on the job: my little monsters
I mentioned awhile ago that I had found/developed a secondary project here in town. It’s not like I don’t have other irons in the fire,but while each Peace Corps volunteer has a primary assignment (organization or school), we’re really community volunteers. And secondary projects get you more IN the community. A few weeks ago, I […]
in the kitchen: peanut butter goodness
We miss peanut butter. The only candy we really crave is Reese Peanut Butter Cups. So when I saw this blog post over on the Smitten Kitchen for buckeyes, I knew I had to try it. Mine aren’t as beautiful as Deb’s, but for a teeny tiny Romanian kitchen where we “make it work,” we’re […]
recipe: our favorite pancakes
A few weeks back, I did a cooking group with my beneficiaries and we made American pancakes with carmelized apples. (pictures here.) The reaction of my beneficiaries and colleagues to the pancakes was surprising. You’d have thought I’d brought them fire. Favorite Pancakes (adapted slightly from allrecipes.com) 3/4 cup milk (lapte) 2 TBSP white vinegar (o?et) […]
in the kitchen: adventures with pumpkin
It’s November and that means I’m planning for T-Day ’10, Moldovan edition. We have a group of about 15 volunteers who will be celebrating Thanksgiving here in Targu Neamt. The Southern woman in me loves this because I enjoy sharing my family’s traditional dishes and trying new recipes out — add an audience/hungry mass of […]
video: a gem
[flickr video=5143847210] This little gem was taken on our train from Tg Neamt to Pascani. It was the last train and I guess the train conductor needed some pick-me-up music. David made the best of the situation.
on the job, on the road: Halloween 2010
I never was one to really celebrate Halloween at home. It’s not like I hid from trick-or-treaters with the lights off, but I never quite got into the costume thing, especially as an adult. But being an American abroad, Halloween is something cultural to share. Last year, at my primary assignment we carved a few […]
photo: acrobatics on a clothesline
Zami likes to “help” with laundry by jumping up on the clothesline. She’s a creeper. More pictures of our romanca, Zamfira.
in the community: Emi & Mada
I mentioned awhile ago that David and I are tutoring a brother and a sister (Emi & Mada). This is Emanuel (Emi): And this is Madalina (Mada): Don’t they look studious? They are fabulous and so is their family. Their father, Marius, is an Orthodox priest in a neighboring village. Their mom, Claudia, is a dental hygienist (Her […]
photo: man with cow
taken on our way to church this morning. 24 October 2010 color image here.
on the road: my quest for the horned violin
Back in my reading-everything-about-Romania phase, I found an article about the horned violin played by Roma musicians. The article mentioned a fall targ (or market) that happens once a year near Cluj where the Roma (primarily Hungarian Roma) come together to sell their wares. While last year I was just getting used to Romania in […]