poze.

I finally uploaded the few photos I have from my trip to Romania this summer. Although I got quite a bit of footage, I hardly took any pictures. Here are a few to help explain why I am getting restless about being stuck in Provo for eight more months.

This is what I was doing most of the time and yet this is the only picture I have of me carrying out interviews. This is also from the interview when the viewfinder on the video camera went black and I could only hope that the two men were in the shot. At that point, the outcome of my project was about as sure as the communist structure seen in the background.
The Transylvanian Alps/The Carpathian Mountians are beautiful. Someday I am going to go backpacking in Romania...any takers?
Sister Gorzo--the beautiful woman that I stayed with in Bucharest. Not only is she an amazing cook and counselor, but she is hilarious. Her humor reminds me of Grandma Hale. And yes, she believes in me too.
Just a sampling of the many meals/desserts/snacks constantly available from the kitchen of the mission grandma: Sister Gorzo's cheesecake tart (though not the same consistency as American cheesecake--more like feta consistency than cream cheese consistency, the crust, the best part of any cheesecake, was on the bottom AND on the top) and homemade apple cider. This, accompanied by a good talk with Sora Gorzo, and I was in heaven.
This is the poster of an original play I saw in Bucharest. It was in a small theatre on the roof of the National Theatre (Romania's Carnegie Hall or MET opera) and it was brilliant. The premise was all about how we dream big as kids--thinking we can become whatever we want to be, only to give up on our dreams as we get old. It was called "Monday-Friday: 8am-4pm" (both the basic school and work schedule). The pink part of the sign, translated roughly, asks "What did you want to be [i.e. when you grew up] when you were six years old?" The theatre was connected to a sort of night club-- no dancing but it had lots of installation art and films going on all over and a really diverse group of people. I felt like I had tapped into the hip underground student scene in Bucharest.
To my surprise, Brother Calinescu lives! At 80+ his mind is still sharp--he recited a five minute poem for me (Luceafarul), and believe it or not, this man has a daughter that is my age. Stud.
I ate with Stefan and Ilie, two members that I first met way back when I was a greenie, at the new Hard Rock Bucharest the night before I came home. I felt like I had already arrived back in the States. This is just one example of the hundreds of new international businesses that have opened up in Romania since my mission.

Wait a second...that looks like a washed out version of that kid on that one 80's show...
Mormon Myth Confirmed! Ricky Schroeder (Silver Spoons, 24, Scrubs, Lonesome Dove, etc.) is a MO! That's right. He was baptized several years ago and came to church while working on a film in Romania for the SciFi network this August.

Me: "Whose donkey is that?" Boy: "Mine." Me: "Yours?" Boy: "Yep, mine..."

Boy: "...see."