This Gazda Life

Living with a gazda (host family (in this case a 45 year old woman named Maria who has two daughters and husband living in other cities)) has had its highs and lows. There's definitely been perks when it comes to fresh free eggs, chickens, and veggies. There is also a huge benefit to live with someone that speaks the language fluently and knows how things work and how to get things done. When our internet or power goes out she's the one that makes the call. When I forgot a bag on the bus to our village she called the bus station in the next village over and figured out when that bus would be coming back. She has been immensely helpful, kind, and patient with me.

I like to think that this street goes both ways, and I have done my part to help her with things she could not have easily done on her own. Her computer is set in English and most of the programs that she used are in English so every time any kind of message pops up on her computer I hear her call my name down the hall to help her to choose "yes" or "no", "continue" or "close".  I also recently offered to start adding minutes to her phone via the internet which would have been impossible for her considering she owns neither a debit nor credit card. She was probably the most excited about anything I've helped her with when she got that conformation text message. That is, until I introduced her to the wonders of the can opener and the veggie peeler.

Another sort of exchange we have is over food and kitchen gadgets. At least once a week there's this amazing moment when I introduce her to a food or gadget she has never seen/ heard of before. Romanian cuisine though generally very yummy is not all that diverse and even in big cities foods from any other country, save for Italy, is extremely hard to find and usually on the pricier side and generally not very good. So it's no big surprise that when I make fried rice, tacos, and the like that they have been met with hesitant curiosity. Though sometimes it's something simple like brussel sprouts or mozzarella. What has really gone over big and seems to be brand new to most people here is quiche. It is something my mother made all the time with a delicious yet simple recipe. It is something I make a lot here, and my gazda recently made a request that she be present next time i make it so she can learn how to make "pizza" as she calls it.

What I've really enjoyed is her teaching me how to make some of the traditional Romanian foods. My favorite, of course, being sarmale. Sarmale is generally ground pork and rice combined with spices and wrapped in either grape or cabbage leaves served with sour cream and polenta. Learning how to make it felt like a rite of passage. One of my proudest moments so far in Romania was at Christmas while making sarmale. A visiting gazda family member turned down my offer to help roll the sarmale because she figured I didn't know how. She was answered with a "Ba Da!" (But yes!) from me. The look of shock when I was rolling sarmale with the best of 'em (dare I say, maybe even better than some) was priceless.

It hasn't always been easy living with a host family. There's less privacy, there's been issues with food (usually the force feeding of it since "I'm way too thin and don't eat nearly enough" lol). Sometimes after a long day at school I just want to go home and not have to speak in Romanian because my brain is too fried to get a coherent sentences out. But I wouldn't change a thing. I get to be truly immersed in another culture. I'm forced out of my comfort zone as far as language goes. Which is a good thing. I have to use Romanian every day. That isn't the case with a lot of volunteers here. I am so grateful to have been welcomed into a new family.