MY FIRST CARPATHIAN EXPERIENCE

We went to the Mountains last weekend. Just the 5 of us, drove 1 hour West of our town into the Carpathian Mountains in Romania. Man, I love that I can say that sometimes. Pretty damn cool. It was a beautiful drive. Lush rolling hills before the mountains that hosted many farms and herds of sheep and goats. So many different colors of green contrasted by the crisp blue sky. It was a beautiful drive. I wish I could show so many of you. I love being able to see the shadow of mountains in the distance and having that excited feeling as you grow closer and closer. Or maybe that's just me I don't know. David took us to a hiking path in a National Park. It was interesting to say the least with some of the paths being very steep, the two walking children navigated their way across the rocky terrain quite well. I had packed a lunch so we climbed as high as we could before we stopped and sat to enjoy our picnic. What scenery! Bloody beautiful! I will try to attach some photos for sure. This turned out to be a short picnic as a small slip of footing would have you easily half way down the mountain. I could hear my mother-in-law in the back of my mind, "steady,steady" (with English accent). Ruby, after having climbed all the way up the mountain in a backpack, was eager to discover the new territory but due to the steep terrain was unhappily restrained. The decent was very rapid compared to the assent. I could feel my legs shaking and knees wobbling as we got nearer to the bottom. Mostly because I had to hold on to Gabrielle the whole time as she stumbled and fell over a dozen times down the hill. It got so frequent that she became weak with giggles which made her steadiness worse.

We loaded the car and drove further into the Carpathian Mountains, destination Lacu Rosu, or Red Lake to us. The drive was again phonemenal with jagged cliffs on one side and solid rock faces on the other. Every once in a while you would turn a corner to find a number of nomads and farmers had set up shop on the ever so narrow shoulder. They were selling all kinds of wonderful Romanian treasures like handmade dresses, necklaces, table cloths and sweaters. There were traditonal brooms, cooking pots and we can't forget the cheap plastic made in China toys. Guess what my kids wanted?! Yup, they wanted the Dollarama special but they settled for matching (of course) white and blue hand made dresses. Little do they know they won't be allowed to wear them!

When we arrived in Lacu Rosu I was very surprised to see how busy this little moutain town was. It was crawling with people. Everyone came to see this Red Lake, even I was interested to see it. But to my disappointment, the lake was very... green. Not even a hint of Red. Apparently it hasn't been red in quite a long time but someone in history swears it was once. The best part about Lacu Rosu are these fire roasted pasteries from heaven called Cartosh. That's Romanian for pastry covered in brown sugar and crushed walnuts, roasted over and open fire and eaten warm. Bloody hell! Good thing I went on that big hike right Ann! After that we were on our way back "home" with the children, loaded on fresh air and exercised to the max. were passed out in the back of the car the entire way home. My mind had now changed to other things. Namely a "Canadian BBQ" that my husband volunteered me to host for the Chiefs and Directors at his work. What would be on the menu, where would I buy the food, how much did I need.... I thought I was supposed to be bored here!?

But I'll save this story till next time.

Alison

News On Ruby

This is a shorty. I wanted to write it somewhere so I remembered and since I left my baby book in Canada and there are no calendars to find around here this was my only choice. Ruby has taken her first steps today. Shakey and few but they were 2 independent steps. Evelyn and Gabrielle went wild about it. My life is about to get more crazy and busy.

Today was crazy. A Canadian Inspired Dinner for the team that works with my husband and his Czech Rep. boss. Let's just say there are a few more people in the world who now love Maple Syrup! I would write more but I must go put my feet up. I'll write later!

Alison

WELCOME TO GYPSY LAND FREAKS!

The day after we arrived, our container arrived. Good timing some would say but all the work that would follow was not so great. The night before, we had supper with David's boss and his family who are from St Catherines. Cindy (bosses wife) and Brittany (bosses 21 yr old daughter) offered to come over and help with the move and luckily I accepted! When the movers arrive the next morning they told me the truck was not being aloud to drive down the road due to it's massive size. Oh great! Don't worry miss, he said with a thick but sweet Romanian accent, we will take care of it. This means that someone got a "tip". Which is what we North Americans called, "payed off." They backed the container up to my driveway and showed me that the seal remained intact on the lock and therefore it had not been opened. When I nodded it was broken and the door was flung open. I was given a bunch of papers and then 3 small boxes were piled up in front of me. The co-ordinator gave me a pen ans told me my job was to check off every box as I came off to ensure we got all our belongings. WOW, I thought. Very organized and effective managment. I love that kind of work. I started flipping the pages. Page after page were numbered boxes with a brief description of their contents. Toys, kids clothes, cookware etc.... Then I realized that I was going to have check off 289 boxes of my stuff. Oh god. Ruby was napping but she was going to have to get up so they could put boxes up there. David was at work of course so I was going to have to rely on my new ex-pat. friends for this one! It took all morning and early afternoon to unload. Then these movers began putting things back together. That's right! They take it all apart, box it and send it then at the other end people unload it for me, unpack it and put it all back together. Qu'elle service!!! They unpacked as much as they could until lunch time the next day and the rest was up to me. When I say unpack I mean they pile the toys up and the couch as high as is safe or put all the clothes in one corner of the house. Still they were great, and friendly and I would recommend them to anyone! A big thank you has to go out to my new friends Cindy and Brittany for coming up huge and playing with my kids for 5 hours straight whilst I over saw the unload!

The girls were just dying to go to the park so I promised them we would the next day. It was a hot day, probably 22 degrees, no wind and no clouds. The sun was reflecting off the white marble in the backyard making it that much warmer and reminding me that I have to buy sunglasses. The girls had shorts and t-shirts on and I had comfortable capris. After such a long winter in Canada I was loving this weather. The park is just around the corner from our house. It is very large and full of trees but has lovely brick paths all the way through. As the kids and I were waking through the park I could feel many eyes on us. Checking us out with every step and every word that came out of our mouth. You can tell they don't get many tourist here. What made us stand out you ask? Well it seems that even in 22 degree weather, gleeming sun and no wind chill, Romanians still dress there children with tukes, jeans, turtle necks and sweaters. In fact it was not only the children who dressed that way, the adults are dressed for winter too! They must be sweating buckets under all those clothes!! It's no wonder they need bidets in their bathrooms. Men in their collared shirts with vest over top followed by a wool jacket and wool hat to match. I'm hot just thinking of it. So they must think I am a terrible mother, let me children walk around like this. They would say, "they will catch a chill and get pneumonie." My response would be of course, "it is not possible to get pneumonia from a chill. That is a bacteria!" Where the hell is the chill on a day like that anyway? Anyway, whatever. We were stared at a lot but the kids didn't seem to notice. They did notice however that at almost every park bench we past were young couples necking and whispering sweetness into eachothers ear. "Why are all these people kissing like this, it's so gross?" Evelyn said and Gabrielle echo'd. I told them they were lovers and left it at that. They were satisfied and a was pleased they the lovers would at the very least stop dry humping eachother as I past with 3 young children. Ah, L'Europe. Vive l'amour!

The next day we went again to the park and headed directly for the children's play area. I am still hoping to meet nice people so that my children might play with theirs. We arrived at the park and there were many people there. I had Ruby in the carrier on my back which was a bit of a mistake because people were just going out of there way to have a look at us. Gabrielle looked at me and said sweetly "why is everyone staring Mommy?" I told her that we looked and spoke differently than what they were used to so not to worry, play on and maybe they will be interested enough to come and play with you. I'm not even sure I bought it but she continued on with her play. Something was different at the park today though. I assumed it was because Ruby was on my back I could sense something else. I should have realized it when I saw a 2 year old in a midgets wedding gown... but I didn't. It should have been obvious when a 14 year old carrying a baby wipped her breast out in the middle of the swings area to feed her infant child. It should have sealed the deal when the 8 year old she was with started a slow long puff of his cigarette... but it didn't. I wasn't expecting it. Not at a kids playground. Then I turned and my eyes met with one of these young mothers. I tried to smile at her but instead of returning my smile her eyes squinted and sharpened. Her skin was dark but her eyes light, maybe green. She had evil in her eyes. I've seen that before but it's always been a psych patient and I was always a nurse. Not a mother. My blood ran cold. I looked away and realized I was surrounded by Gypsies at the childrens playground. SHIT! My eyes jumped to Evelyn and Gabrielle who were gleefully sliding down one of the many, not to Canadian code of safety, slides. I scanned the entire playground and surrounding areas. It is said that if there is one gypsie you can see, there will be 10 you cannot. There were, thankfully, other 'normal' families there that were not gypsies but were staying well away from this bunch with obvious purpose. As my eyes are darting around to assess danger I see Evelyn running towards the pack of spread out gypsies with eyes on a great see-saw that are never found in our parks anymore. I called to her and told her to come back. Obviously I had a 'look' in my eyes because she came without fuss. I gathered them both and left the play ground for the day.

Why did I not think that Gypsies would take their children to playgrounds? Urgh, I was mad at myself for not thinking about that. They were not your typical Gypsies. Not in bright coloured clothes, long dresses, not begging, not stalking just playing. I have come to learn that these Gypsies are the younger generation who don't dress like the older generation. They were pants and t-shirts like everyone else so that they may catch you when you least expect it. These young ones are the fast guys who steal from you in a crowded market or train station. They must have been on break cause they weren't too interested in us. Other than to give me dirty looks. This look is called "The Evil Eye" and by Romanian beliefs is bad. Gypsy women are seen as witches and if they give you the evil eye you may xome down with a headache, or physical problem. Great! Working in ER and then at the psych hospital, I have been given the evil eye so many times I must be looking at an early grave for sure. The Romanians believe if you scrape the bottom of your shoes with your thumb then make a cross symbol on your forehead you will be okay. Or you put water in a shot glass and burn 3 matches to the point that you can't hold it anymore and drop it into the water... you'll be saved. Definately, children (as per Romanians) should all have red string around their wrist to protect them from evil spirits. Normally I would say this is all bull and that people would come down with ailments simply because they are telling themselves to but since nothing about my life is normal at this point you will find a red braclet of each childs left wrist, 3 little lumps of charcoal in a shot glass on the bar and you will see me wash the bottom of my shoe with a baby wipe, scrape it with my thumb and cross myself. Most of all, I am now on high alert. I won't go to the park playground unless there are other normal Romanians there. I will never go again if the Gypsies are there. My kids know that there are "bad people" that live here and that is why we have a huge iron fence around the yard. They are being really great about though and sticking very close, always holding my hands or the strollers. They want to stare at the Gypsies who wear all the crazy clothes and I try to warn them against it. They oblige for the most part. But Evelyn asked me today when we were shopping if she could buy a Gypsie dress for herself. Not a chance, I said.

Until next time,
Alison

TOTO WERE NOT IN... WATCH OUT FOR THE WILD DOGS!

Well we arrived safely and really without much trouble. We left Monday at 4:15 pm as scheduled and arrived in Roman Romania at 10:00 am EST Wednesday. It was a long long trip and we were very exhausted by the end but a 6 hour stop over in Athens gave us a chance to tour, quickly, Ancient Athens and see sights I never thought I'd see. I guess taking Art History wasn't a waste of time after all. We pulled the girls around from ruin to ruin and stopped for a Chocolate Crepe when they appeared to be loosing steam. 9 was the number of wild dogs we saw in Ancient Athens, Evelyn was counting.

We took a train into Ancient Athens from the Airport which was very hard for the girls and me. They were packed with people, shoulder to shoulder or face to Greek crotch for the girls ,urgh, so we decided to take a taxi back to the airport. This driver was in one hell of a hurry! We were flying down side roads, and back alleys to avoid traffic and once we got on the motorway...OMG!
The guy was driving in speeds of 160 kms/hr at times. The girls, completely oblivious and not in car seats, were passed out on eachothers shoulders and Ruby was on my lap. Thank god we got there safely and with enough time to take in some of Romania's latest fashion.

I use the term fashion loosely. I thought that there might have been a stripper convention in Bucharest but it turns out many of the women here between the ages 17 and 45 look like strippers. Fantastic slim bodies that I think they get from the coffee and cigarette diet that is all the go here! Diving neck lines, painted on pants and the highest heels possible. The young women are beautiful but unfortunately after years of the cigarette diet you'd have to bag the head for sure. So I've decided to put my runners in the back of the closet and try their fad diet. Just kidding!

We were picked up in Bucharest by a driver that works for the company and driven to an apartment in the centre of town where we all stayed TOGETHER! Wasn't expecting that one. Especially since he smelled a bit like Jimmy. Anyway he ended up locking himself in his room and thankful did not smoke in the apartment. In the morning we were off to Roman, our home away from home.

The drive took 5 hours after getting out of Bucharest which took and hour itself. The drive was prettier than I remembered but I guess that had everything to do with the sun and all the fruit trees being in blosom. I am reminding myself often to appreciate it for what it is and not to want this country to be just like home. The farmers are in the fields with their horse pulled farm equipement. The men of the villages are standing along the road with cigarettes hanging off their lips and faces that tell a story. The women are busy sweeping the driveways with home made staw, midget sized brooms or hang the clothes on the line. Very picturesque! Not so much in November thought. Luckily the children all slept in the car about half the way there and the rest of the time they were counting wild dogs and colouring. DVD machine wouldn't work. Luckily they didn't see the dog carcasses on the road. Yuck. Breaks my heart and makes me miss Abby.

We arrived at the house and got the tour. WOW! So much more than I expected. It is only 2 bedrooms but the rooms are huge. My kitchen is enormous and there is enough yard for the girls to play comfortably and it is all surounded by an electronically controlled, iron fence with a gate. It took all of 20 minutes to find Ruby and Gabrielle playing with the Bidet. Great. Two minutes later it got scrubbed with Bleach. Gabrielle still can't understand why she can't use it as a child's wash basin. The upstairs floors are wood laminate as well as the family room but the rest of the house is marble tile as well as the backyard and driveway. Should be interesting when Ruby starts to learn how to walk. I wonder if they sell baby helmets here? Yah right.

It's funny, I walk around now thinking of what I want to write in my blog. So odd for me. I don't want to forget any of this. The good and the bad. Already working on my next post. Got to tell you about my Gypsy run in but my friend Jeff Dykstra told me my last post was longer than most so I will break it up.

Miss you all. I litterally walk around thinking, "I wonder what my Mom would think of that. I wonder what Ann would do about that. Sue would love this shot. Jeff will love this house. Trevor would say "it's got character" with strong english accent. Wonder what their ER is like. How do they treat gypsies? And on and on....

Love to all,
Alison