My way of Life...

I'm back in Transylvania again in the most glorious weather.
I just love it here. I love the way everyone tells me to be careful of everyone else as they are crooks. It's the Yorkshireman's cry of " I worry about everyone except thee and me and I sometimes worry about thee."
This has been, so far, the most interesting visit yet.
I got the keys for our new ( read 1796) office/flat and have put in train various changes.
Cleaning it for a start.
Anyway, with a bit of luck when I come back next month it will be a) habitable and b) useable.
I've been interviewed by some Romanian TV Channel, and three times by journalists, all in connection with the LAG ( qv) and now the EcoMuseum project (see below). Two very nice Welsh ladies, one older one younger, who were in the area doing research for a play they want to write about immigrant workers in UK, heard about me and Alin my translator, and asked to meet for an interview. We scheduled them in for 30 minutes, only to find that the mobiles started ringing to demand why weren't we in Biertan. We looked at our watches to discover that nearly two hours had gone past. Just as an aside, this shows that turning up 2 hours late in Romania is not unusual.
The EcoMuseum project is most interesting. In effect, 6 villages have clubbed together to form a living testimony to the Saxon past in the area. The LAG has set aside one room in its offices in Mosna as a starting point for the tour ( brochures, maps,guides etc) and from there you will be able to visit various places. We did a tiny bit today ( the dignitaries were more interested in the food and drink to come). It included the Mosna Church and Citadel, the first place Prince Charles wanted to visit in Romania. To the house set aside for the LAG and EcoMuseum , then on to a Saxon ( still in use) corn mill, a working farm, and the oldest house in the village with beams date marked 1794. A small libation was taken in each of the wine made by the owner, water was drunk from the wells, honey from the honey combs, tomatoes from the gardens and then it was time for the feast.
It took place in the kindergarten school. 60 of us sat down to pork and vegetable sour soup ( sounds dreadful but is truly delicious) with wine, plum brandy and a glass of water for the wimps. The main course called ( I think) Sambals, is pork and rice wrapped in cabbage, and served with cabbage. Sounds dreadful but is utterly wonderful to eat.
Of course there were some speeches ( including one from me saying how happy I was and delighted to be invited) which resulted in a kiss on both cheeks from all the men present. None of the women bothered - or maybe they weren't allowed to. The local choir master rendered a Romanian paen of praise to the mayors present.
Amidst all this, Alin, myself and our advisor on matters sylvan, managed to look over some land, agree a price for it, agree to meet with another 12 potential vendors on monday, and get the car washed. This last was very important, as it gave the three of us about 10 minutes to gather our thoughts and plan the next bit.
At the feast I sat next to a man who had been at a thing called Globefest in Budapest, organised by the person who drove a tractor through a McDonalds, and went to jail for it to make his point.The theme of the "fest" was " Which way IS forward". I think this is increasingly a very important point, particularly in places like Romania. It seems to me to be unlikely that our very advanced society IS going to go forward in any meaningful way for billions of people on Planet Earth.
Transylvania,despite it's many problems, does not show any of the angst, jealousy and envy visible anywhere in the UK. Even the poorest, living on the equivalent of Eur100 per month, are clothed, fed and housed - and apparently happy. How many in the UK on 20 or 30 times this amount can say they really are happy?
The reason we were to be in Biertan was to meet a fantastic lady who paid for the children of poor people to be educated. That sounds very grand, but it only consisted in her giving them the bus fare each day to the main town - about Eur 50 per child per year. She had no money herself. She begged, borrowed and shamed anyone and everyone to give her money. If anything, she is a Rosa Luxembourg staunch Communist, but in the true tradition of sharing. If there were more like her, Romania would be the best educated country in Europe.
She told me a story about when she got married. In fact, she didn't mean married in the religious sense, she meant bedded. She has stayed with the man for 35 years and they have children.
The reason they never married was that her "husband" had elderly parents who had a flat, and she had a small flat as well. If they had married, there would have been two flats with one surname between them, and blood-related people in each.
At that time in Romania, such a situation meant that the second flat had to be given back to the state. No ifs no buts.
As she says ." We still have a hard life, but we are free."
I wish we appreciated freedom as much.