La Multi Ani Peace Corps!

Celebrate Peace Corps Romania's 20th Anniversary and Peace Corps Worldwide's 50th anniversary world wide with us! Please visit our celebration site at http://celebratepcro.wordpress.com/ to learn more about what PCRo is doing and how you can help. You can also contact me at andrewmatusick@yahoo.com.


20th/50th Anniversary Launch

La Multi Ani was part of the ending of every speech at the anniversary celebration in mid-January 2011. This year Peace Corps is celebrating its 50th anniversary and Peace Corps Romania (PCRo) is celebrating its 20th. With good reason to celebrate the PCRo staff put together a program including speeches from the ambassador, selected members of the PCRo staff, partners from the Ministry of Education, and finally the volunteers. The PCRo Country Director moved the program along as partners from Romanian NGO's, PCRo staff, and the media looked on. The large TEFL PM office became a small conference room for the day as people packed into every corner and empty space available. Despite the crowded environment there was only positive sentiment in the air as the speeches began.

Ambassador Gitenstein gave the first speech of the ceremony. Since his appointment to the office in 2009 he has been an outspoken supporter of Peace Corps in Romania, a quality that not every Peace Corps post enjoys in its ambassador. He has not only supported but has actively been involved in a number of volunteer projects including a Model UN conference and a Habitat for Humanity build. In his speech he stressed his support and belief in Peace Corps Romania. The highlight of his speech came at the end when read the words of a beneficiary of the program. It was a thank-you letter from a former student of a PCRo TEFL volunteer to her former American teacher now living in the US several years later. That former student whose life was so positively affected by a Peace Corps volunteer is now working to support volunteers as an assistant for the TEFL program in the PCRo office in Bucharest.

Speeches continued with the TEFL Program Manager outlining the future of the program, and the Ministry of Education expressing their support for the program. Ever few years the need for PCRo is evaluated. Within the past couple of years PCRo has made some big changes including moving to an all TEFL program where every volunteer entering PCRo will be entering as teachers of English.

Finally the volunteers presented themselves to a room full of Romanian partners and media. The three volunteers were PCRo's volunteer leaders Chris, Alicia, and Ben. After already serving two years at their respective sites Chris, Alicia, and Ben now work to support volunteers, develop training programs, and create partnerships with local NGO's. They impressed the crowd by conducting their speeches in Romanian. Opening with a small activity, they aimed to express the diversity of the PCRo program. Every person sitting down had a card, the 20th anniversary logo was printed on one side and the other side contained the name of a community that a current Peace Corps volunteer is serving in. The presenter then asked those who did not recognize the name of the community on their card to raise their hands. As the majority of the hands were raised people could see that Peace Corps serves communities that are not well known and not often served. The volunteers continued to speak about their experiences and about what Peace Corps means to them.

Following the speeches the crowd filed into other rooms of the Peace Corps office where they mingled with each other, snacked on appetizers, and eagerly waited the cutting of the cake. The cake had the new 20th Anniversary logo on it and was delicious. As the crowd mingled, images of volunteers and their communities were projected on the wall and one of the computers displayed the new 20th anniversary web site. After enjoying their cake and the company, people began leaving marking the end of the day's celebration. Even though that day's celebration had come to an end it was only the beginning of a year of celebrating through service projects around Romania and at Peace Corps posts around the world.

Do you like dogs?

Dogs are a fact of life in Romania. That first night in on the bumpy bus ride to Targoviste Michael mentioned, "I read that Romania has a lot of stray dogs". Hmm stray dogs? I hadn't really heard of such a thing. Corning has a lot of stray cats but I don't believe I have seen stray dogs. As the bus came to a stop at the spooky Hotel Valahia Michaels stray dog statement became real. There were stray dogs in the parking lot, stray dogs in the street, stray dogs in the square across the street. They were barking, fighting, sniffing around the plants by the hotel, sniffing around our bags as we unloaded them off the bus. I must say I was shocked and a bit scared that maybe they were all hungry, with rabies, and ready to bite.

Here I am with my close of service in sight and I have yet to be bitten by a dog (knock on wood). There have been a few close calls. Last fall, hiking on the railroad tracks with E we came upon a quite angry territorial pack. That was when I learned the magic of a single stone. Frightened I stopped and that only made the dogs more aggressive. Ernest told me to pick up a rock. I noticed that as soon as I bent down to get the rock the dogs began to back up a bit. Simply holding that rock allowed me passage. Another time I walked past the post office at 2 in the morning after a late train. Night time is their time to hold down their area and there was one in the park next to the post office ready to showed me that. He came running at me, there were no stones around but I bent down to grab one anyway. My motion to the ground was enough to halt the beast allowing me to quickly walk by. The last close call was outside the train station in Deva where I was just walking along, lost in thought, and I felt something nibbling at my pants. As soon as I turned around the dog backed off. He was a little guy.

After those few close calls I have learned to be attent in certain situations but for the most part I have learned to love Romania's canine population.

Lately it seems that the dogs have been out in full force. Maybe it has been the spring-like conditions of the past week or two, maybe I have just been getting out to more populated areas lately. Whatever it is, their presence has been enjoyed. After Sunday's hike in Straja I realized that with all of the hiking I have been doing in Romania, I don't think I've gone for one hike without seeing a dog. Usually one accompanies us on our hike at least part way. If there isn't one walking next to us we at least see some on the way. In Straja a group of 7-10 puppies that were born in the fall came running out after their mother to play with us as we passed by their house. They even tried to follow us for a while but their tiny legs couldn't keep up.

Of course by now I have my favorites. There are two wonderful dogs that hang out by my block. I'm not sure if they have names but they are always around. I can count on them to be there in the morning when I leave for school and I can count on them to be hanging out somewhere nearby when I return. There is a large black one that appears to be quite old and a smaller, younger looking blond one. At first they were a bit mean but it didn't take long for them to get used to me. The blond one lets me pet it from time to time when its in a playful mood. I found out by a growl that the black one prefers not to be touched. On sunny days they lay out on the walkway and take in the sun to warm their bodies up. Usually during the day time they're resting after a long night of fighting with other neighborhood dogs. Sometimes I hear them barking at each other when I go to bed. One cold morning I opened my door and almost tripped over the blond one. He found my door mat to be quite comfy.

When I sit down and think about the things that I'll miss about Romania when I leave a number of things run through my head. The people, the landscape, the language, the food, and of course the dogs.

NYE- Budapest

It was an early idea but a late decision. About two weeks before the first of 2011 the hostel that was printed on our leave forms just happened to be booked, but not by us. The next hostel on the list was booked, and the next, and the next… Slightly panicked I continued down the list and found a few hostels not yet filled for New Years Eve but with a 4 night minimum stay, we only needed three: then there was Interflat Youth Hostel. No minimum stay, under 20 Euro, decent rating, decent location, BOOKED. It was a bit risky and I was a bit worried but it was the only option left.

The late decision made for a low participation. The email with NYE-Buda info went to many but in the end it was just two of us in Budapest, J and I. It was J’s first experience staying in a hostel and my second. Little did I know when I booked it that Interflat would be more than just one of twelve beds in a room, it would be the center of my Budapest experience.

After spending a night in Arad to break up my trip I took the early train to Budapest. It was another late decision to take the early train alone instead of the later one with J. I was able to get the most out of my leave day and get oriented in a new city. I decided to just wander around Budapest, settle into the hostel, get lost, found, and come up with a plan for that first night before J arrived at 8:50. On our way to the hostel I told J of a Balken party at a club that I kind of wanted to make it to. That plan fell though when we were shown the living room of the hostel. We peered in through the window of the small room and saw it filled with people drinking and singing. They waved us in and set up two small chairs in the corner for us where we were offered a drink. The room was split between a large group of Slovenians and a large group of Croatians. Added to the group now were two US citizens and a Canadian. It was there we stayed until the early hours of the morning getting to know our new friends, singing along to the occasional song played in English, and listening to two Slavic languages intertwine.

New Years Eve started with a late morning walk though the cold to catch a free walking tour which took us to a number of sites in Pest, including the Jewish quarter. On the tour we met Blair and Daniela, two students from Philadelphia on their last leg of a trip though central Europe. After the tour we ate some hummus and wandered though the Christmas market together until they left for a service at the grand synagogue. A hot wine and metro ride later we were back at the hostel getting ready for New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Much like the previous evening the plan was to go out into the center of the city, and just like the previous evening we didn’t make it. We were once again distracted by the partying of our fellow Interflatters only to a greater intensity, this time it included nice attire, earlier drinking, a wider variety of drinks, and more people brought in from other locations. Our spot was the spot. At about 11:30 people were finally getting ready to leave the hostel at least to check out some fireworks at the nearest square which offered them. I made it out with some Croatians but I can’t say the same for my partner J who I found a couple hours later sleeping. Like a champ he woke back up to hang out with the other Interflatters and myself until early morning. It ended up being a pretty awesome new years eve celebration that will not be forgotten.

The Budapest experience continued. Our train out wasn’t until the second of January so we still had the first to explore Budapest a bit more. We took another walking tour but this time to the Buda side where day turned to night and we could see the lights of Pest shining bright from up on the Buda hill. Even though we were cold and tired it was a pretty nice way to spend the first day of 2011. That night after a nice nap we went back out to eat some delicious Mexican food for dinner and get a beer at a pub. It was a much welcomed chill night out after a couple of crazy hostel nights. Thus ended our NYE-Budapest experience as the next day we simply packed up and headed out on a late-morning train.

Buldog uj evet!

A new word for winter- Viscoli

VISCOLÍ, pers. 3 viscolește, vb. IV. Intranz. A bate un vânt puternic cu ninsoare sau cu lapoviță. ♦ Tranz. (Despre vânt) A spulbera și a troieni (succesiv) zăpada. – Din viscol.
Sursa: DEX '98

So when you're walking along and the wind is blowing so hard that it is blowing the snow off the ground and into your face. = viscoleste



Ernest walking on "pamantul viscolit" - ground that the snow has been blown off of by high speed winds.

Even after one and a half years in Romania rarely does a day go by that I don't learn something new about the language. As Ernest and I were hiking in Parang yesterday I learned the above word. Winter has arrived with force here in Romania and Europe. The map of Romania is painted yellow and the mountain is painted white. The last couple of weeks has brought several centimeters of snow to town and even more to the mountain. Yesterday I bundled up while sipping on my morning coffee excited to finally get up to the mountain after a month of having other things to do on the weekends. A whole month off the mountain just doesn't feel right.

The sun poked through a bit in the morning but by the time we were in the cab toward the chair lift it was long gone not to return. We decided to play it safe and walk the road from the bottom of the chairlift to the top. The entire road was covered in snow but occasionally we would see a courageous driver, the car slowly climbing up with sporadic traction as it passed us by. We even saw one Dacia climbing up the snow covered switchbacks.

High powered winds, the occasional friendly dog, and good conversation carried us up the road to IEFS where we searched for a good coffee and found packed cabins instead. After starting our trek down we found a nice quiet place to have a coffee. The trip down was a blast. We decided to take the shortcut instead of the road where we slid much of the way down (step-slide, step-slide). We where having so much fun that Ernest asked me if I wanted to try going down "zidul mortii"(the wall of the dead). On our way to "the wall" we met up with some adrenaline loving kids and with them, Ernest and I slid down the slope through the fresh snow on our buts.

Welcome winter!

Caroling circle

Before coming to Romania I was quite familiar with music circles. I may have joined a drum circle once or twice in my younger years but my lack of rhythm usually left me on the periphery enjoying the sounds produced by slightly more skilled musicians. One of my favorite memories of my college years took place at the Hogue's residence. I would enter the room and see at least 3 guitars, maybe some bongo drums, and whatever else they had there to make music with. The furniture was arranged around a center table and we just happened to be sitting in a circle, the music was flowing. One activity that would pop up at times was a song where we went around the room and everyone had to improvise a verse. Even though I wasn't very good at this I really liked hearing what people came up with and well, in that environment you didn't have to be good at it, it was just fun. I was reminded about these "music circles" last night when I took a nice winter walk through the park.

Over the past few weeks it has seemed like night has been falling on Petrocity so fast. Even though I have caught glimpses of the pretty lights and the evening winter activities, I haven't yet taken the time to just wander through town and enjoy the holiday spirit. I kept on telling myself when I returned home from school "tonight I'll get bundled up and take a walk through town" but when the time came it just seemed so much nicer to stay in the house. Last night the conditions were perfect.

It was about 5:30pm when I was reminded of the night's special event. Earlier yesterday, on my way to school, my Romanian teacher offered me a ride in a taxi that she was taking to school. She was on her way to rehearse some carols with students. It was in that cab when she informed me that at 6:00pm she would be in the park with some students caroling. At 5:30 I started bundling up and by 5:45 I was out the door where I quickly realized that it was a beautiful night. It wasn't super cold like it had been the day before, and it was snowing a bit. While walking through town I could feel the holiday spirit. Petrocity is decked out in Christmas lights on its main street which stretches for about 3 km. There were people doing Christmas shopping, grocery shopping, going out to restaurants, or just walking with their friends. I had a destination in mind. My destination was the park. The park in Petrocity is pretty extraordinary at the moment. It's covered in Christmas lights with the main concentration of lights at the fountain. Each light post has a speaker pumping out holiday tunes. In the center of the park you see a very large tree decorated with lights and a star at its peak. Next to the tree there is a nativity scene with some sheep there eating hay. Finally, next to the tree I saw the group of people standing together.

I expected to see something like a chorus concert. My Romanian teacher told me that other schools were involved as well. What I saw was a music circle, in fact it was a caroling circle.

I would say that caroling is big in Romania. Last year some kids came knocking on my door and as I opened it they began singing Romanian carols. I listened with a smile and I reached into my pockets. As they finished I handed them each one leu and thanked them for the holiday spirit. This year there were two big, back to back activities at my school both involving Christmas caroling. A tradition that I've heard of that I haven't had a chance to participate in is caroling on Christmas eve. People of all ages form small groups and go around to the houses of people they know where they sing Christmas carols and then they are invited in, fed delicious food, and they sip on warm wine or tuica. When I took some time to think about these traditions I realized that something similar hits close to home. These seem to be Orthodox traditions. I remembered Russian Christmas on the 7th of January going to church and the a nice dinner afterwords in the church hall. After the dinner we would come home and my parents would put cookies and drinks out on the table, we were expecting carolers. A family from the church would come by the house on every Russian Christmas and they sang carols and chatted with us for a while before going to the next house.

When I arrived at the circle I met up with my Romanian teacher and some of her students. They were students that I had seen caroling earlier that day at our school. When it was time for Colegiul Tehnica to go the group stepped up and started their carols. One of the students brought a guitar and with it he led the group through a number of carols. At one point they called me up to help them sing "We wish you a Merry Christmas". I was embarrassed that I didn't know all of the lyrics, just the chorus. I would say that the group from Colegiul Tehnica did a fine job. The other high schools followed and by the end everybody in the circle was singing to close the event.

I continued my leisurely walk through the city passing by the temporary ice rink and the market which was closed for the evening. Finally I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a couple things before returning home. It ended up being a great night to see the lights, feel the Christmas spirit in town, and I got some shopping done as well. Sarbatori Fericite!

Two years, a long time?

One year and five months later I found myself alone in an apartment reading a book but not processing anything, anticipating the arrival of my brother and my sister in-law. I left New York telling myself that two years really isn't that much time. Since high school life has been passing in two year increments. Two years of community college was followed by two years at university which was slightly extended into my two years of miscellaneous before joining yet another two year stint, Peace Corps. Each of those time periods seemed to fly by without notice and I was excited to be moving on to the next two years, only two years.

I've realized that this time period will not fly by without notice. This time there is a variable within this two year increment that makes me realize that two years is kind of a long time. That variable is home and seeing family, some "home" faces, helped me realize for the first time ever that two years is actually quite a bit of time.

It was a bit shocking seeing some familiar faces. Sure, I see these faces over skype from time to time, but it isn't the same. At least that is what I would always tell myself before but now I actually know. No matter how much I like skype it doesn't hold a candle to a nice face to face interaction, especially when it's been well over a year since that last face to face interaction. Leading up to meeting my brother and sister in-law I did have a bit of anxiety but I quickly realized that family will always be family and it doesn't take long to regain that feeling of comfort.

My trip to Venice was not about canals, gondolas, churches, and tourists like I once imagined, but about getting the chance to see some family. In seeing Joe and Allison in person I truly felt that even though I am gaining so much by working in Romania, I am missing out on something important. There comes a time in a lot of peoples life when they have to move out and be more independent and it is no doubt that joining PC was the true beginning of that time in my life. Moving out does not have to mean for two years, and does not have to mean to the other side of the world. In seeing Joe and Allison I embraced home but I also missed home more than I have since coming to Romania. For the first time this year I wasn't totally sold on the possibility of extending my service.

This doesn't mean that I regret my decision to join Peace Corps at all. It is part of a path that I have chosen for myself that I have truly enjoyed from day one. It does mean that in choosing this path I have made sacrifices and it is only fair to finally face some of those sacrifices. After a beautiful rainy and overcast 3 days in Venice I said "so long" to Joe and Allison before boarding on the day's first bus out. It wasn't at all a sad goodbye. I had gone seventeen months without seeing them and only had ten left until our next meeting. Ten months, no sweat.

Thanks Joe and Allison for the great time in Venice and for taking time in your trip to meet up with me.

"YES"

Recently I have finished a book called "Yes Man" by Danny Wallace. You may have heard of the movie staring Jim Carry(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1068680/). When I first saw the trailers for the movie I thought that it was a pretty neat concept, a person who could only say "yes" to offers or invitations, but I never thought that it was based on a true story. I never actually ended up watching the movie but a friend of mine passed the book along and now, having read it, I notice that the concept fits well into my experience as a Peace Corps volunteer.

For those who have not read the book or seen the movie let me tell you a bit about the story. It starts with a guy who is pretty bummed out about loosing his girlfriend and for months he turns into kind of a loner. Finally one day, a few words spoken to him by a stranger on a bus set in motion several months of his "yes" adventure. He learns that saying "yes" to things that he would normally say "no" begins a chain of events that significantly changes his situation and ultimately, his outlook on life. He has some pretty wild experiences, meets really interesting people, sees things that he would have never seen otherwise, and forms lasting relationships. By only living a few months as a "yes man" his whole world changed. Of course it wasn't at all an easy task for him and evidently he suffered some hardships thanks to "yes".

How does this apply to my experience as a Peace Corps volunteer?

Like Danny, it was only a few simple words that inspired my adventure. I didn't receive those words from a stranger on a bus but from a friend at a bar. Like that stranger, the person who spoke to me has no idea of the impact that their words had. It is amazing that just a few simple words that one says can totally change someones life without the speaker ever knowing. That change can set in motion countless other interactions and changes that have a serious impact a world away.

I wouldn't consider myself a "yes man" but the most important piece of advice that a veteran PC volunteer can give new volunteers in my mind is "don't turn down an invitation". It typically refers to their first three months at site in which they are trying to integrate into their new community, making new contacts, and learn the culture. Saying "yes" worked well for me in that first three months and therefore I have tried to extend the practice throughout my service. It isn't always easy to say yes. Sometimes after a long, tiring day at school, the last thing you want to do is spend all night struggling though language and screwing up cultural norms. Sometimes its not such a great experience, but most of the time you can look back with at least a sense of accomplishment. You struggled though the language and, for the most part, succeeded. You made new contacts and friends that will surely help you in your time at site. Finally, you had fun. Reading this book at this point in service was a good reminder to go back to the first three months and accept more invitations. During the period in which I was reading "Yes Man" I have met new people, and I have done new things that have significantly add to my experience here in Romania.