Keeping Up Appearances

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So a few days ago I am doing a load of dishes in the kitchen. When I’m finished, I go to wash my hands in the bathroom and notice that the entire floor is covered in about an inch of water. It seemed that all the (dirty greasy) water that had gone down the kitchen sink ended up here. Darn. So, this entailed a call to my landlord. Now, although landlord is usually synonymous with trouble, I am quite lucky. My landlord is an old retired man. Although the apartment technically belongs to his son, the father manages everything.

The next day he comes over with a spool of cable, gets down on his knees in the bathroom, and tries to unclog the mess himself. It doesn’t work. So, after admonishing me not to take a shower, he vows to return the next day with a plumber. The next day he does indeed show up with a plumber, and this plumber is a typical plumber: big, overalls, dirty, friendly. He takes apart the bathroom sink, does some heavy duty plunging, sticks a few cables down the drain, and about half an hour later comes up with an absolutely rank looking conglomeration of hairballs, congealed grease and toenail clippings. After this victory, he takes a look at the kitchen sink and replaces the old piping with a new flexible hose. All is well. I shake hands with the both of them and bid them adeiu.

An hour later, all is calm, and I am reading on my balcony, enjoying the fine weather. Buzz!, someone is at my door. An un-announced buzz means one of three things: Gypsy salesperson, man/woman coming to read the electric/water meters, or my landlord. I assume its him and I’m right. He has with him a little bag of cleaning products, and proceeds into the kitchen. Taking out a product called “Axion,” he dabs a bit on a sponge and begins scouring the sink. Apparently during his previous visit he concluded that I was not keeping the sink as clean as he would like. As he continues scrubbing away at the sink, I attempt to join in, but really its only a one person job. So, I just leave him be and continue to read on the balcony.

About a half hour later I come back inside and find that he has moved to the bathroom and is scrubbing the tub. He is pretty much finished, and at that point I get a short lecture about how I should keep the kitchen and bathroom cleaner. It’s not mean-spirited, but as I had been warned by my counterpart to humor him, I smile and nod and promise to keep everything more sparklinger. Before he leaves, additional notice of displeasure is given regarding my collection of shoes adjacent to the front door. A mess, he exclaims, in mock frustration, too many shoes! So I put a few of them away in a little closet and at this he is quite satisfied. I promise again to keep things cleaner in the future and he leaves satisfied.

A minute later comes the customary follow-up buzz; he always forgets something and has to come back for it. This time it is his watch. I grab it, open the door and hand it right to him. We laugh a little and he departs once again.

Party Time

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It has been an exciting week here in Romania. Firstly, school has come to a close. Yes, one year down and I have survived! I am very proud of myself, and looking back on this past year, it has been quite an experience.

The tradition here in Transylvania is for the graduating seniors and all teachers who worked with them to have a big party. We’re not talking about soda and cookies in a classroom here, rather a full-blown promesque experience. (Thankfully, this time around it was a better experience….) Since I currently work at two schools, I was invited to two different parties, on two consecutive nights. So as you can imagine, it was a fun week.

The first party was held by the Hungarian school and took place in a large restaurant. I was floored when I entered the building, because this place was opulent, wedding quality. The hall was huge (I’ve learned that it is a renovated canteen from a now defunct nearby factory complex,) and lavishly decorated. Students and teachers sat at large round tables, and we were treated to a three course meal and dancing. What I enjoyed particularly about this first party was a tradition where all the teachers stood in a giant semi-circle with a cup of champagne. The students, with their own cups, filed by, clinking and saying “cheers” with each and every one of us. Then, after all the students had gone by (30 minutes later,) the teachers at one end of the semi-circle started following the path of the students, and we began clinking with one another. I found it to be a most collegial exercise. That party went on till 5 AM, so I hear, but I was out by 2.

The following night was the Romanian school’s party. This one took place in the restaurant/banquet facilities of a large hotel in the city center. Although upon first glance the setting was far less opulent, this party turned out to be even better. The main difference was that the teachers had their own room. I had to laugh a little when I noticed that the tables were set up in a U pattern. This is worth noting because this style seems to be popular in many official Romanian settings (including our teacher’s room at the school.) The most important people sit at the head of the U and the rest of us further out to the edges. Therefore, being at an end of the U usually guarantees one a better time.

Things got off to a quick start as the waiter came through the room with a fine selection of alcohol. About an hour into the evening, after our first course, the special guests arrived. Two musicians, a violinist and an accordionist, began, to much fanfare, playing traditional Romanian festivity music. And I must say, what fun it was. Everyone was singing along, smiling, and having a good time – traits rare in the day to day running of the school. In addition to the wild entertainment, I had some great conversations with other teachers, both familiar ones and a few with whom I had been wanting speak but had yet to find a proper platform. A few other teachers also approached me, being less inhibited (and more inclined to try their English,) after a few drinks. It was a fantastic evening.

Other positives are that the weather has warmed up and the fruits are out in full force. Currently starring at the local piatas are cherries and strawberries. All are locally grown, and thus quite inexpensive. A kilogram of strawberries costs about one dollar. So, I am finding myself with more time to spend reading on my balcony with a bowl of fresh fruit by my side. Of course there is lots more on tap for the summer, but I’ll save that for the next update.

They said it really loud, they said it on the air, on the radio…

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So Friday on the Mike Malloy show, Mike was discussing the story about the Marines in Iraq killing innocent civilians. Doing a great job as usual, he had been contrasting the statements made by the Iraqi prime minister with the White House spin that he had been “misquoted.” For those of you who missed this one, the Iraqi prime minister said the following:

“This is a phenomenon that has become common among many of the multinational forces. No respect for citizens, smashing civilian cars and killing on a suspicion or a hunch. It’s unacceptable.”

Although Condoleezza Rice has not subsequently repudiated those words, she followed, albeit less vocally, the trajectory taken by WH spokesman, Tony Snow as evidenced by this back and forth with Helen Thomas:

Q Where does he say he was misinterpreted?

MR. SNOW: Well, unfortunately, Helen, I have just tried to — what I’m trying is to relate to you, through Ambassador Khalilzad, through me, what was told to him through an interpreter by the Prime Minister. And it becomes a little convoluted, and so I don’t want to make a real clear characterization, because it’s a little hazy to me, too. All right? What I do know is that he was misquoted, he’s looking into it. But that what he said, and when he said it, and in reaction to what is a little gauzy.

…

Q You’re not telling us what he said.

MR. SNOW: But I don’t know exactly what he said. All I’m doing is giving you the characterization I repeated through the Ambassador. I’m trying my best to be your advocate on this one. But I did not have a direct conversation with the Ambassador — I mean, with the Prime Minister. But it’s interesting to note that you have — violence against civilians has become a “daily phenomenon by many troops in the American-led coalition who did not respect the Iraqi people.” This is gauzian in and of itself. It doesn’t refer to American troops. It talks about troops in an American-led coalition, which also involves Iraqi troops. I don’t know what this means. I wish I did, and I wish I could give you clearer guidance.

Anyway, Mike was taking some calls after the segment about this little incident was finished. After commiserating with an upset New Yorker, Arnold called in.

LISTEN HERE!!

Hurts soooo good,