Monday, Dec. 7th
Playing catch-up after being in Bucharest for 4 days! I really didn't do too much on this day, other than attend a Habitat for Humanity gala in the evening. That was pretty interesting (and was attended by the mayor of Cluj!). Habitat apparently has been in Romania since 1999, so this was a big 10 year celebration. From the presentations at this event and from their website, it seems like they have done a number of interesting projects. Not just houses but even an apartment building, which is a great idea for a city.
Promotional material.
Simona from the CIWC (with the director of all Habitat in Romania) talking about the greeting cards that the CIWC - some of the money is being donated to Habitat.
A performance by some of the kids living in the Habitat housing in Cluj.
The focus of this event was to get Romanians more interested in the organization, both as donors and volunteers. Unlike the US, which has a pretty big culture built up around volunteering, it is a fairly new concept here. In fact, most of the houses were built by foreign teams of volunteers who came here on Habitat projects. For the next house, the group is hoping to have it built entirely by Romanians, for Romanians. A great idea, and I wish them the best of luck!
Tuesday, Dec. 8th
Just getting ready for class. Reading drafts (3 of 8 were turned in) and trying not to have my nose get too raw from blowing it. Yes, that means I am still sick - sigh. In the evening, I decided to abandon my work for a couple of hours to meet Raluca from the American Studies department. She finally had some free time because she has finished her dissertation and is just waiting to hear when her defense will be. I completely can relate to that feeling! I just wish I had been a little more fun - the cold was keeping me done. Still, it was nice to get out.
Wednesday, Dec. 9th
I had the usual class and workshop. I am almost finished with both, which is both strange and exciting. I mentioned to my students that I might be here in Cluj in the spring, and they asked if I would help them with their big final papers. That was nice and made me feel that they have gotten something out of the class even if they don't always show up or read. I can't really say that; there is a group that is always there and a group I have never even seen. Then, in the evening, we had the second meeting of the knitting club. It was the same six group of women, and we just had a nice time. Jenni from Finland is making this incredible sweater that looks like it is from a store! And, she is using something like four needles. My little knitting brain can't even begin to imagine how to do something like that.
Thursday, Dec. 10th
I have no idea what I did this day! I must have just taken care of things at home (a good idea). I think this is the day that I went for a walk and found a neat little Christmas fair (sort of) in Cluj...finally.
Some little food booths. I got some pepper spread, rose hips jam (crazy, right?), and honey.
The delicious honey! I bought two jars of different things. I love the pale honey - definitely my favorite.
Some gypsy outfits for sale. This really is about what they wear, but with less jewelry.
Friday, Dec. 11th
Finally, we get to the start of the Christmas concerts. But, first, I had a packed day. I started things out at 2pm by going to a French cooking demonstration by one of the members of the CIWC. We learned how to make something called a sugar tart and the real French toast. They call it "lost bread," but in French of course :)
We went to an area called Faget, just on the edge of Cluj. So pretty.
Profiteroles (a lot like popovers, actually) - filled with ice cream and with chocolate sauce on top.
The "lost bread" - instead of combining the eggs and milk, she did milk with vanilla sugar first and then dipped the bread in egg. It was served with brown sugar on top (a special French kind of sugar- more vanilla-y).
The sugar tart was pretty crazy and so easy. Around 1.5 stiks of butter - melted with a little water to thin it - mix with aout 2.5 cups flour. Press into tart pan and bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle top with white sugar, brown sugar, dabs of butter, and a little milk. Return to oven for 3 minutes. Remove and let cool until set. What a great dessert if you are hosting a dinner because it can be thrown together in no time after dinner!
Adding the milk to the top.
Hot from the oven!
After this event, I went with two of the people from the group (Simona and Terri) to a concert at the Protestant Theological Institute (mostly Hungarian). This was a Christmas/Advent concert and was really nice, and the building was beautiful.
This is still outside, just leading in to the building. Wow.
Inside the performance room. This is where the students attend chapel. Absolutely beautiful and so stately.
There were pieces by some professional singers (from the national theater and hungarian opera), some musicians (flute and guitar), the high school boys and girls choir, and the college men's choir (both from the seminary). There were some pieces from Handel's Messiah, but not the big, familiar pieces. Also, some songs like "O Holy Night" and "Go Tell it on the Mountain," which were fun. They did a number of pieces in Hungarian, which was neat to hear. To close the evening, we all sang the first verse of "Silent Night" - in Romanian, Hungarian, German, and English. It is just so amazing that we can have the same song in all these different languages and it can sound the same.
The high school choir. Very good!
After the concert, there was a small reception, which we attended. This was great as I ended up meeting two PhD candidates who are here - one in history and one in anthropology - doing their dissertation research. It was fun to talk with some people who are in a similar place as me (though not quite anymore for me since I am done now!!). It made me pretty happy that I am finished with my dissertation!!!! They are both living here in Cluj, so those are great contacts to have. And, they were both going to a jazz concert at the Hungarian Opera at 8pm that night. I was thinking about going, so this was the perfect excuse to go. Even though our seats were in different areas, we managed to find three empty places together. It was my first time at that theater, and it was a great concert. A group called the Tuba Project from New York City, who oddly enough had a Romanian pianist (what are the odds?!). It was great, and I am so glad that I decided to go!!
The crowd absolutely loved this concert!
Saturday, Dec. 12th
I made myself walk around a little bit this afternoon, and I ended up discovering some new parts of Cluj, right in the center of town. It was so surprising - and super cute. As I was walking, it started to snow a bit, and once I got home, there were definite flurries. It was very pretty but didn't stick at all.
It looks like Sibiu! How did I miss this all these months?
Such a cute courtyard. Laundry and an oddly decorated Christmas tree.
Romania has ridiculously interesting doors.
Seriously, they just have so much character. What a great part of town!
And, finally, some sage advice from the streets of Cluj. That top really DOES make you look fat!
In the evening I went to another Christmas/Advent concert with someone from the CIWC and her family. It was at a Baptist church (who knew) in town and was a very nice concert. It seemed less professional and more family, community, and church oriented. Both were nice and so different from each other. This one had lots of different groups of choirs and some music. Traditional songs (o holy night and what child is this) but all in Romanian and then also some Romanian songs that I didn't know at all. It was interesting to get to here another culture's holiday songs. Everyone got to sing on some of them, and they displayed the words on a screen, so even I was able to sing along (just a little tricky to do the actual singing since I am still getting over this long-lasting cold!).
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