Participating in news analysis

Last Tuesday, election day for the US, the Embassy here in Bucharest hosted a party for Americans and other interested folks to talk politics, watch the election results, and have an excuse for visiting with one another.  It was a nicely done affair, held at the Intercontinental Hotel.  For me it was a great chance to reconnect with some Fulbright folks and catch up on various activities.

While there I was asked to be a guest on a Sunday evening talk show for one of the cable news channels, Digi24.  On Sundays at 19,30 local time (that's 7:30 pm written in American), Balazs Barabas hosts a half-hour show dedicated to news outside of Romania and this past Sunday he focused on the American election.  He filmed at least one commentator from the Embassy there at the party, but I was asked to actually be on the show.

I was one of 4 guests, the others of whom were all Romanian (the 4th guest replaced the man on my right about halfway into the show).  When I arrived I was introduced to the man who would be translating for me and was then hooked up to both a lapel mike and an earpiece so that I could hear the translator.  I wish we had had just a little more practice time before the show began as I found it quite disconcerting to watch and hear someone speak in Romanian, while simultaneously English is coming into just one ear.  Depending on how much patience you have for watching or reading the clips and links provided below, you may see me looking like the proverbial deer in the headlights or more relaxed and confident of what I am saying...

The following are transcriptions from parts of the show.  If you open them in Google Chrome (and quite possibly in other browsers as well), the pages will be translated to English.  I guarantee I did not say exactly what the translation has me down for... (smile!)

http://www.digi24.ro/stire/JURNAL-EXTERN-Putin-l-a-invitat-pe-Obama-la-Moscova-Ce-se-schimba-in-politica-externa-a-SUA_57108

http://www.digi24.ro/stire/Jurnal-extern-Cum-a-primit-Marea-Britanie-vestea-realegerii-lui-Obama_57089

http://www.digi24.ro/stire/Demisia-sefului-CIA-Cum-comenteaza-invitatii-Jurnalului-extern_57074

And presumably, this link below will take you to the full show.  You want Digi24 Jurnal-Extern (External Journal) dated November 11 - and will probably have to scroll down the show menu to get to it.  For me as a participant, it was a packed and fast-paced half hour.  If you do manage to get the show, but don't want to wade through all of it, I was given the opportunity to have the last word and that is where I like to think I was at my best...  http://www.digi24.ro/emisiuni/video#57072

Sibiu

My we have been busy!  Activities have been increasing for both Amanda and me.  Thus the gap in updating this blog.  We took a mini-vacation to Sibiu last weekend and that is what I will begin with...

Sibiu is close to the center of Romania, in Transylvania. The city, also known by its German name of Hermannstadt, was founded by German settlers in 1150.  It grew as a center of craftsmen and of politics for two primary reasons: its centrally location near two major roads and its location relative to a pass through the Carpathian Mountains to the south.  It is a beautiful small town - at least the historic center is! - and in 2007 was named a "European Capital of Culture", a designation of which the town is quite obviously proud.

Leaving Ralph in the capable care of my student Oana (pronounced 'wanna'), we took the train on Saturday morning, leaving Bucharest about 10:00 am.  At first the sky was overcast, but it quickly cleared up and we saw lovely fall colors in the first of the foothills that we came to about one hour into the trip.

The mountains came after about 2 hours of travelling (the total train trip was about 5 1/2 hours).  I was engrossed looking at the scenery as we travelled, especially paralleling the mountains.  Amanda slept most of the trip - she missed a lot of beauty!

I was a little surprised by the flatness of the plateau as we approached Sibiu...

We arrived in Sibiu on time, shortly after 3 in the afternoon.  By 4:30 we had checked into our hotel, Villa Weidner, located right on the main square (and with a bank in the lower level), and were wandering about.

 One of our first forays was into and up The Council Tower.  There are 120 steps up and partway up I realized neither of us had brought our cameras!  We continued on up, admiring both the inside of the tower and the views from the top.
Here is the tower as seen from the front of Villa Weidner after we got back down and I returned for the cameras...

One of the architectural features for which Sibiu is famous are these roof windows that look like eyes.  Not all of them are painted to emphasize the look, but it is indeed interesting to look out upon them.

It didn't take Amanda long at all to find a new friend among one of the (very few) stray dogs in the historic center.  "Red" obviously recognized Amanda's fondness for him, for he was often found waiting outside of doors we entered throughout our 3-day stay.

Soon it was too dark for pictures.  We found a pleasant restaurant for supper and called it an early night...

We got going relatively early (for Amanda at least) Sunday and did our museum sightseeing that day (as they were all closed on Monday) in addition to simply walking around and enjoying the sights. The tower of the Evangelical Church is one of the focal points of the center city.

We visited the Pharmacy Museum, located in a building that dates from the mid-1500s, a contemporary of the period at which the first documented apothecary, "The Black Bear", was established in Sibiu. The museum is small, but contains implements, jars, and cabinets ranging from 16th to 19th centuries.  It also includes a small exhibit on homeopathy, as the founder of homeopathy, Samuel Hahnemann, was a resident of Sibiu.

 From there we went to the Ethnography museum (http://www.franzbinder.sibiu.ro/binder/eng/binder/Page2.html), an old-style collection of varied items from around the world, mostly collected in the 19th century.  We were a little concerned about our plans for the day, however, since we had just finished 2 museums in less than one hour!  (Both were very small!)

Things changed a bit when we went to the history museum.  We spent an enjoyable 3 hours there, noticing the collections, learning a bit of Romanian history, and appreciating the building itself.  (http://www.brukenthalmuseum.ro/istorie_en/index.html) Quoting from one of my guidebooks, "This building complex is considered to be the most important civilian building in the Gothic style in Transylvania..."

Above, Amanda enters the central courtyard of the museum.  Below is a view within that courtyard toward the west tower.  The museum includes much of the inner part of all parts of the building surrounding the courtyard, including this tower. 

Same courtyard, different direction...

  

After a late lunch on the square, doing some people watching, I went on to the art museum and Amanda simply wandered around.  The art collection had a few pieces by artists I recognized and seemed to be a fair collection of European art from 15-1900's, but I was actually more interested in the building itself.  I wasn't able to take any interior pictures, but you can see a little bit here: http://www.brukenthalmuseum.ro/europeana_en/index.html

We poked about in a few shops in the evening and watched a Christmas tree go up in the town square.  It may be the actual tree for the town, although it seems a bit early, but there were also movie cameras and people definitely dressed up being filmed, so not quite sure what was going on...  But it was definitely pretty and fun to watch.

Monday morning I went off by myself for a bit.  I wandered from the "upper town", where Amanda and I had stayed, to the "lower town".  The lower town is outside the original city walls, which are visible in one of the pictures below.  Mostly I was taking pictures of various architectural details...



The wall in the left part of the picture above is part of the original city wall, dating from the 14th century I believe.

The photo above is taken that Monday morning, in the shadow of the Evangelical Church.  The moon is still up - see it just to the right of the top of the tree. 



Above and below are the primary Orthodox Church in the city, just outside the historic center.  Inside the art was tremendous - frescoes covering every surface.  There was a small shop near it selling icons and religious materials.  I had hopes they might have a small book of pictures from the inside of the church, but I was disappointed.

Some of the doorways leading from the main square (Piata Mare) lead to small alleys like this one below.  Here the perspective is with my back to the small shop we visited and heading back toward the square...



 

These women are purchasing their lunch, I suppose, from one of many such store-front vendors that are common in Romania.  I snapped their picture because of the traditional garb they are wearing.

After our final meal in the large Piata, I had to return - camera in hand! - to the Council Tower.  On one of the mid-levels, this model (below) of the historic center is provided: Piata Mare is in the back, behind the Evangelical church; Piata Mica (small square) is the large open area to the left; and Piata Huet is in front of the church.

And finally back to the top to take pictures out of each of the windows...

Below I have taken a picture of my feet as I am descending the oldest part of the tower.  These stone steps date from the middle ages.

Once I returned to the ground it was time to collect our luggage and head to the train station.  We caught the 3 pm train back to Bucharest.  I took just a few pictures, but it soon became too dark.  As you can see, the clouds were rolling in after our gorgeous weekend.

Amanda and volunteering

Amanda has connected with a center for kids with autism and she has been busy this past week!  As Amanda put it, "I never knew that being an American adult with autism would be such a phenomenon here in Romania!"  But perhaps we are getting ahead of the story...

As I had mentioned in a previous post, the sons of both my director at the university and of my neighbors, the daughter and son-in-law of my landlords, have autism.  Autism is being increasingly identified here in Romania, just as it is in other parts of the world.  Because of the Communist outlook that swept all kinds of disabilities under the proverbial rug, people Amanda's age and older were not identified.  Therefore, the staff at the center she has connected with are delighted to have her volunteering and helping with the children, but also to be able to question her about her experiences and memories of growing up.

Our neighbors, Alina and Bogdan, had let us know about this center relatively soon after our moving into our apartment.  With the trip to the coast, company, and my getting started teaching, it was not until this past Monday that Amanda and I went to check things out.  What a warm welcome we received!  Apparently Bogdan had told them a bit about Amanda and her interest in coming.

The center is an ABA, applied behavior analysis, program and all the tutors were trained either in the US or by US consultants (see their website at http://www.invingemautismul.ro/).  Therefore they all speak English well enough to communicate easily with Amanda.  Some of the children attend full-time (9 am to 4:30 pm) and some just half time.  The oldest child they are currently serving is an 11 year old girl.  Amanda has gone each day this week, typically at about 1:00 when the staff are taking their lunch breaks.  Amanda helps feed children their own lunches and also plays with and watches them while members of the staff have their breaks.  The staff is also sensitive to Amanda's needs, giving her time on one of the swings for example.

They are clearly eager to pick her brain.  On Thursday after the children had left for the day, Amanda met with most of the staff and presented some information about herself.  This was her first public speaking event, but clearly it will not be her last!  She is scheduled next week, along with me, to talk to the parents.  She has also been asked about being interviewed for a TV program, working with the staff on some social skills videotapes, and being one of the honored guests at the "Blue Ball" in April, a fundraising gala.  Amanda is thriving in the attention and it seems to be a win-win because the staff is clearly getting some benefit from her time there as well.

 Here is Amanda during her presentation.  The staff has already learned that her favorite beverage is Sprite (next to Dr. Pepper, which is much harder to come by here in Romania).

 The staff are listening attentively.  The room is a therapy room and not very big.

 The woman in the left above, Luciana, is in charge of the therapeutic parts of the center and is Amanda's "supervisor".  She and the others we have met are all young and enthusiastic!

Amanda in a more pensive moment.  She covered a wide range of topics and opened the doors for the staff to ask questions in the future.

Last, but not least, here is just a small sample of Amanda's presentation (about 2 1/2 minutes):

Bookbinding

I regularly tell my students about the power of networking.  Making contacts will lead to other contacts, etc.  I have experienced an excellent example of networking in my eventual connection to paper artist, Razvan Supuran. (See some of his work at www.atelieruldecarte.blogspot.com.) When I was still in NC I took a workshop on how to set up a "shop" on Etsy, an online community specializing in handmade items.   The young woman who taught the workshop regularly commented on the value of using the community to make connections, which would in turn help boost sales.  I used my networking a little differently.  While I have set up a shop there is nothing in it currently because I did not want to try selling anything from Romania.  However, when I arrived in Bucharest I did use my Etsy membership to see if there were artists in Bucharest.  I did indeed find a water colorist, who is a physician by day, who in turn gave me the name of a paper artist and bookbinder.  An email to Razvan yielded an enthusiastic welcome and an invitation to his studio.  (I mentioned the first visit back when I wrote about my sister visiting me.)

This is not Razvan, but another artist who works in the studio pulling sheets of paper.  They work primarily with recycled paper to make their pulp as they do not yet have a functioning beater for pulping cotton rag.  I have already offered to help remedy this situation as I prefer to work with cotton rag.  If I can use some of the skills I have to help the studio, it would be a nice way to repay the hospitality!

 Couching the new sheet...

The "felts" between new sheets appear to be a kind of canvass or cotton duck material.

The stack ready for pressing...

The empty press

Newly made paper hanging to dry...
It is very satisfying to note the process is the same here as when I am making paper in the studio at Asheville Bookworks!  Some of the equipment looks a little different, but functions just the same.  I am eager to start making some paper!

But in the meantime, I have been to the studio twice now to use space to work on bookbinding.  I have even been given part of a shelf to store my things so I am not carrying them back and forth...  (The studio is in the basement of the Museum of the Romanian Peasant, http://www.muzeultaranuluiroman.ro/)

This is the first edition in the "Books bound in Bucharest" series.  The decorative cover is paper purchased here...

Inside the covers I have used some of Razvan's handmade paper...

The binding is called Secret Belgian Binding.  The book is a mostly blank journal, with several quotations inserted for stimulus.

While my profession is not artist and I did not specifically come on this Fulbright grant to practice my craft, I am confident that the sharing we are and will be doing in the studio fulfills the intent of the Fulbright Commission to share across cultures.