Beyond technology

You know I'm doing some online tutoring, a 6 weeks etwinning course for advanced users (although not many are really advanced), and it's quite popular, there are over 400 trainees each session.
One teacher there was writing about her first project: a simple Xmas cards thing. She teaches in a village, her pupils don't have computers at home and many of them walk for 14 km in order to get to school. She says: I can't describe the kids' reaction as they got a bagful of letters from children in the UK, Portugal, Poland, Spain, Turkey. They just could not believe it was for real.
This is much more valuable than all the innovative ICT use, mobile technologies, virtual environments and who knows what. At least, I think so. Much more than a European Prize, even.

Book mysteries

We ended up with quite a collection of early 19th century old books after ranging all our families' possessions. Out of that array of topics, from Russian poetry, to logarithms tables, Latin dictionaries, encyclopedias, novels, a sexual education book (amazingly realistic for the early 1900's!), this one is the biggest mystery for me.
As you see, it's an English literature book, that I found very interesting to see because I never knew literature can be studied with graphics and plot diagrams.
But the mystery is this: it's underlined and annotated, but as far as we know nobody in both our families ever knew English. It was not often taught here around 1918- at all!
Who studied it so deeply? And why was the book kept for so long?
We will probably never know, as the book cannot tell us.

Humble heroes

As you might have heard, we have really bad floods this summer, the worst in the last 40 years, not only on small rivers but also on the Danube and its main in-coming rivers. It's been raining a lot, every day for almost a month and it does not seem to stop. A few tens of people died and 20.000 left their houses, but the unusual thing is that big towns by the Danube were flooded too.
Galati is one of them, a big town and an important port. We like it there, for some reasons. It was partly flooded and a high flood was approaching, so a disaster was feared, despite the piers that were being built to avoid it. Voluntaries came from all over to work for that, the authorities were seeking another solution, even a controlled flooding of a nearby area, but it would have meant more damage. It was growing worse because both the Danube and a big in-coming river were overflowing simultaneously.
As the prime-minister was inspecting the area, one of the voluntary workers approached him and told him he had worked for 10 years at the artificial channel connecting the Danube to the sea, and he knew there was a particular lock there, between very different water levels. If that was open, he said, it could take part of the exceeding flow.
The ministry was reticent at first, but then the suggestion was put into practice and proved right. The lock could overtake 500 cubic meters per second, which was enough for the moment.
The red code for floods is not over, it might take as long as one more month to be out of danger, but that particular moment was surpassed. Thanks to a simple suggestion, made by someone who knew the facts not from diagrams, but from real life and work. The question is: why did not specialists think of that?

A Story about a Story

Twenty-some years ago, one of our children literature authors wrote a story meant to present the structure of the calendar in a manner close to our traditional tales.
In this story, the year was a king desperately trying to have a son and heir for his crown. For this, he successively married four women: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, but, unfortunately, each of them only gave birth to 3 daughters: the months.
The writer went to a publishing house, but they rejected the story because it was about a king and, on top of all, according to the civil law, only tree successive marriages were legal in that time. So, it was not politically correct.
After 1989, she tried to have it published again. This time, she was asked to make it more modern, by adding mentions of the most important events in our recent history for each month, including the Revolution. She did that, had the new version published, but she still was not happy.
After a while, she had a proposal for having it published in Japan. Under new conditions: only two seasons, to match the climate, and allusions to Japanese traditional stories. She made the changes, delivered the new version and never heard of it.
She still hopes to have her original version published: the one she wrote thinking of our old tales.
I saw this as a symbol or a symptom. In this cold world (and I'm not referring to the minus 15 degrees we had an hour ago), anything and anyone can be used somehow-even a story for small kids. And by all means, don't tell me it's normal!

Reaction

People react in strange ways. Until a week ago, nobody wanted to get the swine flu vaccine. Even the doctors protested against it and refused to have it.
Less than a week ago, a TV actor died because of the flu. And now, it's the frenzy. This week-end, people have waited in line, night and day, to have the shot. The media have stopped talking about the alleged side effects and started talking about the insufficient number of doses. Hospitals have been working at this during the night, some of the doctors stayed at work for days in a row.
To what extent is the way we act the result of the moment and of the external influences? And is there any room left for our own convictions and judgement?

Overcoming obstacles

Maybe this is not a post for this blog, but we all have difficulties, no matter where our place is.
These are the deaf percussionists in Rome, and the applause they really deserved. It was a big surprise for me to arrive at the concert place and see a very big group of deaf people. It seemed like a surrealistic scene: what could they possibly do at a concert? They leaned against the loudspeaker ot stand near the artists who were preparing the electric guitars, and did not even wink at the huge noises. I was even a bit angry with them, they seemed useless in that place, they could have given their places to people who were able to enjoy the concert.
Then, I found out they were part of the show-some of them. They had been training for 3 years to be musicians- what bigger challenge for a deaf person? Especially since many were born deaf and had no notion of music, rhythm, sound. But they were very good, incredibly supportive to each other and happy. I found inspiration in them.
This is my homage to them and my wish for all of us to be able to overcome our obstacles with equal courage, dedication and joy!

Dance in the park

This is a scene from a senior citizens nigh in the park. Each week-end night this summer there were shows or music in this small performance area, and this night was for them. Maybe it looks a bit ridiculous, but it was touching to see them dance (this was just the beginning, the most daring couples! You should have seen them later!) and enjoy themselves like that, considering they don't have an easy life here. I did not expect seeing anyone that age doing anything else than complaining. But they did, and I don't know if I would have had the courage to dance in front of all that people. The band was not bad, there was a singer too, and the music must have been just right for them: The Beatles, "Strangers in the Night" and such things. Good for them!

Opinci

This is how I imagine the free Dacians in the North of the country, the ones that remained unconquered by the Romans.
He was just making a wooden spoon at a traditional crafts fair in Mamaia and he really came from the North. Look at his costume (he had a beautiful embroidered shirt the next day, because it was a Sunday). He was wearing (and he also made) the oldest kind of footwear here, called "opinci" (ci is to be pronounced chi). They were made of a rectangular piece of thick leather, worn with woolen wraps or woolen socks, and tied to the feet using narrow strips of leather or strings made of goats or horsetail hair.
It's just as the Dacians on the column in Rome look. And as we looked at his clothes, his spoons, his works, we felt something I cannot name, a warm feeling for the past and the people of this place.

Sibiu- memories from a summer trip

Make a Smilebox slideshow

In the streets of Tmisoara

Here are a few more photos from the streets of Timisoara. The first is the old horse-drawn tram, built in Vienna in 1869. And the last is our way home...
Goodbye, beautiful town.

Timisoara

Timisoara is a very special town. It's located in the Western part of the country and it was also called "Little Vienna", because it belonged for a very long time to the Habsburg Empire and the entire city center consists of buildings built in the Kaiser era, which is reminiscent of the old Vienna. It is a multi-ethnic city, hosting besides Romanians, Hungarians, German, Serbs, Bulgarians, Jews, Greeks, Russian, in a harmonious community; and a multicultural town, an important university center with the emphasis on subjects like medicine and engineering. It was the first European town to be lit by electric street lamps, in 1884 and the second one with horse drawn trams. For almost twenty years now, it's been for us the town where the revolution began.
Here are a few places connected to those moments: the Liberty Square, Opera Square and Maria Square, the Metropolitan Cathedral, places where blood was shed. And, since we approach Christmas, a few merrier photos. I hope you like them. Point on photo to see caption.

Train lovers

Despite the stress and the hurry of our every-day life, some people still find the time to have hobbies. One of these hobbies is miniature trains.
One rainy Saturday morning, a group of smiling excited people were waiting on a platform in the North Railway Station for the launching of the first model depicting a Romanian engine.
After the WW2, one important step in bringing the National Railways up to date was adopting the Diesel traction. The first 6 engines of a kind that would become the most long-lived in Europe were ordered in Switzerland in 1959. The next year, they started being made in Romania, at Craiova. The manufacturing went on until 1981, the last one baring the number 1407. More than 40 times the planned number.
The "name" of the engine is DA060. She has been for 49 years the best "worker" of the Romanian Railways Company, and even now this type of engine pulls two thirds of our trains. A living legend, a hero. New improved related engines have been manufactured starting the '90's. It was also widely sold abroad.
You can see the exact engine that was the "muse" of the miniature one, it was "born" in 1972 and is still in service.
The miniature train was made by a German company together with the best known Romanian train fans association , and it was supported by the National Railways Company.
Imagine some of these people had ordered the miniature for almost three years! The stories we heard about their miniature trains, about all the time and work they have put into them!
Hobbies really make our life more beautiful, they make us younger.

Funny (2)

These are not as good as the previous ones, but not bad.

Sore feet in the Village Museum: quite a long walk.

At Bran. Maybe she had seen ...HIM. Or maybe she was still under the effect of the "torture" at Rasnov

Is this tenderness or are they just too tired?

Together (2)

I can't have enough of these pictures of the students together. I know some of them will never hear from each other and others did not go along so well, but some really became friends. Even since they have first met.
I am really happy that his project made such a thing possible: friends that live over 2000 kilometers apart, that would have probably never met if it wasn't for this.
And I'm as proud of this achievement as I am of all the nice materials and the elaborated technical aspects the project has altogether, because 20 years from now, all this will be forgotten, while at least two people will tenderly remember a teenage friendship and things they learned together .
I'm really proud of this.
Is this too sentimental?

Funny

These are the funniest of the photos (so far). Here you are:

At the Bran Castle.Could it be...HIM? Dracula? Brrr...!

Look at what they were doing while we were sleeping peacefully. Having a pyjama party.


Poor tortured students! Do you suppose this is worse than a Maths class?

Together

I believe in working together, I think it can bring people closer. If, even for a short time, they look in the same direction, have the same aim, a bond is created.
This is why I liked these photos from the workshop very much, especially since I was not there to see the students at work.
I almost envy them a bit.

Perspective

You know this place, it's the terrace at the House of People. Showing what we have tried to offer you all: a perspective on our place, on our life. The sounds are nice too. The voices of students and teachers, in English, then French and, at the end, a clear girl's voice saying in Romanian :"Ce frumos e!" (How nice this is!)
Time and distance put things into perspective. Now, that impressions are coagulating, I 'd really like to know what you liked: the best places, the best moments, if you can take a few minutes for that. I'd like to ask this to all of guests...
Come again!

Spring Day. ( New Europeans)

What is the meaning of "European"? What's "Europe"?
Difficult questions in a changing world where our neighbours are not from our village, the smells from their kitchen are spicer, their music sounds differently, their prayers do not meet ours, their languages have new waves. Yet, their most beautiful words mean feelings, like ours.
Yes, something must change because we are and move much more.
For the School Day, we had a multicultural activity: Building Multicultural Bridges. It dealt with the way we cook. Inmigrant students were encouraged to join a Cooking exhibition and show their most typical food. We had students from many countries: Marrocco, Colombia, Equator, Dominican Republique, Bulgaria, Romania, Peru, Somalia, France, Germany.
Only four foreign students joined the activity: two girls from Morrocco, a girl from Colombia and a boy from Colombia.
Everybody had a collaboration prize. Here we have Ikram greeting the headmaster when she got her prize.


Jeison, the Colombian boy, is explaining the people around how long he had been in Spain, how he felt, how to cook his meat cake.

A very smiling Jeison that feels happy to be one among the others.


Latifa is getting his price. She got the prize for the best course. A deserved prize!.


Mourat won in sports together with a Spanish boy.

I missed my Romanian students but there was a family wedding and they had many relatives at home.
But I liked the this kind of infection. I liked watching these kids feeling accepted, admired and loved.
I wish everything would go on like it.
Happy spring Day.

Europe Day

You know this photo: it represents our students during the first visit to Avila.
I thought it was perfect for this occasion: a circle, equality, diversity and togetherness, everything this kind of project should stand for.
I also like it because it brings back the enthusiasm, the hopes and the illusions of the beginning.

Happy Europe Day from the newest Europeans in this project!

Candeleda and Chilla

Candeleda is a village in the Tiétar Valley, in the South of Ávila. It has a tropical climate , the high peaks of Gredos defend it from the cold in the North. Vegetation, constructions and lifestyle are different to the rest of Ávila. A border area taking advantages of Extremadura and Castilla y La Mancha, regions more in the South.Many houses are covered with plants and flowers. Balconies are colourful and refreshing.

Streets are narrow to protect the houses from the summer heat. This one leads to the church and hosted the Jewish quarter in medieval times.

This is Castle Square. There is no castle left, but being in the border a fortress would be near.


Getting into the mountains near Candeleda there is this Sanctuary. It is Chilla Sanctuary. It is built in a forest watered by rivulets born in Gredos. The church is not a beautiful one, but even so, it is very popular in the area.
The house belongs to the caretaker of the sanctuary.

The house is built in the typical style in this part of the province. It looks much more beautiful than the church.