in the community: a new friend. . .
Just like in small-town America, being the local priest/preacher in a Romanian town means you know everyone. Fortunately for us, we’ve been befriended/adopted by a local Orthodox priest — Parinte Vasilescu. He’s also a retired French teacher and the father of one of David’s counterparts. I made the mistake of telling him that my mom is a French teacher/speaker. So now he speaks in French to me constantly and I can only seem to spit Romanian back to him. It’s cute and I have an old-man crush on him because that’s what I do with cute funny smart old men who smile at me and say “sarut mana.”
Two weekends ago, he invited us to a baptism where we were treated like rockstars because we were Americans. We were in all the photos, were given food to take home, and were introduced around. Meanwhile, the poor baby (Adi Gheorghe) was shivering from being dunked naked three times into cold water. He really was the rockstar.
This past weekend, Parinte Vasilescu invited us to a different ceremony — one of mourning. We met another priest who decided David and I needed to hold candles and have bread and stand here, no there. Meanwhile, priests and the small choir were chanting in three-part harmony the names of the dead. And the church smelled of cinnamon-y incense. People offered their bread and cakes to the priests who chanted blessings over it and poured wine and oils on them. Then we were whisked away to the cemetery where Roma and the poor gathered to partake of the blessed food (it’s a custom to share food with the poor during times of mourning) and families “dined” at the grave of their loved ones. Yes, sort of like a graveside picnic. David and I wandered the cemetery, taking in names and dates and the overgrown beauty.
We sighed and said that it had been a great start to our Saturday. We were surprised when we were told there was more to our schedule. We were whisked away to a local NGO, for lunch (I mean, a three-course meal with a full doggie bag), where we met a woman Oana who heads TWO local non-profits as a volunteer on a pension — one for the young and old poor (Fundatia Filantropica Omenia) and one to promote folk art and culture from Moldova (Associatia Mestesugarilor Nemteanca). She deserves a post all her own as I have this feeling that not only is she an amazing woman but that she might be a very good ally/resource for me .
Parinte Vasilescu’s daughter called us later on Saturday afternoon to let us know that there is a wedding this upcoming Saturday and that her dad is cordially inviting us. Methinks Parinte has a list of Orthodox rituals that we should witness to have the Romanian cultural experience and he’s crossing them off his list. Unfortunately/fortunately, we have the “old PCVs” get-together this weekend to host, so we’ll have to put off experiencing a Romanian wedding. Regardless, I’m super happy Parinte Vasilescu is interested and has taken us under his wing and I can’t wait to get to know him better.