la multi ani! and happy 50th anniversary to peace corps :) it was on this day, in 1961, that PC was signed into existence...since then over 200,000 volunteers have served in 139 countries around the world! i feel very privileged to be a part of that legacy.
so i'm sitting in my apartment with the curtains drawn back eating some yogurt and granola, sipping on herbal tea, peeling fresh orange that i got from the magazin down the street. my school day is done and now i am taking a minute, before i start checking things off of my to-do list, to enjoy the sun trying to peek out from behind the clouds and listen to the birds chirping away. sometimes i forget to just stop and take it all in, especially in the day to day craziness that is my life. well that's what today is about for me.
the sun wants so desperately to come out today. rumor has it we might actually see it before the week is over :)
not quite what i pictured the first day of spring to be!
today, march 1, is also the first day of spring here in romania. there's a very old traditional that comes along with it and though most of my students and people in my community are hungarian, i got to see a little of what all the hype is about. it is popular on this day for the boys and men to give "mărţişor" to the ladies in their lives whether it be family, friends, coworkers, teachers, etc. traveling around the capital city this weekend, there were a number of outdoor markets set up with any gift you could possibly think of for the glorious occasion. usually they resemble the picture below...red and white string and a charm either being a flower, four-leaf clover, or horseshoe, all thought to bring about good luck and fortune in the new year. i was lucky enough to receive two of the three, which i think is a pretty good deal.
my mărţişor for 2011. one from my director and the other from a very talented student of mine
this weekend will be spent with two of my best friends in timisoara that i haven't seen in 3 months (shout out sara and katie)! it's been a bumpy start to the new semester and we are in need of some good down time. in fact, talking about school and work will be strictly prohibited ;) next weekend i have to chance to explore a new place in the country that i've been wanting to spend some time in. CLUJ NAPOCA! for once a peace corps sponsored trip doesn't require me to take a night train and is only about 3.5 hours from me. yay :) i'm excited to see some new things and meet up with other volunteers i don't get to see very often. the three days will be quite action packed though. meeting friday evening, most of saturday, and all day sunday. it's going to be exhausting but i can't wait to get the ball rolling on a few things, namely a new committee that is in the works that i am going to be a large part of. more details to come after we meet and i have more concrete things to say about it.
in the meantime i'm just focusing on school issues and housing issues. i may be moving apartments in the near future. i also have some projects in the planning stage, so i'm working on logistics for those. i'm hoping for things to start happening, but realizing that it's all in good time...
i also thought i'd share one of those moments i had with my students yesterday. upon telling them that it was the birthday of someone very special in my life...they did not hesitate to join in on the celebration. sometimes they just know how to make me smile :)
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