Checking Things Off My Romanian Bucket List

A while ago my dear friend Saskia asked me if I had done everything on my Romanian bucket list.  We chatted about what I had and had not done in Romania and she asked if I had been to a sheepfold.  I said no.  She said, "Don't you know any shepherds?" 

After I explained that I don't know any shepherds and haven't seen any sheep around my block she realized it was a bit of a ridiculous question, especially as I don't have a car to get out to any sheepfolds.  Thus today we set out in her car to mark this off the list.  

I was an awesome afternoon, full of animal goodness!  We visited shepherds tending to 100 goats and 350 sheep, not to mention 15 baby pigs and a giant mama pig, plus 2 litters of puppies.  I got to try my hand at shearing a sheep and milking a goat, although the verdict was that I don't have a future in either. The highlight of my afternoon was cuddling a 2 day old goat.

Shearing sheep

Learning to shear

Saskia and the adorable baby goat

Sheep being rounded up to be milked

headed to the fold

Ready for milking

Milking station

milking time

Trying to learn to milk

fresh goat milk!

piggies

Christmas

Last year I spent Christmas in Romania with fellow volunteers, Julie and Vicki. This year Julie and I decided to try another Eastern European destination for the holiday, Budapest.  Julie and I have been wanting to go since we discovered that we can get there with just one train transfer from our sites.  However, we weren't able to find time to go this summer so we decided to go for Christmas.  The train journey took a little over 15 hours and two trains.

Arriving in Keleti Station

We arrived in Keleti station in Budapest on a very chilly morning, but were able to warm up as we strolled to our hotel.  Our hotel was very conveniently located, just one block from the Great Hall Market where were were able to look at lots of local produce, spices (lots of paprika!) and handmade crafts.

Great Hall Market

We also were able to take a short stroll from our hotel down a pedestrian boulevards to one of the main Christmas markets in Budapest.  During the month of December local squares are filled with vendors selling holiday crafts, food and drinks.  We enjoyed drinking mulled wine and checking out local crafts.

Christmas cookies

On Christmas Eve we visited one of traditional thermal bath houses, Szechenyi and enjoyed soaking in the thermal baths and sitting in the saunas.  The steam made it difficult to photograph, but the bath house was built in 1881 and was as gorgeous as it was relaxing.

Szechenyi Baths

 After the baths, we walked back to our hotel through Pest taking in many sites along the way.

Vajdahunyad Castle

The Christmas Tree at the Opera House

That evening we found Christmas Eve service in English at St. Columba’s Scottish Presbyterian Church.  It made it feel a little more like Christmas to get to sing a few hymns and carols in English.

Christmas day we woke up to gorgeous weather and took the opportunity to walk around the city more and cross the river to Buda.

A square in Pest next to our hotel

Matthias Church in Buda

Fisherman's Bastion in Buda

The view of the Hungarian Parliament from Buda

Christmas Dinner

We had nice day, including what we agreed was our most unusual Christmas dinner thus far, sushi.  It was difficult to be away from home and family for the second Christmas, but I feel very blessed to have such a good friend to spend the holiday with.  Thank you Julie!

As for next year, I can't wait to celebrate Christmas stateside, but I look forward to calls with Julie to reminiscence about our Eastern European Christmases.

Pork

Last Saturday I got the chance to experience a unique part of Romanian holiday festivities.  It's something that people talk about a lot, but one that I thought I might not get to see as I live in a large city without any livestock in it.  Luckily, my dear friend Angela invited me to her home in a village so that I could experience it before my time in Romania comes to an end.

At this time, I would like to put a disclaimer that if you do not like the sight of blood, this blog post isn't for you.

Julie also joined me on this expedition which started early in the morning as we trekked out to the village which is about a 45 minute walk outside of Onesti.  We were headed to see a traditional pig slaughter.  Families in Romania usually have one pig that they kill a little before Christmas.  The meat is used for the holidays and smoked to last through out the winter.

The pig in question on Saturday was raised by Angela's mother-in-law.  It was actually one of a pair that she raised.  The first pig was killed last year so this pig was two years old and weighed in over 200 kilograms (440 pounds).

We started the morning by visiting the pig which was resting in its stall.  The men then brought the pig out of the stall and bound its feet.  Angela explained that if you have compassion for the pig that it makes it harder for the pig to die so it was best if we went inside.  She and her husband, let her father-in-law and some neighbors deal with the killing. We went inside to the sound of pig screams (which were terrifying) to wait until the pig was deal.  Inside, we found Maia, Angela's youngest daughter, crying on her dad's shoulder about the death of the piggy.

After staying inside for a bit we went back outside to see the butchering process.

First, the hair and top layer of skin are torched. 

Torching

Next, the burned skin is scraped off with a knife.  After the whole pig is scraped it is washed and scrubbed with hot water. 

Scraping

Maia recovered from her initial grief and joined Julie and her older sister, Anda, outside to watch the butchering.

Maia, Julie and Anda

Removing the limbs

After the pig was cleaned, the girls took part in another tradition.  They sat on the pig to bring them luck in the new year.

Sampling pig skin

The pig was then cut along the spine and the fat was separated from the meat.  The fat will be smoked to make slanina which is a traditional Romanian delicacy.

After getting to the meat, a few samples were taken out to be brought to the domestic animal vet in town.  The meat is tested to make sure it is safe to eat.  We got the all clear and Angela then started working on lunch.

butchering

the family cat was very happy

Angela making lunch

lunch

For lunch we ate sauteed fat and meat with garlic sauce and mamaliga (polenta with a course-grain cornmeal). It was delicious, but better than that was getting to share the day with a wonderful and open Romanian family experiencing their traditions.

P.S. Maia decided that she wanted to model her Christmas outfit for us.  Here is a photo of us from the day!

Life in Slow Motion

Over the past couple weeks I have been trying to be a bit domestic.  I have been making granola and planting things.  This week I can happily report that my granola recipe is getting tastier (read less burnt) and that the plants in my kitchen window are sprouting.  I am hoping to have basil, cherry tomatoes, and cilantro by summer.  I am still using my flannel sheets and wearing my down coat some days, but I think summer is around the corner.

As I approach a year in Romania, I want to take a moment to reflect on things happening outside of Romania.  To me, one of the most challenging aspects of being in Romania has been missing events in the lives of family and friends.  My greatest joy in life comes from spending time and sharing experiences with family friends.  Beyond the standard holidays and birthdays, I have missed some momentous occasions too.  Two important new people came into the world; Benjamin, my nephew, and Cecelia, the daughter of my close friends Eliza and Daniel. While I have yet to meet them in person, I do cherish Skype dates with them.

I have also missed celebrating new engagements, but I am very excited for Corona & Josh and Margaret & Kevin.  My awesome sister-in-law, Astrid, got her Ph.D. Go, Dr. L! There are also new babies on the way who births I will miss this summer, but I can't wait to meet the new littles ones from Megan & Andrew, Robin & Andy, and Mariclair & Bill when I am back in Seattle.  Also, my brilliant cousins are graduating this month; Emily is getting her Ph.D. in Management and Simone is getting her Master's in Public Policy. Anyway I am cheering for all of you from Romania!

Times Flies, Scottish Style

Two weeks ago it was spring break for schools in Romania.  I took the opportunity to visit my dear friends Sarah, Dan, and their daughter Hazel in Glasgow. It was an amazing and refreshing trip!  The weather was beautiful and for the first time this year it felt like spring.  All week long local kept telling me that all the sunshine they were having was highly unusual.  Only when on the day I leaving did it turn to more typical Scottish spring weather and rain.

I feel like I packed so much into the trip that it would take ages to talk about all of it, but I thought I would share some photos and highlights.  Sarah also did a great job of documenting my visit on her blog.

Sarah is a wonderful hostess and before I even arrived asked me what food I was missing so that she could make some of my favorites.  I was totally pampered all week long!  Sarah whipped up Mexican food, Thai curry, and beef stroganoff. We also went out for fish and chips, tapas, and Indian! 

The first day, which I sadly don't have pictures of Sarah and I had a day out in Edinburgh.  We took the train from Glasgow in the morning.  I had been to Edinburgh before so we just looked at the castle from afar and skipped the tour, instead we hit the shops, dined in a pub, walked through the parks, poked around back alleys and had an amazing sunset dinner and wine.

Sunday the weather was still gorgeous so we went to a park at Loch Lomond.  The park has what I would call a mini castle, but is just referred to as a manor.  Hazel explored the playground and I soaked up the sunshine. 

Dan with the giant rhododendrons at Loch Lomond

mini castle

entrance to the loch

After the park we got some fish and chips for lunch before taking the train back to Sarah and Dan's flat so that Hazel could have her afternoon nap before the evening church service.

A park near Sarah and Dan's flat full of gorgeous cherry blossoms.

Dan stayed home while Hazel took her nap so that Sarah could show me a little of their neighborhood.  We met up again with Dan and Hazel at church. Sarah's brother is the pastor of Re: Hope and it was great to see him preach.  The service was very moving and the music was great.  Dan then went out with a few friends from church and Sarah and I walked home with Hazel.  After Hazel went to bed Sarah produced and amazing platter of local cheeses and crackers for me to try.  It was heavenly!  I am still dreaming of the wensleydale with cranberries. Another perfect end to the day.

The next day Dan had to work so Sarah, Hazel and I walked to the Kelvingrove Art Galley and Museum.  On the walk we passed Glasgow University.

 

Uni

Museum

The museum is free and fantastic for both children and adults. Hazel did great playing with all the interactive features while Sarah and I got to enjoy looking at Scottish history, nature and design, plus art from around the world.

the museum organ

museum interior

Sarah and Hazel soaking up sunshine on the walk home

The next day we went downtown so I could do more shopping for things that are hard to find in Romania.  Then Sarah and Hazel headed home for nap time and I stayed downtown to get my haircut.  It was my first haircut in a year except my own occasional hacking at my bangs.  Sarah had made an appointment for me with her awesome hairdresser, Mark, which was lovely!

Wednesday, I headed back to Edinburgh to meet up with my friend Emily.  Emily went to grad school in Edinburgh and graduated last year and has stayed on to work in her field.  Emily gave me a great insiders tour of the city.

apartments which combine old and new architecture

cherry blossoms in the Meadows

Nelson's monument and the observatory on Calton Hill

Castle!

Emily and I in Princes Street Gardens

banana phone

After wandering all over town, Emily and I had drinks at the Last Drop in the Grassmarket.

 

We then met up with a couple of Emily's friends and had a chance to catch the sun set over the links public golf course at the end of The Meadows.

Thursday was an amazing day.  The whole family surprised me for an early birthday celebration.  I work up to find the lounge filled with balloons, bunting and a very excited Hazel who had learned to wish me (and everyone) a happy birthday.

Hazel Mae

"happy birthday!"

We went downtown for a little more shopping and I loaded up on my favorite shampoos and other goodies to bring back with me.  It seemed like even the weather was cooperating on my birthday celebration day.  Even the cherry tree outside my window was in bloom.

The view from the guest bedroom.

After Hazel's nap we headed out to go to the shop across the street so I could get some postcard stamps and to go to the neighborhood butcher.  
 

Hazel helping me mail postcards

two stylish ladies!

With our newly purchased meat, Sarah made a gorgeous and delicious Mexican feast.  Complete with party plates and napkins with my favorite, polka dots!  I also was even more surprised with presents!  Sarah and Dan knew the key to my heart with a giant bottle of Tabasco sauce and packets of couscous to take back to Romania.

the view from the dining room table

Hazel getting a little after dinner exercise

After Hazel went to bed, Sarah had one more topper for an already perfect day, we headed out for cake.  The evening was gorgeous so we meandered through the neighborhood and then the University of Glasgow before heading to Kember and Jones for cake.

forget-me-not and daffodils

caution?

Uni

a view of Kelvingrove Museum

FRIENDS!

windy!

A sweet old professor took our picture at the oldest part of the uni

dessert at Kember and Jones

The next couple days flew by, but I was able to get one complete picture our group right before I left.  It was a lovely vacation.

Sarah, Dan, and Hazel, I can't thank you enough!  Love you guys!  Marta

p.s. I can't wait for our next reunion

flying back to Romania - sigh!