Voroneț Monastery

Some of the most sublime features in our region of Romania are the painted monasteries of Bucovina. Back in July we visited the Voroneț Monastery, built in 1488, during the reign of Ștefan cel Mare. The exterior paintings were done during his son's reign in the mid 1500s. The west wall is the most amazing, in its nearly perfect state of preservation. The paint itself is only a fraction of a millimeter thick, and the beautiful blue color cannot be exactly reproduced to this day. The recipe for Voroneț blue and the explanation for its preserved state are both deep mysteries. Some might even call them miracles. The west wall tells the story of judgement day. You can see the white, Christian Romanians going to heaven, and the dark-skinned Islamic Turks being judged harshly. In fact the monastery was built to celebrate a successful battle in the region. There are many parts of this fresco that I do not understand. There are animals who look like they have eaten humans, with body parts hanging out of their mouths. There are people dressed in something like a mummy wrap in square boxes or boats. There is a scene with an octopus and a whale, with a giant human holding a large ship. There is also a curious mixture of astrology with zodiac symbols across the top of the scene. This single fresco seems rich enough in its symbolism for a PhD thesis. Something to do after the Peace Corps?

Going Home for the First Time

Sarah and I are off to our new home this morning. We will be living in a large town of about 40,000 people. It is in the Moldova region and in the county of Iași. Iași city is considered one of the cultural centers of the country and will only be about an hour train ride from our town.

I'll be teaching high school (although my school goes down to the same age as 6th graders in the U.S.) and Sarah will be at the middle school (but teaching 2nd through 9th U.S.). We met our counterparts this weekend, who will be a major component of our support system as well as teachers in our schools. The first impressions were great and we're looking forward to getting to know them very well over the next two years.

My counterpart, Roxana, and her fiancee are driving us there and we'll get to go through Brașov, a major scenic town in Romania. This is really our first time getting to see any of the country, besides the city we have been in for all of training. We are so excited and can't wait to share our thoughts and pictures!