keeping traditions: birthdays
So I celebrated my second Romanian birthday this past Friday. I don’t like my birthday. Well, let me clarify — I like my mom making me a spice cake and cooking a tasty dinner; I like my husband waking me up at midnight to tell me happy birthday; I like long rambly poems written by […]
in the news: a local laugh
Unbelievable! Frozen baby doctors! This is a google-translated article from our local newspaper. Gave me a good giggle!
in the community; about Romania: Madge
Romania has a ton of stray dogs. I’ve had encounters with all sorts of them — ones that bark, ones that bite, ones that are hungry, ones that want love and attention. There are many theories as to why there are lots of stray dogs. A bunica (grandmother) told me that during communist times when […]
resource: English translations of Romanian Orthodox services
With all the wedding talk with Anda and then writing about it on the blog, my inquisitive nature had me wandering around the internet researching Orthodox weddings. In meandering, I found the website of the Holy Trinity Romanian Orthodox Church in Los Angeles, CA. They have ALL the Romanian Orthodox services translated in English on […]
keeping traditions: Weddings, Part 2 (civil & religious ceremonies)
Anda was worried about getting married in May — lots of Orthodox holidays (which means having to give more money to priests to officiate) and lots of rain. But she was clinging to what someone’s bunica (grandmother) told her — Rain is good luck on your wedding day. I asked her what sort of luck. […]
about romania: spring rain. . .
We’ve gone from having consistently rainy gray days that left me cold, sad, and doubting spring to gloriously sunny days with random soaking downpours that make me hesitate every time I walk out the door (am I wearing white? waterproof shoes? where’s my umbrella?). Asta este. Such is the Romanian spring. P.S. I really love […]
on the job: resource – adult coloring patterns
I’ve noticed at my org that often adult beneficiaries are given colored pencils and children’s coloring pages to fill time. It’s pretty typical across the globe for this to happen. But the arts therapist in me makes a yucky face. Children’s coloring pages aren’t developmentally appropriate for adults. Adults, regardless of ability level, deserve adult […]
on the bookshelf: Romance Language
As anyone who has been a Peace Corps volunteer knows, books are GOLD. They are passed around from volunteer to volunteer, read and re-read. I’m fortunate that my neighbor to the north, Melody, and my virtual site-mate, Alex, both are great book hook-ups. Melody recently gave me the book Romance Language by Alan Elsner to […]
keeping traditions: Weddings, Part 1
There are some quintessential Romanian cultural experiences that can’t be missed: cutting of the pig before Christmas (hopefully Christmas 2010 with the Catholic priest), learning to use a scythe to clear fields (scheduled for August 2010), riding a caruta (still working on it), and celebrating a Romanian wedding. This weekend we had the honor to […]
photo: 35th birthday
david with birthday presents from melody: a top gun ice cream and a sweet 2nd hand flame shirt.