America's Better Half

“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” (Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai Lama)

I don't know about you, but this week's been hard for me. Ever since writing this blog, 8 years ago (http://wander-world.blogspot.com/2008/11/past-due.html), till just very recently, I believed we live in a tolerant, loving, open-minded country. Not the best in the world, by any means, but striving daily to do better. The past year or so have come to prove me wrong, and it all culminated with this week.

I have read things people said, that I could not believe that they would actually happened. And then, there was the vote – which divides us like no time I remember before.

I am not going to belabor the point, here, because this is a hot topic and all of you have your own opinions that I know could not be changed. I just wanted to share a couple of experiences with you that happened to me this past Friday. I will just leave them here for you, and I just hope it will make you at least think …

I will make one more caveat: I usually do not mention race when I tell a story about people. But I think, given this week and the years to come, I will this time. Again – do with it as you wish.

I went through three experiences this Friday which reminded me of the human kindness that still exists. It is not a feeble, shy or unsure character trait in some people around us; it is loud, vibrant, clear, unconditional kindness. If we only are speaking low enough to be able to hear it.

I went to Target, first. I picked up a few things, among which a hand towel in the bathroom area. I did not realize this, but there was no tag on the towel. I came to the cash register, and this little older, white lady (she was easily in her early 70's and I kept thinking she should be home cradling grand kids or cats, not working the register at Target) asked me “ Ma'am, do you know how much this was?”. I didn't, and I felt horrible. I apologized and I told her to ring up everything else and keep the towel, and I'll go check, stand in line again and come back to pay for it. She stopped me and said: “Well, that's all right. How's $2 for it? Would that be a fair price?” My mouth just dropped. I said, knowing full well that there is no towel to be bought under $5 if you're lucky to find a sale, even at Target. I said, still shocked: “Sure, of course, $2 is more than fair. Are you sure you want to do that?”. She did not waver – she did not want me to go back and through all that trouble and she just gave it to me for $2. I was buying a lot of other things, up to $100, but still.

Then, I went by the mall. I have this medical bracelet that just broke – the metal just snapped, for no reason at all. I have been trying to find a jewelry shop to have them fix it, but no one would fix it, because it's just stainless steel, no gold and silver jeweler would take the time. But I have kept on trying. So, I go to the mall, and head toward Kay Jewelers. This Filipino young woman greets me and I show her the bracelet and ask her if it can be fixed. She examines it, like others before, and she says: “Well, to be honest, I don't know for sure if we can fix it or not. I would have to ship it to our goldsmith and then he's going to evaluate it, and then I'd have to call you and see if you want it fixed for the price he'll quote me, if he can fix it... sooo, I am just going to tell you 'no', we cannot fix it, because this is a LOT of trouble.” I gasped, with a sigh – nothing I haven't heard before. “But,” she says,”there is this jewelry repair shop by the food court right here in the mall, so it would be worth asking them if they can fix it, because they can fix anything.” I was so surprised and shocked at her kindness: evidently, I was not going to buy from her. I did not even ask her for alternatives, but she just came out and offered a solution pro bono-like, if you will. Kindness goes a long way, and now, that I felt so obligated, I want to go back and do buy something from her. I had no idea that the jewelry repair shop existed in the mall, if it were not for her.

So, off I went to the jewelry repair shop by the food court. This middle-aged, Middle Eastern man was running the store. He was chatting with this Indian woman about her kids, as he was taking in her jewelry to be repaired. After finishing up with her and her husband, he addressed me, all smiles. I showed him the bracelet and I asked him whether he can fix it. He looked at it carefully and he said he has no idea how a piece of steel can just snap like that. I assured him I could not figure that one out, either. He put the bracelet under a microscope and after assessing it for a minute or two, he said that, yes, he could laser weld it for $30, which will also include one year warranty. I was sold, of course. Then, the really kind part follows: “Ma'am, right now, we have a 10 day wait for work like this. But since this is a medical bracelet, I will try to get it done by Tuesday (that's about 3 days, if you're doing the math). Will that be all right?” Of course, it would be all right, and thank you, kind man, for noticing that it was a medical bracelet.

Random kindness is out there. It may be muted, closeted, shy, or it may be screaming out at the top of its lungs. We cannot label the content it comes in, we cannot be choosy about how it comes packaged. We can only be grateful that it exists at all, and reciprocate wholeheartedly. We owe these people that much.

Perspective

I was told I was born a “big baby”. I am told I am a “small woman” now. It’s all relative and a matter of perspective, I guess.

I was born in another world. Quite literally. It was called Romania then. I call my world North America – occasionally Romania now. It’s a giant leap and not only in geography!

There was no email 40 years ago. No World Wide Web, either.

No iPhones, iPads or anything “Apple” for that matter (well, of course, outside The Beatles, but that’s another story).

Microsoft was founded only 5 days before I was born. Countries like: Russia, Slovakia, Moldova, Armenia were not sitting on their own on the maps of the world.

Same sex marriage was not recognized by any country in the world, and I was born under a dictatorship. Today, I live in the allegedly most democratic country in the world. Allegedly. There is always perspective, you see,  and interpretation.

The original World Trade Centers were barely 2 years old! You know where they are today.

Cell and cordless phones were not commercially available. I grew up with rotary phones and phones lines that “coupled” people (strangers) on the same numbers. So, you had to “yield” if your neighbor was making the call before you got a chance to.

I was born in a blizzard, in April, in a poor family, and my parents were full time students. I was born in a world were dads were not allowed in the maternity room at delivery time. I probably saw my dad days after I was born, and I was cleared to have contact with the outside world. Or rather, he saw me …

It was a small world. A bleak world. A far away one. But full of fire. Full of potential, desire, brains, and drive. To some extent, a world with a limited horizon, except if you were my parents. My parents knew that their kids will have the power to dream – and they were there to encourage it and to kindle the fire under our dreaming, so we can take off. And as with everything, they, of course, were right. We did take off.

I still hear my mom say “40 years is a lifetime”. And you know what, looking back from where I am standing now … it really is! I am seeing myself through these years, growing, maturing, succeeding, but most of all, most importantly, failing, and failing hard. I took some royal falls, that cannot be mended with a band aid or cured with an aspirin! But I also had amazing dreams come true, wild, insanely unrealistic dreams become reality. I have watched people’s extreme happiness and deepest sadness all the same, and all of it dug deep wrinkles in my forehead and even deeper in my heart.

I lost people that helped me grow, that tended to me when I was too small to take care of myself – all my grandparents, relatives that helped my parents raise me and my sister. I lost dear friends to horrible diseases. I lost pets I loved like my children. But I also gained amazing love and wonders in my husband, and my nephews. I gained renewed strength and built memories with all the friends that I have made over the years. Friends I have known and loved since middle school. And high school. And college. And since I moved to the US, 17 years ago.

My great grandparents never left their counties, or sometimes their cities. They never saw the sea, or jumped on a plane. My grandparents never even dreamed of leaving the country. I have seen half of Europe, one Asian country and have seen half of the US and the East Coast of Canada. And I still think I have seen nothing compared to most!

I remember when my parents could not figure out how to get back in touch with their best friends from college or high school, just to catch up. I can reach mine, with a click of the keyboard, through Facebook. My friends live nowadays anywhere between Armenia and the UK, Denmark, Italy, Canada and France. “Imagine there’s no countries” is becoming a reality, I suppose.

Looking back, I can tell you, you learn a lot in these 40 years. You can’t help it! Even when you defy learning, learning forces itself onto your throat … And you grow. And you know. Or at least you pretend you do. You gotta show something for this gray hair, I tell ya that much!

I know now that not looking back is a gift. Use it often. Move on, remember, but don’t wallow! Second looks are for losers. And as the song goes, “there is no time for losers”.

Life won’t give you second chances much … er … at all. So, don’t waste your time giving them to others. Trust me – people will disappoint you every chance they get!

Once in a long while, someone will leave you speechless with their generosity, love and, yes, even sanctity! Embrace it, and thank God you met them! Then, try to return that favor.

Always be honest with yourself, even if it makes you bleed! Lying to yourself is the biggest, most hopeless hole you can get dig yourself into, and no one will ever give a damn to pull you out of it! 

Don't ever, and I mean, not even when you're craving that big mansion your sister just bought, or that stupid car your co-worker is leasing for more than your mortgage, don't ever chase someone else's dreams! Just 'cause the world has to have 3 kids, a gray dog, a white picket fence, a house with a basement and a fireplace doesn't make it right for you. And what is right for you is the only thing that matters. Be brave and stubborn enough to figure out what that is! Stop cheating and comparing notes! That's a waste of time! And time is what you can't let to waste ...

Don’t attach strings to anything you give. Give freely. And like a boomerang, life will give it back to you even faster and stronger! I promise that with all my might!

The more you let go, however painful it is, the more you have. I know, it makes no sense, but it’s true.

I never spent much time worrying if I am perfect, so I won’t start now. I know that I am unique, as is everyone else. And that suffices!

I know now that I love cats and dogs much better than most people. And that’s more than just a cliché.

I have always been grateful for the fact that I grew up in communism, and for the rare disease I was born with. The fact that I survived both and am sitting here today, 40 years later, across the world, typing my words in a device few people dreamed they would own one day, 40 years ago, makes me a believer in faith, human strength, loving people and luck. Much luck!

I still won’t spend more than $5 in Vegas, though! I believe in luck, but I am not stupid. Most days, anyway.

I’d still rather buy a book than a pair of shoes. And 17 years of consumerism in America has not changed that!

40 years taught me to say “I love you” often. I say it every day. To my husband, my cat, every time I speak to my family, every chance I get to people that have established themselves in my heart … Time is precious!

The next blink of our eyes could be too late. Again, that is not a cliché. Just think about it: you float on this blue bead of soil and water into the universe. Something sneezes up there, in the whole scheme of the world, and you’re gone! Your being, dreams, hopes, plans for tomorrow, even your most favorite chair positioned just so in front of your fireplace. Poof! Gone. Be mindful. Touch this table, in front of you, and really, really feel it … Remember: this touch, now, is all you got for sure and for real. Make no assumptions!

There are people in the world who are really, really shitty, sick f*cks! But for every one of those, there are hundreds that make this journey worth it!

There comes a day in your life when you realize the fact that your burger was cold at the steakhouse last night is ridiculous; you realize that the new shampoo you just bought that makes your scalp flake is just a gnat in your daily journey. You realize that every breath you take is more important, more sublime and supreme than every time someone broke a promise to you … And you get perspective. And you revel in the amazement of it all!

The one, truest thing I have learned though during this mammoth amount of time came from my dad. He says: “The secret to succeeding in life is to be five seconds smarter than life”. And it’s different for every one of us what that means.  But if you crack that code, I tell you this much: there are no doors! Only possibilities turned into life. 

PS: and you want to hear something else crazy?! I don't feel old yet! Who knew?!

It’s because of Them

“I'm sick of just liking people. I wish to God I could meet somebody I could respect.” (J.D. Salinger)

I try every day to see the beauty in people. I try, as my sister has always assured me, to find  the “good side” of everyone – as she’s sure there is one. And thus I go through the day and think that there is more than what we see in everyone, and that we never quite know the true and full story of everyone. I try to tell myself not to judge and especially not to comment out loud. Because we just never know.

But, man-oh-man, some days this is hard to do! Some days, it takes all my might to settle down my hot blood and not to jump out of my skin and punch someone in the face. Or at least give them the lip!

Because people seem just so clueless sometimes.

I still remember, as a little girl, yelling at a 6+ft, 300lbs man (my best friend’s dad) for insulting my dad! I was probably 10 or so, and was fearless. That little girl still comes out today, every once in a while, and I start yelling (almost literally, sometimes) at the injustices of the world and people’s stupidity!

We went on a week long tour of Utah last week, and we were travelling through public places every day. We visited national parks, full of all sorts of people, all ages, all nationalities, all kinds of background. We shared dining rooms, buses and trails with all these people. Most of them were respectful of their surroundings and their fellow humans. And then, there were those who were not.

I wish there is a crash course in being an integrated human, before they launch us into the world. A crash course where they teach you about your personal space and how that affects others (everyone!) around you. A crash course on general respect, not just towards people, but towards landscape, buildings, “things”, in general, as well. And this course should be mandatory. And then, they should have a test. And if you fail, you should not be allowed to leave you stinky house! You should rot there, forever!

Lots of people trampled my nerves last week, but there were at least two of them that really, really, really bugged me. They annoyed me so much in fact, I thought there for a minute that they might call the cops on me if I should intervene to adjust their behaviors!  

We took the bus in Zion National Park. It’s a tour bus, with a hop on - hop off schedule, that stops at some of the most interesting view points in the park. It has no air conditioning, but the sun roofs are wide open and all the windows too so the cross ventilation is great. It gets hotter than 100F every day in the summer in this park, in the middle of the desert, so, you can imagine how some air is needed from somewhere when you’re cooped up with 50 other humans in such a small space.

It was a sunny day and the sun was baking the tops of our heads while sitting in the bus seats. 102F for the high that day! So, this gentleman pulled out an umbrella, to make some shade for his wife and himself, sitting next to him. (I know – how thoughtful, right?!). We all felt jealous that we didn’t have an umbrella ourselves. Everyone starting taking pictures, all in good humor: “what a great idea” – we all said.

Until this lady and her husband and 2 year old boarded the bus. She demanded that the sun roofs be closed shut. She asked her husband several times that he would close them now! He ignored her. Then, she almost yelled at the man with the umbrella to close it: “Close that now! You can put my eye out! I can’t believe this! An umbrella on the bus! Unbelievable!”.  No “please”, no “sorry, sir”, no “would you mind?”. Just “do it”. “Now”.

What was unbelievable to me, and everyone else, probably, was not only the fact that she had a hat with a pretty wide brim on her head and a huge pair of sunglasses covering her whole face (put what eye out?! The one hidden behind all that?!). She was also sitting down, in her seat, while the umbrella was way high, over the heads of the people in front of her, 5-6 feet at least away from her. What was unbelievable was that her own husband was carrying her 2 year old child in an aluminum carrier, on his back, which had nothing but a metal frame sticking out in everyone’s faces, about 4 feet away from his back. Whether you were standing up behind him or sitting down in the chair, the carrier’s frame was in front of your face, which could put your eye out, because there was no human watching the carrier’s whereabouts in the back of this man!

We all had to dodge his carrier as he moved and twirled around the bus in search for the perfect spot, where he and the kid were comfortable and the wife could see her treasure, as well. They took, in all, the room of four people, but one umbrella, above one person’s head was too much for her to handle! Unlike the child carrier, the umbrellas was really not invading anyone’s space at all.

On the same day, we went on the river walk trail, starting at The Temple of Sinawava, the last stop on the bus tour. The trail runs along the Virgin River, and is full of wildlife. Lots of bugs, lizards, squirrels, deer, birds. Even wild turkeys say “good day” to hikers right on the trail. This 11-12 year old kid was running along the trail, pushing his little cousin around, from one end of it to another, with a rubber gun in his hand. I watched him, as a rubber gun is hardly a commonality on a wilderness trail! He was looking for lizards, to shoot them with the gun. He found one, shot, and missed – in fact, his rubber snapped and fell limp on the ground. The failure only made him angrier. He grinded his teeth, and looked feverishly for a rock, then, from 2-3 feet away from the poor thing, stoned it. I could not handle this anymore, and yelled, along with another lady who watched the whole thing just like me: “Don’t you do THAT, kid!!”. We went on about how this is a park and protected environment and how the lizard didn’t hurt anyone, and how he should respect nature.

His mom just heard our screaming at him – she was completely oblivious to the whole episode. She waltzed into the altercation, fake bleached hair, fake boobs and Paris Hilton glasses covering her face, going in a slow, Valley linger: “and what exactly did he do?!” Oh, I had so many problems with that! First, don’t bring your son to the national park with a gun; then, explain to him the basic rules while he’s in here; then, be around and watch that he actually listens to you. He was, like I said, old enough to know better. But he would not know better, even if he were 32, if someone (his mom, maybe?!) didn’t teach him first! All she did after both I and the other woman told her about the stoning was to tap him on the shoulder and say “Honey, you need to think what you’re doing next time!”. Think of what, exactly, I told myself: she’s delivering no content to the kid. Think of what?! I am sure he’s thinking: “sure, mom, I’ll think of squishing the darn thing with my foot next time, instead! That’ll be surest to kill it!”. There is no thinking to be done without a frame of reference, in my opinion.

And I could sit here and list all the other annoying things people did all week long. Taking up too much room in the dining rooms, to the point that you had to walk around whole sections of tables in order to get out of your own chair, because they were blocking whole areas up with their “lounging” slouch; moving 2-3 times around the restaurant because one table is too small, and one is too close to the entrance, and one is not in the shade enough and another is too far away from the atmosphere, and  … And so on and so forth.

I am not sure whether this is a sign of getting old, but I notice these ungrateful, self-entitled, spoiled egocentric bothers more and more lately. And it’s also becoming significantly harder to keep my mouth shut!

I wanted so badly to physically hurt the woman with the umbrella problem as well as the fakely bleached blonde in a trance. Just to give them the same rude, hurtful treatment they dish out to the world.

And this made me realize: as much as I love traveling, I’ll probably stop doing it at some point. It’s either being miserable when all these brats (and there are more and more of them as our culture keeps encouraging instant gratification and entitlement in everything we do!) are working my nerves and intruding on my personal space and values, or going to jail because I’m going to hurt them right back just to prove a point.

I’m afraid there will be a day when I’ll have to make a choice there. And I am not looking forward to it.

Going Home - a Live Blog

“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” ( Maya Angelou )

Chronologically, this blog starts at the bottom - with the most recent updates at the top.
For pictures from this trip, please click here. 

April 22, 2012

Finally, home-home. In Utah, that is. The trip back was much longer than the trip there – over 24 hours by a lot. It felt like 100 hours all in all. In Amsterdam, we were delayed by over an hour because one passenger who was coming from Dublin had bought a bottle of Irish scotch in the Dublin Airport and Security would not allow the bottle to enter the plane for the US! This, I find very puzzling, as there are hundreds of stores selling liquids inside of all airports, and one figures that once you cleared security once in your trip, you are good to travel on whatever plane your itinerary entitles you to fly on and that whatever is sold in the airport is safe to fly with onboard. But that would only make sense, right?! While the passenger and the Security disputed the matter, we waited rather anxiously in the crammed “double decker” plane for over an hour.

Once in Chicago, all went well through passport control and customs, but we were once more delayed on our final flight – we waited on the plane after boarding, again, while they fixed a mechanical problem with the plane’s gas tank. I wondered – why boarding the entire flight and the luggage, if you they knew we might not be able to fly?! But then again, what makes sense in the airline business?!

When we finally arrived, delayed as it were, in Salt Lake, we found out that our luggage didn’t make it. We picked it up in Chicago and walked it through customs, but somewhere between the customs’ re-checking belt and our plane for Salt Lake, it was lost. Lovely!

All in all, not a terribly bad trip. No extra nights spent in airports, and no extra vouchers to “use on a later flight”. We made it home, exhausted and happy to wrap ourselves in the familiar once again.

                                                                                   ***

A few notes about Romania on this final entry. Back in 1989, when The Revolution broke out and communism was overturned, foreigners would say that Romanians had forgotten how to smile. Life was so hard and threatened during communism dictatorship that people found no reason to be happy. 23 years later, I have to say, Romanians can’t smile, still!

It is so heartbreaking to see a people so passionate, so eager to live and love and give, be so disappointed, so complacent, so hopeless and saddened. You can see it in their foods (rich and flavorful), in their conversations (always boisterous, lively, loud), in their giving up their own bedrooms to accommodate guests in the best place in the house, how much joie de vivre these people have! And yet everything around them is falling apart, literally and figuratively, plunging them into darkness. The flicker in their eyes almost all gone.

Eavesdropping on random conversations in the street all I heard was “there is no money”, “everything is too expensive”, “these thieves (meaning the government) are making us starve while they’re getting rich”, “I worked again for nothing this month”, “I am swimming in debt”. Every time I go back, I miss my folks, and I desperately want to give them, if I could, a better life. But they are so embittered about it all, they can’t believe a better life is possible. This saddens me.

I wish there is something, anything, I could do, at least for those I love desperately, who feel trapped in that Godforsaken country.

The streets are still broken. The blocks still crumbling. Traffic is still a mess – people paying no attention to rules, and parking on grass, sidewalks, randomly in the middle of an intersection, what have you.

People I know and love still have big hearts and are generous and hard working, but they have no hope.

Although Romania is no Afghanistan, nor Iraq or Israel (that is: there is no war going on and there is somewhat of a feeling of safety while walking about) the distrust and doubt in people’s eyes and attitudes is overwhelming. Everyone is suspicious. We could not take pictures in a public place like the mall, or an opera house or a church. We had our cameras sealed in plastic at a department store, because they would not believe us we didn’t buy them there, once we left the store. You don’t leave your camera, your phone or any other electronic in the park car, for fear the car will be broken into and your equipment stolen.

I loved being back, because it gave me two weeks of being with my family, whom I love and miss every day. If it were not for them, however, I doubt I would ever make this journey again. I had missed the foods and the smell in the air. The smell of spring and the sound of the cuckoos in the crisp morning.

Old friends I thought I had left there were cold, distant, or dodged our get-together entirely, with little to no apologies. Time and distance are definitely taking a toll. Despite the sadness in my heart, I know this is just human nature. Such is life.

It’s sad to come to the realization that the place that formed who I am, the place that schooled and educated me, the place where I grew into a young woman, that prepared me for life, has little to no reason to call me back. I recognize it, but it’s not me anymore. I don’t believe it ever was, really!

Romania is a place I connect with people. The US is a place that I connect with lifestyle. I take bits and pieces from both to make my own world. All in all, is just a matter of where my heart is, to feel “at home”. As long as I have my heart, I am home.

Taking this journey with my husband made a world of difference – there is no one who has their finger on my heart’s pulse like he does. I saw everything through my own eyes and he echoed what I was seeing, reinforcing my feelings, observations, validating my memories. It was an emotionally powerful journey, and if I were to do it again, I’d jump on that Salt Lake to Paris flight tomorrow! Plus, I am already missing my mom’s sarmale, so that would be an even stronger reason to do it.

It’s a good trip to make, sadness and all, to refocus and re-ground once more. It shakes you up to your core and wakes you up! Makes you grateful for what you do have and for having the guts to not look behind when you initially left.  No regrets for me. Only some for those I left behind.

For glimpses of Romania, as our cameras saw it, click here.


April 18, 2012

The back yard of the house I grew up in, in the Northern Carpathians (Bucovina)

Back home to the city. We have been in the mountains for the past two days, visiting friends and family. Everyone we saw was so happy to see us and so friendly and hospitable. We ate more than we should have, but everyone cooked lots for Easter (which lasts for 3 days here), so they were glad to share.

Heating our lunch on a wood stove



My favorite: smoked trout

Aa. got to meet the extended half of my family, and my goddaughter. The weather was not good. Just rain, and cold and fog. Not sure what pictures we have come up with, other than lots around the fire and around the plentiful tables!

It was nice to see everyone, and to get away from the bustle of the city. The mountains were fresh, as always, and quiet. No traffic noise and no stress there. Just peaceful!

We drove back today, through more rain, mud, and fog. Just nasty! We are back in Iasi, where Aa. is recovering from a nasty stomach bug! Yuck! I am proud of him for being healthy all this time, as he definitely is not used to the water nor to the very heavy foods here!

Now, we're on the last days of the visit and the clock is ticking to get our bags packed! Lots of people gave us lots of souvenirs, and such, and we bought a couple of things for some friends back home, and also Aa.'s family. We'll be packing for the next couple of days and saying more goodbyes, here in Iasi. Almost everything we are bringing over is very fragile, so we'll pack for a while trying make sure everything will get across in one piece.

Later in the week, we'll be home bound ... We have had a fantastic time, and I miss my folks already, but ... we both miss home, too, especially our shower and our own bed! Visiting is lovely, but having a home to get back to is the best!

A piece of history: when my relatives poured this (now crumbling) concrete patio, in 1988, they engraved the names of all the children who helped in the pouring. My name and my sister's name are included and still there today.

April 16, 2012

2 years ago today I married the most wonderful man alive. Thank you, babe, for two amazing years of happiness! I am forever grateful to you and forever in love!

Yesterday, it was Easter Sunday here. We had several friends of the family and several relatives stop by to have Easter lunch / brunch/ dinner with us. It was a typical Romanian party, that started at 1 PM and ended at 9 PM. We went through 20+ dishes, several types of drinks, coffee, dessert, and we ended everything with dancing. I am not sure what my very calm and laid back husband thought of it all, but at some point he said he feels like home. That's all I needed to hear!

Today, we're driving to see my relatives in the mountains. It's going to be amazing on so many levels - unique, picturesque, old-timey, confusing (for Aa.), refreshing, eye-opening, emotional (for me) - all in one. "The mountains" are this little village in the Northern part of Romania, where I spent most of my childhood holidays and vacations. Half of my heart is still buried there. I cannot wait to get on the road.

We will visit some monasteries on the way, and a couple of smaller cities. For the most part, we'll enjoy family, friends, their offerings and we'll be translating dirty stories about my sister and I growing up there to Aa.

The postings will probably stop till I get back, as the internet availability there is so very limited. Of course, if I am wrong and it's aplenty, I will post snippets of what's going on.

I'll catch everyone up on what's next when I get back.

A good new week to all!

April 14, 2012

A completely indoor day. Since tonight is Easter for us, we are on a race against time to finish cooking. My folks have been cooking for 3-4 days, and still had 10 more dishes or so finish up, and of course, to decorate the eggs.

Egg decorating is not just child's play here. It's serious, traditional business.

We mostly watched, although we helped some too, with the cleaning and cooking.

At midnight, we will go to the midnight service to welcome Easter. We will return home with burning candles to light candles up around the house. I missed this moment, this day, the most. So glad I am finally here and get to enjoy our traditions and faith.

Love to all who are reading here, in this beautiful day.

Easter eggs, Romanian and dad style ....

April 13, 2012

Writing from 'Casa Vanatorului' Restaurant in Iasi

We slept in today. We ate breakfast and then visited my university, over 150 years old. Aa. really liked that!

For those of you who went to this university and are reading this - did you know they are renovating the heck out of it ?! The old, beat-up wooden and metal desks are out, replaced with new, light weight, IKEA looking desks and the old, heavy, nasty chalk blackboards are being replaced with light weight white boards. And each amphitheater has its own thermostat, for temperature control. One step closer to the Western world.

We then walked to two historic parks, and we are now having lunch on an outdoor patio in the middle of one of the parks. It's a beautiful spring day with just enough chill in the air to not get us sweaty!

I am posting this from my iPhone, through the free wifi offered by the restaurant/ park.

Aa. at the 'Casa Vanatorului' patio restaurant, enjoying a draft.

April 12, 2012

A typical breakfast at my parents' house: home made smoked meats and fresh cheese. Now, ready for a new day!

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We had lots of adventures today - went to mom's hospital, built in 1880's, which was a trip back in time; we walked all over town, in neighborhoods I grew up in and have not visited in 20+ years; we visited an old teacher of mine that brought me back to my school days and to a time when America was just a distant and not realistic dream.

But nothing beats the unusual more than what we came home to - this smoked pig tail that my mom is getting ready to put in the sarmale pot, for "extra flavor". Yum?! Not in this shape, at least!

April 10, 2012

It was a day of sightseeing and walking around town, today. We drove all over the place - went to visit a friend's new pet store, full of exotic fish and what not. Then, we went to one of many farmers' markets in town, and Aa. was amazed at how rich it was and how fresh everything smelled and tasted. The one downside of the trip was that in the meat market, we were yelled at to not take pictures. So we had to put the cameras away.

After that, we went to a supermarket, Carrefour, and we just walked about, and bought some bread and beer - you know, the "essentials". There, they took our cameras and sealed them in plastic, just so they'll know we did not steal them from the supermarket (which sold the same cameras we had). The freedom loving American in Aa. really felt violated on this one!

We walked about the neighborhoods I grew up in and we visited the high school I went to. It looks like time never went over anything. Everything still looks the same. Even the potholes in the roads are still in the same spots!

At the market - grains, meats, cheeses, veggies, eggs and herbs.

My only living grandma came to visit after that, and that was the highlight of my day! Such a good feeling to see her, maybe, even, for the last time! Such a gift.

We then helped dad with smoking the meats for Easter. Oh my! So much meat! So much smoke! So much flavor! That was another first for Aa. The very rudimentary smoker dad built himself along with tying the meats together and hanging them on wood sticks inside the barrel filled with smoke was some other kind of trip back in time!

Ready to go in the smoker for round 2 - or as dad says: 'This spells c-h-o-l-e-s-t-e-r-o-l'.

The rest of the day was spent waiting for the meats to cook and watching TV. Just another day in the family.

Yum. Aa. got to experience 'halva' for the first time. So good and absolutely un-find-able anywhere near where we leave.

April 9, 2012

I need to start by saying THANK YOU to all of you who wished me a "happy birthday". WOW! I had no idea I was so popular. And yes, I know, that for the most part, Facebook reminders help, but I am SO grateful that you all took the time to say something on my wall, and/ or give me a call/ email. Since I am in Romania, I got to speak with people that normally can't afford to dial an international number and call me - such a blessing to be able to talk to old friends and all my family everywhere, this time . THANK YOU.

We spent the day at home, and some family visited. We had cake and yes, I blew the candles in one breath. :-) For dinner, dad took us to this fancy restaurant and we had good, traditional Romanian food. The restaurant was at the top floor of a hotel that is in the downtown, in Union Square, one of the most central spots of Iasi - my home town. The view of the whole city was beautiful. We saw the city in the dusk, and then at night and it was just amazing. I showed Aa. my university, my university's library, my old block of flats, where I grew up, the church my sister got married in and the Metropolitan Cathedral - the most important church in our town. We saw all of these from the roof of this hotel, where we had dinner. It was magical!

Now, we came home and my parents - especially my dad - are trying to build the menu for all the meals for the whole week. Oh my God! We are both so full it's not even funny. We can't even think of food, much less of a whole menu. But everything in Romania revolves around food - it's the only way my family knows how to say "I love you".

We eat non stop here. And dad says all the time that we eat nothing and that we hate his food. NOT the case. We have been here for a little bit more than 24 hours and I feel like throwing up already - so uncomfortably full!

That's about all for today. It's been rainy and windy here, but starting tomorrow, the weather is becoming warmer and brighter, so hopefully we'll get out and see more of the city.

We'll keep you posted!

The big three - seven ...



View of Iasi from the Panoramic restaurant, on top of the Unirea (Union) Hotel, in downtown Iasi

April 8, 2012

Iasi - Romania.

We are home. Yes: the wine is sweeter, the tomatoes are juicier, the meat is smokier and the hugs warmer!

Paris was a nightmare. We had over an hour for a layover but we ended up with just barely a bathroom break! The bus that took us to the right terminal was 20 minutes late and then it took forever to drive us ALL around the whole airport to get to the right place. That left us with something like 15 minutes for bathroom and for Alina to buy a COOL watch I have wanted since my last trip through Paris, 3 years ago. Happy birthday to ME!

Bucharest was another nightmare - so hard to navigate. Not a huge airport but not so well marked!

After 30 minutes of delay due to bad weather and the most difficult landing of out lives, we are in Iasi. Hallelujah! The weather here is bitter - wind, rain, snow and temps of 30's! Bbrrrr!

My parents and aunt had a feast (literally) ready for us. About 10 appetizers and three main courses followed by dessert and chased down with scotch, tuica, and dad's own wines ( red and white ). We are so tired and so full we can't breathe. But so happy!!

It's 11 pm here, or 2 pm in Utah and that only means we have been up for 30 hours! Someone needs to turn in!

More on the following days!

Aa. and dad sharing dad's red wine - 2011 was a very good ' demi- sec ' wine year for Romania.

April 7, 2012

First day of the trip - last look at Mount Timpanogos and Utah Valley. En route to Salt Lake City airport and further on to Paris. Beautiful day here.

I am very nervous about our suitcases' weight - we are smack dab at the limit of 50 lbs on each one of them. Hoping for nice folks at the checkin line.

Good bye, Utah, for a bit!

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Step one of being nervous is over: we had THE nicest man checking our bags. He knew lots about Romania and all the countries around it. Then, he didn't even blink when he read '51 lbs' on the monitor for one of our bags. Sooo grateful for nice people.

We're eating a California Pizza Kichen sandwich outside our gate. All ready for jumping over The Pond.

Mount Timpanogos as seen from I-15 in Utah County: bye-bye, home!

April 6, 2012

It’s that time again. After virtually exactly 3 years, I am headed home. So much has happened in these years: I found the love of my life, I married, I moved across America, I have a new and different and fun job, I have one more nephew. I have grown. And grown gray. And I am just as excited to go back as I was 3 years ago. As I ever am.

I don't have a twitter account and I won't open one. I am more of a keeper of words rather than just ... throwing them out there, into an ever changing medium. *shrug*. I will keep this blog updated with tidbits from this trip. It’s something I have never done before, outside of my trip across America. I will see if technology keeps up with me and if it helps with allowing me updating this blog from just about anywhere. I will post when I get a chance, in between visits with friends and family, and in between planes and car rides. I will use a variety of devices, I am sure, and will see how far an iPhone can really travel – literally and not so much. Sometimes, I won’t have time for more than just a picture, but I hope that it will still tell a tale.

We are leaving tomorrow evening from Salt Lake City, on a direct flight to Paris! This is the first time ever when I fly from my home city directly to Western Europe. So excited to cut that one “American layover” that always has tons of potential for delays, cancellations and what-not’s.

We then have a flight to Bucharest and another one to my home town of Iasi. We should be at my parents’ house sometimes around 12 PM MST on Sunday. All in all, around 18 hours. We will be 9 hours ahead, so if you’re reading from the US – sorry for the oddly timed updates.

That’s it from home.
“See” you all … on the road, or should I say, “in the air”.

Hope I’ll keep it interesting.