My Life: Report, Party, Report

I haven't had too much to blog about recently.  Last weekend I spent a lot of time writing the report for the Volunteer Advisory Committee (VAC) Annual Survey.  Each year the co-chairs of the committee send a survey out to all the volunteers in the country to get feedback about their service.  This information is then presented to Peace Corps Romania staff at one of the VAC meetings.  This year, as one of the co-chairs, I have been weighing through the data and making all sort of bar graphs and pie charts.  To be honest, I enjoy being able to deal with easy things like number and percentages.  I love having definitive answers unlike teaching, where it seems there is never a clear-cut answer.

After finishing the report I then looked to the week ahead which included Valentine's Day. On Valentine's Day I had parties in the three 11th grade classes I teach on Tuesdays.  I especially enjoyed the parties in 11A and 11B as this is the second year I am teaching those classes and I have gotten to know them quite well.

11A

Dancing in 11A

11B giving Violeta a giant valentine they made he

Pingino!  (Yes, it's really the bunny hop)

Group hug!

As the week concluded I realized that in the midst of celebrating I had procrastinated on the Volunteer Report File which is due on Monday so I am headed back to the computer this weekend.  The Volunteer Report File is a document that each volunteer must fill out around the world each trimester showing their activities and how many host country nationals.  It can be a little daunting the first time as you count the number of students in each class and activity, but as I realize I only have a couple more to do I am feeling more hopeful.

Chanting, "Snow day, snow day!"

In my town, nothing will get in the way of education.  Not over a foot of snow, bitter winds or very few students.  For the past two days, I have trudged to school find classes with three, six, or zero students.  I have found myself yearning for a snow day.  As a teacher, I would rather have the day off and make-up the class at another time so that I could present information to all the students at once.

Benches in the school courtyard

I've given up hope of my snow day in Romania, but look forward to future winters in Seattle where we are wimpy and shut everything down with just two inches. I have five months left in Romania, but my real question is how many of these months will be winter months.  Last year we had snow in May, but I am hopeful this winter will be shorter.

Winter in Miniature

Over the past 48 hours we have been inundated with snow as a winter storm rolls across Eastern Europe.  Thus far I have been lucky to have heat, power and water, but even with the heat on drafts still sneak into my room from the unheated hall and uninsulated balcony.  The weather seemed a perfect excuse to make winter treat.  Roasted Brussels sprouts and pecans!  The treat is two-fold.  You get to eat something delicious, but you also have an excuse to turn up the oven, savor the warmth and good smells coming from it.

In Romanian, Brussels sprouts are varza de Bruxelles, literally cabbage of Brussels. I love to imagine that Brussels is a land where everything is tiny.  Perhaps it's a hold over from the hours I spent as a child playing with my Sylvanian Families dolls, but this idea has enchanted me.

As I spent time huddled around the stove waiting for my tiny cabbages to roast, I was reminded of a neat photo trick that I learned about on Bridget's blog called tilt shifting.  This is done by changing the focus on the imagine so it looks like a miniature.  It's one of the most fabulous and totally addicting things I have done recently.  Fueled by delicious sprouts I decided to tilt shift some of my photos from today.

I also even took a snap of my dinner and fiddled with it!