Halloween Charity Ball

Here are a few images from the 3rd Halloween Charity Ball held at the "People's Palace" in Bucharest this past Saturday evening. This was a benefit to support the work of Ovidiu Rom that helps Romanian children and families rise out of poverty. The mission of Ovidiu Rom is "to promote self-sufficiency among the poorest members of Romanian society through education, job training, community development, and public awareness."

The organization began when Peace Corps Volunteer Leslie Hawke and Maria Gheorghiu obtained a USAID grant to start a program for fifteen impoverished mothers and an education program for children who begged on the street in 2001. This took place while they were in Bacau, Romania. In 2004, they founded the Asociatia Ovidiu Rom.

Here is a link to their website that includes more of the history of the organization and information about its programs:
http://www.ovid.ro/

A Historic Moment in Bucharest

Today in Bucharest, Romanian President Traian Basescu honored three Roma-ethnic survivors of the Holocaust. 101 year-old Traian Grancea, Ion Minutescu, and Dumitru Tranca received one of Romania's highest honors, The 'Serviciul Credincios' (Faithful Service Award). This took place during a ceremony at the Cotroceni Palace, the Romanian Presidency headquarters, in Bucharest. The International Committee for the Study of the Holocaust, a panel of historians led by Nobel Prize winner and Holocaust Survivor Elie Wiesel, said that the wartime Romanian regime was responsible for the deportation of over 25,000 Roma people. More than 11,000 of them and over 300,000 Jews from Romania were killed during the Holocaust.

International Women's Association of Bucharest

This past week, I attended an International Women's Association (IWA) morning coffee at the Diplomatic Club in Bucharest. At this meeting, the other women and I were treated to a music & dance performance by the Arabesc dance company from Palatul Copiilor. Here are a few images of the dancers' preparation as well as their performance...

Construction

The construction of Bucharest is happening right outside my window...

Getting settled in to Bucharest

A scene any photographer around the world can appreciate...



Evening Bus Ride along Calea Dorobanti...



Hitchhikers outside of the city...

Going back in time a little...

Charles de Gaulle

A few more views from the bus...

Time to play catch-up!

After finishing up my staff photojournalism position at The Courier Times and saying "goodbye" to their very talented staff (who I miss already) last Friday and Saturday, I packed for Romania in two days and boarded an Air France flight to Paris this past Tuesday, September 25th. After a brief two-hour stop in Paris, where I ate a croissant and cheese sandwich I ordered in French at a French cafe at the airport, I boarded a Tarom Romania (Romania's official airline) flight from Paris to Romania.


The flight landed at Otopeni International Airport at 4:30p.m. the following afternoon. I collected my bags (they all arrived on time!) at the airport and met Daniel, who held a "Fulbright" sign among the crowd waiting at the exit. Daniel helped me with my bags and took me to the Academica hotel at the University of Bucharest, where I stayed throughout the next few days for the Fulbright Orientation.


The following morning, I met the Fulbright group at the Fulbright Commission located at Str. Ing. Nicolae Costinescu. We listened to presentations, including talks from the U.S. Ambassador to Romania, the Minister of Education, the Secretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the President of the Romanian Association of American, as well as briefings with American Embassy Representatives. We met Mr. Mihai Moroiu, American Program Director of the Fulbright Commission and Dr. Barbara Nelson, the Executive Director. Following the presentations, we were treated to a lovely reception offered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Fulbright Commission at Hotel Marshal, where we had a chance to socialize with the other Fulbright Grant recipients and alumni.


The following morning, we left on an incredible trip through the mountains, where we witnessed breathtaking views in Bran, Brashov, Sibiu, and Sinaia. We stopped at Bran (Dracula's) Castle and ate in traditional Romanian restaurants along the way.

Here are a few selected photographs from our trip. I will add more images as soon as I finish editing through a few hundred of them!

Bishop Grigore speaks to the Fulbright Group at Cozia Monastery. Cozia Monastery was built by Mircea cel Bătrân in 1388. It is one of the most valuable monuments of national medieval art and architecture in Romania. Inside, it contains well-preserved indoor frescoes...



The Fulbright Group looks through the inside of Sambata Monastery...



Walking through Sibiu...



Sibiu...



A view from the bus...



Bran...