Month: December 2014
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I am hopelessly optimistic.
The little boy just paid us a visit. After playing nicely in the snow at -5° Celsius: “boys vs. girls”, building “baza”, sledding, Conrad invited the boy up for hot chocolate. He politely declined but an hour later his grandma called that he would like to come up. He never drank the hot chocolate, but…
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Rough day
Two people were arguing about a stone. One was adamant that the stone was round. The other was set to make the point that the stone was blue. And they still don’t see eye to eye. After everything I learned and practiced, to communicate, to mediate, to see reason, to successfully appease the most tense…
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Christmas caroling 2014
It’s been seven years since I last went caroling. It was a magical (better than I remember) night, mainly because the joy of Christmas and caroling was lived through their eyes, voices and hearts of little kids. We were up till midnight. The littlest one, Iris was asked by her dad: shall we continue caroling?…
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The Cost of Doing Business in Romania
We’ve been planning this step into the business world for a long time now, perhaps I’ve even been dreaming about it longer. I think all of the hesitation I had in the States that came with every thought of starting something was due to the state of the industry there. I had jumped into the…
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Confidence and humor
We drove 17 km up in the wilderness to visit a friend. We sat down with a glass of water each, and talked. He used to intimidate me. A lot of important and well put together people used to intimidate me. I never showed it, but I always thought there is something I am missing,…
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Noua Generație
This group. We step slowly – it’s a holy ground. Authentic. Their hearts on fire. There is room for everyone. Room for being true. Room for tears, for laughter, for singing, and spontaneity. There is comfortable room for us. We feel loved Though we barely entered this place. Jesus is present. I smile in my…
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The joy and challenges of adaptation
As we establish a rhythm of life in Cluj, I inevitably compare and contrast it with the last time I had to adapt to the Californian home I now miss. It took me months to figure out the stores where I could shop comfortably, and to get cooking. My food only tastes good when I…
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Credinta unui Caine
We arrived in the stress of the season, people tense, the streets congested, fighting in preparation for a time of joy, passion to be tested. We arrived with grand plans, both near and far our dreams, eager to find a foothold, our fear on our sleeves. Through grace our dread unfounded, blessings of friends and…
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First “Snow”
We took a little walk the other morning to see the first “snow” that had accumulated the night before. It didn’t last til noon, and the mud added two pounds to each step, not to mention ten minutes per boot in cleaning later. But the walk was brisk, and we were joined, as usual, by…
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Week 1 – we survived
It’s like a cold shower, or like having to write with your left hand all of a sudden, and it’s not just doodling. It’s writing your final thesis. We have done everything in our power to prepare for the move, but I can’t help but acknowledge how much easier life was in the States. On…
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Day 4
I felt very welcomed today, pe Inului 2-5. So grateful! I woke up way early again, and pondered for a couple of hours in the dark. Later at 6 AM we did a FaceTime chat session with mom and dad, and gave them the tour of our half furnished apartment and then looked for couches…