on the job: 2nd goaling it for the 4th…

The second goal of the Peace Corps is ” helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.” And really, what better time to give Romanians a glimpse of American culture than on the Fourth of July?!?!

So Ted and I were enlisted to throw a Fourth of July gratar (grill) on the 5th of July as a joint event for our organizations. Ted’s organization has a campground and beneficiaries there; my organization just got a van and our beneficiaries have been itching for an outing.   While the planning was stressful and last-minute and figuring out expectations was difficult, the actual gratar went off without a hitch (other than our regular daily torrential rainshower).

We made festive decorations (garlands and flags) before the event to get folks excited about our gratar.

Our menu included mini-burgers (beef is pricey here), potato salad, pasta salad, cole slaw, watermelon and lemonade.  With the menu, I want to give them a bit of Americana, but also show that food traditionally seen as “fast food” can be tasty and healthy when homemade.  David and I spent most of our Sunday prepping veggies, making fresh bread, and getting all the foods ready to put together when we got to the gratar.  On the day of the gratar, Ted was the grillmaster.  Alex and David helped with assembling salads and keeping everyone full of watermelon.  All three gentlemen helped keep me sane for which I am eternally grateful.

The results were definitely worth the effort and stress. Good food, happy smiles, and lots of cheer from Romanians, from beneficiaries.

After the mad rush of grilling, serving, and eating, Ted gave us a quick tour of his organization’s campgrounds.  Not only were they beautiful, impressive, and accessible (for people with disabilities), but also the views were beautiful.  I had one of those “I live here?!?!” moments as I took in the sky and the village.

Coming back from our little walk, I heard someone say, “Hai la masa!” which is kinda like, “Soup’s on!” And lo and behold, there was ciorba (traditional sour soup).  And then Domnul Lica (our driver) pulled out a bottle of tuica (plum brandy). As we four Americans sat down, we had to laugh — it really couldn’t be a Fourth of July gratar in Romania without ciorba and tuica, could it?

All the pictures from our outing can be found here.