Prieten, ce facii acolo?!

For those of you who were beginning to wonder if I had been chased by a pack of dogs beyond reach of civilization or had another unfortunate encounter with Romanian sausages, rest assured that no such thing has happened – yet! Last Saturday, I did unceremoniously force down a slab of slanina grilled over a fire in the mountains, and though said traditional Romanian delicacy is literally a chunk of pure meatless fat, acculturation sometimes means just swallowing it!

Unbelievably, I’ve been in Romania for 4 weeks and am still stunned to actually...be here! Figuring out how to choose some thoughts and words for a public blog has often left me staring out the window. My first conundrum for this blog has been the diversity of audience. Because I deeply value the unique relationships I have with each of you, it's important to me that my writing allows all of you to access and be welcomed into this journey. How can I best do that?! I'm just not sure. My greatest obstacle to writing, though, has been the pure deluge I've been soaking in for the past 29 days...wow! Trying to pull words from the river just has me slipping (or trippin', Claudel!). Though these sentiments possibly confirm my aversion for blogging, thank you for your patience with this process!

All that being said, I must begin writing somewhere – anywhere! In these next few posts, I’m going to share some clips of images, thoughts, and observations I’ve had since being here. Perhaps these will serve as small windows into the new life I am carving out of Eastern Europe and Romania’s Jiu Valley.

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