*** Monday, 23 Dec 2002 ***
The Christmas party was put off from 12 to 1 PM. We had the party but there seemed to be only deserts and no lunch food. Even worse, there was no booze at all. Everyone seems to want to go back to work. We had our Secret Santa surprise gift game with the added surprise that we had to tell some sort of lead-in story that would explain why the gift was appropriate.
My story was about the inevitable mistakes we would make in so complicated a project, so my gift was a Phoenix that represented a rebirth from its own ashes (actually a giant enamel and rhinestone bird) pin. Later I gave a small elephant pin to Mrs. Sanda, our cleaning lady, who has been with the program since I first came to Romania. She seemed impressed and even put the pin on.

Ice fishing in Harastrau Park. The fish they were catching were barely two inches long.

It snowed lightly all day. The soft large flakes made a several inch covering over the iced sidewalks making walking treacherous. At least now I saw plows on the streets, shovelers and very little rock salt on the sidewalks.

Unable to get a cab, I jumped on a linea 5 trolley which saved me from a lot of snowy walking. Walking through the Piatza University underground, I stopped to get a plain double cheeseburger since I had eaten very little of the little there was to eat at lunch.

*** Wednesday, 25 Dec 2002 ***
It was sunny and cheerful so I went out for a walk but the cold got to my fingers and my ears so I didn't walk that far or that long. I was back in about an hour and grateful to stay in for the rest of the day. I relaxed and rested in a very pleasant way.

*** Thursday, 26 Dec 2002 ***
Today is a holiday as well!!

I really bundled up today taking my ear muffs and gloves -- a wise decision as it was ear-reddeningly cold. I walked through Cismigiu Park and caught the linea 44 and took it past Gara de Nord all the way to its end at the WNW edge of the city. Then I took linea 11 for a ride. It went east, south then south east and was headed for the east south east edge of the city. I left it well on its way and took the Metrou back to city center.

The park's were a popular place to sled. The sled couldn't get up much speed and there was nothing to bump into.

The idea of traveling the trolleys this way is a good one but today was a difficult day for it as the 11 trolley I was on had frost condensed on nearly every window obscuring the view. I made the best notes that I could and eventually took the Metrou to Piatza Romana and had lunch at the KFC. Not all that many restaurants have reopened.

*** Friday, 27 Dec 2002 ***
Back to work day! I arrived at 9 AM and I was the third person there. It was a very relaxed day with people taking long lunches and going shopping, and whatever.

The big event of my day was the 1 PM interview with a candidate for the local government specialist position. The candidate arrived on time and Adrian and I talked to him. Adrian had told me in advance that he wanted to ask some quite technical questions about the authority of mayors and councils, etc. and I encouraged him to do so. I opened with a general description of GRASP and then handed the candidate over to Adrian who tortured him like a college professor at an oral exam. The candidate did quite well showing that he had learned something in school. I asked about his academic background and he responded clearly. We grilled him for an hour and at the end he asked when we would make a decision about the position. Without revealing that there was another candidate we wanted to interview I told him we would decide by Jan 15.

It was 2 PM and we had not eaten when Adrian asked if I knew where the Chinese restaurant near us was. I told him that I would like to have lunch with him so we walk to the restaurant. Adrian told me that the first foreign country he had been to was China in 1975. He went to train the Chinese on computers they had bought from Romania (manufactured in Romania under a French license). He spent three months there and loved it. Later he spoke up against the Party and was expelled. When the Communists fell he established an NGO called Pro-Democracy and was very active in explaining and encouraging democracy in Romania. It made him famous in a small way and it lead to an invitation to the US. When he was here he asked for permission to travel alone (he was given some advice about how to travel in the US) and he set off around the country. He had a great time.

We talked about alphabets, literary languages, and Grendel's Den. He quoted Hamlet's famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy, I quoted Frost, Poe and Ogden Nash. It was a wonderful lunch.

*** Saturday, 28 Dec 2002 ***
The weather is suddenly milder. Not warm, just seasonably cold. A big improvement in the weeks of extremely cold temperatures we have been experiencing.
Trolley trip to the outdoor market at Coltentina; as pushy as Tolkushka but less exotic. Clothes, shoes, cosmetics, etc. Perhaps interesting in price.

*** Sunday, 29 Dec 2002 ***
Another seasonably cold day! Trolley trips and walks in Herastrau Park.
Taking trolleys is a great way to see the city but I am discovering that outside the center the Bucharest looks much the same -- endless blocks of dreary high rise "flats". Still it's a big city and there is a lot of it to see.

Today I took linea 40 to the end of the city if not the world and then took the 15 to I did not know where until I looked it up on the map (near the end of Alexandriei). Then I took the 32 to Uniri and had pizza at the Harp Pub (where they don't serve their namesake and don't even know what it is).

The Triumphal Arch celebrates Romania's victory in World War I.

Then I took the M2 to Aviatorilor and walked to the Arcului de Triomf and then up Kisselef to the small amusement park at the northwest corner of Parcul Harastrau and then I walked through the park back to the Arc watching all the kids with their parents sledding on the snow. I took some pictures but it would have been better to have been videoing because there were so many action scenes that I might have caught. The weather is suddenly warmer, yesterday and today, and by Wednesday the snow might be gone I might well have lost my opportunity. Romanians enjoy their parks much more than Americans do and I want video to prove it!

A friend wrote: "I can picture Bucharest in the snow. And, you couldn't be more right about the Romanians enjoying their parks. I have, however, thought that about Europeans since my first trip there in '72. Always wondered if it is cultural or simply the fact that we are used to having much more private space ... backyards, etc....to enjoy than most of the world who have to share their outdoor space."