My only defense to the Romanian winter

Romania has experienced a winter of record low temperatures. My bedroom is the only heated room in my apartment so one weekend in mid-January, I staged a movement strike, refusing to leave it. When Monday morning came, I emerged from my cave like a hibernating beast and braved the subzero wind-chills of my bathroom. I deiced the mirror, took a hard look at my scraggily self and pondered, “What if…?” That’s right; the dream of a goatee was dancing in my head.

But, some things just aren’t meant to be for me like becoming an NFL quarterback or, well, growing facial hair. Three weeks into my grand experiment, it more resembled the peach fuzz on some punk middle school kid than the shrine to brut masculinity that I had envisioned. Heavy-heartedly, I took a blade to my newfound friend.

I’ve begun my second semester of teaching. It’s progressing slowly but positively. I teach grades first through eighth. Compared with their peers in larger towns, my students possess low levels of English proficiency. This stems from them both previously not having qualified English teachers and hailing from very poor families. This village suffers from devastatingly high unemployment, and some families survive only on the monthly stipend given by the state to school children (about $20 per month per child).

If promising students wish to attend high school, as opposed to the local trade school, they must relocate to a larger city an hour away, and their parents themselves must finance the room and board. For many families, the cost is prohibitive.

I concede that some students, especially older ones, may not learn English. However, I regard my mission as more than just the transmission of a language skill set. The Romanian system is very authoritarian and impersonal. I’ve worked to introduce a warmer, more interactive approach with a focus on positive reinforcement. For some students, this strategy has born fruit. Others, accustomed to strictly-managed classes, have misinterpreted this freedom for weakness on my part. Overall, I can’t yet judge my effectiveness. After finishing my two years, we’ll take a step back and evaluate my impact. Even later, we’ll see if my students from the second, third and fourth grades develop a self-confidence and thirst for learning that leads them onto higher education. Let’s hope.

In other news, I’m famous. Romania’s largest newspaper, Jurnalul National (the New York Times of Romania), just published a day-in-the-life feature about yours truly. Now, I’m not yet fluent in the Romanian language so I don’t understand the whole article, but I’m told it’s not the incendiary exposé into my shenanigans that I feared.

Rest assured this newfound celebrity won’t affect my demeanor. I have insisted that my classroom be stocked with a cappuccino machine, blue M&Ms and a wacky Ed McMahon-esc sidekick who when I say, “The dog is big and brown,” will declare “You are correct, sir!” However, I suspect these demands with go unmet considering I’ve seen none of these things in Romania.