THE CLOUD HAS LIFTED!

Culture Shock - A state of anxious confusion experienced by someone exposed to an alien or unfamiliar environment.

I am happy to report that my haze of culture shock and the internal fight for survival in this new world has eased. I have emerged from the depths of culture shock into the adaptation phase and am finding it easier to appreciate everything about our new (temporary) home. Things that were ugly, now have more interesting appeal. It is like the fog has lifted. I walk the girls to school with a smile on my face. They have 2 english speaking friends at their kindergarten and their teacher has agreed to help them in their English learning by using some of the work books I brought from Canada. Ruby has a wonderful babysitter who comes every morning for a few hours so I can work on school work. I have finally started my degree!!! I have a lovely young woman named Maria to help me with jobs around the house since David is so busy with work. So essentially, my life has become pleasant and enjoyable once again. I am continuing to teach the girls at home some more English skills but we are finding time to do more enjoyable things together these days. Evelyn has learned to ride a 2 wheeler for example.

I spent 4 hours composing a blog about my visit to a country house in the mountainous region of Romania called Bucovina, only to loose the entire blog for reasons I can not understand. I am going to attempt it again but I fear its quality will not match the first edition which is lost in space somewhere. But anyway I will do my best.

So we were invited to visit the scenic area of Bucovina by our dear new friends Doina and Costel who have been an integral part in our adaptation here in Romania. We were to spend the weekend with a friend of Costel's which was all arranged so all we had to do was join in. David and I love the countryside in this region as it is so different in so many ways. It's still for the majority farm land but so much more picturesque in it's ancient way. A shepard walking with his sheep as there are no fences for the most part. Stacks of hay drying around large erect sticks pop up everywhere all around the countryside. Wild horses grazing near river beds. I don't think I ever thought I'd see a wild horse in my lifetime. Untouched mountains, dense with green forests and just starting to change colours. Orthodox churches high on peaks or hidden in out of the way places. Beautiful.

We stopped at Costel's parents house on the way to meet the people that send us sooooo many fresh eggs every week. It is clear why in no time. These two, sweet elderly people had about 50 chickens running around their house. The house was right out of a picture in National Geographic. It was made of concrete like most houses here but only two rooms. The first room was the bedroom and sitting room which also was used as a dining room in case of guests. The next room was the kitchen/bathroom/sitting room/bedroom/eating room. The walls were covered in huge tapestries in order to keep the heat in. It was heated by an enormous wood burning stove which is the wall seperating the 2 rooms. They cook with a wood burning stove so the whole house smeeled like Fanshawe Pioneer Village. It was like stepping back in time. They live off the land, so Costel's mom spends all her time tending the chickens and working in a huge garden found at the rear of the property. We sampled a few things while we were there. They have no running water but are lucky enough to have a well in their front yard which they use to drink and wash. On our way out we noticed we had caught some attention and the neighboors had come out and sat on their perch to have a look. Like I said in one of my first blogs, it's a virtual past time here. I guess without TV, what else do you do?

The drive to Vatra Dornei took 5 hours to travel 200 kms. This makes us crazy! It takes so long to get around this country due to the lack of infrastructure. Good thing there is nice countryside to look at to keep you busy.

We arrived at our destination very late at night and were not able to see very well our surroundings. The next morning brought sunlight and a good look at the countryside and the house we were staying. It was a Romanian mansion, with 12 bedrooms and multiple bathrooms. Three stories plus a basement which housed an enormous wine cellar and fully equiped with tasting room. Mel you would have loved it! Saturday was spend touring the picturesque town of Vatra Dornei which is know for it history, scenery and friendly locals. This particular one was very friendly.
Our host brought us to the town hall which was approximately 400 years old. He showed us the "Mirror Room" where important meetings and government grappels are held. It definately had a medieval feel to it. This town is also known for the presence of a rarely seen animal in Europe. The Squirrel! Our host jumped up and down to point out a squirrel to the girls and seemed confused when they didn't go nuts about it. We explained that Romania has wild dogs, like Canada has wild squirrels. This is not a squirrel but a traditional Romania winter hat for winter. Temperatures had plummeted to 15 degrees at night so all the street vendors were selling these. Good god no! We toured the countryside during the morning then returned for a late lunch.
One thing I have to mention is the food that was served by our host. Traditional Romanian food of course but it was the manner in which he did it. For breakfast for example, his housekeeper Rosie, had set out a huge spread by 8 am. Pork, sausage, meatballs, ham, mystery meat, cheese, tomatoes and bread. I typically have tea and a slice of toast for breakfast but it seemed I was insulting my host with my empty plate. He insisted I eat some meat. EAT! Okay okay! So I took a slice of cheese which was the size of my hand, a meatball and a slice of bread. I turned to get some more tea and he had dumped about 14 meatballs on my plate with spicy mustard to dip. I stuffed as many as I could in so I didn't offend him noticing David had been delivered 3 times what I had. We felt like sausages after that. I took this picture for our nephew David who gets a kick out of lawn knomes. I think he would have loved this one. I wasn't sure where to place this picture but I think here might be fine.

Our late lunch was the same. We were 6 adults and two children and he cooked enough for an army. Meat of course! And of every kind! I must admit, it was all very tasty but one chicken breast will do. NO, plus pork chops plus the mystery meat then potatoes and more meat at which point I jumped over my plate so he wouldn't put anymore on it. The girls ate well as it was tasty and they were not force fed as David and I were. After lunch, our host went into the living room and fell asleep. He proceeded to sleep for 3 hours. Hummmm. What to do? So we let his dog out of his cage in the back yard and played. Tasha was her name and she was a doll.

I wanted to put this picture in because whenever I see this kind of sight I'm in awe. Now I've told you before that horse drawn buggies are common as cars prove to be just too expensive for many farmers. This however, is pushing your horses a bit far. Typically you won't see soooo much hay stacked up on the buggy but every one in a while you see this. They always perch themselves on top of the stack and extend the reins to the horse. Thankfully the whip doesn't reach so these poor horses walk at a slow pace all the way to their destination.

The next day we left to go home but took the long way. We followed the river through each little town. The access to the town was at times only these rope bridges. They were very wobbly! It was so beautiful that we just had to stop along the way and take it all in. Weekends like this really renew our feelings about living in this country. Yes there are things that still drive me crazy like avoiding "loogies" in the morning on the way to the girls school. Spitting is a disgusting habit of many Romanians. The staring is still annoying and I told someone to take a picture the other day as "it will last longer." Immature I know but the dude was making no effort to be polite. He looked me up and down at least 4 times before I reached him. Again, he was not looking at me like he liked what he was seeing. Just like I was a freak show really.

All in all, things are going well. Next blog is about our trip to Italy. WARNING!! There are a ridiculous number of photos on the next blog. Can't do it any other way!

Love Alison