First exam of the year already passed

Hy there... there has been some time I didn't put myself thinking and typing in this online diary. All for good, I would say! I have finished with one hard exam. After wasting so much time driving different falling-apart cars in Bucharest or Tulcea, my home town, I finnaly got to pass this driving test. Strees in Tulcea seems unrepaired since forever. The colour of the city seems to have become a dirty forgotten orange which is supposely the colour of the main party in Romania now, PD. Anyway, I am not here to talk politics or other crazy things about it!

I have decided to call this year The Year of Exam's Passing. I have to take my license exam at the University I graduted last year and then subscribe for a Master Degree in Politic Science. I love this field more than anything. Modestly talking, I was born to be part of it. I can hardly wait.

Have a good time reading this!

Cu un pas... in urma (part two)

- Nenorocito, de-asta-mi eşti nevastă? Să te prefaci că-ţi pasă de copil şi să fugi de muncă? Tot ce spunea bărbatu-său trăda firea de faraon, mai ales că ursuzul de tată-socru nu făcea altceva decât să pună şi mai multe paie pe foc. Când ţi-am spus că ai luat o putoare drept nevastă, mi te-ai răţoit că aşa şi pe dincolo. Aşa îţi trebuie dacă nu asculţi, ridică şi mai mult ştacheta grijuliul tată. Scena părea copiată dintr-o piesă de teatru perfect jucată de ambii bărbaţi, aplauzele lăsându-se aşteptate. Ochii mari şi plini de lacrimi ai copilului dureau mai mult decât petele vineţii apărute ca ciupercile după ploaie pe obrajii şi fruntea tinerei mame lovite fără aprob. Mişcările fără orizont şi privirile dincolo de tot ce o înconjura desenau portretul unei fiinţe hăituite toată viaţa, deşi piesa de teatru abia începuse.
- Să te cari din casa asta...
Suflarea-i duhnea a recoltă bine îngrijită de la legarea viei şi până la coacerea strugurilor...
-... n-am nevoie de oaspeţi care nu cunosc altceva decât mâncare şi somn...
Cine vorbea?! Omul care avea registrele semnate la aproape toate dughenele din sat, şi acelea abia de rezistau setei tot mai mari şi mai dese din ultimul timp. Vezi Doamne, nevasta i-a născut iar un motiv mai bun de sărbătoare nici că găsise. Într-un sat atât de mic, până şi nou-născuţii ştiau de fiecare şi asta datorită publicităţii asidue făcute de proaspătul tată.
-... să te duci unde-i vedea cu ochii. Copilul este al meu şi numai al meu, hotărând ultimele cuvinte astfel încât femeia să ia aminte la faptul că trebuie să plece singură, precum venise. De lada de zestre nici nu încăpea in vorba, părinţii tinerei mame abia i-au şesut câteva ţoale: „Să te bucuri, mamă, de ele şi să-ţi faci bărbatul fericit. Dacă el va fi fericit, supărarea vă va ocoli şi vă veţi bucura de ziua când nepoţii se vor legăna pe vârful picioarelor voastre, dornici să asculte poveşti la apus de soare!”

Praful care se ridică din pământul bătătorit de căruţele ce neîncetat hoinăresc nebune, formează nori ce acoperă întregul drum. Cerul cenuşiu capătă astfel o culoare hazlie de gri spălăcit şi antic, iar munţii ce se zăresc cu greu seamănă mai mult cu dealuri demult bogate în păduri cu poieniţe, mană cerească pentru ciobanii care – după un ritual bine ştiut – apăreau şi dispăreau la intervale egale de timp.
- Acum e timpul lor, desface tăcerea o femeie rotunda la corp şi dulce în glas, aranjându-şi cele doua codiţe de păr, exact ca a şcolăriţelor în drum spre şcoală, înarmate cu un caiet dictando şi o felie de cozonac de culoare galbenă cu pete maronii, drept gustare. Dar nu vor sta mult anul asta, continuă femeia. Se-aude vorba că se vor muta mai spre Dunăre. Se anunţă iarnă grea şi nu vor să rişte. Vorbele-astea?! Vin ca nişte păsări singuratice, dar se împrăştie înapoi în stoluri, încearcă femeia o transpunere filozofică nereuşită care nu făcu decât să mire pe ceilalti aflaţi alături.
- Ehe, or să stea mai puţin de data asta, mai ales că praful de la cariera italienilor nu le dă pace bietelor animale, îşi încearca norocul birjarul, vrând astfel să se invite în discuţie. Liniştea din urmă îl descurajează complet şi nu face altceva decât să continue biciuitul celor doi măgari vlăguiţi de toate puterile după un drum ce părea infinit, deşi doar un deal despărţea cele două puncte ale călătoriei.
Gropile se adâncesc şi mai mult sub roţile de fier ale căruţei care cu greu îşi face loc pe drumul unei foste cetăţi romane descoperite vag de nişte aşa-zişi arheologi. O stivă de pietre se arată anume a marca însemnătatea istoriei atât de darnice acestor locuri. Mândria pare a fi cuvântul de ordine deşi nimeni nu ştie de ce. Un luciu de apă pe partea dreaptă a drumului ce duce spre Turcoaia se zăreşte abia la trecerea peste un podeţ deasupra unui pârâiaş, marcând apropierea de satul cu turla unei biserici atât de înalte ce aduce mai mult a geamie. Se verifică astfel că turcii au poposit aici o perioadă mai lungă de timp. Varul albastru ce îmbracă pereţii caselor din depărtare consfinţeşte traiul senin la care tânjesc oamenii care le locuiesc, deşi ocupaţia principală îi aduce mai degrabă cu picioarele pe pământ: căratul pietrelor şi pescuitul. Din nou liniştea este străpunsă de mâhnitul din vocea celei de-a treia persoană aflată în căruţa cu greu trasă de amărâţii de măgari, biciuiţi din ce în ce mai des:
- Toate ca toate, se clătină femeia căutând locul din care putea fi auzită mai bine, dar măcar voi putea să-mi văd copilul mai des decât credeam, acum că ştiu că distanţa ce ne desparte nu este aşa de mare. Cu aceste cuvinte tânăra mamă se eliberă plină de optimism. Totuşi, imaginea pruncului crescând sub ochii unor străini nu-i dădea pace, nicidecum încredere. Nu-şi putea imagina să-şi vadă copilul din an în paşte, în cel mai fericit caz. Scumpul meu, continuă obsesiv femeia, dând impresia că vrea să se facă înţeleasă pe deplin, îmi va fi aproape iar dacă vrea bunul Dumnezeu (închinând o cruce mare cât de la frunte până spre brâu şi apoi dinspre umărul drept spre cel stâng cu un început din Tatăl Nostru observându-se pe buzele ei subţiri) va avea un alt frate... sau poate chiar doi. Familia mare aduce bucurii multe, căută femeia o explicaţie ştearsă la raiul ce l-ar vrea trăit pe pământ. Ca şi cum birjarul ce biciuia măgarii după un ritual numai de el ştiut şi femeia rotundă cu glasul ei blând ce acum tăceau, ar fi interesaţi de visul cu ochii deschişi al tinerei mame, aceasta continuă transpunerea cu voce tare a ceea ce ar fi vrut ea ca viaţa să-i aştearnă în drum.

Piatra cubică aşezată sub frecatul roţilor de fier a căruţei trase de măgari începe să deranjeze fonic nu numai pe cei trei călători, ci şi pe baticurile care cuminţi se prelingeau după urechile babelor şi pălăriile moşilor ieşiţi în grupuri în faţa curţilor ca la spectacol.
- Ziua bună, bade, aruncă birjarul un salut acompaniat de ridicarea braţului drept deasupra frunţii bătătorite de arşita drumului parcurs, în căutarea aprobării de trecere prin faţa lor. Răspunsurile înseamna doar o invizibilă aplecăciune şi o vagă clipire din ochi a celor care-l primesc. Şi nu erau puţini. Vestea că femeia se ia cu un anume Anton din marginea satului, (aproape de malul Dunării ce străpunge mai întâi locurile Măcinului înainte de a poposi leneşă prin zonă anume a ajuta la căratul pietrelor de carieră pe apele sale) ajunse la destinaţie înainte ca aceasta să înceapă să pornească la drum. Ca şi cum solii ar fi pregătit drumul, l-ar fi presărat cu petale albe de crin ce prevestesc puritatea deciziei femeii de a-şi începe o viaţă nouă, de data asta mai bună decât ce avea să lase în satul vecin. Pe măsură ce înaintau spre cealaltă margine de sat, ochii tuturor creşteau parcă adăpaţi de atâta curiozitate. „Cine-or fi? Cât or sta aici? De unde atâta nevoie de aşa multe bagaje dacă nimeni n-o ştie şi nimeni n-o aşteaptă?” erau doar căteva întrebări şoptite din curte în curte ca un „bun-venit” noilor săteni.

Changes made on my blog!

It is a nice Saturday. I usually don't come along with Saturdays, but this one seems special to me. There must be several reasons, but none of them seems very important so I will take all of them as good ones!
There is a new thing showed-up on my blog. You can vote for my blog. There is nothing I could win by your voting, it just gives me an idea of how people thing about my blog. There is room for improvement, I know that! I am willing to start doing that! Take care!

Something from Mary Ferris, mission co-worker in Tulcea

A letter from Mary Ferris in Romania
	February 14, 2004 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, As Valentine’s Day was approaching love did not seem to be in the air here in Tulcea. The weather has been awful. There is no such thing as snow removal from the streets and sidewalks in Tulcea. There is very little heat in most of the orphanages—unless you come on an official visit and then they will turn it on for the visitors. I am no longer a visitor warranting special privileges so I can witness the daily lives of these children. Thanks to some wonderful ladies in Oregon, Minnesota, and Texas the children all have hats, mittens, and slippers. Still, after a while the long winter wears people down. Plus, rumors, gossip, petty jealousies, bickerings, tempers flaring (regretably my own) were all the things that gave me reason to ask, “What am I doing here?” In summary, I was feeling lousy and sorry for myself. Then I checked my email and I received this wonderful love letter from Costica, a young man whom NOROC has been helping for the past three years. He had no way of knowing how I was feeling, but God knew. This letter reminded me why I am here.
	Costica was one of the first young persons we helped send to high school. Now, against all odds, he's in the first year of university training in Bucharest. He is shown here helping two girls learn about computers.				Jesus said, “I have come to seek and save the lost.” This is our mission here in Tulcea. It means working with the children one at a time. Costica is only one of many, but he was one of the first we helped with going to high school, and now he is in the first year of university in Bucharest. As a youth, Costica was told he could not go to high school, but he did. He was told he could not pass the baccalaureate exam (equivalent to SATs) needed to get into university but, after several tries, he did. Then he had to try several universities before he was accepted as a student. Costica has paved the way for others.
	Costica knows the system now, and he is helping to teach the others how to manage. The following letter written in English by Costica tells what NOROC is accomplishing in the name of Jesus Christ. Hello, dear Mary! I just feel that I need to tell you how much I love you for the extraordinary person that you have been to us since we have met you. I knew from the begining that my life and other children’s lives would face a lot of changes since you have decided to put your life, your time, and your big love in trying to change as much as you can all the people’s lives you have been in touch with. You are an amazing person and we all miss you a lot when we are far away from you. I am also thinking of the names of the other many boys and girls whom you could change their future. I remember, when I was still living at the boys home that the Director of the Child Protection System came once and he asked me: “Who is going to support your school tuition and everything?” I answered him: “The Noroc Foundation through Mary Ferris,” [Here Costica is wrong—it is the NOROC Foundation, through the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which serves in the name of Jesus Christ.] And he said: “You know that you don’t have any future if you put yourself in anybody’s help. All of those people who are trying to help can only make you dream of a better life and you will end up dreaming and then you will wake up and will see how much time you lost dreaming!” I told him that helping people to dream is much better then doing nothing to help them change their lives. Noroc and all of its staff not only helps children to dream, but also helps them to create their own plans and try to find a way to make their plans come true. I need to tell you that I am one of these children. My dream was to go to the university, even though a lot of the people thought that could only be an idea. Well—my dream of becoming a good teacher is on its way to becoming true because, look, I am at the university thanks to you, Mary, and to the other people who are involved in Noroc’s busines. I just feel good when I am telling you these kind of things. I appreaciate all of what you are still doing. God bless you and God bless Noroc! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Love you very much! Thank you Costica! He gets it! NOROC is about helping kids make plans to fulfill their own dreams. I called Costica to thank him for this very timely letter and he told me he was never able to feel things before, much less express his feelings, and now he wants to tell everyone how much he loves them. He wrote similar letters to others who have helped him through the years. Costica will be a global partner this summer at the Youth Triennium and following the Triennium, he will itinerate with me on some of my visits to churches on my mission interpretation assignemnt. He will do a presentation about life growing up in a Romanian Orphanage. I will be in the United States from June 15 to October 15 for my mission interpretation assignment. If your church is interested in having Costica and/or myself come for a program, please email me soon at mferris@x3m.ro or mkferris@yahoo.com and I will respond immediately. It is very helpful to have specific dates in mind. I am at the point I need to start specific planning, so contact me soon. Transportation and lodging are the only fees expected as I am paid by the Worldwide Ministries Division of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). In God’s Love Mary Ferris The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 318

Coming to change small into enormous

I promised you that I would tell you about the group of the Americans coming to Tulcea, Romania! They did come for this summer, too, as they always do. This time they made a few changes in Mary's apartment (Mary is a missionary in Romania for her second "three years" time, too bad she has to leave back to US this summer). They also did some work at Casa Noastra, a house designed for the ones who leave the orphanage after turning 18 years old and have no other place to go before they can afford to pay a rent for their place to live.
Everybody in the group that came to Romania felt they could make a change in the lives of the remaining kids in the orphanages in Tulcea county. With their love for these children, they are armed and ready to show that a small thing can mean very much. Rich, Carol, Dawn, Madge, Joe, Jennifer and Janet decided their presence here is the most important thing to those in need for love of a parent and friendship long-term, if I could say it that way. Their mission is wonderful and expectations are welcome. Thank you for showing your love every time, not only when you are here, but also when you are at home and keep thinking of all of these children and praying for their successful lives! Love you for that!

Coming up this month!

I have several stories to share here. One of them is about the group of Americans coming to Tulcea this summer to continue with the work at Casa Noastra. It became a beautiful home for boys from the orphanages who finished their education. They need a home until they're able to pay for their rent into a new place to live.
The other story is about my brother being excited of getting a new watch.
There are many other to come!
Yours, Costi!

Expecting the unexpected!

I haven’t written for a long time. What can I say in my defense? I know what! And it’s true! I have worked hard and studied. Takes a lot of my time that I can hardly find some for myself!
What is more exciting than waking-up in a place you wouldn’t think you will be an hour before? Actually it took us about two hours to get there. Cristi (Diana’s boyfriend) came with this usual idea to go with his car to the mountains, maybe we would find some snow there. We haven’t seen snow in Bucharest since the first day of Christmas (and that was just for realizing we are in the middle of a winter!). We packed everything we usually pack for this kind of trips (coffee and a lot of courage!) and got ready for the road! Simona, Diana, Madalina, Alex, Cristi (who was the driver of the latest version of our national car Dacia, named LOGAN!) and tried to fit in for another adventure! Of course that it was my turn stay with the girls in the back seat and that was the plus for my adventure as I had to hide my head whenever we would see a Police car ahead of us.
We got to Sinaia and then to Predeal seeking this place called “partie” in Romanian, which I can’t translate as I don’t have my dictionary with me. There was snow for the whole Romania but, fortunately there were just the six of us enjoying it, which made it funnier. We than headed to another place close to this first one because we thought the girls would finally give it a try to use the plastic bags to use instead of skiing stuff. We did make some noises that probably angered some people because we some visitors from the Police after almost 4 in the morning. After another hour of skiing and screaming and wetting our clothes as it started to snow badly we decided we need to go back to Bucharest as everybody (not me and Alex!) had to prepare for going to work. We looked for a restaurant in different places but everything was closed as I wouldn’t think they would have them open for crazy people like us driving on Sunday nights!
I am looking forward for another unexpected trip as I am always ready for it. It’s wonderful! Having a car stays as a plus in saying YES without thinking too much!