On the Farm

This weekend I went with my gazda parents to the country house where my gazda dad’s parents live. The most significant thing I noticed was the continuity with which they live inside and outside of the house. The stove (aragoz) was in something akin to a screened-in porch, but all the dishwashing was done in bowls outside on a table using boiled well water. I could say that life on a family farm seems simpler, but it is a lot of work. I was incredibly impressed by my 80 year old gazda grandmother (bunică) killing chickens, chasing the dog and pumping water from the well, while still having time to cook meals. My gazda mom was extremely busy the entire weekend as well. There was always something to do and when I tried to help, I was told I was the daughter (frată) and therefore should read the book I was told to bring - I read about 3/4 of it.


I did get to help feed the pigs and chickens - which just comprised of throwing the left over food into the pens - and was barked at a lot by their giant dog – Motu, who really looked more like a lion. They also have a large vegetable garden where they grow their own onions, tomatoes, dill, cucumbers and spinach. They are incredibly self-sufficient. My gazda dad is a beekeeper - or as his nephew put it, he likes to play around with BEES!! - Which proved to be dangerous because on Sunday my gazda bunică was stung three times!

My gazda grandfather (bunic) is wheelchair-bound, so we amused ourselves by him asking me if there are bugs and crows in America. His favorite pastime was pointing at an object and saying the Romanian word, which I would repeat and then say the English word. Did he have any interest in saying the English word? No, I suspect he was just checking to make sure the object did, in fact, exist in the English speaking world.

Another exciting "new" experience was taking a shower that did not involve buckets of water – though it was my first adventure with putting wood in a furnace to heat the water. I don’t think anyone even wants to hear about the toilet situation, so I'll leave it at that. Just another Peace Corps thing I’ll have to get used to.



On Sunday morning (dimineaţă)I accompanied my gazda mom to the cemetery to put flowers and candles at her parents' graves. While there, I had the chance to observe two widows singing what I assume to be an Orthodox mourning hymn. The experience made me both curious and uncomfortable.

This morning I got to observe the English teaching methods of two elementary school English teachers. Everyone in Romania is extremely generous - the two teachers even made breakfast pastries and coffee for us. The 5th and 6th grade children were very energetic to learn - the 5th grade class even asked for out autographs! Last Friday, we got to observe a couple high school classes and it may not be surprising that the high schoolers were much more shy about speaking in front of guests. The smaller children were adorable and since I may be teaching students from 5th grade to high school, it is good to observe a variety of possible teaching tricks - since that is still what I'm most concerned about developing during Pre-Service Training (PST).