Previously on As Romania Turns:
“About ten kilometers outside of town, we pulled off the road just passed a rusty and bent up old sign that read Școala de Viticulură. Down the short side street, passed a horse and cart on the left we turned into the entrance of the school.”
And now, the continuation of our story…
The school entrance was denoted by a large green metal gate, which was pulled closed to prevent unwanted traffic. Being that this particular Monday was the 51st day after the Orthodox Easter holiday, school was out of session and largely empty as the holiday of Rusaliile was being celebrated. After a brief minute, a middle-aged, burley gentleman rushed up to open the gate and with reciprocal smiles and waves we drove onto the school campus. As we entered, the first building immediately to the right was pointed out as my permanent housing. Before receiving my assignment for Eastern Europe, my first thoughts of Peace Corps accommodations consisted of a mud hut, no running water or electricity, no internet, a hole in the backyard for daily business and a cooker powered by yak dung. Little did I know that I would be situated in Romania, the most advanced of all Peace Corps placements. My future housing, currently manned by a local contingent of police officers, is quite spectacular by Peace Corps standards. The building was originally erected to house staff members of the school, and is split into two mirror images, each with separate front and rear entrances. My portion of the one story structure consists of an entrance hallway that is certainly big enough to secure my bicycle, a comfortably sized living room/dinning room, bedroom, small office, full bathroom and a decent sized kitchen. As the Police move out and the school prepares the dwelling for my imminent move-in, all of the appliances are being replaced, from the toilet to the kitchen sink. As this is an older building, I am certain that not everything will be perfect, but I believe that I will be quite happy there for the foreseeable future. Perhaps best of all, I am on school grounds and thus will have unfettered access to the students; snow, rain or shine, I will be a stones throw from the main campus.
In addition to my new home, there are five other main school buildings. The main schoolhouse in bright tones of orange, a smaller secondary building with more classes, labs and a small gym, a standalone building for the kindergarten, a large un-remodeled building that serves as student dorms and classrooms and finally the school’s cantina. There are also a handful of smaller buildings for farm equipment and the school’s driver training car. Surrounding the complex are fields for the production of various fruits and vegetables. There are orchards for pears, apples, cherries, vines for grape growing and behind my house is a medium sized garden. All of which is managed and maintained by the staff and students as an experimental resource. Since such products are expensive, I am told that no pesticides or other chemicals are used in growing the plants. Furthermore, the school does not sell to the general public and thus all of the produce is made available for sale to the students and staff. Although the school was originally established as a viticulture school, they have broadened their subject base to define a wider agricultural bent that goes so far as to include basic veterinary education. Over all, my initial impression is that this school is run quite well; the staff is energetic and they genuinely seem to care about their students.
Shortly after arriving at the school I was shown to my quarters for the week; likely a former dormitory, bright with sunshine and complete with everything that I would need for my short stay. Following a little time to settle in and relax I wondered across the parking lot to the kindergarten for the next item on the agenda: “Kindergarten Activity.” As I walked up to the small building and through the doors I could hear the authoritative yet poetic, rhythmic and welcoming voice of a religious leader. A Romanian Orthodox Priest was giving a sermon; presumably on the topic of the Holiday at hand. Moments later my lead counterpart found me from across the room and ushered me through the crowd to a short front row of tiny kindergartener seats. That’s when the real show began; a troop of six year olds, lined the walls to the left, right and in front of me. They were each dressed for the special occasion as if heading to their Senior Prom. Like skilled puppet masters, three teachers directed the children through a series of interesting dances and well-timed performances, complete with memorized lines! This was definitely one of the most precious events I have ever witnessed.
After the kindergarten celebration, my lead counterpart rounded up three high school students living on campus through the holiday and the five of us went to nearby Bucov Park, founded by Stere Constantin. One early observation about Romania, in contrast to the United States, is that the population here actually uses their parks; day or evening you can find whole groups and families relaxing among the tree lined walkways, statues and lakes. This particular public space apparently has hidden cameras strategically placed to film violators stealing flowers. There is even a sign dedicated to the photograph and surname of those most recently prosecuted for making general mischief on the grounds. As I put my hands in my pockets so as to avoid accidentally knocking over a tulip, we decided to visit the adjacent animal Zoo. Though modest by some American standards, the Zoo was clean and well kept. Many installations were empty for renovation but we saw, among other things, lions, bears and baboons, which were certainly the most entertaining of the lot.
Rounding out the long Monday, we left the zoo and headed to a restaurant named Fetească Neagră for dinner. The namesake for a Romanian varietal of grape, the restaurant provided an elegant and respectable backdrop that lives up to its cousin’s reputation as producing a great wine. A picturesque location that would rival many American wineries, last year this restaurant facilitated the two hundred and ten member wedding reception for one of my counterparts. This particular night there were only a handful of us but the food and company were both great. The night ended as I was dropped off back at the school with a memory full of new names, experiences and ideas, and a stomach full of pizza. It was time for a solid but quick night’s sleep as breakfast was scheduled in the Cantina for 7:30 am sharp.
The next installment will be posted this weekend (fingers crossed).
Leave a Reply