Dear Santa,

Dear Santa,

I hope this year finds you and Mrs. Claus well. Just dropping you a little note for my Christmas wishes. This year, Santa, I would like some toilet paper, nice soft toilet paper. Also, some hot fries, not the Andy Capp kind, the ones made by Toms. Oh and some Dr. Pepper, lots and lots of Dr. Pepper. Can you bottle and deliver the feeling of girls night out with my friends. Also, make a recording of the sounds that Delcan and his friends made while playing and screaming without a care! I would also like to have a back patio B-B-Q with our neighbors, at our home back in Michigan. How about one more get together with my family back in Texas. Well, if that is not possible, Santa, I'll be happy with soft tp, because this year Joe, Declan and I are back together and that is the best wish ever!

Love,
Christi

P.S. I wish everyone a big and joyful season.

Happy St. Nicholas Day!!!

Here is a link for people the use to explain St. Nichlas' Day!

http://www.stnicholascenter.org


Also, enjoy the video. Sorry...malfunction.

I will try to upload the video on facebook.

It's been too long.

We are still working on the apartment. Still painting, still spackling, still cleaning out dresser drawers, hidey holes, closets, pantry, under kitchen sinks, and anywhere else that anything can be stored. Remember back when I mentioned Joe's Mom loved to read and she had somewhere around 200-300 books. Well, actually she had just over 620ish. Those were the ones in decent condition, the others we threw out. We have trying to find dealers for stuff we think is worthy, almost no luck. They don't do garage sales here, d*mn it.

On the other hand we have been to Dej, it is about 10 miles away and we took the train. Declan had a blast. Perspective...tickets for 2 adults and 1 child cost 2 romanian dollars more than a 2 Lt. of Coke. HMMM? I told y'all they value stuff differently over here. Food is valued rather high. Example 1 Kg of cheese is 27 Ron (romanian currency), coke is 4.23 Ron (not the stuff you snort, though I can't even image how much THAT would be), candy is over 2 Ron and the size is smaller than in the US.

Back to Dej, it is a slightly larger town than Gherla. To be honest it was not that impressive. Is was dirty, stray dogs everywhere again. People were in more of a hurry, a little more rude. A couple of times Declan and I were broken apart just so someone could walk through. The only reason we went was to pick a package from the post office (thanks Mom). That will probably be the only reason we go back.

BTW, Happy Belated Thanksgiving everyone. This thanksgiving, I am thankful we are back together again. Hope y'all had a great black Friday. Sylvia, thank you for helping me with my Christmas shopping!!

Chicken Butt

I have officially had my exclusive Romanian moment. I have baked chicken before, I have carved chicken before, and I have cut up, filleted, chopped or whatever you want to call it, before. As I am preparing the chicken to bake as I usually do, image my surprise when I pull out the head and feet out of the cavity instead of the innards. You know what, I am done with this post. Write y'all later.



Seriously, what the HELL am I going the do with the head and feet.

Not a Girl Scout, never was.

I am a bad tourist, a very bad tourist. I know I promised pictures of the Luminatie at the cemetary. My camera died. Low battery. I know, I know, I've berated myself enough, so all you blog followers can just save it. I did have a back up though. I just have to go to the cell phone place here so I can get a usb connector that will fit Joe's camera phone. Soon I will have the pictures posted. I'll save the description for later. I will tell you it was beautiful. Later.

Culture lessons

1. I saw my first gypsy yesterday!! Well, actually, I have seen a lot of gypsies, but this is the first interaction. A little gypsy boy approached us begging for money and food. The funny thing is he was what is referred to as husky. He looks like he has never skipped a meal in his life or he has a thyroid problem. The gypsies here are considered very low class. The Romanians have accused them as being dirty, and say they steal and lie. Most gypsies, it is implied, rarely hold “real” jobs. I really have no real understanding of gypsies. The ones I have encountered are dirty and do not look mal-nourished. I have learned one thing, the term, “I’ve been gypped,” comes from being screwed in a transaction with a gypsy. DUH. I really never made that connection. One thing for sure, this incounter urged me the google gypsies. The info is conflicting...I have not finished forming an opinion. I need more info.

2. The “Luminitie” starts today. We are going to clean up the graves of Joe's Anyja (mother) and Nagymama (grandmother) today. We will place flowers today and tomorrow we will place and light the candles. This is something everyone in Romania does. A celebration and remembrance for the dead. Pretty special. Pictures to follow in a few days.

3. Lastly… Happy Anniversary to Mom and Raymond. They have been married for 25 years!!

Food...

Ok, I don't eat to live. I am of the other group... I live to eat. Problem. To be honest, I am literally have dreams of my favorite places to eat, Whataburger, Schlotzski's, Mercados (the best Mexican restaurant ever!) and Jet's Pizza, specifically the bbq chicken. BTW, there is NO DR. PEPPER. I am not used to the food here. Everything is greasy, which I usually don't complain about. They fry everything, and honestly it is overkill for me. The smell of bacon now makes me want to vomit. The markets are small and food is gold. Expensive. The selection is very limited and I don't eat fruits very often so I am down one whole food group. SO WHY HAVEN'T I LOST WEIGHT?!! Hopefully one thing I'll get out of this transatlantic experience is appreciation of basic foods, like apples, oranges, and any veggies other than potatoes.

Busy, Busy, Busy!!

Not much sight seeing lately. We are painting our apartment, and trying to find buyers for the antiques that make walking in the living space hazardous. Joe's Mom loved to read; she has a huge collection of books, including Twain, the Brontes', Agatha Christie, and a lot of foreign authors I have never heard of. I love to read to and would love to dive into her books, except for the language issue. It is killing me to give all these books up but we desperately need the space. I swear she has over 200 books. I'm sure some my even have value, but it is hard for me to know what to do about it in this country.

Still Jet Lagged!

We have been here for over a week and I am still very tired and can't get my clock straight. Declan of course is taking it all in stride. We're having a great time walking around and taking it all in. A missionary woman named Karen heard me talking today and introduced herself. She is from Ohio and has been here for 20 years. She will be introducing me to other english speakers, so hopefully I will make more friends soon. However, Joe's fiends and family are impressed with how hard Declan and I are trying to fit in, and learn the language.
More things I have noticed about Romania is the lack of dental hygiene. England has nothing on Romania. Also, on a more whymsical note is seems almost everyone has grape vines planted in their yard. I love to seem grape bunches hanging. It seems very romantic.
Joe took us to the cemetery where his mother and grandmother are buried. It is up on a hill surrounded with trees. Other than not having the large tombs, it reminded me of New Orleans. On November 1, they celebrate the people who have died with candles. Loved one bring candles to the cemetery and when you look up at the hill from the town, everything glows. I plan on taking pictures that night and posting them.

First day!

It has only been one day of sight seeing and I have so many things I have to write about. First of all I want to apologize to all the Michiganders for the contempt I had for their driving habits. I made no secret that I detested the way they drove up there. Well, Romanian drivers take the cake. They do not follow the speed limit or the signs and could care less of anyone in crosswalks. I can personally attest to the last one. Also, car and horse and buggies drive on the same streets!!

Moving on ... ok we stopped at a cafe after hiking and had some soups and mitiei (sausages). Ciorba de Burta - looks really good, I tried it 3x, but alas I did not like it. I found out burta is stomach. NO comment.

Let's see... oh, stray dogs everywhere. And I mean everywhere. They all seem to be friendly so far.

Romania is rather poor. Apartments are small and people spend there lives paying for four rooms (that includes the kitchen and bathroom). Living rooms double as bedrooms. Kitchens are small, well everthing is small. We will be painting and redecorating within limits. We will start with Declans room. Right now the place is a mess with all our luggage and clothes tossed everywhere.

More later... draft 1:29:00 AM by Christi Delete

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We're here

We made it to Romania safe.

Tired...must sleep...zzzzz

Tomorrow, Tomorrow!

We are Romania bound tomorrow. Today were are tired and excited. We said a lot of goodbyes. Declan's Kinder teacher cried. It has been hard to leave family and friends, but a new life awaits. Joe is also waiting and we are impatient to see him.

T minus 10

10 days away from seeing my husband. Declan and I haven't seen Joe in just under a year. Declan is very excited as am I. My head is starting to spin now that I am trying to get organized. I need to figure out how to pack with the new baggage guidelines. What am I supposed to do with Declan's booster seat?

I still have several bills that need to be paid off. I need to set up payment plans for my student loans and life insurance. I have to turn in my Jeep (very sad, I Loooovvvveee my Jeep).

Obviously I need some sort of cattle prod that circuits creative juices thru my body. Or I need to learn to juggle.

Ah Oh...

I had my first dream about life in Romania. It wasn't a good dream. It was scattered and disorganized and left me feeling dread (for lack of a better word). I will excuse it because I am still recovering from strep throat and still waking up in cold sweats. How can I have good dreams if I am about drown in my own perspiration? ...right?

Destination Truth

Ok, so while I was sick and holed up in bed I was browsing Hulu.com. Imagine my surprise when I see a show called "Destination Truth" with info about Romania. I am constantly on the look out for any info on my soon to be new home, so I tuned in. Holy macaroni! It is a ghost story! Anyone who knows me well knows that I love scary movies, books, and just about anything to make my toes curl in fright. Call me crazy. However, I can't help but wonder if this is a sign. The setting is Hoia Baciu forest and the show provides some interesting phenomena. The kicker...I will be living rather close to this forest. Maybe I will need to investigate. I'll definitely have to revisit this topic in later blogs.

One word a day

So, I thought, maybe I should create ways to learn one new Romanian word a day. Sounds good in theory, but I'm lazy. See, I also promised myself that I would start an exercise routine, too...not. Ok, so I am about three weeks behind on both learning Romanian and trying to lose arm flab. What have I accomplished? Well, I bought the tickets and I got our passports. And that's where it stops.

So here's where I can start:

please = Vă rog (formal) Te rog (informal)
hello = salut

That should be easy. Now just to get Declan on board.

Adio for now!

Yoo Hoo, Aunt Fran!

Ok, so here it goes...

I am 51 days away from Europe. My husband Joe is currently in Gherla, Romania waiting with our 2 bedroom house (well, apartment really, but we do own it). I have no idea what it looks like, but it is furnished (yikes) and has a working toilet. I have only been out of the US once. About 10 years ago my sister Patty and I went to Ireland. At least we could understand the language. Now my 5 year old son Declan and I will be moving to Romania. Neither of us know the language, however, I feel I will be at more of a disadvantage than him. Everyone is telling me that Declan will pick up Romanian within months. Until I learn the basics, I'll be slowly getting more paranoid by the second. I just know everyone will be talking about me, and I will be dependant on Joe and Declan for communication. And they will be plotting against me, too. See, in our little family, I am the heavy and Joe is the cream. I am doomed. To make matters worse, Joe and I had an understanding. If he could developed pecks (yes, muscled man boobs), then I had to lose weight. He says he has pecks...I really can't tell from the web cam. I have lost 7 lbs, but I'm screwed because that was just extra weight I picked up after my gallbladder surgery. Sheesh!

BTW: this first post is dedicated to my Aunt Fran, without her there would be no blog.