Galati - day 2

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Morning came early, as usual and thankfully mama had a modest offering for breakfast. The coffee is what I call 'camp-fire-style' because its just grounds tossed into a small pot of water and boiled, like my mom did when camping. It's rather novel to me, but at least I was expecting it, so I could drink around the grounds. They are perplexed that I water it down and add my milk/cocoa mix, but quite forgiving. Aurelia took me to her school and I spoke to some 9th and 10 graders. The older ones were like talking to a set of stone figures. A. said they just don't participate unless words are dragged from them. I saw she told the truth. Yikes! At least one of them did thank me for the books I sent to the Peace Corps teacher this school had some time ago. The younger ones were not so bad and participated quite a bit more. They are more of a mixed lot, with a wide range of English background. Some have had it for up to six years and at least one was being exposed for the first time. Many of the high schools have dorms where kids from the countryside spend the school week. At Scoala Elena Doamne there are about 200 such kids.

After school A. took me to an antique shop and I bought a couple Romanian-language kids' books for a friend in the States and a couple stamps and old currency to add to my collection. She took me to see an old church high above the Danube and then we waited for her husband to pick us up after he got off work. He works as a project manager at a company that outfits ships and is so far doing well in "the crisis." We all went to their place where there was a birthday party for their two-year old daughter. Three of four grandparents were there, along with and uncle and his girlfriend and one American. We all sang "La Multi Ani" (which sounds just like "My Darling Clementine," the old Western ballad). There was a cake and appropriate fawning. I "communicated" with grandpa and found that he was a coach for FCM Dunărea Galaţi, a part of the second league in Romania. He was a prime recipient for a sounevir Cardinal baseball cap and he graciously accpted it and gave me a small Dunarea banner in exchange. Most of us took Maria to a commercial play center - kind of like an over-sized McDonaldland playground - and the guys played ping-pong while the girls played with Maria. Catalin effortlessly kicked my butt game after game, but was a total gentleman in that he played well below his level. But even when I invited him to play left-handed I went down in flames.

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