Home in my Chilly Apartment, during historic events: American Economic Crisis and Presidential Elections-- September 27, 2008

I've been back in Constanta for a few days, mostly hoping to talk to my kids and grandchildren and digging around on the internet for news about America so I can catch up with what's been happening. Between economic meltdowns and political uproars it doesn't seem especially encouraging. Fifteen percent of my retirement savings has melted away in the past two months and I didn't even get to spend it. Claiming social security benefits from abroad has turned into a major complication, even though I'm now eligible to get them. I can't help but feel insecure. Peace Corps volunteers have been removed from Georgia, and reassigned or sent home. I need to go to Bucharest to get an ultrasound, but that seems like a minor inconvenience in the big picture.

My son Peter called last night on Skype from Munich, and left his webcam on so I could watch granddaughter Zarah walking on her new foot, see grandson Janek who not only walks but now runs faster than the camera can follow, and visit with granddaughter Mimi who is being everyone's big sister. It was so great to see them laughing! I'm sure my other grandkids in the States are fine, but I'll feel better when I hear from them again.

Next week I start working with final year students in the American Studies program at Ovidius University, and I'm optimistic that we'll enjoy each other and maybe even make the classes fun. It has turned very chilly here, and dreary, so along with the wind it looks like it'll be a blustery and cold winter. The heat for our apartments is controlled somewhere far away, and it doesn't get turned on until it's thoroughly winter, so everyone is bundled up to their ears indoors with just cold noses poking out. It's a good time to huddle around a cup of hot chocolate and watch movies, I guess. Our presidential debates were last night, and although I don't have any television news in English, I could watch them on my computer. Now I can't stop trying to learn more about what's going on. It's like a sudden addiction, especially since I've gone months here in Romania with hardly any news from the U.S. at all!

I must partly feel let down after spending time in Italy with my friend Pam from London. We had the cheapest budget trip possible, but it was all lovely and we stretched our dollars (pounds, in her case) as far as they could possibly go. Thanks to the new flights on Ryan Air from our little airport, with Pisa as the only destination possible, I was able to get an unbelievable $80 roundtrip airfare, so there was inspiration to go. Half our nights were spent at a monastery in Lucca, where we were amazed to have beautiful accomodations that were quiet and clean, and in a great location. Thanks to Rosanna Capitani (eliotropica travelling, www.eliotropica.it, rosanna.c@eliotropica.it) for making every effort to help us do this trip, mostly out of the goodness of her heart. It was all wonderful, and for a while there I even forgot I was in the Peace Corps! But now that I'm on the downward slide, after more than a year and a half in Romania, I feel the months closing in and want to travel as much as possible to see this part of the world. It might be my only chance if the rest of my retirement money blows away.

I felt pressed to make the most of it, so I took hundreds of photos, some of them really fabulous. I'll put a couple of them here, but you'll need to look at the photo galleries to really experience this trip.

At the Pisa Rotary Club, I found an old friend, Dr. Prof. Umberto Laffi, who is on on my left in this picture. He visited Barrow, Alaska, five years ago, where I hosted him for his first ever Thanksgiving dinner! The clubs we visited in Pisa and Lucca were great to us, even though as yet neither of them allows women members.

Driving around Romania delivering Wheelchairs -- September 2, 2008

This is the route taken for the wheelchair deliveries that were made the last week of August, 2008. I was able to get eight wheelchairs for small children from the Mangalia Rotary Club shipment of 280, one of the two containers that size that were received in Romania this summer from the Wheelchair Foundation. I put out a call for these tiny "scaune cu rotile" to PC volunteers who are working with disabled children, and received many requests from all over the country. This trip started in Constanta, after the first of my tiny wheelchairs was delivered in Ostrov. A Rotary colleague donated a van, a driver, and expenses for both, for the three days of this long drive! That's the true spirit of Rotary, and this generous Romanian man, Dan Petculescu of Duo Distributie, is my hero! We drove to Bacau, then Onesti, then all the way to Baia Mare. I also traveled to the little village of Baiut, where I visited PC volunteer Carol before returning to Constanta. The photo gallery is large, but it is worth viewing to see this beautiful country!

In addition there are other new photo galleries, my Constanta visitors in August, and for Lucy, the Black Sea beaches, also some museum sights. At the end of the visitors gallery, you can see pictures from the "Formula One" boat races in Mamaia last weekend. Here is my wonderful driver Iulian --

This is the famous Lake Bicaz

Some of the wheelchair deliveries

The children in Carol's village Baiut

And her Gazda bunici (grandparents)