in the community: French Invasion (with a side of cotton candy)

Posted by on May 18, 2010 in in the community, pc-romania, veronica | No Comments

David and I are people of routine, so it makes sense that we’ve found one here.  There are days when we need that routine to ground us and keep us sane and there are other days when we welcome an interruption to it.   Since we’ve established life and work here,  I have a feeling my blogging will be more focused on these interesting interruptions of our routine and of course, crazy kitchen experiments and fun travel.

To the anecdote at hand. . .

Last week, we were invaded by a bunch of French people. By a bunch, I mean, maybe 30.  Targu Neamt has two French sister cities – St. Rambert and St. Just.  We commemorated 20 years of  friendship between the cities with a brass band, choral performances, dancing, poetry recitations, and cotton candy.  David and I went out on Friday evening to enjoy the beautiful weather and to be a part of the festivities. Of course, there was whispering, “Look, there are some French.”  To which I’d respond in Romanian, “We’re not from France; we’re from America.” Looks of confusion set in.  I’ve become accustomed to and even take joy in those looks of confusion.

Anyway, we were standing across the street, when I heard a kid holler: TANTI VERONICA! While I’m not the only Veronica in these parts, I scanned the crowd looking for my buddy Lucian. When I found his little face, I waved and he motioned for me to come over as he’s not allowed to cross the street on his own.  We had a hug and a little chit chat.  Then I offered to treat him to some cotton candy but I didn’t yet know the Romanian word for cotton candy, so I said “something sweet.” Not being a kid to turn down food, Lucian grabbed my hand and came with me to the stand.  Although I saw the sign saying “vata de zahar,” I went through the motions of “not knowing” so that Lucian could teach me.   The cotton candy lady was so tickled by our interaction that Lucian’s small 2RON (about 60 cent) cotton candy ended up being a HUGE ball as big as his head.  He devoured it in a few minutes, leaving a sticky sugary beard on his face.

Post-cotton candy, Lucian decided to hang out with David and me.  We went back and stood with the crowd and Lucian joined us.  As the sugar kicked in, he started dancing around, jumping on one leg (his new favorite thing), and running here and there but using us as home-base.  It was cute.  His face kept getting dirtier and dirtier as dust and stuff kept sticking to his sugary face.  So I busted into mom-mode and got out some wet-wipes to remedy that situation.  Around this time, the mayor spotted us and came to greet us.  He (as well as others) were obviously confused as to why a grubby 4-year-old was clinging to us. We got our mayoral kisses while explaining that Lucian was our neighbor and was teaching us Romanian (which got people laughing).

After our interactions with the mayor, Lucian put on a sad face and I sensed the sugar crash setting in.  He wanted more “vata de zahar” and “un pic de apa” (a little water).  I told him that two cotton candies were too much for him and not good for his teeth and if he needed water, we could walk him to the bloc so he could run upstairs and get water from home. We don’t want to encourage the perception that we’re rich Americans or that massive quantities of sugar are good for little kids.  Well, he got teary and pouty and ran off for a second.  A Romanian woman saw the interaction from a distance. I think that she thought he was begging for money from me and I was saying no emphatically. Regardless, she gave him money for cotton candy. I couldn’t really blame her  – Lucian with his big teary eyes and his little grubby hands – you really want to make it all better.  With another cotton candy, Lucian was happy once again and returned to being my new best friend.

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