Christmas Party

So tonight was the foundation's Christmas party. everyone comes, I mean everyone. There are over 300 people each year and this year was no different. It started at 5:00pm and I left at 9:10pm...I think I was one of the first to leave. My boss had a congo line going on around the place when I snuck out with a very tired little boy. When we got home he told me he couldn't take his shirt off because "his hands were just too tired." I organized a Christmas play for the party this year. I would say it was probably a major flop BUT it was the first time that anything like this was attempted here at FCE. So, for that reason alone, it was a success. It was interesting why some people thought it went so well. We all notice different things, you know? One came up to me and said "The boys reading the scripture, that was incredible. They don't read the best but they did it in front of all of these people so boldly. No one laughed at them, they were able to do it as they were, and be accepted for that." Scripture reading, no big deal, right? Well, take a group of teenagers/early20's kids who grew up in an orphanage - who have been ridiculed their entire lives for an event when they were babies or young children which they had no control over...it was a big deal. So what do Romanians eat at a big party like this? Well, first you start off with a first course of soup. Tonight it was a pork and veggie deal. And, there's white bread. You HAVE to have white bread at all meals. I was with some Romanians in Scotland this summer. They could not believe that bread was not immediately put on the table to have throughout the meal. I don't say that to make fun of them, but rather to show how much of a part of the food culture it is here. Interesting, huh, to learn about other cultures? After the soup we were served plates of sliced pickles to eat while we waited for the main course to arrive. When it did come, we were served a piece of pork, a chicken drumstick, mashed potatoes and mixed veggies. What I have noticed most about cooking here is that bold flavors are not used. Which means, that the chicken tonight was cooked perfectly - wasn't dry at all, very tender. But, there was hardly any flavor to it at all. The most noticeable flavor was probably the taste of the sunflower oil it was cooked in. I don't eat pork, so I can't give you a description of that : ) Then, on the other hand, the cabbage rolls that are made here (Sarmale) are bursting with flavor.
I'm really excited about Christmas this year. I will have Alex from Casa Alba for 2 days. He arrived the same week Caleb did from the hospital in Marghita to Casa Alba when they were babies. He's about a month older than Caleb. We're going to have a birthday party for Jesus Christmas Day, complete with cake!, but we will do that after the Christmas service in the morning at church. That's what usually happens here, not Christmas Eve services. I'm hoping Alex and Caleb wake up a little earlier that morning because we'll have to leave around 8:30am to make it to Oradea (the city where we go to church) by 10am, when the service starts!