Around I Go! Cluj-Napoca and Brasov

After Eniko put me on a very early bus from Ciumani to Cluj-Napoca, I drove through Transylvania for 6 hours before arriving in the Romania's 2nd most populous city.  My friends Timea and Laszlo, who I met at Kellerhaus (my summer job), picked me up from the bus station.  I went back to the their apartment for the first of many meals they included me in.  I also got to see Timea's sister Judith, who also worked at Kellerhaus.  (For simplicity's sake, please just assume that every person I mention from my stay in Cluj worked at Kellerhaus at one time or another, unless I tell you otherwise.)

The statue of Austro-Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus, in front of  St. Michael's Church

Laszlo showed me around the historic center of the city.  He took me to some of the many churches from many different denominations and told me some of the history of the city.  It was a very cold day, so we stopped for tea before visiting the Hungarian boarding school he attended for high school with Timea and Judith.  I'm pretty sure it wasn't really allowed, but Laszlo took me all the way to the top of the building, to the boys' dormitories.

The interior of the Franciscan Church, which changed hands a lot among different sects and is the oldest church in Cluj-Napoca

Another Church

Part of the wall that used to encircle the city.

A view up at the Church that Timea, Laszlo, and Judith attend.

That evening two more friends joined us at Timea, Laszlo, and Judith's apartment.  Andreea and Silviu are both still studying in Cluj, which is a big university town.  It was nice to get to hangout with my friends in Romania when I'd met them in the US.  That evening Andreea took me to her brother's apartment, which she was borrowing since he was out of town.  This is where I stayed for my whole stay.  It was at the edge of the city, but was a really nice place to stay.

Andreea, Timea, and Silviu

The next morning, we had a bit of a Kellerhaus reunion of the people who worked at Kellerhaus during the summer of 2011.  We went to Salina Turda, a salt mine in Turda, a small city not far from Cluj-Napoca.  I got to spend the morning with: Timea, Laszlo, Andreea, Silviu, Cristina P, Doru, and Johnny.  (On a side note: Cristina and Doru are now engaged and have just moved to England for a year.  They had their interviews for the jobs the day after our trip to the mine.  So exciting!)  When we first entered into the mine we had to walk through a small tunnel for a long time.  It spit us out in a cave overlooking a small pit.  It was labeled as an echo chamber, so of course we all shouted into the abyss.  There was a little alcove and a nondescript door at the other end of the small space.  I was thinking to myself This is pretty cool, but that admission was a little steep for just this. Then, we went through this door into another long tunnel.  We went into another small cave, this one with some sort of giant screw that was used for mining the salt.  That was cool too, but I was still oblivious for what came next.  We descended some stairs and emerged on a walkway that circled a large cavern.  Now I'm not talking large as in a house, I'm talking just plain massive.  There was even a Ferris wheel inside!

The tunnel into the mine

Left to Right: Johnny, Silviu, me, Laszlo, Doru (in front), Timea, and Cristina.  Andreea was our photographer.

The echo chamber

The big screw

Climbing down the stairs, oblivious to the enormous cavern at the bottom

A blurry shot from the walkway

The walkway and the top half of the cavern

A look down at the cavern.  I couldn't tell from above, but that's a Ferris Wheel in the center.

I'm afraid of heights, so I hugged the wall as we circled the cavern. Two of my companions are civil engineers, and one of them assured me that the walkway was structurally sound.  This didn't make me feel any better...  There are two ways to get to the bottom of the cavern: the first way is an elevator; the second way is one of two loooooong stairways.  Most of us took the elevator, but a few brave souls in our group walked all the way down.

Cristina and Doru met us at the bottom of the stairs

A view of some of the stairwell, from the bottom of the cavern.

At the bottom of the cavern are all sorts of amusements.  Some things to do are ping pong, bowling, a Ferris wheel, and even row boats in a second, deeper cavern.  We were only visiting for the morning and also didn't want to spend extra money on many different things, so we all took a trip in the row boats.  It was very surreal rowing on the pitch black water, in the dimly lit cavern, carved from salt.

Looking down at the deeper cavern and the boats from the main cavern

Peeking up at the main cavern from the deeper cavern where the boats are

Boating in the salt mine

After our trip to the mine we returned to Cluj.  Andreea and I went to meet one of my oldest Romanian friends.  She goes by Ana Maria now, but I knew her as Ariana when she worked at Kellerhaus with me the summer of 2007.  I hadn't gotten a chance to see Ariana since then, so I was very excited to meet up with her again.  She was one of the first people to really get me interested in Romania--she's a big part of the reason why I am in Romania now.  We met for tea and then Ariana took me to a traditional Romanian restaurant.  I had some truly delicious mamaliga cu smantana, kaiser, si branza and some bean and ham soup in an enormous bread bowl.  It was delicious and filling.  Unfortunately it was more filling than my tummy had space for, and I had to leave some behind.  At the end of our meal we were joined by Ariana's boyfriend and one of his friends, who didn't speak English at all, so I got some good practice at my Romanian (which is still very sad and lacking).

Ariana

My bean and ham soup in a giant bread bowl

My super delicious mamaliga (it's very similar to polenta), smothered with sour cream,  thick bacon, and soft cheese.

After the restaurant we headed to a bowling center, where we met up with my other friends who I'd visited the mine with.  I'm not that great at bowling, but I'm not terrible either...although I did get my fair share of gutter balls.  After bowling a few people who were left went up to a restaurant on the roof of the building for some drinks and a bit of dancing.  Since they live in Zalau, a city two hours away, Cristina and Doru stayed the night with Andreea and I.  Johnny came back with us for a late night snack (featuring sausage that Doru made) but he left to stay the night with another friend.

Me and Ariana bowling

At the bowling alley

There were animal statues on the roof...

It was a lovely view of the city at night

Me and Cristina dancing

The next day was Sunday, and Andreea took me to a spot that overlooks the city.  We took some nice photos and then walked to the dormitories so Andreea could show me where she lives.  During my freshman year of college I lived in a triple the size of a double, and we all thought that was crowded.  In these dorms, they had a room with almost the same dimensions (if not slightly smaller) but with five people.  No one gets much personal space, but it is much more affordable than any other living arrangements.  The cost per month to live in the dorm is around 80 RON (less than $30), which is waaaaay less than I had to pay in college.

Cluj-Napoca

Looking over the city

From here we went to a artsy sort of pub/restaurant near the dorms.  Andreea and I met up with Ariana and Cristina M.  Cristina M. worked at Kellerhaus for three years, and her last summer there was my first summer.  She recently got her PhD and is considering moving to Canada. Now I have to admit that I don't like beer.  This dismays some people, so it wasn't all that surprising when Ariana tried to convert me.  She chose this particular place because they have different flavors of syrup to add to beer.  I tried raspberry.  it was definitely an improvement over just plain beer, but I don't know if I liked it well enough to drink it all the time.  We next went to the grocery store, followed by mass in the great Gothic cathedral in the old part of the city. We took a bus back to Andreea's brother's apartment and had some dinner there.

Andreea, me, Cristina M, and Ariana

Monday morning Andreea and I took the bus into the city.  Andreea went to work and I went to the mall to meet with Jennifer Feenstra, a Senior Fulbright grantee at Babes Bolyai University in Cluj.  We met for a nice chat and warm drinks at Starbucks.  I love their hot chocolate, and it was made just the way I like it.  She walked me to Timea, Laszlo, and Judith's apartment, where I hung out until the afternoon.

Jennifer, my fellow Fulbrighter

After lunch I went to visit Orsi-- another Kellerhaus friend--at her family's house.  She introduced me to her family and her pets and told me about her trip to Nepal and her photography.  It was very nice to get to catch up with her.  She walked me to the mall where I met Timea and Judith to watch War Horse.  It is an excellent movie and all three of us loved it!  Andreea met us after it finished.  We all stopped into Auchan (a hipermarket, which is basically like a super Walmart) and then Laszlo was nice enough to bring us back to the apartment where Andreea and I were staying.

Me and Orsi

Tuesday was Valentine's Day.  Timea, Judith, and I went to the university's botanical garden and then walked around town a bit.  We popped into a bookstore.  I considered buying a book in English, but decided against it, since the selection wasn't so great and since I can borrow ebooks from my public library back home in NH via the internet.  I did buy something there, but I don't want to spoil the surprise since it's a gift for someone!  We also popped into another church, which I'd overlooked on my church tour with Laszlo.  This church was  Greek-Romanian Catholic Church, which means that it is in communion with the Holy See in Rome, but that the liturgy is celebrated in the Romanian (Eastern Orthodox) Rite, rather than the standard Latin Rite.  This was my last day in Cluj-Napoca.

A Valentine's Day potato.

I'm told the botanic garden is much more spectacular in the summer when everything is in bloom

At the botanic garden

Flowers for Valentine's Day (actually here are always flower vendors)

Walking through Cluj-Napoca

The Greek-Romanian Catholic Church: It has an iconistasis like Orthodox churches, but also has pews, which Romanian Orthodox Churches lack.

The next morning I said goodbye to Andreea and thanked her for all her hospitality as we parted ways, she to work and I to Timea, Laszlo, and Judith's apartment.  They again made me lots of delicious food to eat and then Timea and Laszlo brought me to the bus station.  We located my ride, which was a turquoise maxi taxi.  It turns out I would be driving pretty close to the village where Timea, Laszlo, and Judith are from, so I kept an eye out for where I will be spending my Easter, since I accepted Timea's offer to spend Easter with her family.

My ride to Brasov

About 6 hours later I arrived in Brasov, where my friend Nicole was waiting for me.  Nicole is another Fulbright ETA, and she is teaching at Transilvania University.  We went back to her apartment, where I was lucky enough to have my own room.  We then went our for dinner where we ran into a friend of Nicole's who is also an American.  It was a lovely evening with lots of American interaction.

The next day Nicole showed me around the city.  She lives near the center of the city, so we were able to walk everywhere.  We went to a sort of department store place to buy a second towel.  These sorts of places are very common in Romania, from my experience.  They are like department stores in that there are a wide variety of different products all indifferent parts of the several storey complex, but each department is actually it's own shop, even though there are no real walls or doors around each shop.  While there I found a shop that was selling yarn.  Since I am trying to crochet up a storm, I was very pleased with my find.  We walked around the old part of the town for a bit before going for lunch, where we again met up with Nicole's american friend, Harrison.  After lunch we went to a nice bookstore where I bought a book in English, some gourmet tea, and a clay, bird-shaped whistle, which I think is just adorable!  That evening we had dinner at Nicole's apartment, and she made the all-American classic Sloppy Joe.  It was amazing!  Sloppy Joes are just so delicious, and I hadn't had one in a while.  After dinner we went out and had some mulled wine, which Romanians make quite well.

Pigeons lined up outside the market

Part of the old wall of the city

Bullet holes from the Revolution of 1989

The walking street in the center of the city

The center square in the old part of the city

One of the gates of the city

Friday we delved deeper into some of the things we'd passed by the day before.  We went to Biserica Neagra (the Black Church).  Brasov is historically a German city.  This enormous church is a German Protestant one.  It got its name from a fire that left it charred, but today you really can't tell.  We also went to the history museum, and we walked around the Schei District, which was outside the original city and was where the Romanians lived when Brasov was a German city.  We also climbed the hill that sits at the center of the city, dividing the historical district from the newer (uglier) part of the city.  Atop this hill sits a citadel.  It was closed when we got to the top, but it was still a great view of the city.  For dinner we went to a traditional Romanian restaurant and I had my favorite Romanian food, sarmale, and some plum dumplings for dessert.

The Black Church

A picturesque church in the Schei District

The iconic Brasov sign

The citadel, perched on a hill

The recent snowfall complicated out climb to the citadel

The new part of the city, as seen from the citadel

The old part of the city, as seen from the citadel

Me at the citadel

A closer shot of the old part of the city, with the enormous Black Church in the center

Sarmale and mamliga for dinner

The next morning Nicole brought me to the bus station.  I took a maxi taxi for 3.5 hours to Bucuresti.  Unfortunately, I had some poor planning ahead, because less than an hour into the trip in the over crowded maxi taxi, I had to pee like nobody's business.  With some amazing willpower, I managed to survive until I got to Bucuresti.  Josi's dad was visiting her for a few days.  They had spent a day in Bucuresti and waited for me at the bus station so we could all travel to Constanta together.  Atilla and Angelina picked us up from the bus station.  They dropped my luggage by my apartment and then we all went for dinner at the Irish Pub, which is neither Irish nor a pub.  My long and exciting trip around Romania was over.  I was a bit sad to have to get back to work, but delighted to see my friends again.

Around I Go! Suceava and Ciumani

A week ago I returned to Constanta after a four-city trip around Romania.  I visited Suceava, Ciumani (near Gheorgheni), Cluj-Napoca, and Brasov.

Cities I visited on my trip

My first stop was Suceava.  I took the train with Josi on the 2nd of February.  It was a little over 9 hours long, and I brought way too much food for our trip.  Since the train started in Constanta and ended in Suceava, by the end of the trip there weren't many other passengers left, so Josi and I were sprawled out in our own compartment and getting a bit stir crazy.  This was in the middle of the deep cold that gripped Eastern Europe.  Our compartment was heated, but the hall next to the outer door was not.  One of the doors was a bit ajar and it was quite frosty and snowing inside, which was very unhelpful for when we wanted to use the bathroom.

Snowy Floor

Frosty Door

The thermometer in the wagon said it was 17 C inside (63 F), but with that much frost inside, we're pretty sure it was broken...

We had arranged to stay at a hostel ahead of time, and the owner had said she'd pick us up.  When we arrived at the train station in Suceava she wasn't around.  We were able to call her and she came straightaway (she had thought we were on the train from Bucuresti, an hour earlier) to get us.  She told us the current temperature was -27 Celsius (-17 Fahrenheit)!  It was certainly chilly!  We got to the hostel and were pleasantly surprised.  We had a 4 person room to ourselves with our own bathroom.  We also had access to a kitchen, where there was free coffee and free raw milk, so we had some nice cafe lattes the next morning.  The next day we took a taxi to the school where Josi's friend Carolin was teaching and living in the attached dorm.  We had forgotten to go to the ATM before our trip, so we had very little money between the two of us after paying for the hostel and we weren't entirely sure we'd make it all the way there.

In Josi's left hand you can see the amount on the taxi meter so far.  In her right hand is all the money we have remaining, 3 lei.

Laura, Kelli, Carolin, and Josi braving the cold in Suceava.

We dropped off our luggage in Carolin's room then headed into town to find an ATM and meet up with two other Fulbright ETAs.  We met Laura and Kelli for lunch and then went to the mall together.  It was pretty cold out, so we weren't in the mood to spend much time outside.  Laura is teaching in Suceava and Kelli is teaching in Iasi, visiting for the day before they headed off to Cluj-Napoca for a short vacation.

At the bottom of the stairs to the citadel

The next day Josi, Carolin, and I visited Suceava a bit more.  We went to a bazaar, to the ruins of a citadel, to a 3D cafe, and a disappointing Chinese food restaurant.  It was the best Chinese food we've had in Romania so far, but it wasn't really up to our standards. Back to the citadel:  it sits a top a hill overlooking the city.  It had a great view, but since it snowed every second we were outside or looking out the window, there was a lot of snow on the steep path to the top.  This made for an exciting and fun trip.

Climbing the snowy stairs

The citadel

It was worth the climb!

Josi could only stay the weekend, so we both left Suceava early Sunday morning.  Josi had planned to take an early bus back, but when we got to the bus depot we found out that the bus wasn't running.  We made the best of the situation and got Josi a train leaving only a minute after my train.. All went well until Josi ran into numerous weather and technical problems with her second leg of her trip.  She was supposed to arrive that evening, but instead had to spend 36 hours in transit.  And she was lucky!  Hers was the last train to arrive in Constanta before the tracks were closed.  The problem was a massive snow storm that dropped up to 15 feet of snow in parts of Eastern Romania.  I, on the other hand, had no problem with my train trip to Gheorgheni...except for two different men who wanted to woo me upon hearing I was an American.  I had been nervous since I had to transfer trains in a relatively small station, but everything turned out just fine.

The train station where I waited for 3 hours before transferring trains

This gelatinous casserole is made from the hooves... I didn't fancy it. 

When I arrived in Gheorgheni, my friend Eniko was there to pick me up with her boyfriend, her sister, and her sister's boyfriend.  They brought me to a hotel room where I spent my first night in Ciumani (the town where Eniko lives) and then to a dinner with representatives from Ciumani's sister cities in Slovakia and Hungary, all ethnic Hungarians.  You see, Ciumani is actually the Romanian name for Gyergyocsomofalva, what the nearly all-Hungarian residents call their town.  All my hard work learning Romanian was mostly useless here.  I was able to attend this dinner because Eniko works for the town hall and was one of the coordinators for the event.  I got to try some traditional Hungarian food, all made from the pig.  Some of the dishes were delicious (such as blood sausage) but others were...not my taste.  Overall I had a really nice time meeting many nice people who tried to get to pronounce Hungarian properly.

The next day Eniko had the day off from work so she showed me around the area a bit.  We went into the city, Gheorgheni, for a bit, and we also visited a castle in one of the other towns that circle Gheorgheni.  According to the folks working at the office of the castle, I am the only american they can recall having visited, so I felt very special having gotten to visit.  On subsequent days we went ice skating, went to the pool (this town of 4,000 has two and so far as I know, Constanta has none), went sledding pulled by a car, visited the middle school per my request, watched some traditional Hungarian dancing, and visited the museums of Ciumani and Gheorgheni.  We also did some other things as well, but there's only so much I can recap in a blog post nearly three weeks later.  I stayed with Eniko's family had their home and received the best hospitality.  It was really a wonderful experience to stay in Hungarian town, in contrast to a Romanian city.  It was like being in a whole other country.

The church in Ciumani.  Nearly everyone is Catholic, so there is just one big church.

A banner for the town

The castle

The view from the top, of the entire basin where Ciumani, Gheorgheni, and the other surrounding towns are located.  It was snowing so visibility was poor.

Eniko's sister Julia gets naturally carbonated mineral water from a neighbor's well.

Eniko and Julia's boyfriend ready the sleds behind the car

Eniko and Julia riding on the sleds.  I did it for 5 minutes before hoping in the car.  I'm not really a thrill seeker.

It's really a very beautiful area!

The sun setting over Ciumani

When it came time to move on from Ciumani to Cluj-Napoca, Eniko put me on a bus at 4:25 am that stopped right in her town.  I spent six hours in transit and then arrived in Cluj-Napoca, but that's a story for another post, because this one is too long already.

A Busy January

Well, I am back in Romania for my second round.  I've had a terrifically busy month, so I haven't found the time to update the blog until now.  At the moment I'm in Ciumani, on the second leg of my four-city tour around Romania.  The first semester has ended and the second semester doesn't begin until February 20th, so I have some time for travelling.  There will be lots to share with you after my return.  For now, I'll stick to the stuff that happened in January.

Although I missed my leaving my friends and family in the US after such a short visit, it was still nice to see all my friends in Constanta on my return.  Josi and I decided that we wanted to welcome all our friends back from Christmas break with a "Bine Ati Venit La Constanta" party.  We made some Romanian food and we celebrated it on Giorgos's 20th birthday.  We cooked ciorba (sour soup made with bors), sarmale (stuffed cabbage rolls), mici (sausage without casings...they kind of look like poop, but they are delicious), mamaliga (polenta), and stuffed mushrooms.  It was our first time cooking sarmale without the assistance of a Romanian, but we managed to turn out something quite tasty, despite the deceiving layer of charred black sauce that bubbled out of the baking pot during the four hours we cooked them.  

Josi rolls up the sarmale.

The sarmale in the pot, before we add some tomato sauce.

For the birthday boy we set out the pastries...that survived...

Giorgos's birthday cozonac.

Since it was Giorgos's 20th birthday, Josi picked up some little cakes and pastries on her way over.  THEY WERE SO DELICIOUS!  We set them out for dessert (Well, to be completely honest, two never made it to the party.  I'm slightly ashamed to say that they were simply too delicious to share...even with the birthday boy.)  We also decorated a cake for Giorgos.  Since the theme was Romanian cuisine, we had some cozonac, which is more of a sweet bread than a cake.  We had no icing to use to decorate the cake, so Josi and Camille got their creative juices flowing and embossed Giorgos's name into the cozonac using peanut butter M&Ms.

Happy 20th birthday, Giorgos!

I started Weight Watchers the next day.

On the 12th, unbeknownst to us, anti-government protests had begun across Romania.  They were initially in response to healthcare reforms that had prompted a popular health official to resign.  After the controversial bill was floored and the health minister re-instated, the protests mainly died down.  But while they were up and swinging, they were very serious.  In Bucuresti, the gendarmerie (let's just say they're like state troopers in riot gear) were called in after protests got violent.  In dozens of cities across Romania, people were protesting.  They weren't just protesting a health care reform either.  Topping the list of complaints: austerity measures that cut public sector salaries (like teachers') by 25%; an increase of the sales tax from 19% to 24%; the discontinuation of subsidized heating, effectively doubling the entire country's heating bills in the coldest winter in a long time (read on for more details); and general corruption.  People were calling for the resignation of President Basescu ("Down with Basescu!" / "Jos Basescu!" was a popular chant) and demanding the elections be moved up.

Josi lives near the Primaria (akin to the State House), where the people of Constanta were protesting.  In the clip you can hear them shouting "Jos Basescu!"

My second week back we had the first snow that really stuck, and we were so excited.  Now, it 's a bit funny...

My second week back was the final week of classes before the start of the exam period.  Because of the set up of the course I teach, this was also the week my students needed to present their final projects.  The end of my week was filled with mountains of assignments--most turned in last minute--to grade.  On Friday, as usual, Josi and I went to the International Café, a project of Youth With a Mission, Constanta.  Each Friday they have a café night, and this particular week the theme was Chinese New Year.  One of the YWAM team members told us about Chinese New Year in her home city, Hong Kong.  There were a few games and we got to paint ourselves “blessings” in Cantonese.  I chose to write “Improve your studies”—for my students.  Amid my busy week, I again found time to conspire again with Josi.  On that Saturday, we had a pancake party. 

I forgot to photograph them while cooking, so here are the reheated ones I had for breakfast. the next day. 

                                 

A Romanian specialty for dessert is clatite, which are basically just crepes.  Somehow, the translation has been ingrained into the mind of every Romanian youth that the proper English translation for clatite is pancakes.  No matter how often I try to protest this injustice and dishonor done to the flapjack family of fluffy golden griddlecakes, no one seems to understand the important difference.  Thus, I was determined to bring the true pancake to Romania.  As such, I brought with me a 5 lb. bag of pancake mix, a pint of real maple syrup, and a bottle of Mrs. Butterworth's.  (I’m sure some of you are revolted at the thought of pancake mix.  I usually make my own batter and I could certainly do so in Romania, but the giant bag of mix added a nice dramatic effect.)

For our party we also cooked bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, and homefries.  It was very delicious.  Maybe they were just being polite, but I’m pretty sure everyone liked the pancakes, even if they weren’t about to replace them for clatite in their cooking.

My next week was filled with grading, going to my Romanian course, and drinking lots of tea with Josi and sometimes Achilleas at our favorite new coffee shop, Times.  Times just opened in the ground floor of the building adjacent to Josi and Achilleas’s apartment building.  They have a huge selection of yummy teas for a good price.  We have now tried each of the 16 or so flavors they sell and narrowed down our favorites.  I daresay that I am on the path to becoming a tea snob.  I used to never drink tea, because I thought it tasted so horrible.  (I blame my mother, who only ever drinks black tea with milk but no sugar--no offense Mom!  I, on the other hand, have found that I love fruity teas, with a little sugar and no milk.)  Now, it is my go-to hot beverage at restaurants.  (I’ll be honest, the only reason why hot chocolate doesn’t hold this position is because I dieting right now, but I really do enjoy tea now.) 

On Wednesday of that week Atilla and Angelina had to make a day trip to Bucuresti, so Josi and I tagged along.  Atilla swung by my apartment at 6:30 to pick me up.  I was sleepy.  When we left Constanta the weather was fine, but we were driving into a snow-covered Bucuresti.  Once during our day the car got stuck in its parking space, so we three ladies got out and pushed.  Thanks to our brawn, the car was freed from its snowy confines.

Bucuresti in the snow.

I helped free the car with my awesome strength.  Fear me.  Really.

Friday of my third week back Josi and I went to the International café again, and then we met Angelina and Atilla at the new mall for a special evening of late night shopping with huge discounts.  We were shopping from 10:15pm to 2:00am.  We got some excellent bargains.  The winning buys of the evening: two pairs of fingerless gloves and 7 sets of jewelry, each for only 5 RON (about $1.50).  Afterwards, we went to a 24 hour pizzeria for a late night snack.

That Saturday was a chilly chili day.  A deep cold swept across Eastern Europe at the end of January, and Constanta was not spared.  It was the sort of cold that bit down into your bones.  Going outside was dreaded, and the wind off the Black Sea was very unhelpful.  After I woke up I headed to Josi’s apartment.  We made chili con carne, drank hot tea, and then we both turned in early.  The next day we shared our pot of leftover chili with Daka and Achilleas, then made a run to a small store to satisfy Josi’s chocolate craving.  Everyone was getting a type of candy bar called Kinder Bueno, which I’d seen on shelves in Constanta but had never tried.  Upon hearing that I’d never enjoyed a Kinder Bueno before, Daka insisted that I have the second pack he’d bought.  So I had my first Kinder Bueno.  It’s a bar with 4 “puffs” of hazelnut crème filling inside of a crunchy, fluffy, cookie sort of coating, then enrobed in milk chocolate.  It was yummy, but fortunately for my waistline, it wasn’t so life shatteringly good that I now have to buy them every time I see them in stores. Phew!

My first Kinder Bueno.

I took the final exams for the first semester of Romanian class on the 30^th and 31^st.  To study…well, I didn’t really study… I was a terrible student, and as a teacher, I am ashamed.  I did put a little extra effort into practicing, however.  I had a few friends speak with me in Romanian and I instant messaged with Daka almost exclusively in Romanian several times, and he gave me his seal of approval, as someone who’s been learning Romanian for three years.  And lucky me, my professors agreed.  I passed both the oral and written exams, with a score of 8 out of 10 points.  In Romania, the grading scale ranges from 1 to 10, 10 being the highest.  In order to pass, you need a 5 or higher.  An 8 is lower than I’d prefer, but considering I could only attend about 1/3 of the classes, rarely did my assignments (because I rarely went two days in a row), and--as I have already confessed—I really didn’t study for the exams, I’m counting it as a win.

Earlier in this post I mentioned something about how it was a little bit chilly at the end of the month.  It was positively (no…better make that negatively) frigid.  I took to wearing double socks, double gloves, yoga pants under my jeans, and an extra sweater under my jacket.  For a while I even wore two scarves.  The temperature was in the -20s Celsius. (Pop math quiz: figure it out in Fahrenheit!)  To put it in perspective:  the Black Sea started freezing along the coast of Constanta.  This is not common.  My landlady said this is only the 3^rd time in her lifetime that this has happened.  I’m glad I got to witness such a rare occurrence…but it sure was cold!

The frozen Black Sea, from my apartment.

February 1^st, Josi and I went down to the Cazino to take a closer look at the frozen sea and to get some great pictures.  It was breathtaking.  

Icy railings at the Cazino.

All along the shore are these giant cement jacks.  I'm told they are used to prevent the waves from eroding the shore.

The sea wasn’t frozen over completely.  Really there were just small ice floes floating on the top, all of which were concentrated on the shoreline, pushed in by the waves.  So it was still very fluid; we could see the waves moving.  It looked like a writhing field of snow, as if some fearsome giant worm was making its way toward us under the surface of the snow and ice.  The waves at the shoreline were about the same consistency of a Slushy.  We got a lot of great photos, but our fingers were so cold by the end.  We both felt as though our fingernails would fall off, they were in so much pain.  But God saw our suffering and sent the cheapest maxi taxis right away to bring us to my apartment.  The next day we left for Suceava, where my trip around Romania began, but that’s a story for another blog post.