Sunday, October 05, 2008
In between
Amsterdam, Arad. Romania, The Netherlands.Greece.Volunteering, a paid job. Crossing the vineyard-covered slopes in mid-summer, following the Amstel river by bike and struggling with the autumn wind. Rabbits taking over a commercial area at night , geese blocking the village road during the day. Dutch schoffies, Romanian straydogs. Creativity 4, Step outside your country and into nature. Facebook, Hyves. Richter, Millennium Center. Brânză, belegen kaas. Hostfamily, sharing an apartment. Friends.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Looking outside the box
Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. These famous words by John Lennon are especially valid for an EVS experience. After three or four months as a volunteer you start to develop some kind of routine. The same way to youth center, the parties with other volunteers and even the small irregular things -a ridiculously delayed train- become predictable.
Just as some planned things won’t fit in the pattern. In July I spent a week as a 'native English speaker' at an adventure & language camp for children in Muntele Mic . I was not allowed to speak or understand Romanian for a week. The world upside down, but a good experience to see how my fellow volunteers have to deal with children. Out of the blue, Irishman John appeared with his bike on the last day. On his way from Budapest to Istanbul he passed the camp. You can find the result of our spontaneous meeting here.
I already wrote about Mostar. My trip to Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia was another example of an experience you wouldn't find in a random Romanian village. Another language barrier to cross. The visible past. The amazing seaside. The way people drink their coffee. One thing remained the same however: the ever-returning question why, for gods sake, I'm staying in Romania.
So far, my EVS stage has been quite a local project. This changed with one phone call from Millennium Center. Am I interested in going to Greece? Not once, but twice? Hmm... From the 6th until the 16th of september a youth exchange called Creativity 4: democracy & participation takes place near Thessaloniki. As a group leader I already had the chance to visit the place, and the countdown towards the project is running.
Another clock is ticking as well. The official end of my stay is coming near. On the 20th of september I'm flying to Amsterdam. What will happen next? In october I'll return for another youth exchange. And then I just might stick in Romania. Who knows? I'm getting used to surprises.
Just as some planned things won’t fit in the pattern. In July I spent a week as a 'native English speaker' at an adventure & language camp for children in Muntele Mic . I was not allowed to speak or understand Romanian for a week. The world upside down, but a good experience to see how my fellow volunteers have to deal with children. Out of the blue, Irishman John appeared with his bike on the last day. On his way from Budapest to Istanbul he passed the camp. You can find the result of our spontaneous meeting here.
Romanian alpinist & camp organizer Coco Galescu and me, picture taken by John Hennessy
I already wrote about Mostar. My trip to Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia was another example of an experience you wouldn't find in a random Romanian village. Another language barrier to cross. The visible past. The amazing seaside. The way people drink their coffee. One thing remained the same however: the ever-returning question why, for gods sake, I'm staying in Romania.
So far, my EVS stage has been quite a local project. This changed with one phone call from Millennium Center. Am I interested in going to Greece? Not once, but twice? Hmm... From the 6th until the 16th of september a youth exchange called Creativity 4: democracy & participation takes place near Thessaloniki. As a group leader I already had the chance to visit the place, and the countdown towards the project is running.
The group leaders of Creativity 4
Another clock is ticking as well. The official end of my stay is coming near. On the 20th of september I'm flying to Amsterdam. What will happen next? In october I'll return for another youth exchange. And then I just might stick in Romania. Who knows? I'm getting used to surprises.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Mostar
There is no better city to look for the blues than Mostar. A stunning beauty combined with a visible painful past. The bridge has been repaired, but mostly tourists are crossing it. Did I ever mention that Romania is a country full of paradoxes? In Bosnia & Herzegovina they are even more striking. It's like comparing the Neretva river (green! blue!) with the Mures.
The timing of my trip has been exceptional. First of all there was the demasque of the alternative healer dr. Dragan Dabic, also known as Radovan Karadzic. I missed the celebrations in Sarajevo, but obviously it was the talk of the town in Mostar as well. I thought Romania to be the country with he most bizar stories and personalities ( just to mention Gigi Becali ), but once again there is fierce competition.
Secondly, and of a completely different order, I was lucky enough to wittness the Mostar Blues festival. It presented blues music in all its varieties: sad and tormented, but also lively and full of energy. With the famous bridge as a stunning background.
The timing of my trip has been exceptional. First of all there was the demasque of the alternative healer dr. Dragan Dabic, also known as Radovan Karadzic. I missed the celebrations in Sarajevo, but obviously it was the talk of the town in Mostar as well. I thought Romania to be the country with he most bizar stories and personalities ( just to mention Gigi Becali ), but once again there is fierce competition.
Secondly, and of a completely different order, I was lucky enough to wittness the Mostar Blues festival. It presented blues music in all its varieties: sad and tormented, but also lively and full of energy. With the famous bridge as a stunning background.
The soul of Mostar: Mostar Sevdah Reunion
Friday, July 04, 2008
Mid-term blues
Three months have passed since my arrival in Romania. Time for an evaluation. Last week we spent six days with all the volunteers of our project in holiday resort Moneasa, for a midterm training. A kind of Babylonian garden, part two. Fresh air, forests, hills, and a swimmingpool without water on the day I wanted to swim. I will spare you the details of flip charts, markers, coffee breaks, teambuilding games and the extensive lunches. You can imagine the evenings, filled with social gatherings, more alcohol, philosophic conversations, football (yes, Russia was the better team) and dancing in a cheesy and worn out club.
More interesting might be my personal evaluation. Am I still glad I decided to come to Romania? Will I manage until september? Yes, but... Is my stay here what I expected it to be? Yes and no. It is clear that life here follows high peaks and deep valleys. Currently I'm slightly fed up with false expectations, extreme flexibility, frustrated projects,political games, no running water when it's over 30 degrees, and -since the holiday started- an atmosphere of complete passivity and boredom. On the other hand, i know that perspectives may change very rapidly. One succesful activity can change our world. And fortunately there is still the joy of the little things.
More interesting might be my personal evaluation. Am I still glad I decided to come to Romania? Will I manage until september? Yes, but... Is my stay here what I expected it to be? Yes and no. It is clear that life here follows high peaks and deep valleys. Currently I'm slightly fed up with false expectations, extreme flexibility, frustrated projects,political games, no running water when it's over 30 degrees, and -since the holiday started- an atmosphere of complete passivity and boredom. On the other hand, i know that perspectives may change very rapidly. One succesful activity can change our world. And fortunately there is still the joy of the little things.Or is it just my birthday coming up?
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Old & New
Yesterday I felt a bit as if a new year had started. No, it didn't start to snow suddenly - temperatures are still reaching 30 degrees. First and foremost: daily business in our host-family has been enriched with a lot of new life on one day: four puppies and ten little chicken. Despite of the weather spring is still in the air.
the pictures of the dogs will follow
Secondly, there were the local and regional elections on sunday the first of june. As a volunteer for the local youth center, I'm trying to stay as clear from politics as possible. But as you could have read before, especially in a village that's sometimes a very hard thing to do. Sunday night was almost like New Years Eve: a lot of expectations, emotions, a countdown and a climax when the results were announced. Then the infamous day after: a slight hang-over, promises to be kept and what will happen with all the good intentions remains to be seen.
election posters the day after
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
24 hour party people (part 2)
In may the celebrations continued, although with a considerably less religious character this time.
May 1: Labour Day
After 1989 the meaning of International Labour day in Romania has dissappeared. Now people are usually enjoying this day with beer and mici, preferably in the mountains. And so did we. Egija, Ruth, Raul and me climbed up towards the fortress of neighbouring town Siria (for those who know Romanian literature, the birthplace of writer Ion Slavici), where we met mentor Bogdan Calin and enjoyed a splendid view over Romania's western plains. Of course we had our share in the traditional menu as mentioned above, but I can assure anyone that managed to cut down my consumption of alcohol...
May 2: Day of Youth
A good lesson in Romanian planning. On this day we organized several competitions for the local youth: Chess, Remy and Backgammon in the youth center, and football near the edge of the village. During the day, hardly anyone showed up in the center. Only when we had lost all hope –and the football tournament had ended, the kids entered the center to play games. Not according to any scheme, but just to have fun.
The closure of the day was a concert in the local cultural house. Due to an accident it started one-and-a-half hours later, but surprisingly this didn’t affect the amount of spectators. In between the Romanian popular music and a supposedly humoristic act making fun of all the gypsy clichés (the ones present in the room were the ones laughing the most) there was a small award ceremony. For the first time I noticed a rivalry between the Romanian and the Roma kids. Every participant received a diploma and a t-shirt. Everything in orange – you may draw your own conclusions.
May 5: Men’s day
The 8th of march is international women’s day. According to a survey most Romanians believe they don’t have enough holidays. That’s why one of the biggest beer brands here started a campaign to make the 5th of may national men’s day. What started as pure marketing now becomes more and more serious. To be honest: I didn’t do anything special this day.
May 9: Day of
Most of the children here have relatives working abroad. And yet,
On the day itself we were invited at the local kindergarten to attend their special event. Not all the flags were drawn correctly, but it’s the thought that counts. Their songs, poems and dances were adorable.
In the youth center we organized a quiz, following the ‘Ren-je-rot’ (who knows the international name?!) formula. After our experience of one week earlier, we feared that no one would show up, but in the end fifteen kids participated in the activities. Especially the goodies (propaganda?) provided through the information office of the European Parliament proved to be a great success. We closed the day with another infamous Villa party in
May 10: Nunta (wedding)
This was as well the Day of Ecological Action in
In the evening I experienced my probably biggest cultural shock so far. The son of one the George’s was going to marry and Ruth, Egija and me were invited for the party. After spending a day in very international company we ended up in a very local happening. Three hundred guests were sitting at long tables in the cultural house (see also Second day of Easter and Day of Youth). Arriving at 10, we were just in time for the first course of a meal which would last until 3 am, when the wedding cake arrived. In between the courses there were drinks, more drinks, familiar and new faces, and – despite the lack of space – a lot of dancing. On popular Romanian music of course. After half past three we were allowed to leave, but not without experiencing the situation of giving a, for Romanian standards, very modest wedding present to a pair we didn’t know at all. Still, we received our souvenir: a box of cookies and a can of beer. Timisoreana.
May 17: Disco in Şiria
A full week without any special occasions or parties. We had to celebrate this. The kind kindergarten teacher took us to the local disco in her town. It sounds much worse than it actually was. One can actually get used to manele when they play other music as well. The way people dress and behave was simply amusing. (Or is it just me getting old?) Beer was still cheap. Plenty of space outside. There was only one odd thing. Orange posters all over the place and every hour the orange party song. As I wrote before – sometimes it’s difficult to keep things separate here.
Friday, May 16, 2008
memories of a Romanian safari
On wednesday two bears entered a house in Brasov. In the street where I used to work four years ago. It certainly brings back memories:
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
24 hour party people
How to describe the end of april and the beginning of may? A simple 'party time' wouldn't do justice to all the subtle differences, the traditions and the paradoxes. An overview of several days of Romanian celebrations, festivities, holidays and utter bacchanals. Part 1: April
April 20: Palm Sunday & Floriile
As I previously wrote, the Sunday before (Orthodox) Easter, marks the start of the Holy Week. Everyone in the village seemed to be present during the service, to collect a blessed branch and to celebrate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Especially with the elections coming up it might be important to be seen, although not necessarily during the whole mass. For me as an atheist it is interesting to observe how people are experiencing Church. It's a bit like more things here: you'll pick the most important parts and leave the rest.
The rest of the day was filled with flowers. People with a flower in their name celebrated their second birthday. This meant that my host, Florin, was having a barbecue. A good opportunity to get acquainted with the family, the friends, the mayor... and the homemade drinks.
April 23: St. George Day
The integration course continued. The mayor, whom I've met a few days earlier, is called George. Because of this, and maybe because of the fact that the elections are coming up, he invited all the Georges in the village for a party with wine, beer, ţuica and mici, in the city hall. My name isn't George, but I still had the chance to meet several of them. And to discover the pitfalls of the local (strong) wine.
April 24: Queensday reception organised by the Dutch consulate in Timisoara
Is there a bigger contrast possible than the one between a party on the countryside and a diplomatic reception in the local museum of arts? Maybe there is. With Dutch colleague Theo I experienced a small culture shock, when we entered the entrance hall, slightly underdressed. The vast majority of the people present seemed to belong to the Romanian upper class. The biggest shock however came at the buffet: suddenly no one was able to form a proper queue anymore.
April 25: Holy Friday
The preparations for Easter intensified. In Arad we received orange Easter bunnies. Orange is the colour of the PD-L (Partidul Democrat Liberal), the party of a lot of people around me. Another sign that politics and celebrations sometimes cannot be separated. Fortunately there was no sign of this when I attended the mass in neighbouring village Ghioroc. Since this was the commemoration of the crucifixion the priest was dressed in black. Almost the complete service consisted of singing prayers, with mentor Bogdan Calin as one of the singers.
April 26: Resurrection Night
I never experienced a proper countdown towards Easter before. Until this Saturday. In the morning we went with several boys to home for disabled people in Lipova, to give them Easter presents. After that we spent the day painting eggs and my colleagues Egija and Ruth received rabbits as a gift from Raul, our coordinator. At 11 pm we were ready to go to Church. In Romania this night is at least as big as Christmas eve, a night when everyone goes to church, no matter how religious one is. And yes, the church was crowded. During the service the priest changed his black dress for a white one – to symbolize the resurrection of Christ. Just as the night before people lighted candles and circled the church three times. Most of the people left the service after this to go to their traditional Easter meal: lamb, cheese, onion, ham, wine & ţuica and of course the freshly painted eggs.
April 27: first day of Easter
More eggs for breakfast. Hristos a inviat. Adevarat a inviat. (Christ has risen. Indeed He has risen) For this traditional question and answering ritual you need two eggs and two people. With your egg you have to crush the other one. And don't make the mistake to answer Adevarat a intrat (Indeed he entered)...
Despite the tuica and wine we did manage to get up in time for another mass. It was lighter, more cheerful this time. A special place was reserved for the children. The end of the service was more earthly, when the priest underlined the importance of the recently bought minivan: it enables the children of Covasint to see more than just their village. The rest of the day was dedicated –once more- to a traditional lunch and the recovering of it. And no, the Easter bunny didn’t forget us.
April 28: second day of Easter
Did I mention the eggs? This day we ended with a plastic bag, completely filled with coloured eggs and cozonac. It’s a tradition here to spend Easter monday on the cemetery, to commemorate dead relatives. People brought food and drinks and these were blessed by the priest. After that the commemoration/celebration started: a lot of families invited us to join them and we just had to accept the food. And the drinks. This was actually the first occasion were we noticed some differences between Roma and Romanians and between different Roma groups. As I wrote before, the Roma from Covasint like to show their wealth – and this doesn’t stop at the cemetery. There were also the poor Roma – probably from other villages- who were attracted by the hospitality of the families and the free cake and eggs.
With a filled stomach we visited the Easter Ball in the local cultural house. We actually contributed to the decoration of the party through our photo exhibition. An interesting sample of the village population gathered to move on traditional Romanian music. This is where our traditional dance course turned out to be quite useful. Some of them really did their best to dress up, others just showed up in a training suit. Oh, and did I mention the alcohol?
April 30: (Queensday) / EVS volunteers Villa party.
Forget Queensday. After one day of relative rest we moved to a different world: the one of international volunteers in Arad. The garden of Babel I found in Lunca Muresului moved to a villa in Arad. Fifteen volunteers from every corner of Europe are staying there during there project. It became the epicentre of parties, conflicts and other social gatherings for all the millennium center volunteers. On this day two volunteers (Fleur from Amsterdam and Sara from Spain) celebrated their birthday. Did I mention… Never mind. This was the only party in the row without certain traditions or etiquette to observed.
April 20: Palm Sunday & Floriile
As I previously wrote, the Sunday before (Orthodox) Easter, marks the start of the Holy Week. Everyone in the village seemed to be present during the service, to collect a blessed branch and to celebrate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Especially with the elections coming up it might be important to be seen, although not necessarily during the whole mass. For me as an atheist it is interesting to observe how people are experiencing Church. It's a bit like more things here: you'll pick the most important parts and leave the rest.
The rest of the day was filled with flowers. People with a flower in their name celebrated their second birthday. This meant that my host, Florin, was having a barbecue. A good opportunity to get acquainted with the family, the friends, the mayor... and the homemade drinks.
April 23: St. George Day
The integration course continued. The mayor, whom I've met a few days earlier, is called George. Because of this, and maybe because of the fact that the elections are coming up, he invited all the Georges in the village for a party with wine, beer, ţuica and mici, in the city hall. My name isn't George, but I still had the chance to meet several of them. And to discover the pitfalls of the local (strong) wine.
April 24: Queensday reception organised by the Dutch consulate in Timisoara
Is there a bigger contrast possible than the one between a party on the countryside and a diplomatic reception in the local museum of arts? Maybe there is. With Dutch colleague Theo I experienced a small culture shock, when we entered the entrance hall, slightly underdressed. The vast majority of the people present seemed to belong to the Romanian upper class. The biggest shock however came at the buffet: suddenly no one was able to form a proper queue anymore.
April 25: Holy Friday
The preparations for Easter intensified. In Arad we received orange Easter bunnies. Orange is the colour of the PD-L (Partidul Democrat Liberal), the party of a lot of people around me. Another sign that politics and celebrations sometimes cannot be separated. Fortunately there was no sign of this when I attended the mass in neighbouring village Ghioroc. Since this was the commemoration of the crucifixion the priest was dressed in black. Almost the complete service consisted of singing prayers, with mentor Bogdan Calin as one of the singers.
April 26: Resurrection Night
I never experienced a proper countdown towards Easter before. Until this Saturday. In the morning we went with several boys to home for disabled people in Lipova, to give them Easter presents. After that we spent the day painting eggs and my colleagues Egija and Ruth received rabbits as a gift from Raul, our coordinator. At 11 pm we were ready to go to Church. In Romania this night is at least as big as Christmas eve, a night when everyone goes to church, no matter how religious one is. And yes, the church was crowded. During the service the priest changed his black dress for a white one – to symbolize the resurrection of Christ. Just as the night before people lighted candles and circled the church three times. Most of the people left the service after this to go to their traditional Easter meal: lamb, cheese, onion, ham, wine & ţuica and of course the freshly painted eggs.
April 27: first day of Easter
More eggs for breakfast. Hristos a inviat. Adevarat a inviat. (Christ has risen. Indeed He has risen) For this traditional question and answering ritual you need two eggs and two people. With your egg you have to crush the other one. And don't make the mistake to answer Adevarat a intrat (Indeed he entered)...
Despite the tuica and wine we did manage to get up in time for another mass. It was lighter, more cheerful this time. A special place was reserved for the children. The end of the service was more earthly, when the priest underlined the importance of the recently bought minivan: it enables the children of Covasint to see more than just their village. The rest of the day was dedicated –once more- to a traditional lunch and the recovering of it. And no, the Easter bunny didn’t forget us.
April 28: second day of Easter
Did I mention the eggs? This day we ended with a plastic bag, completely filled with coloured eggs and cozonac. It’s a tradition here to spend Easter monday on the cemetery, to commemorate dead relatives. People brought food and drinks and these were blessed by the priest. After that the commemoration/celebration started: a lot of families invited us to join them and we just had to accept the food. And the drinks. This was actually the first occasion were we noticed some differences between Roma and Romanians and between different Roma groups. As I wrote before, the Roma from Covasint like to show their wealth – and this doesn’t stop at the cemetery. There were also the poor Roma – probably from other villages- who were attracted by the hospitality of the families and the free cake and eggs.
With a filled stomach we visited the Easter Ball in the local cultural house. We actually contributed to the decoration of the party through our photo exhibition. An interesting sample of the village population gathered to move on traditional Romanian music. This is where our traditional dance course turned out to be quite useful. Some of them really did their best to dress up, others just showed up in a training suit. Oh, and did I mention the alcohol?
April 30: (Queensday) / EVS volunteers Villa party.
Forget Queensday. After one day of relative rest we moved to a different world: the one of international volunteers in Arad. The garden of Babel I found in Lunca Muresului moved to a villa in Arad. Fifteen volunteers from every corner of Europe are staying there during there project. It became the epicentre of parties, conflicts and other social gatherings for all the millennium center volunteers. On this day two volunteers (Fleur from Amsterdam and Sara from Spain) celebrated their birthday. Did I mention… Never mind. This was the only party in the row without certain traditions or etiquette to observed.
Monday, April 21, 2008
The curse of the Gypsy woman
During my first week in Romania I had a chat with one of the Romanian volunteers from Millennium Center. She told me how she believed in the curse of the gypsy women, and how it once happened to her. She had been feeling ill and tired until she discovered the curse by doing some kind of trick with matches.
I had to think of this superstition when I suffered some personal incoveniences (better known as travellers disease) last week. This revealed the huge differences between Dutch and Romanian attitudes towards health issues. While I'm used to taking my own measures, eating extra bananas and drinking extra mineral water, all Romanians around me immediately wanted to take me to the doctor or even the emergency department of nearest hospital (not without mentioning the horror stories from that same hospital). On day number 5 I surrendered; I finally met the village doctor - and i have to say: the medicines he prescribed did their job. Just in time to enjoy the celebration of my hosts nameday.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Where the streets have no name...
Life in a village has its own rhythm. And for every season there is another speed. Spring is advancing very fast. Three weeks ago it was still the end of winter; the start of this week felt as if summer was coming. Fresh lilacs are decorating my room. It makes it hard to grasp that it has been only one week since my arrival here.
One week with a lot of new experiences and small observations. Especially the latter ones I have to write down, before I’m taking things for granted. The 20 km long tram ride between Arad and the nearby town of Ghioroc for example, with the sign: forbidden to eat sunflower seeds. The fact that everyone greets each other on the streets. Some older people even get offended when it slips your mind. The omnipresent animals: chicken, ducks, geese, dogs, cows, sheep and horses. The local accent, in which n becomes nj. The fact that there are no street names, just numbers. And above all, the hospitality one may find even in places like the kindergarten, where they served us some traditional food and drinks.
One week with a lot of new experiences and small observations. Especially the latter ones I have to write down, before I’m taking things for granted. The 20 km long tram ride between Arad and the nearby town of Ghioroc for example, with the sign: forbidden to eat sunflower seeds. The fact that everyone greets each other on the streets. Some older people even get offended when it slips your mind. The omnipresent animals: chicken, ducks, geese, dogs, cows, sheep and horses. The local accent, in which n becomes nj. The fact that there are no street names, just numbers. And above all, the hospitality one may find even in places like the kindergarten, where they served us some traditional food and drinks.
Secondly, there are the small annoyances. Because they’re working here on a new water system, we don’t have running water during large parts of the day. Something typical for every small community is the social control. For us foreigners, it has limited itself so far to an occasional awkward look. The kindergarten teacher, who lives in another town, explained us on the other hand, how she experiences the judgment of the people.
Then there are the bizarre palaces in the village. Covăsânţ has a strong Roma community. Most of them are working abroad. With the money they earn over there, they build huge kitschy palaces in the village. One is bigger than the other. In most of them only one room is used. There seems to be a big difference with Suplacu. Here there is no obvious separation between Roma and Romanians. At least, children of both communities are attending the same school.
Last but not least we have the Big Invisible: politics. In June there will be the local elections. Behind the scenes the campaigns already have started. Everything turns out to be political, even in a village like this. And especially in a country like Romania, where a visible clash exists between old and new generations. Between people who prefer a status quo and people who want change. (To put it bluntly.) And if you want to get things done, you’ll have to be member of a political party. In this way, even the local youth center here is part of that game.
On the other hand: there is still at least one event bigger than the elections, and that is Orthodox Easter. The countdown for the 27th of April is running. Coming Sunday marks the start of the Holy Week, with every day a special sermon. The (holiday) week after Eastern is filled with all kind activities (tournaments) for the village youth. The summer weather might be useful then.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Babylonian garden
The intercultural rollercoaster-ride of the past two weeks seems to have stopped in the village of Covasant. Before my arrival here I stayed eight days in the visitors centre of Natural Parc Lunca Muresului , where the on-arrival training for new volunteers from Arad and Oradea was organised.
Eight days of intercultural learning, lectures, workshops, a canoe trip, beer, wine and other beverages and above all the cultural shocks - both in theory and in practice. Wireless internet and modern bathrooms 300 meters from hardcore poverty in a Roma village. A natural park with a lot of waste.
Now it's time to see whether this Babylonian garden, with all its languages and contrasts has been a good preparation for the near future.
Next blog: Life in a Village
Eight days of intercultural learning, lectures, workshops, a canoe trip, beer, wine and other beverages and above all the cultural shocks - both in theory and in practice. Wireless internet and modern bathrooms 300 meters from hardcore poverty in a Roma village. A natural park with a lot of waste.
Now it's time to see whether this Babylonian garden, with all its languages and contrasts has been a good preparation for the near future.
Next blog: Life in a Village
Monday, March 31, 2008
Planet Petrom
Currently I'm having my on-arrival training in Natural Park Lunca Muresanului, close to Arad. A lot of intercultural learning, games and drinking. Campfire included. The training will last until tuesday, after which we still have two days for a workshop in photography and video. I might write a seperate message on this world in itself.
Before leaving to this beautiful forest/river-area, Kaie and I had the chance to visit the third possible destination: a village called Suplacu de Barcau, 70 km. from Oradea. It took us almost seven hours to reach it (including a three hour stop in border city Oradea). The spring sun did its best to make us forget the lack of sleep due to the pubquiz the night before. After leaving the bus in Suplacu, our noses took over. It wasn't possible to avoid the smell of petrol. Everywhere in and around the village we stumbled upon oil installations and chimneys, runned by Romanian oil company Petrom. The volunteers ( a French girl, two Spanish guys) we met there told us that one can get used to it. As a compensation for the omnipresent oil money came available for a new youth center.
A second peculiarity of the village is the number of ethnic communities. Romanians, Hungarians and Slovaks are living next to each other. The Roma part of town however looks like a completely different world. We had the chance to see the volunteers in action during an English lesson in the Roma school. It's hard to stay clear from the cliche images when describing it. Fourteen year old girls taking their babies into class, a fight between two boys. The volunteers however did manage to make small steps in breaking the stereotypes.
All in all was this a very impressive day. I got to a see a new side of Romania and it made me wonder where I'm going to stay.
(see slideshow for pictures)
Before leaving to this beautiful forest/river-area, Kaie and I had the chance to visit the third possible destination: a village called Suplacu de Barcau, 70 km. from Oradea. It took us almost seven hours to reach it (including a three hour stop in border city Oradea). The spring sun did its best to make us forget the lack of sleep due to the pubquiz the night before. After leaving the bus in Suplacu, our noses took over. It wasn't possible to avoid the smell of petrol. Everywhere in and around the village we stumbled upon oil installations and chimneys, runned by Romanian oil company Petrom. The volunteers ( a French girl, two Spanish guys) we met there told us that one can get used to it. As a compensation for the omnipresent oil money came available for a new youth center.
A second peculiarity of the village is the number of ethnic communities. Romanians, Hungarians and Slovaks are living next to each other. The Roma part of town however looks like a completely different world. We had the chance to see the volunteers in action during an English lesson in the Roma school. It's hard to stay clear from the cliche images when describing it. Fourteen year old girls taking their babies into class, a fight between two boys. The volunteers however did manage to make small steps in breaking the stereotypes.
All in all was this a very impressive day. I got to a see a new side of Romania and it made me wonder where I'm going to stay.
(see slideshow for pictures)
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Time is flexible
Only a few days in Arad and I already have to admit that the title of this blog is not entirely accurate. Romanian time is very flexible and not necessarily always flying. Sometimes it walks, it crawls or it takes a tram. Sometimes it's caught in a traffic jam on its way to one of Romania's new palaces of consumption, the hypermarkets. And occasionally it stands still.
It happened when I had to wait in a minibus at Ferihegy Airport for the last customer to arrive. Four hours is a lot of seconds. Since friday I'm discovering Arad and surroundings. I arrived together with Estonian girl Kaie and we're waiting for the rest of the volunteers for our project to arrive. This means that our one-week on-arrival training will start this friday and that we still don't know where we will end up after that. O sa vedem, we will see. A large part of the project is carried out in three villages (far) outside Arad: Covasant, Abrud and Suplacu de Barcau. So far we visited the first two, to get an impression of the work in the local youth centers.
Two funny facts to conclude: the first pub I visited here is called Time to Time... And the clock of the city hall plays Vangelis on every hour (but don't ask me which song it is).
It happened when I had to wait in a minibus at Ferihegy Airport for the last customer to arrive. Four hours is a lot of seconds. Since friday I'm discovering Arad and surroundings. I arrived together with Estonian girl Kaie and we're waiting for the rest of the volunteers for our project to arrive. This means that our one-week on-arrival training will start this friday and that we still don't know where we will end up after that. O sa vedem, we will see. A large part of the project is carried out in three villages (far) outside Arad: Covasant, Abrud and Suplacu de Barcau. So far we visited the first two, to get an impression of the work in the local youth centers.
Two funny facts to conclude: the first pub I visited here is called Time to Time... And the clock of the city hall plays Vangelis on every hour (but don't ask me which song it is).
Arad City Hall
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Exitus
8 March: Goodbye party in the good old Koningshut. The countdown is running...
"Exitus", sagte der Groβvater, "was das bedeutet? Zunächst heiβt Exitus bei uns das, was ihr heute vorhabt: Abschiedsfest einer Schulklasse. Ferner: Exitus trinken, den Becher bis zur Neige leeren, wenn man Blutsbrüderschaft schlieβt. Ein Wort mit vielen Bedeutungen. Von Exit kommt es und besagt: Er geht hinaus. Er tritt ab. Ausgang. Aus. [...] und manchmal heiβ Exitus Erfolg."
Eginald Schlattner (1933, Arad) - Der geköpfte Hahn
Eginald Schlattner (1933, Arad) - Der geköpfte Hahn
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