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