Satul Meu (My Village)

I'm back at my training site and should be doing my homework, but just had to post a quick entry to say that my visit to my assignment site, a village near Oradea, was very informative and thoroughly enjoyable. I was introduced to the mayor, the principal and staff of the school, the other Romanian English teacher, the librarian, police chief, the post mistress, the clerk at the general store, the Orthodox priest, the librarians in Oradea, and a few of the children of the school. The school is a friendly, cheery, clean place with conveniences and modern equipment. Veronica was a great hostess, translator, travel companion (18-hr. train trip north) and tour guide. She and her brother and sister made me feel very welcome. Her dear brother transported me all over the area and lugged my luggage around, which was muchly appreciated since I was trying to move some of my belonging here for storage until I move down in 2 weeks. (My lodging is not ready yet, so I and my extra luggage ended up in V's apartment.) V's sister is a gourmet cook and insisted on bringing wonderful dishes over--the last a big tray of her special tiramisu! The librarian and husband had me over for a cook out, and the principal and his wife prepared a multi-course lunch with lemon vodka appertif and "Bull's Blood" red wine for the meal of traditional meats with cabbage and soup, finishing with fresh fruit. We were instructed that it is wise to accept all invitations, but I would have anyway! Romanians take pride in their cooking and do it well!! Overall, I felt very welcomed and quite honestly didn't want to leave.****Oradea is very close to my village--only about 4 miles through fields of sunflowers and corn. It's a fabulous city. Budapest is just over the border and a short drive or train ride away. This is a fine location for visitors to find me. (hint, hint)**** I've posted a bunch of pictures on Facebook. If you're a "friend," take a look. Now, I MUST do my homework and study so I'll be able to stumble through conversations with the villagers sounding less like a 2-yr. old with a speech impediment. Oh, one bit of humor--Peace Corps is Corpul Pacii in Romanian, but some native speakers want to say it in English. At times, after those long train rides and umpteen meetings, being called a Peace Corpse seems altogether fitting. ;-)