in the community: Neamt BBQ
May 1st came and it was like someone flipped a switch and *boom* it was spring. We’d had some sunny days but it was still jacket weather — windy and chilly. To celebrate spring’s arrival, a bunch of volunteers in the Neamt County area got together for a barbecue.
Now when a Southerner says barbecue, we’re not talking about hamburgers and hotdogs. We’re talking PIG. And fortunately we are in Romania, the land of all things pork. So Friday night, I made a gramada (bunch) of barbecue sauces — from Texas, from North Carolina, from South Carolina. I bought a pork roast, shredded cabbage and carrots for coleslaw, made a potato salad, and got fresh rolls going. David squeezed lemons for fresh lemonade. That meant Saturday, we could just pull stuff together and relax.
gramada of sauce
Saturday, Melody, Jenn, Alex, and Ted joined us. There were chips and French Onion Dip, thanks to Alex and his mom. Jenn made a fresh salad with Ranch dressing. Melody brought a chocolate cake, apple bread, and rolls. Ted took care of beer.
hauling to the grub to the park
pulled pork
and the fixins
We hauled all the grub to the park nearby, spread out blankets, ate and relaxed. Then we pulled out the frisbee and the football, played and talked smack to each other. We got some odd looks, from kids and adults alike. We’re a motley crew — different ages, colors, shapes — and I’m sure that got us curious looks. We were all sitting on the ground. Women sitting on the ground is highly unusual here as there’s an old superstition in the rural areas that you freeze your ovaries/eggs when you sit on the cold ground. While many folks have seen frisbees and American footballs on TV, they haven’t seen actual Americans tossing them around in their park. Plus we were laughing, speaking a lot of English and just being playful.
melody relaxing after the meal
It was great to be with good friends and enjoy a beautiful day. I also think we totally “second-goaled” it as we brought a glimpse of American culture to the Romanians in our town.
All the pictures from our barbecue can be found here (thanks to Ted for some of them).