, mici, tomato and cucumber salad, french fries, and fruit), I thought it would be fun to have a little contest. So we had some games that are traditionally played at barbecues in the United States. We had a 3-legged race, water-balloon toss, leap-frog race, scavenger hunt, potato sack race, and several more. The kids had a great time with it, and the prize was a homemade trophy filled with candy, which they thought was super cool :)
The forth camp was interesting and different as it was held at a cabin of sorts. The students were from a wide range of ages (1st-7th grades) and the surroundings provided interesting challenges. I was outside all the time and it was usually chilly and I was supposed to teach them English. I was not expecting these surroundings, but it ended up alright. We had fun and learned some new games and I think it was good in essence.
It was also interesting at the camp because it was in the mountains. So we would take hikes in the afternoon and we went to a couple of towns nearby. We went to a fortress and also to a waterfall, both of these provided quite a hike, but it was a fun time. Since it was in the mountains, it also happened to be very cold. Every night they started the heaters, thats right the heat was on in August! I couldn't believe how cold it was.
After that camp I went straight to my mid-service training in Sibiu. It was nice to be with friends again, and to see some of the other volunteers who I had not seen for a while. Then I visited with some friends and stayed in the Transylvanian region for a few days, from where I headed down to Bucuresti to meet my parents! That started the next adventure through Romania and Italy. I was able to take my parents to see 2 castles in Sinai and Bran, to see the older and traditional parts of Brasov and Sighisoara and to see some of the squares in Cluj. My favorite part however was our trip to Rome. We were able to see so many things there, including the Vatican and St. Peters, the National Museum and Forum, the Colloseum, The Spanish steps, Trevi Fountain. the Pantheon, St. Angelos Castle, and so many more things. We were able to go to some markets to do tourist shopping, and ate lots of pasta, pizza and gelato, and drank delicious Italian wine. While it was extremely hot, I feel it was better to be hot than rainy because at least we could go outside in the heat, whereas if it had been raining we wouldn't have been able to see as much. We were there for 5 days then came back to Romania for a few more and then sadly I had to say goodbye to me folks. While we fought like a typical family when they were here, it was still nice to be with them and extremely hard to say goodbye.
After I said goodbye I had to hurry my way back up north to pack my things up and move down south. That is right I was granted a sight change, and this year I am in a small city in southern Romania. The population is about 15,000 and is on the outskirts of the mountains, so it has some nice scenery. I am looking forward to starting a new and fresh year, and to meet new and interesting people. So far things are going really well and I have met a lot of great new people. I am very spoiled here so far, and have a very nice apartment. My favorite part however is the washing machine. At my last site I did not have one, and let me tell you washing clothes by hand is very tough, especially in the winter! I am more excited however by the school. The teachers are all so active within the school and I am looking forward to working with them and doing projects with them this year. I think I will be kept very busy, but I think it will be good, I work better under a little bit of pressure and if I always have something to do, I will get things done and I think that it will be a very productive and good year :)
So I think that is about all for now. I have given you all a good chunk to read. I will not get back into a schedule and will post every Sunday like I used to do. I felt bad not reporting all of the things that happened this summer, but circumstances prevented me from doing so. Now however I have my computer and steady access to the Internet so I no longer have an excuse not to update! I hope that everyone is happy and healthy and there are only good things to report. I miss and love all of you very much and will be home before you know it.
Va pup
Va iubesc
Mi-a dor de voi
Pana mai tarziu
~Sarah B.
So let's see, since my last entry I participated in my 3rd and 4th of 4 camps this summer. Each one was different from the rest, which made it very interesting. My 3rd camp was held in the city of Onesti. It was a nice city and fun to see a different part of Romania, that was also in the Moldovan region. This camp I think was my favorite. The students were of high school age and had just about perfect English. It did not matter what task was given to them, they put a lot of energy and creativity into it which made it a great experience. We also had a barbecue at the end of the camp and we put an American spin on it. While it was traditional Romanian food (chicken, mici, tomato and cucumber salad, french fries, and fruit), I thought it would be fun to have a little contest. So we had some games that are traditionally played at barbecues in the United States. We had a 3-legged race, water-balloon toss, leap-frog race, scavenger hunt, potato sack race, and several more. The kids had a great time with it, and the prize was a homemade trophy filled with candy, which they thought was super cool :)
The forth camp was interesting and different as it was held at a cabin of sorts. The students were from a wide range of ages (1st-7th grades) and the surroundings provided interesting challenges. I was outside all the time and it was usually chilly and I was supposed to teach them English. I was not expecting these surroundings, but it ended up alright. We had fun and learned some new games and I think it was good in essence.
It was also interesting at the camp because it was in the mountains. So we would take hikes in the afternoon and we went to a couple of towns nearby. We went to a fortress and also to a waterfall, both of these provided quite a hike, but it was a fun time. Since it was in the mountains, it also happened to be very cold. Every night they started the heaters, thats right the heat was on in August! I couldn't believe how cold it was.
After that camp I went straight to my mid-service training in Sibiu. It was nice to be with friends again, and to see some of the other volunteers who I had not seen for a while. Then I visited with some friends and stayed in the Transylvanian region for a few days, from where I headed down to Bucuresti to meet my parents! That started the next adventure through Romania and Italy. I was able to take my parents to see 2 castles in Sinai and Bran, to see the older and traditional parts of Brasov and Sighisoara and to see some of the squares in Cluj. My favorite part however was our trip to Rome. We were able to see so many things there, including the Vatican and St. Peters, the National Museum and Forum, the Colloseum, The Spanish steps, Trevi Fountain. the Pantheon, St. Angelos Castle, and so many more things. We were able to go to some markets to do tourist shopping, and ate lots of pasta, pizza and gelato, and drank delicious Italian wine. While it was extremely hot, I feel it was better to be hot than rainy because at least we could go outside in the heat, whereas if it had been raining we wouldn't have been able to see as much. We were there for 5 days then came back to Romania for a few more and then sadly I had to say goodbye to me folks. While we fought like a typical family when they were here, it was still nice to be with them and extremely hard to say goodbye.
After I said goodbye I had to hurry my way back up north to pack my things up and move down south. That is right I was granted a sight change, and this year I am in a small city in southern Romania. The population is about 15,000 and is on the outskirts of the mountains, so it has some nice scenery. I am looking forward to starting a new and fresh year, and to meet new and interesting people. So far things are going really well and I have met a lot of great new people. I am very spoiled here so far, and have a very nice apartment. My favorite part however is the washing machine. At my last site I did not have one, and let me tell you washing clothes by hand is very tough, especially in the winter! I am more excited however by the school. The teachers are all so active within the school and I am looking forward to working with them and doing projects with them this year. I think I will be kept very busy, but I think it will be good, I work better under a little bit of pressure and if I always have something to do, I will get things done and I think that it will be a very productive and good year :)
So I think that is about all for now. I have given you all a good chunk to read. I will not get back into a schedule and will post every Sunday like I used to do. I felt bad not reporting all of the things that happened this summer, but circumstances prevented me from doing so. Now however I have my computer and steady access to the Internet so I no longer have an excuse not to update! I hope that everyone is happy and healthy and there are only good things to report. I miss and love all of you very much and will be home before you know it.
Va pup
Va iubesc
Mi-a dor de voi
Pana mai tarziu
~Sarah B.
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