So begins my Romanian country visit. I’m not settled into a cozy two-room house at the edge of a “small” village (~1000) people in the middle of the Romanian plain. It’s clay and vine walls, and holds the heat from the wood heater amazingly well. Not without its inconveniences (no running water, the door to the heater is outside, so stoking the fire means being cold, no heat in the kitchen) it is nonetheless most charming. It will be a happy few weeks.

But what on earth are you doing there, I hear you wondering. I came across this project on a website, similar to Wwoofing. Some generous folks are constructing a large house to house elderly rural poor in this village, and they’re using the site to recruit. When I initially planned to come in November, there was plenty of winter-prep to do, but by now everythone’s pretty much settled down to hibernate, so actual work on the project is minimal. Instead, I’m mostly a warm body to convince curious folk that the property is inhabited and that they therefore shouldn’t wander off with things. Also shovel snow, if it snows, and feed the local homeless dog. Very relaxed, and while I’d hoped to be more useful, just to get away from the city for awhile is very nice.

And the village is wonderful. After a long chat with the foreman of the project, it’s clear that most everyone here grows most everything they need, including various birds and other small livestock. There’s vineyards in the hills nearby, and gardens in every yard. Trees are plentiful, and apparently it’s entirely verdant in summer. People are incredibly friendly, which has inspired me to try and learn at least a few words of Romanian*. Already a neighbor has stopped by, and the local foreman’s parents plied me with outstanding roast pork, and pork sausage. Also a bottle of delicious homemade wine. Everyone waves and says hello, even though I’m obviously a stranger. People seem curious, but I’m not picking up that… suspicion I think you sometimes find in small towns. This stands out even more, as overall, I wouldn’t say people in Romania and Bulgaria are particularly welcoming. Not hostile, but not welcoming. Here it’s different, I feel like if I could have a proper conversation I’d have managed to make friends and felt totally at home already. As it is, feeling very welcome, and inspired to learn the basics.

Other recent happenings – explored the Bucharest bar scene with a crew of Romanians that I met in a hostel in Bulgaria. Crazy. The entire old town is basically four or five story buildings, with two bars or clubs on each story, plus the basement. Over 400 in like a 5×5 block area. Whatever kind of bar you like, they seem to have. Needless to say, it was a most enjoyable evening. Before that, Veliko Tarnovo’s amazing fortress/medieval town (capital of Bulgaria’s empire), a great ride on the train with friendly locals, and Bucharest’s mix of crumbling ruins, beautifully maintained homes, and overwhelming communist-style bulidings in all states of construction/preservation/disrepair.

This is very poor cell-based internet, so no photos for a while. Rest assure that I have them, though, and they will appear eventually.

*It’s only now that I’ve been interacting with older folks that I miss the language. Young people in both Romania and Bulgaria have seemingly-universally excellent English. English seems more wide-spread and thoroughly mastered here than almost anywhere I’ve been, with the possible exception of Germany. Impressive.