Friday, April 8, 2011

Springtime


Spring has finally arrived in the Trotuş Valley. Although it was snowing the week of “Mărţişor,” the Romanian spring holiday, a month later, I am now enjoying birds chirping and flowers blooming. Here in Comaneşti, March really did come in like a lion with the last snow fall of the season. March 1, or Mărţişor, celebrates the beginning of spring. Children bring good luck charms tied with red and white thread to the adults in their lives. As a teacher I received many charms from my students in all different shapes: snowdrops, clovers and chimneysweeps are all traditional symbols of luck. I also received a ladybug (buburuză) pin from the Assistant Director of the high school that I have been wearing on my jacket collar and have collected many compliments about.
A week later on March 8, we celebrated International Women’s Day. Again I received many flowers and small gifts from my students. We had a luncheon at the high school and I was able to practice my Romanian. At the end of the month, I took a weekend trip to Braşov. About three hours from here, Braşov is a popular tourist destination, touting Bran Castle as one of the real Dracula, Vlad Tepeş’, castles. I spent the weekend with two other volunteers at a youth hostel near the old city center. We visited the Black Church and wandered through the shops in this historic square. The days were warm and sunny, perfect for people watching and enjoying each other’s company. The hostel was a pleasant experience and we met some fellow travelers from Australia, Spain and the UK.

This past week has been full of new and exciting experiences. Last Friday, I was introduced to the town’s Habitat for Humanity organization by a fellow volunteer. My counterpart is a volunteer on the Board for the organization and is helping me become more involved. On Monday evening we were invited to have dinner with some Global Village volunteers who were here this week to work on a house. I was able to meet and get to know 11 students and two teachers from the American School of Dubai. They were all very excited to be here and very interested in volunteering. On Wednesday, I was able to meet with them again and even spend some time working on the house that Habitat is building in Moineşti, a neighboring town. I’m looking forward to working more closely with Habitat Comaneşti.