The other side of the tracks

I have to say that overall Deva is a very pleasant place to live except for one thing, the tracks! We are staying with Cristian's mom who has a house in a neighborhood which is on the other side of the railroad tracks. To get anywhere by foot (and we don't have a car) we must cross the tracks. This would be ok except for the fact that the crossing is broken and is now a hazard. We must step on broken slabs of cement which teeter when we step on them. This has caused many an able-bodied person to break a leg, but it is particularly treacherous for us as Cristian has some motor problems. Every day we go to town we have to go through over these tracks which are like going through a mine field. Will we step on the wrong slab and fall and break something? Will someone come and help us cross (as it is easier with two people helping him)? Why is this the case? The railway dismantled the crossing which had existed for a least forty years, with the argument that it wasn't the proper place for a crossing. The city council approved a pedestrian bridge over the tracks but some idiot who claims he owns the property where the foot of the bridge should be is disputing it. A whole neighborhood of people, including an an architect for the city, live on this side of the tracks. There is a church whose worshipers, old an young, must cross these tracks, many of whom have gotten injured. To add insult to all of this injury, we must also wait for the cargo trains which randomly decided to stop right at our crossing, making us wait 15 minutes to cross in either direction. Stupid CFR!!!!

Deva Fall 2009

In the garden

Pears from the pear trees in the garden

Anniversary of the "Point-Coeur" in Deva

Saturday we went to the 15th Anniversary of the "Point-Coeur" or Heart's home in Romania. They are a Catholic lay movement based on prayer and compassionate presence working with children in difficulty. Most recently the team included an Argentinian who is consecrated, two French girls and an American.

Here they work with many of the gypsy children who in many cases live in poverty. Cristian played an active role in brining the organisation to Deva. I have been blessed to have stayed with them on different occasions! For the celebration they had quite a spread of food including Sarmale (stuffed cabbage rolls). They also had live entertainment feature students from the art school. This video is of one of the performances. Please excuse the poor quality, it was best I could do with the camera I had on hand.

Here is a link to their US website http://usa.heartshome.org/.

Residency

Today I turned in all of my paper work and will get my residence card in about a month. I am now legal. We also went to turn in some paperwork with the new family doctor. She seems rather nice and seems pleased to have an American patient. She also seemed to think that Cristian was quite fine as well. I have health insurance here which was much cheaper and easier to obtain in the States. I have yet to see how it will cover my diabetes meds, but I am feeling optimistic.

The Battle for the Grapes

The last few days here have been filled with much drama. The grapes which grow in the courtyard and the garden have been attacked by the starlings which hang around in masses waiting for the moment when my mother-in-law is out of sight. At every opportunity they descend upon the very sweet grapes in Hitchcock like fashion and devour the tasty morsels. It is a never ending battle, as soon as she chases them from the garden they attack the grapes in the courtyard. In some cases leaving nothing but a clump of stems still attached to the vine.

I can't believe I'm blogging!

I really don't know where to begin with this blog having never blogged before but here goes. I have been in Deva, Romania for three months and now have reached a watershed. I must get off the fence and move forward. I have stayed my 90 days and now must do something about my status in this country. Tomorrow, after jumped through all of the obstacles in the Romanian Residency Agility Course, I will turn in all of my paperwork and obtain my "permit of long stay" by virtue of family reunification, thus making me a legal temporary resident of Romania. I now have a CNP! (cod numeric personal).