In April 2008, the Balan Peace Corps Volunteers organized a giant cheerleading session for English Friendship Club. The 30 middle schoolers had matching T-Shirts with the club logo, a gift from our families in America, and we made pompoms to...
In August 2007, a group of Peace Corps Volunteers across Romania converged on Sovata, Ro., in Transylvania for a week-long journalism camp. Here Volunteer Matt Zdon helps students prepare articles for the camp newspaper.
As a Peace Corps volunteer, I took part in the annual Somlyo pilgrimage. "Ave Maria" echoed through the high mountain valley as it has every Pentecost for 440 years. Horsemen in wool Hussars uniforms, cardinals in jewel-tone robes and peasant...
The four Peace Corps volunteers in my little Romanian mountain town of Balan teamed up for a middle school English club, "English Friendship Club," as named by the students. We hosted weekly meetings and a once-a-month themed party. In February,...
Balan, Romania: At a ceremony for the dead in the spring of 2008, one of my preschoolers came up to me to show off his English. He was a stellar student, besides being sweet and one of the very few preschoolers who could answer "How are you" with...
Peace Corps volunteer Ferris Badge and I took on an additional project of teaching preschool. My primary assignment was in the high school, and Ferris worked with an eco-club. With our most advanced class, we ended every session singing the Barney...
This was near Balan, Romania. My host mother was dropping me off in the county seat so I could catch a train to the capital at the end of my service. She gave me about 200 kisses as she cried and said goodbye. She was a woman with great love in her...
Bianca, an 11th grader, helps fifth graders sound out words in a Dr. Seuss book as part of a project aiming to promote English and reading. The books were donated by friends in the United States. The 5th graders loved the attention from high...
My counterpart married in February 2008. After the civil ceremony in town hall, the procession moved to the Orthodox church - unheated in the chilly Transylvanian winter. Then came a 200-person party that lasted until sunrise.