V-BALL!

I feel as though I should be blogging about things present… but this is a thing past that definitely merits a blog. Two weeks ago CVM Tomis Constanta left on a bus for Turkey, headed for Izmir via Istanbul, to play in the final four of the CEV Challenge Cup. They trained and played an exhibition match before the meeting a strong Polish team in the semi-final on Saturday afternoon… and oooooh what a game! It was clear that Team Poland thought they had it in the bag – they were a bit shocked when the team from Romania actually put some pressure on them… and made them run for their money (or, er, points). It was a great game; they lost set one by two points (25-23) and set two (and the match) could have gone either way, as both teams battled until the Polish team won 35-33… yikes. Tomis won the third set and in the fourth it just kind of slipped away; Tomis made some serving errors and Poland didn’t… and in the end we lost 25-21. It was really a great game though, and the team continued on to beat EAP (Patras, Greece) 3-0 in the bronze medal match, making history as the first Romanian volleyball team to clinch third in a European Cup. So, of course there were celebrations on Sunday night, and again here in Constanta after their quarter-final win against Dej on Saturday night. The Romanian Minister of Sport showed up (she was in town to watch Romania’s men’s soccer team get downed by Serbia in a European qualification tourney) and congratulated everyone; the guys were looking dapper in their team suits, and there were speeches and presentations and plaques and champagne and food. We stayed for the appropriate amount of time and came home and watched movies and drank hot chocolate and ate cookies… it was a perfect Saturday night. So anyways, the guys have a big game on Wednesday – the Romanian Cup Final, and if you’re interested in watching it will be on Netzone; I think the game is at 6pm here, which is 11am in Toronto and 8am in Vancouver. Their semi-finals series starts on Saturday, and if all goes well the finals should start soon after. It’s kind of crazy that another season is already drawing to an end… time sure does fly. Anyways, some pics…














And from Saturday night...

Arvis, Steve and Seb - lookin' good!

Me and Steve ")

Steve and Arvis again...

i love italy!

I’m home! And I love Italy! I had such a great time there – it was so great to see Linds (my best friend and maid of honour) and uh, the food… was ridiculous – ridiculously delicious! So this is how it went. I left here last Sunday morning, on a cheap Ryan Air ticket that left from the huge (not) airport here in Constanta (thankfully the runway was pothole free) and arrived in Pisa. I’d arranged to meet Linds and her boyfriend Kurtis in Florence on Sunday afternoon, so hopped on a bus that connects the airport with Florence’s central train station, Santa Maria Novella. As soon as we arrived in Florence I raced around and found an internet café so I could watch the last set of Steve’s Final Four Cup game (which they won! YAY! more about that later), which ended up being super frustrating – the café that I found had a slooooow internet connection, and I only saw freeze frames and couldn’t see the score. Mrrrr… But! They won and became the first Romanian team to finish in the top three in a European Cup - awesome. Anyways, so I found a hotel and checked out Florence. I’ve been there once before – when we were living in Calabria four years ago I did a mini-tour of Italy with two other girlfriends, so had seen the main sights before - but wow, what a beautiful city!



I spent the afternoon walking around, eating (gelato, pizza, foccacia) and walking and eating… and then heard of a change of plans from my two friends who’d been held up in France as a result of the rail strike there. So I checked out the rail timetable and bought a ticket to get to Genoa the next morning – we’d meet halfway and then head south to the Cinque Terra and do some hiking/walking. So Monday I made my way to Genoa and did pretty much the same thing I did in Florence: got a hotel, walked around and ate. And drank coffee. The food in Genoa was ridiculous… the foccacia? The cheese? The pandolce? Uh, YUM! I met Linds and Kurtis off of a 5:30 train, and we headed straight into the city to buy food for an in-the-room picnic dinner, and this is what we bought and gobbled: fresh mozzarella di bufala (the best mozza ever), pecorino and some sort of Italian brie, baguettes, Prosciutto di Parma croquettes and wine. It was so so so super yummy! And it was great to meet up with Linds – we’ve been best friends since we were 14 or something, and it was her first trip to Europe – and to meet her boyfriend Kurtis too.

Linds and an entire window of deliciousness...

The harbour in Genoa - another beautiful day!


Tuesday morning we headed south from Genoa towards La Spezia, and got off the treno in Rio Maggiore, one of Cinque Terra's southern villages. The walk into the park was more or less a seawall, and not unlike Vancouver’s Stanley Park strip; we were wondering if this was the extent of the “hiking” that we’d all been looking forward to. After hmmm, about 20 minutes, we arrived in Town Two: Manarola. We’d planned to make it our home base for the next couple of days and hike some coastal and mountain paths, but without our heavy bags – done and done. We found a room at Bordone Davide, which was great: €75 for the three of us per night… sold. So we spent Tuesday afternoon and all of Wednesday traipsing about the park, on the coast and up in the hills, and it was beautiful. I can’t imagine being there in high season; I mean, I can’t imagine being in any touristy place in high season, but thankfully there weren’t too many people out and about – we saw fewer people up in the hills than we did down by the sea. The weather was great – it was sunny and warm and the light was fabulous… it was all good. We had beers at lunchtime and more picnics of bread and cheese and avocados and strawberries, and crashed both nights chez Davide back in Manarola. Thursday morning we headed for Florence, where we had lunch and walked around a bit before I had to get back on a train, headed for Rome. I booked a flight with another low-cost European airline, Wizz Air, flying out of Roma Ciampino. The name of this company does not, in any way, reflect on the service, speed or efficacy of anything or anyone involved in any operation of the whole flying ordeal. The line-ups were ridiculous and horrible, and the people (the passengers) were appalling; there was budging, crowding, and more budging, and then yelling and more crowding and pushing. And then there was running – people actually ran from the shuttle bus to the stairs to get on the plane. It was actually quite a show, watching the people rush and crowd the aisles of the plane, going both directions, forwards and backwards with their bags and goods and coats; I mean, some people literally had three or four bags! And of course there was just as much yelling and shoving and crowding on the plane as there was in the airport… it was really something. I felt so sorry for the flight attendant who had to corral and direct people (and their bags) and scold them like children; the patience that those people must have… mamma mia. Anyways, even though my trip was a bit of a whirlwind, it was great – super great to see Lindsey and meet Kurtis, and to see Italy again and speak Italian and eat to my heart’s content. Really, the food was so so so so super amazing. Yum. I arrived home back in Constanta on Friday night, and just missed the first game of Steve’s quarter-finals against Dej. I’d gotten up at 4am to catch a bus from Rome’s main train station to the airport, so was just a little bit tired… but not too tired to wolf down a huge salad (the only vegetables I ate in Italy were avocados and pesto – that counts right?) before heading to bed. I love travelling but I also love coming home; and for now – for one more month – home is in Constanta, Romania, and I am happy… to be home.

Lunch in Vernazza

The high road: somewhere between Manarola and Vernazza



Manarola

Me and Linds - yaaaay!

Earth Hour...

It’s Earth Hour and our lights are OFF! I had a great time in Italy and will blog allllll about it tomorrow!!

a very hungry friend...

Today, March 20th, is not only World Storytelling Day, but also "The Very Hungry Caterpillar Day"; 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of the book and its very hungry (and famous) little character. The Very Hungry Caterpillar has been translated into 50 some-odd languages and is one of the best-selling books of all time, with over 25 million copies in print… wow. Eric Carle has illustrated over 70 books, and written almost as many… and just looking at a list of all of the books he’s done makes me want to run down to the library and check all of them out and read them all!! Hmmm… there’s no library here. I wonder if it’s been translated into Romanian? Eric’s been writing and illustrating for almost 50 years, and at 80, he’s still going strong (check out his blog!). His website is great and the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art looks great too; dedicated to national and international picture book art, it was built with the aim of “celebrating the art we know first.” I love love love looking at picture books; I guess I just love children’s books (okay all books), and his are awesome. I’ll put the library visit – children’s section – on my ever-growing to-do-when-you-get-home list. (What else is on the list? Eat sushi, put socks in dryer, eat sushi, eat sushi, eat sushi… okay, you get it.)

Eric's favourite things: a sort of self-portrait, created for a picture book art museum in the UK - from his website!

Steve is in Turkey and after two loooong road trips, has arrived in Izmir. They have a huge game tomorrow – semi-finals of the European Challenge Cup – and are playing a pretty strong Polish team at 6:30pm. They game should be broadcast live on Netzone, a local Romanian TV station, so if you’re interested in watching the game, check out their website – it should be on! Tammy’s team has their first playoff game tomorrow afternoon, so after we’ll probably head back here and watch it on our small big screen TV.

So! Other news! I’m heading to Italy on Sunday – my best best friend Lindsay and her boyfriend Kurtis are traveling through Europe and hoping to be in Italy – Florence to be precise – by Sunday. However… the French are on strike (again) and their travel plans might not work out as they’d planned…. So, in any case, I’m in Pisa/Florence on Sunday and will hopefully meet up with them. The plan was to hike the Cinque Terra, and visit some of the villages on the Liguria coast, and then head south to Rome. I'm bought a direct flight to Pisa from Constanta for less than what I paid for a one-way bus ticket to Greece, and can fly back to Bucharest from Rome for even less. I'm so excited! I love Italy and I can't wait to see Linds! Yay....

Other kind of exciting news, but not in a going-to-Italy-for-the-weekend way is that I went to a belly dancing class the other night... and it was super fun! The class was full of women, and we were all kind of shy at the beginning of the class - there was doubt and apprehension. However, by the end of the class we were all fully into it and it was a total blast – I’d go back for SURE. But I want one of those little jingly hip scarves with the coins – super fun! I wonder if men belly dance? Hmm… probably yes, but in not quite the same way. Okay, time to run – yoga awaits!

........

Despite the fact that there is an Irish Pub in town, there is no green beer in Constanta. There was no green beer in Constanta (and no green food colouring either). The restaurant that is The Irish Pub is just that; a restaurant with a seriously deceptive name; the décor could pass as Irish (dark mahogany wood), but there is nothing “pubby” about the place and not a glass of Irish beer to be had. So instead of going out last night, Tammy and I stayed in and drank Heineken (green can) and made the most delicious salads, which were also fairly green. (Salads and beer: nice dinner!) I own no green clothing (not here at least) so wore blue; apparently blue was the colour originally associated with this saint (hmmm… why?) until the shamrock became the routine symbol of the day. And I assume that wearing green has just become the easy alternative to finding and pinning a shamrock on your sleeve – it’s also kinda fun, dressing in green garb. Anyways, we had our own little homage to the Irish and Ireland’s patron saint, and though our offerings were dinky (Dutch beer and lettuce) they were delicious.

I’ve missed some important “days” this month: International Day Against Police Brutality and World Consumer Rights Day … and I’ve also missed some not so important days. Sure it’s subjective, but Pig Day? (Tagline: “Remember the good things pigs have brought to us!” – like bacon?) and What if Cats and Dogs Had Opposable Thumbs Day? (“We are thankful today that our pets can't really get a grip on things.”) How about Get Over It Day? (“Don’t Ever Forget: It Could Always Suck More”) - I mean, who creates these days? Greeting Card companies have a hand in it I’m sure, but I’ve never seen a Get Over It card. Imagine – you get a card in the mail from your ex or your former boss or I don’t know who: Move On! It’s Done! GET OVER IT! Ya, that’d be nice… and subtle. I do need to get over the dog that is NON-stop barking in the apartment just above ours – time to get out of the house. I’ll leave you with this ad for flea spray; at least the dog upstairs isn’t this big…

A colossal stuck-to-the-floor ad in a shopping centre in Jakarta


And I had to add this: This interactive (or inter-inactive?) ad for a fitness centre gives people waiting for the bus an unasked-for reality check.... (www.thecoolhunter.net)

cake or loaf?

I didn’t make the cake. We were still full from a Saturday night of eating and drinking that there was no room for colossal chocolate goodness on Sunday. We only really had room for couch and TV, though I somehow got myself out of our newly constructed couch-bed to go to the gym for an hour. (Somehow I figured that one hour of moderate activity would make up for an entire day of blobbing and lying around.) Jennifer (the Canadian-Australian woman we bumped into in the grocery store near our house about a month ago) and her husband Rowan had us over on Saturday night for dinner and drinks, and we had a blast. They put together a huge spread of goodies: wings, sushi (YUM!), chicken nibbly things, bocconcini-tomato-butter lettuce bites and a big delicious plate of cheese and veggies and nuts and olives and more. YUM. The wine flowed and the conversation was great. They’ve been living here for two and a half years, so had a lot to say about Romania and the crazy people that live here. Okay, there are some sane, normal ones but for the most part… it’s a crazy place. We had lots of notes to compare on that subject, and also on our mutual living-away-from-home situations. Rowan works at the Port (the largest in the Black Sea) as a terminal manager, and Jennifer and I share the same support staff role; they have a sweet little dog that they rescued from the street, who is a complete princess and is clearly the one in charge. Anyways, we stayed late (time flies when you’re having fun) and somehow, managed to pick up one of Steve’s teammates on the way home; I was ready for bed but Steve and Arvis wanted hockey and just one more drink. So, I went to bed.

Sunday was a lazy, lazy day. We probably watched 12 or 13 episodes of Friends – we’re starting from the beginning and are planning to make our way through all 10 seasons of the show. I love it – it doesn’t really get old for me. I mean sure, there are some episodes that I’ve seen a million times and am a bit meh about but… I still love it! I also finished two books this weekend – Pilgrim (which took me almost a month to read) and Bernhard Shultz’s The Reader; both were great books – very different of course, but I’d definitely recommend both of them.

So, since Steve is leaving tomorrow (mrrrrrr) for an entire week on a very long bus trip, and since I love baking and love eating and want to send him off with some yummy food for the bus… I’m making Chocolate Applesauce Loaf. Again, it’s a healthy alternative to the Ultimate Choco Cake madness-deliciousness that I will make when the guys get back but don’t dare make in the meantime; Tammy and I would end up like the mayor in Le Chocolat (chocolate-glutton-unconscious in the front window), but with no one to find us or judge us, which would almost be worse.


(it might look something like this - but we'd be wearing sweats and there'd be a lot more chocolate everywhere)

chocolate applesauce loaf

1/4 c. butter or margarine

1 c. sugar (approx.)

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 3/4 c. flour

1/2 c. cocoa

1 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. applesauce

1 sq. semi sweet choc. grated coarsely (didn't add this but it would be good!!)

350 degrees, loaf pan about 50 min.

The recipe is from my mom, who told me last night that our Hot Looks dolls are in the basement. I'll snap a few pics of this LOAF if it turns out... or lasts long enough... ")

mostly goodness...

Over the past few days my world of yoga and food has been stellar, and my luck and success with backgammon has been abysmal. Steve and I, being the super-nerds we are, are playing in the Romanian Backgammon Championships, and are currently in playoffs – semi-finals to be precise. In a best of 11 series, he, with his army of lucky charms, defeated me 6-1; good thing there are only two of us, otherwise I wouldn’t have made it to the finals. His luck has been incredible – no matter what I do, he trumps it with last-minute doubles and then doubles again. I’m telling him that maybe he should save some of his luck for volleyball and next weekend’s Final Four – not that they need it, but he could do with a little less of it right about now – I don’t want to get bageled in the finals. Meh.

Anyways, on to more exciting things – like FOOD. I’d sort of forgotten about Tastespotting, and I LOVE it. Last night Tammy and I were perusing the recipes (and pictures) and immediately fell in love with and felt the need – the compulsive need – to make this cake. It looks so absolutely sinfully delicious, I don’t care if there are only two or three of us around to eat the thing… And even though there are no birthdays or anniversaries coming up, I’m planning to give it a try on Sunday. Ooh! It can be a send-off cake; the guys leave on Tuesday for a week-long road trip to Turkey, stopping in Istanbul for an exhibition match before continuing on to Izmir. A send-off cake and a cake to mark the Ides of March… not that we need an excuse to make Black Magic Chocolate Cake - we could just do it in the name of chocolate and beauty and goodness. Seriously…

Beautifully created and photographed - thanks to The Repressed Pastry Chef!

I admit that the chocolate cake recipe wasn’t the only one to grab me, and I tabbed five or six food blogs – there are so many good ones out there! So much to be made, and so much to be eaten… egad. So, because we had a pile of black bananas, I made BANANA bread… with walnuts. Finding for a good, lower fat (I’m okay with cakes being high in fat – but breads… not so much) recipe was a bit of a challenge, but I came across Aunt Holly's recipe at Epicurious, and it's pretty similar to the recipe I use to make banana muffins. A double batch in my new loaf pan (care of Agustina) – with walnuts on the inside and walnuts on the outside - it came out perfectly. It was in the oven for almost an hour and a half but wow, was it ever worth the wait. And the apartment still smells like it just came out of the oven - double yum.


Yoga tonight was fantastic – there were 10 or 12 people, and the flow of the class totally synched with the music, and everything just fit perfectly. Afterwards, two “students” came up to me to say thank you and tell me how much they enjoyed it, and one of them told me that I was a “genius.” Well, yes yes thank you very much yes, but - huh? She explained that since she started yoga last month, her back pain has all but disappeared… yay! I had to admit that no, it wasn’t me, it was the yoga. It feels great not only to be helping people do something that they enjoy, but helping – somehow – relieve or facilitate the relief of pain. On that note, I may just have to facilitate the relief of some banana bread from the makeshift Tupperware container in the kitchen… mmm... bye!

corruption and more...

In September of last year, the Romanian president, Traian Băsescu, told the Romanian public that their government is NOT HONEST. In the same public address, he continued to say the following: “Beyond skill, the ability to react, to have good management, what matters most for a Government is honesty towards all its citizens.” Er, right. Is there any merit in stressing the importance of honesty and, in the same breath, admitting dishonesty? The comments were made in reaction to the debate over raising teacher’s salaries here in Romania; their pay is abysmally low, and despite funding for salary increases in other departments, there is nothing in the budget to meet the demands of Romania’s educators. Teachers are demanding a 50% raise, and while data on up-to-date wages and salaries in Romania is ridiculously hard to find, a teacher here makes, on average, between €250 and €500 a month (between $400 and $800 Can). Sadly, though this salary seems ridiculously low, it reflects the average pay of a working Romanian, which is 1255 RON (Lei), approximately €316. I have to include the following headline, which I found on the same news site, Mediafax: “10.03.2009 Romanian Parliament Clears EUR143M State Aid For Ford: Romania's Chamber of Deputies approved Tuesday the Emergency Ordinance granting an EUR143 state aid to Ford Motor Company, which bought last year a car factory in the country's southern city of Craiova.” Right.

I read an article last week in an English language newspaper, Nine O’Clock, entitled The Anxieties of the Medical System, in which the anxieties of both the medical and educational systems were lamented. The introductory paragraph pretty much sums up the situation; both of these systems are rapidly devolving, and despite a relatively strong economic year (2008) for Romania, financial resources were/are used to “enrich” the officials, not to hike the budget for health and education. Romania is number one in Europe when it comes to infant mortality rates, pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers and AIDS. Infrastructure is crumbling, and salaries remain stagnant and low… at least for a doctor working in public health. According to this article, “An experienced doctor who has a good reputation and works in a private clinic or hospital earns approximately €5,000-€8,000 per month, and may under exceptional circumstances earn as much as a net amount of over €20,000 per month.” The gap between public and private employees is shocking, but not surprising; a state-paid doctor earns several hundred Euros a month and the salary of a resident very rarely exceeds €300 per month. So – how and why? The answer, is corruption.

Corruption Perceptions Index: Romania is at the bottom of the list... (See Transparency International Romania)

Just as the educational and medical systems are regressing, so is the fight against corruption. It’s impossible to not be aware of this problem, and it infects all sectors and almost every aspect of everyday life. Romanian institutions most affected by corruption in 2007 are (in order): political parties, parliament/legislature, legal systems/judiciary, medical services, police, business/private sector and the education system. With almost every transaction and interaction with any and all of these institutions, a “spaga” or bribe is expected – if it’s not received, your paperwork is lost or your prescription is wrong or you lose the contract etc. etc. As a new member of the EU, Romania is being heavily pressured to institute a transparent anti-corruption agenda – and execute it. And while I’m sure there are some people that are taking this seriously, it seems like a complete and total joke. Get this… Some of the conditions of Romania’s entry into the EU included a certain degree of judicial reform and a (large) number anti-corruption measures. Then Minister of Justice, Monica Macovei instituted enough of these reforms and prerequisites for accession to the European Union, and was largely credited for helping realize this monumental, historical change. However, her efforts against high-level corruption also earned many enemies, and soon after Romania was granted entry she was sacked. Romania was in, and corruption (also in) edged her out. And this is how the story goes: the politicians make the rules, and they rule to line their coffers, and leave infrastructure and public employees with the meager leftovers. Until there is any integrity in government, I’m afraid that the roads, the teachers, the schools, the doctors, and the general health and well-being of the Romanian population will do nothing but stagnate, and suffer.

Check out this great video about Monica Macovei, her efforts, and corruption in Romania.

Barbie...

Happy belated birthday Barbie! Fifty years ago yesterday, Barbie had her debut at the International Toy Fair in NYC, and after hundreds of careers, several physical alterations (plastic surgery?) and a few attitude adjustments, she is still an ageless, timeless icon of Western culture. The original Barbie (both a blond and a brunette) was a teenage fashion model, filling out (barely) a black and white bathing suit with a physiologically impossible figure. Since, she’s been an astronaut, an Olympic swimmer, a firefighter, a lifeguard (think Baywatch), a pilot and a babysitter. Who else can say they’ve worked at McDonald’s (in ’83) and seen the White House as America’s President (2000)? While I’m not sure that this doll has aged at all (it’s been a while since I’ve seen a Barbie doll), she has undergone a few changes. Her original measurements would have made her, as a real-life human being, 5 feet 9 inches, with the following measurements: 36” (chest), 18” (waist), 33” (hips). According to a Finnish study, she would have “lacked the 17 to 22 percent body fat required for a woman to menstruate.” Surprise, surprise... That might have been because she’d been following her own advice; 1965’s Slumber Party Barbie came with a scale (reading 110 lbs) and a book entitled How to Lose Weight (“Don’t Eat”). This isn’t the only advice that women/girls haven’t gobbled up (paaaah) or objected to; “Math class is tough” sparked just a wee bit of outrage among “feminists” around the world. At least she didn’t’ say, “Thinking is for losers” or “Let me fetch your slippers, dear husband” or “Well, I don’t need the right to vote”; all three of these phrases were supposedly considered for Miss Teen Talk. Anyways, Barbie is a big deal (ask anyone attending the annual National Barbie Doll Collectors Convention) and, even at 50, she’s still the most popular doll in the world.

I don’t remember being too into Barbie dolls when I was little, but I do remember loving my Hot Looks doll; I googled “popular 80s dolls” and a whole whack of lists appeared, with a ridiculous number of dolls. One year for Christmas we each got a Hot Looks doll and I’m pretty sure I got this one:


I remember loving her clothes (who wouldn’t) and just learned that her name is Elkie, that she’s from Sweden, and that her motto is, “Exercise is my life!” Hmm… strange – exercise is my life. Elkie and her Hot Looks buddies (Zizi, Chelsea and Mimi) weren’t nearly as popular as Barbie was, and have long since been in off-shelf doll-land. I wonder whatever happened to our Hot Looks Dolls…

International Women's Day...

Another International Women’s Day in another country! Last year we celebrated in Russia, and this year in Romania. I don’t remember hearing anything about the stripper tradition last year – but here, as you may know from my last blog, it is accepted as something normal and routine for March 8th. Some of Tammy’s teammates went last night, but we both declined – I stayed home and watched The Devil Wears Prada (great clothes!) and then when Steve got home (from a road trip to Bucharest) we started watching What Just Happened which was horrible. (We wondered if the point of the movie was, when finished, for the movie watcher to say, “The last two hours of my life were a complete and total waste – what just happened?” It was brutal.) Anyways, so neither of us did anything too special for IWD. This afternoon a small group of us met for coffee at the mall, which was jam-packed – I’m sure that the way in which Romanian men show their love to the woman (or women) in their life is to take them shopping… It seems as though the gift-giving emphasis is on the value of the gift, not on the thought put into it; it’s not the thought that counts, but the money spent – ugh. Though the holiday once served as more of a reminder of the political and social progress women have made, and still need to make, in Romania (as in Russia) it’s more of an all-encompassing celebration of women. I do like this old Soviet poster though, that reads: "8th of March is the day of the rebellion of the working women against the kitchen slavery" and "Down with the oppression and narrow-mindedness of the household work!" Amen to that sister!

wow...

We’ve been super out of touch with what’s been going on in the news as of late, but today read about the Vince Li’s trial and the judge’s decision. I’m not a huge fan of the phrase “not criminally responsible,” and don’t like “not guilty by reason of insanity” either; that NOT should precede “guilty” or “responsible” suggests that he’s off the hook, that he didn’t do it. The worst part of the whole deal is that at some point this guy could be released back into the free world if he’s no longer deemed a risk to the public. Li was clearly out of his mind but I just don’t entirely get why that means he’s not guilty; the Manitoba judge said, “He did not appreciate the act he committed was wrong,” but isn’t it true that a fair number of sane criminals don’t appreciate the fact that their crimes were wrong either? Perhaps it’s because I don’t know or understand anything about schizophrenia, but even so, I feel that, when a crime such as this is committed, with the accused having no recollection of the actual attack (even though he recalls there being voices telling him what to do) some modicum of responsibility should still rest with the individual. The fact that he will now be relegated to a psychiatric facility where he may or may not spend the rest of his life would be horribly painful for the McLean family. In any case, I hope that Li gets adequate treatment, but that he’s kept in a secure facility for the same amount of time as he would have spent in a prison if he’d been found guilty of the crime that he committed.

Crimes… Well, I saw one the other day at the mall. It wasn’t a purse snatching or a brawl or a granny mugging but… wait… wait… a cowboy STRIPPING to Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive” on a stage in the middle of the mall. I’m not even kidding. I honestly couldn’t believe my eyeballs – I heard the music and I saw this guy – dressed in faded, light-blue, high-waisted, long-crotched 90s jeans, a plaid button up shirt, a leather vest, a cowboy hat, cowboy boots and a bandana covering his face – swinging his hips and flutting and strutting around, gyrating and sexy (barf) moving to a scattered crowd of Romanians at 7:30 on a Wednesday night. There were families, girls and boys, teenagers and old folks – some stopping to watch and others nonchalantly strolling by. I, with my mouth open in utter disbelief...

(like this)

... couldn’t, at first, decide if it was real or a total joke… this guy was painful to watch. I mean painful – not to mention ridiculous. And it seemed so painfully inappropriate, him acting all stripper-ish up there on stage, in the middle of a shopping mall! I texted Tammy right away, but of course had left my camera at home… so couldn’t record any evidence of this ridiculous episode of a Romanian cowboy stripping in the mall. I seriously couldn’t watch, and came out of Zara to see him whipping his belt around, overhead, from side to side with hip thrust this way hip thrust that way, and people just kind of standing there as if they were watching a lecture or slide show. What made it even more strange, is that there were two women getting their hair done up on stage too – who would every so often get Mr. Cowboy in their lap for a few seconds; the girls had curlers in their hair, and this guy was just wearing jeans and a cowboy hat. Ugggghhhh.

So, why you ask? Women’s Day is coming up this weekend, on Sunday March the 8th, and apparently (according to Tammy’s Romanian teammates) it’s a day that (in Romania at least) women go to see male strippers. It is actually a normal custom to go and see male strippers – she was even invited to go with her team to perform this ritual for WOMEN’S DAY! I mean, I thought International Women’s Day was a celebration of the social and political progress women have made, and in the strength and wonderfulness of women, not the strength and wonderfulness? ickiness? of male strippers. Apparently it’s also celebrated as a day not unlike Mother’s Day – a day to honour the women in your life… and I love the idea of that – but won’t do so by taking my Mom and sisters and friends to see a stripper – uh, no thanks! More on International Women’s Day later… but wow, I just really had to write about this cowboy. I’m so mad that I didn’t have my camera – DOH!!!

March 1st...

When Nik and I were walking around downtown last week we saw several stands and street vendors selling what looked like plastic trinkets, fake flowers and bracelets, and had no idea why people seemed so excited about so much junky stuff. I learned on Saturday night, that Sunday was Mârţişor, the traditional celebration of the beginning of spring. Tradition has it that spring and summer weather will be the same as the 1st of March, and that if a mârţişor is worn, good luck and good health will follow throughout the rest of the year. A mârţişor is a small bracelet made of two threads, one red and one white, whose colours symbolize summer and winter, vitality and life, and death. Apparently, in old times, March 1st marked the beginning of the new year, and it was important to ward off evil spirits and encourage the good ones to come a’knocking. Some of these mârţişor have trinkets or coins tied to them, as traditionally, girls would use the coin to buy fresh cheese and red wine, in order to “blush like the wine” and be “as white as the cheese.” Maybe this is why we fell into the massive pothole – we weren’t wearing our mârţişors… doh!

There are many stories and traditions surrounding this day – too many to list here (or read) – but the first nine days of March are called the “Nine Old Ladies,” and I’m not completely sure why. The first day of spring is also the day of an ancient agrarian deity, Baba Dochia, who died on March 1st (the spring equinox in the old folk calendar) and was revived on March 9th (the beginning of the new agrarian year). This must be related to the story of the nine (sometimes 12) coats; though there are many different versions of this story, this is basically how it goes. Baba Dochia (or an old lady, evil in most versions) is fooled by the weather into taking off her nine coats during the first nine days of spring. While I’d prefer a happy ending, it seems as though spring wasn’t over (bad weather days were borrowed from February?) and the woman freezes and dies. Sad ending for a spring story! In any case, these first nine days are associated with women – because of the fertility of spring I assume, and traditionally, there’s a superstition and habit for women to choose one of the nine days (beforehand) and the weather on that day will be a forecast of their luck for the year. I should have picked today! It was beautiful outside. I went for a long walk on the beach and… came home to internet!

Signs of Spring! Outside our apartment building this morning...

Last night the team manager told Steve that someone would come to set up internet in our apartment between 10 and 12 this morning. Because Steve left for Bucharest at 9, and I had yoga at 11, I was sure that we’d miss the internet guys and have to visit the smoky cafe for the rest of the year. Imagine my surprise (and luck!) when the doorbell rang at 9:55 - seriously! They were in and out of here in 15 minutes, and they spoke English! Finally we are reconnected with the rest of the world… YAY!

bad roads, great friends!

Wow, I have so much to blog about I don’t know where to begin. Okay, let’s start with this: What European city has a ring road that is used not only by cars and trucks, but by horse and cart, pedestrians (no sidewalks) and prostitutes, and is dotted with dangerous surprises such as (to name a few) four lanes merging to one (for traffic in both directions – zero signage) and gargantuan, tire-busting potholes? Yes, the answer is Bucharest. The road is so ridiculously bad it is really unbelievable. I pulled out my camera to take some pictures – of the potholes, the ridiculously uneven road surfaces (there were many different kinds – dirt, concrete, asphalt, rocks, gravel etc.), the lack of signage... but of course my battery was dead. After dropping Nik off at the airport on Sunday evening, we were making our way home in a borrowed full-sized vehicle (thank goodness), when, on the ring road, a gargantuan hole-in-the-road ate one of the front tires. I really have no idea how we didn’t see this massive hole; if we had been driving our little Matiz, I think the entire car would have fallen into the abyss of missing road; either that or flipped off of the shoddy bridge we were driving over. Yipes. Anyways, so the drama that ensued was almost as equally impressive. The tire didn’t blow until we were on the highway, which was actually lucky, as it may be the only road in the entire country with a shoulder. So we pulled over and in the half-dark, Steve changed the tire, replacing the fully blown one with a weeny emergency tire that would only get us so far. Well… we opted not to reverse on the highway (people do that here), but decided to turn around at the first exit WHICH didn’t happen to be for an entire 30 kilometres. There was nowhere to turn around and there were no gas stations – nothing but black, deep empty space. Of course, we were only going 60 km/h and had traffic flying by us at 140, with people flashing lights and honking and the whole nine yards. We had our fingers crossed that the small replacement tire would get us back to the nearest gas station – otherwise we would have been stranded in the middle of nowhere (and I mean nowhere) on the speed-demon Romanian highway on a Sunday night - no thank you. Luckily, we arrived at a new-ish Petrom station, safe, sound and a little stressed, where we were met by some extremely friendly and helpful Romanians, who knew exactly which hole our Honda had fallen prey to; they said they see busted tires and frustrated people every day. When I expressed my amazement at the condition of the road (and the gargantuan pothole) the guy shrugged, smiled and said, “This is Romania.” Hmm… right.

The guy, Sorin, was really helpful and eager, and offered to take us to a tire shop. Well, Sorin was surely, in another life, an Indy 500 driver. He drove, on speedbumped city roads, 140 km/h… while techno blared and Steve and I sat white knuckled in the back of the van. At least there wasn’t snow, and we covered the 15 kilometres in approximately 30 seconds. Long story short, we got a new tire, were expedited back to the gas station, the tire was changed, we gassed up and were finally on our way back to Constanta by around 10:00. We were pretty cautious on the drive back, which was a good thing; yesterday morning we woke up to a completely flat tire, once again. The most important thing is that we were safe, and arrived home in one piece – I can’t say the same for the car, but I’m just thankful that we weren’t driving the Matiz… really.

Anyways… We had a great visit with Nik, that culminated in a legendary Saturday night at Club Wish where we actually consumed three entire bottles of vodka… not even kidding. For the first time we decided to reserve a table – which involves buying two bottles of whatever you like (not water, not beer) – and it was great. There were initially only six of us (and two bottles of vodka) – Tammy, Sherisa, Arvis, Steve, Nik and me - but we were joined by Sebastian and Agustina, and then, the party really started. We had a great time dancing and drinking and just hanging out – it was nice to actually have a place to sit down… which, in a European nightclub, is usually a luxury you have to pay for. We stayed late, partied hard and woke up on Sunday morning feeling surprisingly fine. After a greasy breakfast/lunch, we made our way to Bucharest, stopping only for Starbucks and sandwiches… and then headed for the airport. It was really great having Nik here, and, besides a few bumps (and holes) in the road, all of us had an awesome time!!

On our way over to Tammy's on Saturday night; I put some backup flats in my purse, and Steve decided he might need some backup runners... in his pockets.

At Tammy's

The girls! Tammy, me and Agustina

Friends for LIFE!