For my guest blog, I asked another girl who has participated in the Romania program, Kirsa Merrell, if I could post on her blog. She has a personal blog that has her experiences in Romania posted on it.
Here is the link to the post I wrote for her blog.
http://kirsajoyce.blogspot.com/2010/11/guest-post.html
Monday, November 29, 2010
Romania Internship Program
Every BYU study abroad program has what is called a program facilitator. These are students that help to organize the program, and have been on a study abroad themselves. For the Romania Internship Program, Rosemary Mitchell is the program facilitator. I asked her to explain the program and this is what she had to say:
"BYU is well known for their many diverse international study programs. One of these programs is based in a city in Northeastern Romania called Iasi. Students have participated in this semester-long program for over 12 years now and continue to bless the lives of those they serve. The BYU Romania international internship sends students year round to volunteer in a children’s hospital and an orphanage for children with disabilities. Students also have the opportunity to participate in the local LDS branch and immerse themselves in the beautiful and fascinating local Romanian culture.
Students from BYU learn many different things during their semester abroad about themselves, the people that surround them, and just how diverse yet similar different cultures are. When most people hear about Romania they immediately think of gymnastics, Dracula, or orphanages. None of which are quite accurate. The media’s portrayal of Romania in the early 90’s may have been accurate at the time, but things are different now. The childcare system has improved. Many children who may have once been in institutionalized care are now in foster families or even their own families. Children receive specialized services if they require them and living conditions are greatly improved. But there is still much work to be done. That is where our students step in. In the specific orphanage where we volunteer, staff to child ratio is low and the children do not receive the individual attention they require. The purpose of our program is to help provide assistance to each of the children that they may progress and develop emotionally, socially, physically, etc.
Most, if not all, of our past interns might say they went to Romania expecting to serve the children but then realized that those children were really serving them. One professor in the School of Family Life at BYU referred to the Romania internship as 'the best service learning opportunity available at BYU.' It is clear that this program has the ability to touch the lives of many both here on our BYU campus and those across the world."
"BYU is well known for their many diverse international study programs. One of these programs is based in a city in Northeastern Romania called Iasi. Students have participated in this semester-long program for over 12 years now and continue to bless the lives of those they serve. The BYU Romania international internship sends students year round to volunteer in a children’s hospital and an orphanage for children with disabilities. Students also have the opportunity to participate in the local LDS branch and immerse themselves in the beautiful and fascinating local Romanian culture.
Students from BYU learn many different things during their semester abroad about themselves, the people that surround them, and just how diverse yet similar different cultures are. When most people hear about Romania they immediately think of gymnastics, Dracula, or orphanages. None of which are quite accurate. The media’s portrayal of Romania in the early 90’s may have been accurate at the time, but things are different now. The childcare system has improved. Many children who may have once been in institutionalized care are now in foster families or even their own families. Children receive specialized services if they require them and living conditions are greatly improved. But there is still much work to be done. That is where our students step in. In the specific orphanage where we volunteer, staff to child ratio is low and the children do not receive the individual attention they require. The purpose of our program is to help provide assistance to each of the children that they may progress and develop emotionally, socially, physically, etc.
Most, if not all, of our past interns might say they went to Romania expecting to serve the children but then realized that those children were really serving them. One professor in the School of Family Life at BYU referred to the Romania internship as 'the best service learning opportunity available at BYU.' It is clear that this program has the ability to touch the lives of many both here on our BYU campus and those across the world."
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Combination of Church and State
In Romania, the vast majority of people (approximately 85%) are Romanian Orthodox. Not all practice, but many do. And even if they don't practice, the people still identify with that religion and stay strong to it. The city where I stayed had hundreds of Romanian Orthodox churches. It could be compared to Provo and the amount of LDS churches. Basically one on every street corner. They are very beautiful, and it is very interesting to see the different types of services and rituals they participate in.
Over the summer, I had the opportunity to visit many churches and monasteries. On one of these day trips that I took, there was one experience that really caused me to think about me life in the United States. I was sitting in a chair along a wall, and a school class came into the monastery. At first, I didn't think anything of it. It just appeared to be a normal class field trip. However, the class moved to the front of the room, stood in front of the idols there, and began to recite prayers and do traditional Romanian Orthodox rituals. This is what truly peaked my interest.
I was so fascinated by the fact that such a religious act would be allowed at school. It was only then that I really thought about how not all countries view religion and government as we do. Of course I knew this, but it was so interesting to experience it firsthand. I just sat there watching the children in amazement. I later asked a member of the LDS branch about the Romanian Orthodox influence in schools. He said that school is the one place where you really learn about the Orthodox church. That is where the children get there foundation. It is studied every day for a good portion of school time.
I was fascinated by this, and wonder what it would be like to live in a place where state and religious matters are so intertwined.
Over the summer, I had the opportunity to visit many churches and monasteries. On one of these day trips that I took, there was one experience that really caused me to think about me life in the United States. I was sitting in a chair along a wall, and a school class came into the monastery. At first, I didn't think anything of it. It just appeared to be a normal class field trip. However, the class moved to the front of the room, stood in front of the idols there, and began to recite prayers and do traditional Romanian Orthodox rituals. This is what truly peaked my interest.
I was so fascinated by the fact that such a religious act would be allowed at school. It was only then that I really thought about how not all countries view religion and government as we do. Of course I knew this, but it was so interesting to experience it firsthand. I just sat there watching the children in amazement. I later asked a member of the LDS branch about the Romanian Orthodox influence in schools. He said that school is the one place where you really learn about the Orthodox church. That is where the children get there foundation. It is studied every day for a good portion of school time.
I was fascinated by this, and wonder what it would be like to live in a place where state and religious matters are so intertwined.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
My first week in Romania, my group decided that it would be fun to take a trip to another part of the country. We were not familiar with the culture, the language, or the people, but we thought all those things would make for a fun and interesting trip. We decided to take night trains to get to where we wanted so we did not waste day time on the train. So we got on our first train around 10 PM, and rode until 2 AM, when we had to change trains. We got to the train station (which was the scariest place I have ever been), and were expecting to be on our next train by 4 AM. WRONG. Our train did not arrive until 6 AM, just a mere 2 hours behind schedule.
The public transportation in Romania generally falls under two extremes: Very efficient and on-time, or very late. Generally, the systems within a city are very efficient and useful. Many people use public transportation because they do not have cars of their own, helping to make the systems more reliable. Most bigger cities have trams, buses, and taxis. Bucharest, the capital city, has a meto line. All of these systems are very useful, taking you where you need to go, and getting you there within a fairly timely manner.
The trains that travel around the country, however, are a very different story. These trains run on their own time, regardless of what your ticket says. That is simply how they operate. Every train ride that I went on arrived much later (we're talking hours later) than expected. In most cases, it is faster to ride a bus around the country than to take the train.
But if you take the bus, you don't get the experience of waiting in train stations for hours on end, meeting drunk Ukrainians, getting harrassed by teenage boys, or playing Uno to pass the time...
The public transportation in Romania generally falls under two extremes: Very efficient and on-time, or very late. Generally, the systems within a city are very efficient and useful. Many people use public transportation because they do not have cars of their own, helping to make the systems more reliable. Most bigger cities have trams, buses, and taxis. Bucharest, the capital city, has a meto line. All of these systems are very useful, taking you where you need to go, and getting you there within a fairly timely manner.
The trains that travel around the country, however, are a very different story. These trains run on their own time, regardless of what your ticket says. That is simply how they operate. Every train ride that I went on arrived much later (we're talking hours later) than expected. In most cases, it is faster to ride a bus around the country than to take the train.
But if you take the bus, you don't get the experience of waiting in train stations for hours on end, meeting drunk Ukrainians, getting harrassed by teenage boys, or playing Uno to pass the time...
The Public Pool
It was a hot summer day (just as all of the other days), and my friends and I decided that it would be fun to go to the public pool. We got there, and there were many aspects of the experience that were surprising to us. First, the pool deck was so crowded that a person could not even move. In the United States, public places have mazimum capacities. However, if this pool had one, it had been exceeded.
The next big difference we noticed were the many different activities a person could do there. There were a series of platforms a person could jump off of, the highest being approximately 45 feet. This aspect of the pool is made even more interesting by the fact that most Romanians do not know how to swim, and just stay in the shallow end of the pool where they can stand. I jumped off this huge platform, and it was really fun. However, after jumping, I realized the last major difference between this pool and a pool in the United States.
There were NO lifeguards. My friends and I were shocked to discover this, but it was true. Not one lifeguard in sight. The thought then crossed my mind of "What would I had done if I landed wrong in the water or something?" In the United States, almost every pool has a lifeguard on duty, expecially when there are some semi-dangerous activites available such as 45 foot platforms to jump off of.
As much as this thought bothered me... I jumped again...
The next big difference we noticed were the many different activities a person could do there. There were a series of platforms a person could jump off of, the highest being approximately 45 feet. This aspect of the pool is made even more interesting by the fact that most Romanians do not know how to swim, and just stay in the shallow end of the pool where they can stand. I jumped off this huge platform, and it was really fun. However, after jumping, I realized the last major difference between this pool and a pool in the United States.
There were NO lifeguards. My friends and I were shocked to discover this, but it was true. Not one lifeguard in sight. The thought then crossed my mind of "What would I had done if I landed wrong in the water or something?" In the United States, almost every pool has a lifeguard on duty, expecially when there are some semi-dangerous activites available such as 45 foot platforms to jump off of.
As much as this thought bothered me... I jumped again...
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Very Superstitious, Ladders 'Bout to Fall
While in Romania, my time was spent working in an orphanage. I had the opportunity to work with very young children. One day, it was one of the kid's first birthday. They brought him to the lunchroom, and sat him in his high chair. Then, the director of the orphanage brought him a tray with many objects on it. There were things like a flute, a bible, another book, a play stethoscope, etc. Next, the child began to pick objects off of the tray. Romanians believe that from this tradition, a person can know what their future will be. This child picked a book, a flute, and a spoon. According to their belief, he will grow up to be very smart, musical, and well-fed.
There are many different ideas and traditions that Romanian people believe in. One has to do with flowers. When giving flowers to another person, it is critical that an add number is given, unless for a funeral. In Romania, if an even number of flowers is given, that means something tragic has happened. When something good happens, or you are getting flowers to thank someone, an odd number needs to be given.
Another belief that Romanians hold has to do with wealth. They believe that if a person ever places their purse on the floor, that is a symbol that they are poor. Even if people are poor, they never do this, in order not to sygnify to others that they are, in fact, poor.
And you're welcome for the Stevie Wonder reference.
There are many different ideas and traditions that Romanian people believe in. One has to do with flowers. When giving flowers to another person, it is critical that an add number is given, unless for a funeral. In Romania, if an even number of flowers is given, that means something tragic has happened. When something good happens, or you are getting flowers to thank someone, an odd number needs to be given.
Another belief that Romanians hold has to do with wealth. They believe that if a person ever places their purse on the floor, that is a symbol that they are poor. Even if people are poor, they never do this, in order not to sygnify to others that they are, in fact, poor.
And you're welcome for the Stevie Wonder reference.
What's for Dinner?
One time at the beginning of my stay in Romania, I went to a restaurant with some of the other girls on my study abroad. Because we had just gotten to the country, we were feeling adventurous, and so we decided to order traditional food items off the menu, even if we weren't sure exactly what those items were. So everyone ordered, and it was my turn. I looked at the menu, and decided that "ciorba de burta" was what I was going to have. I knew that this was some sort of soup, but I had no idea what was in it. I got my soup, and it looked different, but that didn't bother me too much. Then I tasted it... The chunks of meat in that soup were so chewy and tasted pretty bad. I stopped eating the soup, and could not wait to get back to the hostel so I could ask a Romanian what ciorba de burta was. Everyone else finished eating, and we got back to the hostel. I went to my facilitator, and told her I had eaten this horrible soup, but that I did not know what it was. She asked me the name and I told her. All of the sudden, she burst into laughter, and I knew it wasn't good. Through her laughing she barely managed to say, "You ate stomach soup..."
Ciorba de burta is a soup widely enjoyed by many Romanians. In addition to this soup, a big traditional food is a dish called sarmale. This is a small wrap of rice and sheep meat in pickled cabbage leaves. That dish is actually really good, but it takes a long time to make. Another food that is made a lot is stuffed peppers. They put rice and sheep meat in those as weel, and slow cook them in the oven. Romania also has many types of cheeses. When you go to the market, there are multiple stands soley for cheese. The most interesting kind I tried was sheep's cheese (which was not that good...). The food there is not too extreme, but Romanians definitely have foods unique to them.
Ciorba de burta is a soup widely enjoyed by many Romanians. In addition to this soup, a big traditional food is a dish called sarmale. This is a small wrap of rice and sheep meat in pickled cabbage leaves. That dish is actually really good, but it takes a long time to make. Another food that is made a lot is stuffed peppers. They put rice and sheep meat in those as weel, and slow cook them in the oven. Romania also has many types of cheeses. When you go to the market, there are multiple stands soley for cheese. The most interesting kind I tried was sheep's cheese (which was not that good...). The food there is not too extreme, but Romanians definitely have foods unique to them.
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