In the news

It's a snow day today!! So, I have some unexpected time to update what's been going on in Bucharest. Romania has actually been in the news the last week and a half. You can read about it here, but basically people in Romania are protesting against the president and the austerity measures that the government is imposing on them. It started a week ago on Saturday night. I actually walked past about thirty people with posters that afternoon, but I didn't think anything of it. However as the evening progressed, apparently things escalated to this.

Things turned a little violent that night and the next, meaning tear gas and rocks were involved. Somehow I didn't hear anything at all, even though a group of protesters marched in the street past my house. (I didn't take these pictures.)

The following is a notice from the US Embassy posted on Thursday.

Continuing Demonstrations in Bucharest

Expect demonstrations to continue in Piata Universitatii and Unirii Square throughout the weekend.

Clashes between demonstrators and security personnel are possible; this could pose considerable incidental risks to those in the vicinity. You should avoid the demonstrations if at all possible and remain alert and aware of your surroundings at all times.

Normal pedestrian and vehicular traffic are affected. Please consider alternate routes and plan schedules accordingly.

Note: Soccer fans (supporting various teams such as Steaua, Dinamo, Rapid and Petrolul) have announced that they intend to join the demonstrations this weekend. Yesterday alone, nearly 100 individuals were arrested for violent behavior during the demonstrations

Note: Even demonstrations that are meant to be peaceful can become violent and unpredictable and you should avoid them if at all possible and remain alert and aware of your surroundings at all times.

They are continuing to protest, but I haven't really been affected by it at all. Other cities around Romania are also protesting, and at one point I heard that about ten percent of the entire population of Romania was protesting against the president. I haven't felt the need to go out and protest myself, especially with all the snow we are getting dumped on today. Instead I am going to go sledding!

Tuesday Traditions

Anybody watch 'The Voice'? It's an American singing competition where four judges, who are famous artists,  listen to contestants and chose from them people to be on their team based on their voice alone. (They are not allowed to see the contestants.) Then these teams are coached by the judges that chose them and compete against each other to earn the title of "The Voice." Anyway, Romania has it's own version of the show called Vocea Romaniei, and it became kind of a Tuesday night tradition for a few friends and I to get together and watch this show. 

We looked at it as kind of a cultural experiment to see if Americans and Romanians have different tastes in regard to music...they do. Our little group usually consisted of three to four Americans and one to two Romanians. We Americans often did not agree with what the judges deemed as good, while the Romanians usually did. 

At some point in the show I usually would end up laughing so hard I cried. It was either from the interesting outfits, or the strange back up dancers that also always seem to be wearing something ridiculous and doing some sort of choreography that had nothing to do with the style of the song. Unfortunately the show ended at Christmas so now we have to find another show to pick apart culturaly...or just laugh at.

I did catch an episode of the Turkish version of 'The Voice' and it was interesting to see that while Romanians usually sang popular American songs, the Turks sang mostly their own Turkish pop songs. 

Here is an excerpt of one of my favorite contestants on Vocea Romaniei. He made it pretty far into the show. You can decide whether he would have made it very far in the US. He was one of my favorites, mostly for the unique costumes, interesting facial expressions and the fact that you can never guess what note he will song next. But really, I could listen to him a lot ;)

One of the judges from Vocea Romaniei gave a free concert at the mall near my place at the beginning of December. Just like the show, the concert went on and on. This guy, Horia Branciu, has a lot of energy and really knew how to get the crowd excited. 

We never knew what was going to happen next, just like the show. This may be partly because we don't understand that much Romanian, but at one part of the concert, this happened. It was some kind of dance involving a giant hamster ball? We certainly weren't expecting that. 

In conclusion, Romania is never boring!

A French Christmas

Bonne année tout le monde! I just got back from spending Christmas with my French family in a little village near Strasbourg. It was a great way to spend the holidays. I was really missing my family right around Thanksgiving, and not looking forward to spending Christmas without them. Thankfully I was able to make arrangements to go to the same place in France where I spent Christmas two years ago. It was familiar and I really felt like part of the family.

 I was in the Alsace region of France, which used to be a part of Germany at various times in history. The people are very proud of their culture, and most of them actually speak a German dialect as their first language. I enjoyed being able to understand so much more of what was going on and being able to communicate with people in both German and French. 

The Christmas market in Strasbourg

The family that I stayed with has a background in the restaurant business and serves some of the most delicious food I have ever tasted. So, here are some pictures of my favorite thing about France....food.

In conclusion, my vacation consisted of sleeping a lot, eating a lot of amazing food, and taking walks in the fresh air and beautiful countryside. I really needed this time to relax, and now I am back in Bucharest and ready to start school again on Thursday.