Green Acres

I was finishing up at school today when I got a call from a phone number I didn't recognize:

"hello?"
"Mike, it's Tibi. Remember you said a while back that you'd like to help out at the village?"
"yeah..."
"well, I'm leaving now, do you still want to come?"
"uhhh, ok. (I would have preferred a little more notice) I can be ready in 30 minutes."

So we met half an hour later, and drove off to the village of Tipari (pronounced 'Tseepar'). Tibi grew up in the village, and his mother still lives there. The village was once exclusively Hungarian, but many Hungarian families left after the Revolution. However, Tibi's family remained and they still strongly identify with their Hungarian roots. In fact, I was greeted at the door with a bowl of paprikash, bread and home-made sour cream.

I was wearing shorts, so Tibi's mom found me a pair of her husband's old pants for me to borrow. They were about 3 sizes to big around the waist, so I used a bungee chord to cinch them tight. We loaded up the cart, attached it to the tractor and headed out to the fields. Sitting in the back of the cart, I waved to Tibi's mom as we exited the gate. But, she didn't wave back. Instead, she made a sign like "no no, hang on, I'm coming with you guys." And sure enough, she closed the gate, and jumped on the tractor.

So, we were off like a hurd of turtles. The sun was shining brightly. I bounced around in the back of the cart as we made our way down the dirt path. When we arrived at the first field, I noticed that the grass had been cut, and was laying in rows. I soon found out that our job was to flip the piles so the hay so they could dry out in the sun (it had rained the day before). We got to it, and nearly immediately the storm clouds rolled in. Just our luck, right?

We decided to keep going, in spite of the threatening skies. We saw bolts of lightning to the south, and felt the occasional drop of rain. But, nevertheless, we kept going. Sure enough, our persistence paid off, because the storm passed just to the south (but it was still pretty overcast, so it didn't seem like the hay would dry out very quickly). We moved on to the next field and did the same. Thunder continued to rumble in the distance.

The scenery was really nice. We had a lovely view of the mountains to the east. At one point I stopped to just look around and get my bearings. I pointed and called to Tibi, "this way is west?" He said, "yeah, everywhere you want to go is that way." I thought for a moment, 'that way is home...I wonder what my family and friends are doing right now...'

The sky cleared just in time for the sun to begin setting. It was about 7:30pm. We were nearly done with the 3rd field. The field was on a hill, and we were working on one side of it. Little did I know that there was another group working on the opposite side. As we reached the top, we met the other group. I found out it was Tibi's uncle, aunt and cousins. They all started speaking in Hungarian, and, for a second, I forgot I was in Romania.

By 8:30 we had finished the 3rd field. We went back to the first field to see if the hay had dried out enough to load on the cart, but alas, no. So we just went home. Once back at the house I ate some cherries, bread and sour cream. After I went out in the yard to pick visine (sour cherries, pronounced 'veesheenay'). I stayed out till 9:40 or so-- gotta love the long daylight hours!

I left Tipari by 10, after a good day's work, with visine-stained hands and a bottle of fresh milk given me by Tibi's mom.

2008 Concordia Cup

Today was the 12th annual Concordia Cup, hosted by Clubul Concordia, Lugoj. It took place just outside town, near a village called Poganesti. There were nearly 70 participants (a new record) and they were from all over Romania. I volunteered to help out with the organization, and was assigned to check-point 2, which was the half-way point of the trail. It was a lot of fun, and luckily the weather held out until the very end (when we were cleaning up it started to rain).

More pictures can be found HERE

Euro 2008

Later that evening, after the bike race, I went to the center of town with Martin (a Danish guy living in town, and my pseudo-sitemate).

The attraction was a new giant LED screen that they had recently installed in front of the Lugoj 'House of Culture' (Casa de Cultura), which is a sort of performance hall. The Euro 2008 football championship is on, and here in Lugoj they're using the big screen to show the matches-- quite a cool idea (better than 24/7 adverts). They set up a beer garden in front of the screen so that people can watch the games in comfort. Tomorrow night is Romania vs. France, so I expect the whole town th show up.

Here are some pics of this new-fangled contraption:

The new monstrosity


A closer view


The beer garden they set up in front of the screen


Martin

Re-Cycling

my new-old bike

Last week I was talking to one of the physics teachers at school, and I happened to mention to him that I've been looking for a second-hand bike, something not too expensive. Without a moment's hestitation he said, "I have an old bike at home that I don't use anymore. You can borrow it for as long as you need." What a sweet deal! A free bike! Almost too good to be true. In fact he had his son bring the bike to the school that very same day so I could see it and decide if I wanted it.

It hadn't been used in a few years, but it was still in pretty good shape. In fact it was quite a beauty for a free bike, complete with white-wall tires, shiny white fenders, a dynamo-powered lighting system, and a bell (certainly a cruiser). It's a Motobecane 'Mont Blanc,' circa early 90's. The tires hold air, and everything is in decent working order (except the rear derailleur needs some adjustment, but luckily I know a mechanic at the bike shop in town).

I took the bike on a little trip today to a colleague's home on the edge of town. She has a huge garden, full of onions, tomatoes, potatoes, peas, peppers, celery, carrots, squash, cherries AND strawberries. Strawberries! Needless to say, I spent most of my time picking the strawberries (one in the basket, two in the mouth).

On the topic of bikes, there's a big mountain bike race just outside town tomorrow. It's being put on by the outdoor club in Lugoj, Clubul Concordia, and I'm meeting them early in the morning to help set it up. I hope to take some pictures...

Evening on the River Timis

Up and Running

Its been about a year since I've done any serious running, apart from the sprinting I did in the Budapest station to catch the train to Krakow. A lot of my habits changed when I came to Romania, and I guess running wasn't one to make the cut.

However, I resolved today to reclaim this habit (especially since the weather has started to be so nice here). For the past few days I had given some thought to where I could run; Lugoj is not exactly an ideal town for runners. At first I was a bit shy about running, since I don't often see people jogging around town. Secondly, I had always been warned about stray dogs chasing runners, which made me a tad nervous.

So I thought, where might I go to avoid the dogs? My first idea was the park, where it is shaded, and relatively devoid of big dogs. However, it's sort of small, often crowded, and the paths are paved in asphalt, which I don't really prefer. Then, I thought about running along the banks of the river, which is fairly scenic and also has some shady spots. But, I wasn't sure about the dog situation, and the sidewalks are concrete. Next, I thought about running in the cemetery, which is rather large and has a wall surrounding it. I thought perhaps the wall would make it a fairly dog-safe area, but then I thought that if people noticed me running around the cemetery, they might be offended, or at least they'd think I was nuts.

Then, finally, it hit me. I knew there was a soccer stadium on the outskirts of town, but I had never seen what it was like inside. It looks rather dilapidated from outside, so I just assumed that it was closed and abandoned. But, I decided to go check it out today, to see if there might be a way to get inside. I nearly walked around the whole thing, trying to find an entrance. There were walls around the entire field and couldn't really see inside. But, I heard noises, and every so often I caught a glimpse of a soccer ball as it arced high enough for me to see it over the wall. So, I knew the stadium couldn't, in fact, be closed. I trotted around a corner, and came to a doorway. Once inside, I was stunned. Not only were there tons of people playing soccer or practicing, but there was also something else--a one-lane dirt track around the entire perimeter of the field! It was perfect! So I happily jogged a few laps just to see how out of shape I was. I typically prefer trail running, but I'll take what I can get, even if it's flat and lacking shade. In any case, it was good (both physically and mentally) to get some exercise.

Lugoj Beer Festival

This past weekend has been a blast. The Lugoj Beer festival kicked off Friday afternoon and hasn't quit yet.

Coming home from school on Friday I discovered a crowd obstructing the street near the entrance to my apartment. They were surrounding a musical duo dressed like Native Americans. One of them was playing a drum, the other a flute. I'd actually seen these guys several times before, the first time was in Ploiesti. Apparently they are from Ecuador and make a living by performing at festivals throughout Romania. They are ok, if you listen to them in moderation. But, considering they've been playing right below my apartment for nearly the whole weekend, I've become quite sick of their repertoire. What makes it more annoying is that they only have five or so songs that they play in the exact same order every time. But enough about that...

Merrymaking was aided by beer, mici, all sorts of grilled food, beer, cotton candy, ice cream, kurtos kalacs (a sort of Hungarian/Transylvanian pastry), more beer and.... GOULASH (my favorite).

I went to a BBQ at someone's home Saturday afternoon, after which I attended the much-anticipated (at least by me) goulash competition. There were at least 5 teams, mostly from Hungary. I happened to time my arrival just so that I could sneak into the cooking space before they closed it to the public. So, there I was with all the cooks and judges. I asked one of the cooks if I could take his picture, and in return he offered me a taste of the goulash. After that, I went around and tasted each pot, which was great fun. Some of the chefs spoke only Hungarian. But, using universally-recognized culinary sign-language (a smile and pat of the belly), I was able to communicate my appreciation of their work.

After the judges announced the winning goulash, bowls of the stuff were given to the crowd -- and the best part was that it was totally free!

That night they had some Romanian folk bands perform, and today was more of the same (including the same songs by that South American group). I took a break from it all by walking to the outskirts of town. Passing the tennis courts, I ran into a colleague from school, so I hung out to watch him and his friends play tennis. Next time I'll wear my sneakers and play with them.

This evening they have some rock bands playing on the stage. I've just returned after watching a Romanian blues band (called The Timis Blues Band, I think). They're pretty good, and quite refreshing compared to the typical rock/pop played on the radio in Romania. As I type this, I can hear the music of another band, called Directie 5, emanating from the stage. One of the nice things about living directly in the center of town is that I'm right where the action is (of course, this isn't always a good thing...see above example concerning South American band).

Right now I'm just waiting for the fireworks, which are scheduled for midnight.

If you'd like to see pictures from this weekend, go here

Holiday

Well, I'm back in Romania after a trip to Budapest and Krakow.

Click on the slideshows below to open the albums

In Budapest we stayed at a 'boat hotel' on the Danube, saw a show at the National Opera, viewed a great Medici/Renaissance art exhibit at the history museum, met up with some fellow PCVs, perused the huge market building, ate at the finest restaurants, swam in the famous baths and walked...A LOT.

Budapest:

We almost missed the train to Krakow because of a misunderstanding about the tickets. However, in the end, we resolved the issue and got off alright (with 20 minutes left before departure I sprinted to the ticket office, pleaded to cut in front of the throngs of impatient travelers, threw some money to the ticket lady, grabbed the corrected tickets--without waiting for change--and hustled back, arriving out of breath but happy to be able to board the train). After getting in early the next morning, we headed straight to the bus station and took a maxi taxi to Oswiecim (aka Auschwitz), which was a sobering experience. In Krakow itself we enjoyed the lively street scenes, visited Collegium Maius, walked to Nowa Huta (stopping on the way for an impromptu picnic consisting of a granola bar and yogurt), saw a chamber concert in Saints Peter and Paul church, ate potato pancakes at a milk bar, sampled pierogies that my father would die for, and toured nearly every square inch of the old city, with its castle and numerous old churches (Krakow has 142, which I believe is a higher concentration than anywhere outside Rome...though Nanticoke, PA is probably also pretty high on that list).

Krakow:

Dirty Games

On Saturday I was visiting Timisoara with Kirstin (a volunteer from the area), and we happened upon a pile of garbage on the side of the road. It immediately appeared more interesting than your typical trash heap, containing a very old television, a number of old books, and lots of communist-era newspapers.

We walked over to it, and rummaged through some of the books. There were a couple 1974 Dacia owner's manuals (Dacia is a Romanian car company), there was a school notebook from the 60's, and a rather unassuming piece of folded cardboard.

Kirstin picked up the board and dusted it off to reveal red block letters that spelt "Capitaly." What could this be? She unfolded it, and discovered board was in fact a game, a Monopoly knock-off! The railroad company was CFR (Romania's train company). All the real estate spaces were famous parks and streets in Romania. Instead of Jail, there was a psychiatric ward. When passing "start," the player would be paid the equivalent of something like a few cents in today's money.

It was quite an interesting find. Kirstin decided to keep the board. It's funny to think that perhaps people were playing this game during communism. Perhaps they modified the rules so that the one who 'wins' would automatically be forced to redistribute his wealth among the rest of the players (thus the game would never end!). We joked about making up rules about food rationing, collectivization of property and nationalization of businesses.

I did a google search on 'Capitaly,' and found out it was originally a Hungarian take on Monopoly. This particular board, however, was a Romanian version.

Pictures of Timisoara

For as often as I visit Timisoara, I've never actually taken any pictures. So, at long last, here are some (click on the slideshow below):