Work and other updates

After a week of orientation and becoming familiar with Galati, yesterday could be described as my first full day of work. While at SMART (which does not actually stand for anything, by the way. Though I have mentioned that they should do what we usually do in the United States and first come up with the nice sounding acronym and then figure out what the letters stand for) I will be working on several different projects. The grant application for the primary project on which I will work was finally signed yesterday and will begin shortly. Before that, my first task is to write a policy brief on an issue of interest.

SMART has established a couple of websites to act as platforms for civic engagement. There is a site specifically for issues concerning Romania  and another for issues concerning Europe. The methodology, modeled after ideas taught in classes at Pepperdine, proceeds as follows: (1) Someone posts a topic on the site (2) The topic is published for public comment (3) SMART considers the proposals and writes a policy brief, which is submitted to a relevant agency (4)  The agency (hopefully) responds and the response is published on the site (5) The original author is asked to asses the agency's response.

The first topic I will be taking on is how Romanians and Bulgarians are viewed with the European Union. In 2007, these two former Soviet Satellites were admitted to the EU. Generally, citizens of one country within the EU are free to work in another member state within restriction. As a condition for entry, there was a seven year moratorium on this right for Romanians and Bulgarians. This period comes to an end January 1, 2014. Many Western European countries have expressed great concern about a sudden invasion of workers from the east taking jobs from their own citizens, and taking advantage of state funded programs. Based on media reports, this concern seems especially great in the United Kingdom. However, a poll commissioned by the BBC shows these concerns are unlikely to reflect reality.

I am spending the next couple of days researching the topic. If anyone has any thoughts, please go to the above link a post a response. On Thursday, I will be participating in a discussion group to help me cement my ideas in preparation for writing the brief.

In other news, I visited in the nearby village Liesti.  Here are some pictures of the Romanian countryside.

My first stop was at a Romanian Orthodox monastery inhabited by nuns.

The monastery was very pleasant. At some point, I may spend a night at a different monastery. 

After that stop, I visited a farm owned by the family of my employer's sister's boyfriend. We first had lunch on their wonderful covered patio complete with a full outdoor kitchen. I am definitely installing one of these in my future house. 

This was also certainly one of the better meals I have so far had in Romania. We ate lamb and chicken that had been raised on the farm.

The first dish above was referred to as stew. It consisted of chicken cooked with various vegetables. The bowl of green was a condiment for the meat made of garlic and green onion.

After lunch, we were provided a tour of the farm. It was impressive, with all sorts of animals and plenty of vegetation.

On Friday, I am leaving Galati for a weekend in the northern village of Soveja. I will be staying in a house in the mountains owned by my employer's family. I am looking forward to seeing another part of Romania.