Saturday Adventure

I can't remember the last time I had a Saturday that could be just a bit of down time. I didn't have to set an alarm for any reason, for I was sure I could make it to breakfast by 10 AM! Did so, and then decided to take a walk. My first stop was the grocery story across the street. I went there primarily to take a look at products to learn some Romanian words and see if there would be anything puzzling in English for the same item. So many products are already labeled in English here that one can learn both words at the same time.

I am to begin to work with some teachers who want to travel and wish to extend their English skills before doing so. That is why I'm started to look at the foods. Well, I found some more things from the U.S. We often say that California is the land of nuts and berries, and here's the proof:

What I purchased was hazelnuts. I have some Central European cookbooks and the desserts often call for hazelnuts. These are incredibly difficult to find in a store where I live. I turned the package over and discovered it has product information in 19 different languages, and thankfully one is English. The hazelnuts I bought come from Turkey.

I think what I may have to explain to the teachers with whom I'll work next week and that these are called chips in the United States.

And these are called French Fries in the United States.

And these are called cinnamon rolls.

I was surprised, actually, to see these for cinnamon rolls, in my experience, are uncommon, in Central Europe. The only other place I've seen them is northern Slovakia.

And then I found the product that delights Americans.

Who wouldn't like a jar of crap? Actually just change the letters around a bit and one gets the English word, carp. Crap is the Romanian word for that fish.

From the grocery store, I wandered down the street.

Shops here are one store at a time, no malls -- at least I've not found one, and the parking is diagonal along the streets where it is allowed. This is like old time Midwest America.

There are some new buildings with architecture that intrigues me.

The round shape seems to be popular here. If one looks about, it is seen in smaller details on buildings, too.

We have been admiring the doors one finds here. Here is one I noticed on the street in front of shop that sells door and windows.

And then one finds buildings like  this every once in awhile.

A building such as this probably dates from the Communist days. The city now is waiting for funds to re-purpose the building for another use. For example, the school where I am teaching is new building, built in 2006. It is surrounded on both sides by buildings in the condition such as above. The site was formerly a coal-fired power plant designed to provide power and heat for a collection of building flats. Because it was coal-fired, it brought pollution to the city. Now it is shut down. The two buildings will eventually become a swimming pool and a sports gymnasium.

At this point in my Saturday, rain showers emerged, so I ducked in the first cafe I could find. Here's what coffee is like in Barlad.

They are all espresso, but it kept me warm and dry until the showers stopped. When I left this cafe I noticed a building across the street that said the equivalent of coffee and pastry shop, so I decided to see what I would find there.

Oh good, there is Coke Zero in the cooler. And I chose a strudel. Surprises both ways.

I wasn't expecting to get ice with the Coke, but alas the cooler wasn't even on, so it was only slightly cooler than room temperature. Strudel to us usually means a fruit filling. But this one instead had the wonderful sweet cheese one finds in Central Europe. In Hungary, this is called turos. I was very happy to find this surprise.

On the way back to the hotel I spotted a church tower that I had seen while driving in car. I went down the side street to take a photo of it.

After taking this photo I noticed a small SUV type vehicle decorated with flowers. It looked more to me like a funeral than a wedding. Just then the bells began to toll. I walked across the street from the church to watch. The funeral had ended  and the casket was being brought from the church for movement to the cemetery. The priests were in special robes and said some prayers at the street edge. Then three young men moved to the front of vehicle. One was carrying a cross and the other two carried icons painted on flags. They walked in front of the decorated vehicle and the mourners all followed on foot. I would have very much liked to have some photos of this, but that did not seem respectful.

A few minutes later I found a floral shop that had funeral wreaths on display, so you can see how the funeral wreaths are done here. 

My last stop was at a home decor shop. This shop had many, many beautiful things. I had stopped there earlier in the day and began to center on the clocks as a purchase choice. The shop had many interesting and beautiful clocks. I didn't want to carry a purchase for several hours, and I also had to make a hard choice of just one.

Here's what I chose. Not only did the clerk get the clock in a box for me, she put in a battery and then set it for the correct time and date. The clock has many features, and thankfully one set of directions is in English. And of course, it's made in China! But it will be a lovely memory of s Saturday in Barlad.

Watching the Round-About

There is a major highway -- the word I use, although apparently in Romania that word means a 4-lane road -- a major highway between Romanian cities that goes by the hotel where we are staying. Right outside my room, that highway also intersects with a major crossroads in Barlad. To prevent the need for left hand turns and stop lights and to keep things moving, there is a round-about. Yesterday I took some photos of what goes round the round-about.

The vehicle that got me started with morning was the tractor and the wagon.

Because it is major highway, there are many, many trucks.

And small trucks for more local delivery.

And of course one see taxis.

Every once in awhile a minibus stops and picks up passengers.

Bicycles must also go round the round-about.

There are construction type trucks, but I've not seen much construction either on buildings or on highways.

If one looks very closely, it is possible to see an orange sign on the top of the car in the 6:00 position as well as the car in the 2:00 position. The sign says, scola, which means school. These are driver's ed cars. One thing I saw, but for which I could not grab the camera fast enough to take a photo, was a truck scola -- a truck used to train people to drive trucks.

There are still some old style cars about such as the one above. It must "live" or "work" nearby because I see it driving about and also parked nearby quite frequently.

I took this photo primarily because of the scooter, but it shows the ''salad" of vehicles that pass by.

Then last evening after our evening meal I walked the round-about.

Here's a photo of one side of the hotel in which we stay. My room is on the top floor and on the left as you view this photo. At home I watch the trains go by, here I can be entertained with the round-about. And it actually tells one something about the culture of Barlad by what one sees.

A Day in Romania

Today I taught four classes -- and did the same lesson for each. I found a book of 1000 stickers of alphabet letters when recently visiting in Nebraska. I have the children make their name using alphabet stickers and then write words that relate to each letter of their name. For instance for L  -- when in Romania, one choice could be lac which is lake in English. I've done this lesson many times in language camps and the kids always like it. The older and more proficient students can do this more quickly and then we spent some time making sentences with words that they chose from their list.

My class is held in the school library -- that is why the shelves are full of books.

I come back to the hotel for my lunch. Today I had pizza. The blue green water is the Dorna brand of bottled water.

This afternoon I was totally self-sufficient. I walked to and from the school and didn't have any one to translate for me. Walking back I noticed this furniture stand along the street. The prices were amazing low -- around $60-70 for these pieces. I was surely wishing I could tuck one in my suitcase.

There are some interesting things out the window of my room.

Across the way is a building supply store. Notice there is a forklift uploading the truck. However, all the supplies going to building sites are transferred via horse wagons. For example, this afternoon while walking away from my school, I saw a wagon full of bricks. In the background you can see the Tutova Hills that surround the city.

Later in the afternoon I walked to a nearby grocery store. I thought the church spire against the sky was a beautiful scene.

This evening we went to Restaurant Alona for our evening meal. This restaurant has a little bit of everything. As one volunteer just said, I still haven't had Romanian food in Romania.

Things That Have Surprised Me

In only a couple of days I have been surprised at what I see. I spotted the toilets above in a store. I've never seen anything quite like it. I showed this photo to the Romanian country managers and they weren't surprised -- this is how toilets are done here!

 I knew I had traveled a bit south, but palm trees still surprised me.

I went to the grocery store across the street, a store operated by a German company, and was surprised to see the fish came from Alaska.

I was also surprised to see the frozen vegetables all with English signs. I've never seen this before in other countries in Central Europe.

And I noticed a large, attractive building from the balcony of my room.

In response to my inquiry about it, I was told is belongs to "the king of the gypsies." There are many Roma/gypsy people in Barlad.

So life stays interesting!

Catching up!

At last I have my computer working with the internet at the hotel where I'm staying in Barlad, Romania. This is my third day of teaching. I do four classes a day, and it's not the same students each day, nor it is it even the ones I'm told in the afternoon will be there the next morning. Every day I'm a bit surprised about what class will be show up at what time. The kids know a lot of English and they do work hard. I'm enjoying myself very much. So here's a bit of catch up. I got to Bucharest about 2:30 on Saturday afternoon. Dan, one of the Romanian country managers was waiting for me. We left the airport and started our way north by car. About midway we stopped at McDonald's in a fairly large city.This McDonald's featured stick figures for signage -- even on the restroom doors. Took me a minute to figure that out.

We drove another two hours and got to Barlad about 7 in the evening. I checked into my room and then then went for a short walk in the nearby area to begin to get oriented to my location. By the time we arrived a howling wind had started which kept on for nearly the next two days.

On Sunday morning I met the principal of the school at which I would be reaching and worked with Mihaela, the other country manager here to start the process of team goals and team characteristics.
On that day already I began to  be introduced to some of the very fine restaurants in this city. I was in Romania two years ago and can't remember what I ate, other than that it was good. So I'm taking photos this time. Expect to see those later.

On Monday I began teaching at the school. Above is a photo of the student entrance to the school. I have four classes a day, not always the same four groups of students each day. Flexibility is definitely the key. Towards the end of each class I usually do some singing and we have done hokey-pokey in most classes. This afternoon I mentioned to the principal that every time he walks in the classroom -- which is actually the school library -- we are doing the hokey-pokey. I went on to explain we actually do some other things in the class. He asked if I would come back again in few months -- so I guess doing hokey-pokey is OK!

Last evening another four volunteers arrived. They are all working with children with disabilities at a nearby hospital. This group is two professors and two students. They got here about 9 PM last time after traveling from Ohio, and were off to the hospital at 10:00 this morning. They should return soon, and I bet they are going to tired with full of stories and experiences.

It feels very good to be back in central Europe. I almost felt homesick for Pecs last night at the train station. It made me think so much of my experiences in 2010. A reader below asked what I was doing here, so I hope this explains it!

Computer working!

The computer is at last working with the hotel internet service. The country manager did some work on my computer and then when we arrived back here after class the internet was down in the hotel. About one hour ago it came back and I tried again. I found one more setting to change to make the internet from the hotel work with this computer. It's always a great mystery. Soon, I will start to write something more interesting. I have a lot of pictures on my camera to process, now that I have the computer back. Today I did four English classes, some groups were new students and others were repeats -- not what I was expecting. Now I have to get some lessons planned, and then put everything in a tote bag and then just see who walks into the room and hopefully grab out the right lesson for the group. I also did a very short interview today with the local TV station. The school to which I am assigned is having an Open House today and that's whay the press was there. The reporter asked me about my "project." I explained we come to help the host achieve their goals, we can't come in from the outside and know what is the best thing to do. More volunteers arrving late tonight. I haven't been sleeping well. It may be a challenge to stay awake and greet then.

in barlad romania

I am in Barlad Romania writing on my kindle because I cannot make my computer connect to the Internet in the hotel. Today I have taught two English classes and have two more to go. Tomorrow 4 more volunteers come towork with children in the hospital. Will write more later hopefully with computer--called calculator in Romanian.