A letter from a Beneficiary

One of the things I've been doing over the last several weeks is helping edit and rewrite our organization's annual report for 2005. Most of it was translated into English already but then had to be rewritten in order to be understandable and sound more fluent. This, however was a letter from a beneficiary which I had to translate. I think its a prety good reminder of why I am here, and the good the my foundation is doing.

Dear Mrs. Eva,

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this priceless donation. Due to illness I cannot leave the house without some instrument to aid me. I have always dreamt of having a scooter like this one with which I could go out for a stroll whenever I wanted. I don’t like to use a wheelchair because I cannot bear the way people stare and make me feel in public. You and your colleagues gave me a wonderful surprise when I you sent me this scooter. I didn’t expect that you would send it so quickly, especially because a scooter like this is very expensive and hard to come by.

Now when I go outside with my scooter the whole world is open to me and I feel free, and this is very good!

Letter from BOROS Hunor

Beneficiary of the Material Donations, Institutional Help Program

Bird Flu in Codlea

Bird Flu has struck again, but this time its a little closer to home. Actually, it did hit home. A few days ago (Sunday?) authorities confirmed 4 cases of birds that were infected with H5N1 in Codlea, Romania. Recognize that name? Its because I lived in this small town for my first 3 months in Romania. The town has a series of poltry plants which ship meat out to the whole country. Right now they are tracking the last several shipments (so I won't be eating bird untl the coast is clear.)

The authorities seem to be taking this case a little more seriously than the one last fall. They have quarantined Codlea not allowing residents to come or leave (although they let cars pass through as long as they don't stay more than 15 mins, yeah I know, go figure) Men in space suits are killing chickens in cortyards and throwing them in trashcans. Others are spraying down cars with pesticides and other sanitizing chemicals. Brasov is one of the biggest, most important cities in Romania. Its on one of the country's few highways, is a large tourist destination, is a big revenue generator in the mainstream economy (tourism doesn't account for a large percent of income), and most importantly...its a hell of a lot closer to Bucharest! You see, the last episode took place in the sticks, far away from important civilization. But the latest case might effect citizens that "matter."

So I havn't yet spoken with anyone from Codlea to see what's all the hubub, but its on my to-do list and I'll have that for you shortly.

Retro Posting

So I will now attempt to catch up on the last several weeks of activity which I have unfortunately been unable to blog.

The 1st of May is a national holiday here in Romania. Labor Day. All the Romanians I spoke with gave me a brief histroy lesson on the subject. They say it comes from a strike which took place in Chicago in the 1800s where workers were protesting unfair labor practices. Hey, that's a good enough explaination for me. Although I don't remember it being in May. I thought the US Labor Day is in September.

I was invited to go along with my friend Edgar and his girlfriend (Zsusa) with a bunch of their friends to Zsusa's parent's cabin in a town called Odorhei/Udvarhei. Lots of people joke that Odorhei is "little Hungary" because something like 99% of all the people living in this city and the surrounding areas are all Hungarian. They told me not to worry because I was American but they joked that a Romanian would have to bring their passport to enter.

The brief low down:
Odorhei Secuiesc (Udvarhei in Hungarian) was founded in the middle ages (1100-1300) and was populated by Hungarians. In order to protect Hungarian territories from the Tatars the then king sent a bunch of soldiers called Szeke down to the area just east of the Carpathians. Their they stayed and there they live today. Although not all of its residents call for it, this region is the center for the Hungarian autonomous movement, and consequently a sensitive topice for most Romanians.

So we went to the cabin which was on top of a grassy hill overlooking the city below. We had great weather, sunshine, blue skys and cool breezes. There were about 8 of us there and Zsusa's parrents came on Saturday to help us with the barbeque. It was a really relaxing 2 1/2 days of singing, eating, drinking, playing games, and just having a lot of fun. I met a bunch of students from the University of Medicine and Farmacy who later invited me to join a "college games festival" team. They are all really cool people and for the first time since arriving I not only learned some Hungarian but I became interested in learning more.

A few pics: