Environmental Projects in Romania

This is extremely frustrating: working with the new tools in blogspot.

However, it must be done.

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I am adding this entry, with great pains (I had to delete and reconfigure earlier entries to have enough space to alter my closed blog) to compile environmental work I was involved with while in Romania.

I had to learn how to compost due to necessity, and after I saw results, I promoted it throughout my community: mayor's office, schools, neighborhood, and even to family and friends in the USA. My grandparents and mother still compost to this day.

 I learned that things like: paper, bread, fruit peels, and even hair can be great compost.

We built compost structures at every school in the community and educated students on their usage.

 I met people who worked with waste management in Austria. Austria is really ahead on how to manage waste in a sustainable manner. It was a great exchange. They came to consult Romanian communities because both countries have to follow strict EU regulations. 

 I was introduced to a plastic company, that said that if people in our community would collect and consolidate our trash, they could turn the waste into recycled plastic bags. It was a step in the right direction. I took samples back to my community and presented them to the mayor with several small project proposals.

 

When I realized that while people smiled and encouraged my grand ideas (they really weren't that grand or unattainable, they were very grassroot) they weren't keen to actually participate or to help me instigate them. 

I found enthusiasm and hope working with the children and sometimes (sometimes) the teachers in the community. I initiated several projects working with children such as small camps during the summer involving environmental stewardship mixed with: first aid training, leadership, technology, and water sanitation. All of these projects were funded with fundraising, local sponsors, or community donations.

 

 Peace Corps says that the strongest deters/emotion volunteers face after their service is the feeling that they didn't make a change in their community. That their 2 years of drive to help others have a better life was a waste. I know I made changes in my community. I know I tried my hardest to advocate and teach others on maintaining a clean community for children to live and play in. Like all the returned Peace Corps volunteers, I wonder if I could have tried harder. 

I don't have the resources to measure the changes before and after I was there, but what I can measure is how much I've changed and how much I've learned from my work in Romania. 

Those 2 years weren't a waste, it was a giant lesson on appreciation and acknowledgment.

Romanian stray doggy recycling

Romanian chicken (probably dinner) standing in underdeveloped sewage system

Nature and scenes of Ploiesti

I am back for a bit. Everyone I think is gone from school, but I'm here with the computer (calculator, which also means calculators too) to share some new thoughts and insights... or pictures.

Here's some photos of animals I see around Ploiesti and I've heard they're pretty common all over Romania. Here's a picture of a church near my home, and it's not that different from the sunsets in CA eh?

I tried to ask 2 language teachers if they've ever ridden on a horse drawn cart, but instead of: "Am pe căruţă?" I asked: "Am pe cartof?" Which means really really roughly, due to poor language skills still: "have you been on a potato?" Fun times, and many more to come.

Cats and dogs get along fine here.....

Ahhh. So here is a picture of food from my coffee shop. I've found a place to study! The ladies who work there are sweet and they ask me questions and they look at my homework and their food is relatively inexpensive and I'm the only one who studies there, so I can be there for 5 hours with no interuptions. Mmmmmm. Both those items cost 4 rons, which isn't too bad. A pepsi or coke is about 4 rons usually, a beer is about 3 rons. 1 USD = 2.5 rons.

So that cuppucino and cake cost 1.6 USD.

Besides going out, this whole weekend I studied. My confidence is up...not sure if my language skills really, but I can make sentences now, not great ones with the correct conjugations, but at least with nouns and verbs.

Why Romania fits me....

I think Romania is a great fit for me, and I didn't realize it until after I ended up here.
Romania is beautiful, and while there are things like abandoned dogs all over and cement block apartments, I still think it's beautiful.

I was made paranoid of the dogs, how they're wild and may bite you, but I've observed that if you leave them alone, they'll leave you alone.
I won't pet them, but they're cute and generally they look healthy, I mean their coats are shinny and I can't see their ribs. They're kinda like people/wolves, they get in a clump, have a conversation, and then they split up and wander and walk about getting food or finding a warm patch of sun to sleep in (sorta like cats).

The cement block apartments look industrial, but the insides aren't bad. Some people have fancy doors inside, and my home has hard wood floors. Actually, most homes I've been to have great insulation. I've been to a few other homes so far, and it's been fun. People pet my face and smile at me. One family friend knows a bit of English, so he's been helpful. His daughter learn.......class starting. Later!!!!!!!

(Pauza [recess]...)
(disclaimer: my spelling will be off, I apoligize while I'm transitioning, I'm getting bits of French confused with English and Romania.)

Anyway....today is Miercuri (Wednesday) and I feel like my language is improving. I'm still working on my "r's" and my "t's (with a swivel tail)".
Seriously! These are the two sounds I have the hardest time in the World making!! Probably in life. Romanians take their R's very seriously, they can roll them for minutes on end. Those of you, especially from Poly, know I can't roll my r's. I think I'm getting better at faking it...
The t with swivel sounds like: tzzzzz, like "eat" in Chinese. I can make that sound, thanks to genetics, but still have trouble incorborating it into words.

Guess what else! Ciorba...(cha-orb-ba) is a traditional meal Romanians eat before every lunch meal. Guess what's it's made of??? Heart of cats!
Just kidding. It's like beef stew!!! Except with pork or chicken and not stew. But it's like my favorite food in the US! I think Mom's is still the best, her food always is =P, but hey, I don't mind eating a similar thing Every day!

All in all, I like it here. Did I mention they have the hottest boots ever! I want, but I'll probably have to wait until after I leave Romania, luggage space is limited.

For those of you wanting to learn some Romanian, "byki.com" is a site you can download flash cards. There's not many, but it's helpful. You can play them slow too to hear the words.