Since I last wrote, I have traveled into southern Moldova, which is the eastern part of Romania. I met about 20 other volunteers in Onesti--birthplace of Nadia Comenici. Needless to say, the city is very proud of her and have named many buildings and things after her. It was good to see people there. We discovered that none of us were using our Romanian as much as we wanted and most of us did not know exactly what our jobs entailed.
I have been lucky because I do know what I am doing. I went into schools and talked with students about June 5, International Environmental Day. I spoke with over 500 students in 4 different schools about the theme of the day--"Kick the Habit, Lessen your Carbon Footprint. We either played charades or bingo to learn different ways they could lessen their carbon footprint in their every day lives.
I then invited them to compete in a contest we were having for Environmental Day. They were to make an object out of recycled material. We expected maybe 30 entries, but instead we had 109 entries!!!! Our sponsor was generous and gave M3P players and memory sticks as prizes. We had 3 winners in each of 5 categories--fashion, functional, art, buildings, robots/people. We had a lamp made out of pop cans, a mechanized robot, a fair with a ferris wheel that worked and much more. We had the press here and they were mightily impressed with the creativity of the 5th-12th graders.
We then, as an agency, went out to celebrate the day. We danced for 7 hours and had a good time. I danced the hora, some Hungarian dances and even the chicken dance. We brought our own CD to the restaurant and started dancing immediately. They then gave us our appetizer which we ate and then we went back to dancing for a couple of hours and then they gave us our dinner and with wine and then we danced another hour or so and then we were served dessert and coffee and then we danced some more. It was nice to have the food spread out throughout the afternoon and evening.
School is over and so I am going to work at a camp in June and hopefully set up a camp for August here in my county. I hope to work with the zoo and have a camp there. I will start working with the assistent director of the zoo when she is finished with classes at the end of June. The zoo is a little way out of town, but hopefully we can use their bus to get the kids there. At least I have another project to work on.
I also met the the Director of Peace Corps. I was honored to have lunch with he and his wife and six other 50+ volunteers. We talked about issues that older volunteers face. Then after the lunch, he offered me his left over meat on his plate. When I told him that I had 8 people staying at my place that weekend, he turned to everyone else at the table and asked if they weren't going to eat the rest of their meat, would they give it to me. Notice the three boxes on the table. Needless to say, the Director was a Peace Corp Volunteer after college and he knew how life is as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
I have been lucky because I do know what I am doing. I went into schools and talked with students about June 5, International Environmental Day. I spoke with over 500 students in 4 different schools about the theme of the day--"Kick the Habit, Lessen your Carbon Footprint. We either played charades or bingo to learn different ways they could lessen their carbon footprint in their every day lives.
I then invited them to compete in a contest we were having for Environmental Day. They were to make an object out of recycled material. We expected maybe 30 entries, but instead we had 109 entries!!!! Our sponsor was generous and gave M3P players and memory sticks as prizes. We had 3 winners in each of 5 categories--fashion, functional, art, buildings, robots/people. We had a lamp made out of pop cans, a mechanized robot, a fair with a ferris wheel that worked and much more. We had the press here and they were mightily impressed with the creativity of the 5th-12th graders.
We then, as an agency, went out to celebrate the day. We danced for 7 hours and had a good time. I danced the hora, some Hungarian dances and even the chicken dance. We brought our own CD to the restaurant and started dancing immediately. They then gave us our appetizer which we ate and then we went back to dancing for a couple of hours and then they gave us our dinner and with wine and then we danced another hour or so and then we were served dessert and coffee and then we danced some more. It was nice to have the food spread out throughout the afternoon and evening.
School is over and so I am going to work at a camp in June and hopefully set up a camp for August here in my county. I hope to work with the zoo and have a camp there. I will start working with the assistent director of the zoo when she is finished with classes at the end of June. The zoo is a little way out of town, but hopefully we can use their bus to get the kids there. At least I have another project to work on.
I also met the the Director of Peace Corps. I was honored to have lunch with he and his wife and six other 50+ volunteers. We talked about issues that older volunteers face. Then after the lunch, he offered me his left over meat on his plate. When I told him that I had 8 people staying at my place that weekend, he turned to everyone else at the table and asked if they weren't going to eat the rest of their meat, would they give it to me. Notice the three boxes on the table. Needless to say, the Director was a Peace Corp Volunteer after college and he knew how life is as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
The top two pictures of me with the Director of Peace Corps and his wife and the other of the piata where I do most of my grocery shopping. It is open 7 days a week from early in the morning to about 7 at night, except Sunday it closes down about 5. The other two pictures are of our contest and I am helping hand out the diplomas.
Life is slower here. It takes a while to do things. All bills are paid by standing in different lines--no online payment or mailing in of bills. My refrigerator is small, so I go to the piata about every other day and I eat a lot of vegetables that are fresh right now. I have another PCV here in Ploiesti and he and I make a dinner together once a week. I am very fortunate. The weather is very warm here and has been in the 90's most of the time. It does cool down at night. I think I will have to invest in a fan. In the month of May, it rained almost everyday around 3-5 in the afternoon and cooled things down. That is not happening anymore.
So far things are going well and I hope you will ask questions if you have any. Thanks for taking the time to look at the blog!! Susie
4 comments:
Suzy, 'sounds like you're working hard and playing hard there; the former by creatively-leading children, and the latter by 7-hour dancing, hora, etc. As an accordionist, I expect you're also hearing some of my ilk there'bouts. As the NE Polish village from whence my paternal-grandfather immigrated is Romany, I've wondered if that relates to Romania or its Roma folks, Joe
Susan, I'm a friend of Lee Lyon's, another member of Romania 24. I've been reading Cynthia's blog and was glad to run across yours. The fact that you're giving talks makes it sound like you've got a good grasp of the language. How did you do it?
I'm strongly considering joining PC when I retire in five years. I am a language nut & study the language of whatever country I'm about to travel to. However, I never really learn to speak and am interested in hearing about ways I might get a head start for a PC assignment.
Thanks for your blog! - Connie McClellan
Susie:
It is so great to be able to check up on your progress in Romania. Congrats on your swearing in!!. I was sworn in also last month by our friend the Michigan Supreme Court Justice Marilyn Kelly. I have taken a position as Asst. Prosecuting Attorney at Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, on a volunteer basis until a position opens up. I am hoping by the end of the summer. Work opportunities are really bad here, so I am glad to be able to do something worthwhile. Like you are!
I am so grateful to you and others like you who care to contribute to world peace and understanding. You know I love you for that.
Your celebratory dance sounded like fun. What kind of drinks are typical there, i.e. vodka, wine, etc.
I see you are going to work at the zoo. Are you doing environmental classes there as well? How does that work? I bet our friend from BUC Anne Duncan (Chief Vet at Detroit Zoo) would love to hear from you when you are there. Her email is:
aduncan@detroitzoo.org.
Latest news here is yesterday I appeared in court in my first preliminary exam. basically that is establishing the elements of the crime, by questioning my witness on the stand. Kind of like Milton Bradley's game of CLUE: Who, where and what happened? In my case it was Ms. Washington, in the living room, with the kitchen shears. I am having a blast, and feel pretty good about everything there, including the people I work with.
Jorah is at her first GUUSH sleepover. You remember how those work. I am glad I have not volunteered for that overnight. Yuch. Believe it or not, Tom Cranston is back as an RE advisor to the high schoolers, and he and Steve Shank are doing the overnight at Farmington UU.
Burr's latest news is that his mom, whom we have been caring for for the last 2 years since his dad died, flew with me to her new home last weekend. She has moved to Anacortes, which is on an island near Seattle, and living 3 blocks from his oldest brother, who is taking good care of her at the Senior Center where his wife works as cook. This is a relief for us, as you know how hectic it is for a family with a teenager to also have to take care of a 90 year old mother.
Sounds like you are doing a lot of walking. I hope you are feeling great.
Love your blogs, keep them coming. And are you taking your own pictures. They are great! I can click on them and they show a closeup in great detail.
I would love to see more of the landscape and flora/fauna if you can do that. And photos of your local friends you are meeting.
Looking forward to hearing from you again.
I haven't communicated with Pan at all. Do you have her blog or email address?
When you get the internet with email access, my address is:
maryl@wowway.com.
Love, Maryl
Susie,
I have really enjoyed reading about all your adventures, and what a wonderful service you are doing! Is it difficult to meet new people, and do you ever get lonely? It sounds as if your days are full.
I'm also curious--is there a new grandbaby?)
Linda G
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