Zan's Virtual Romania II

Hi Y'all. . .Everyday life brings new challenges simply to make it through another day here, and you absolutely have to laugh a lot and keep a great sense of humor to see it all through. For Westerners, everyday life in Romania is truly a world that seems it's turned upside down and inside out! When I arrived in Cluj and got to my flat that I'm renting for the summer, I waned to take a nice, warm shower (there are no "stand up" showers as we know them in the States) but as I went to turn on the water, there was NO hot water. It wasn't like the hot water was all used, it just so happens that in this particular area, the hot water is turned off at 11:00 pm every night. "OK," I thought, "I can wait 'till morning." Waking up early the next day, I went to turn on the hot water and the hot water was still turned off. It was finally turned on again at 7:00 am. Then I remembered that this is a normal, everyday occurrence in this area of town, so I waited patiently and finally, the hot water was turned on!

Popcorn Anyone?? Typical "street vendor" scene at a major intersection in Cluj.

When we were living in Cluj, Romania in the summer of 1992, the water could be turned off for days throughout the city,. We're not talking simply about the hot water being out, ALL the water would be turned off! Our hotel happened to be in a small area that did have at least cold water available. Friends from different parts of the city would show up at our hotel asking if they could fill up their 5 liter containers to take to their flats. We even let these friends also use our showers if they wanted. So far this summer, I've only experienced the turning off of hot water every night.

The phone system is truly a mystery to nearly everyone in Cluj and I would imagine the whole of Romania. First, you're charged for the use of the phone for not only long distance calls but also for local calls. This includes whether or not you initiated the call or someone calls you, and you're charged by the "impulse," a measurement of time that is still up for debate on exactly how long an "impulse" is. When you receive your phone bill, nothing is detailed. You have local calls and long distance calls, then you're charged for the "impulses" accrued for that month. Recently the phone bill has jumped by about 20% and instead of having to pay your bill by the 30th of the month, they have moved it to the 24th.

Oh, I forgot, you do receive your phone bill in your mail box, not in an envelope with a stamp on it or with your address, etc. but, and I can only imagine this, there has to be an army of people from the phone company who literally travel around the city, dropping notices in everyone's mail box, informing people their money for the phone is due! And then can you simply drop a check in an envelope, slap a stamp on it and send it to the phone company via mail? No way! That's TOO simple! You have to go to the nearest telephone company and pay your bill in person. This is the way of life here for everyone!

Being connected to the internet is another story altogether! Once I was online, I do have unlimited access to the internet, but I am still charged by the phone company for all those little "impulses!" Victoria had a strange thing happen with her lately regarding their bill for June's access. They usually pay for their online service between the 15th thru the 18th of each month. The provider, Romania Express, told them that this would be fine. Well, when we were in Budapest this past Sunday thru Wed, RE called their home 3 or 4 times, leaving word with their landlady that they needed to pay their internet bill. The young man staying at the house got the same phone call and explained that they were out of town. Not only that, but they somehow got the phone number of some of their friends and left messages with them also, as well as sending her email about their internet bill. And can we send a check to pay our internet bill to our provider? Too easy! We have to go to their office, which by the way is located in an oncological hospital (not a misprint, folks) and pay the internet bill every month in person. And people in the States keep talking about getting back to the "simple" life? Simplicity CAN be pretty complicated.

Family coming home from day in the fields. Typical mode of Romanian transportation.

If one is lucky enough to have cable TV, you have to pay the bill in the same manner as the phone, electricity and internet. TV here is also a mixed bag. In the day, you can find a couple of soap operas from the States that are nearly 10 years behind. In the evening, Romanians are totally into the "X Files" as well as "Melrose Place" and shows like "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" and old shows like "MASH" all of which are in English with Romanian subtitles. This does help with learning Romanian! There are also some pretty good movies on at night as well. On cable we do get the European CNN as well as a lot of German, Hungarian and Italian programs. Some of the local Romanian commercials, as well as the other European commercials can be a hoot! One thing I hate see coming into Romania is the MTV and networks like that.

The first McDonald's in Cluj opened today. It was literally a ZOO around the place! People were lined up way into the streets, standing out in rain all day long. The local TV was out covering the latest news of the opening of McDonald's at 6:00 am. The crowd was huge even then.

Money can't even be simple! Everyday we have to check the price of the $ to the Romanian Lei. When I first came to Romania in May, 1989, the lei was 9 to one dollar. You could get nearly 85 lei to the dollar on the black market in '89. Today, the lei is 7,400 to one dollar. Good for us, bad for the Romanians where the average wage is $60 per month! Inflation is rampant. Last year in October and November when we were here, a gallon of gas was around 30 cents. Now it's up to about 40 to 50 cents per liter!

Ever since writing to everyone about the beggar woman without a face, I can't get her out of my head. It kills me that people like her are not given some kind of care. I don't know what can be done. I've been told on more than one or two occasions that the elderly are treated worse here than the orphans. There are two separate incidents, one in Bucharest, one near Cluj, that have disturbed many people here. In Bucharest , a man was discovered on the streets, in a COMA. Someone called an ambulance. The ambulance came, the man was put in the ambulance and was driven all over the city, looking for some hospital to take him in. There was none. The man had no money, no family. The people in the ambulance took him back to where they found him on the street, dumped him out and left him to die. In the second case, a man had kidney problems, he was taken to a hospital, they catheterized him, then found out he had no money. They kicked him out of the hospital and somehow he ended up at a church run by the Lord's Army and was dying. I do not know what has happened to him since.

Parente (Fr.) Lucian Vaida and his wife Iuliana in front of the iconostasis in his church in Luna de Jos

Please pray also for friends of ours here. Juliana and Lucian Vaida have been friends since 1993. Lucian is a priest in the small village church at Luna de Jos, about 25 - 30 kilometers east of Cluj. Lucian graduated from the Theological Institute in 1995, and he and Juliana were married shortly after he graduated. He was ordained a Deacon about one month after that, then into the priesthood about a month later. Well, good new, Juliana is expecting a baby this October, right near their own birthdays. Well, Juliana has been to a doctor once, to determine if she was indeed pregnant. But she won't see another doctor until she goes into labor! She is not taking any kind of prenatal vitamins because things like that aren't very common here. She is in excellent health, but women here simply do not get the prenatal care they need. It's the way life is here. Craig Goodwin is going to be bringing back prenatal vitamins for her, which I'm truly thankful for. But because of lack of care, and lack of proper nutrients, babies here can be born with all sorts of health problems. Please do remember them in your prayers. I want Juliana to deliver a beautiful, healthy baby!

Well, this was supposed to be a short update and hopefully informative email about daily life here. Hope you're not bored with my account of "Virtual Romania" because living it "up close and personal" is never boring.

Certainly do love and miss everyone! Wish you were here!!!

Cu mult drag. . . (With much love)

Zan

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