Proverbs.

Last week I was working on a lesson for the IMPACT curriculum which required using some proverbs about health from around the world.  Searching for proverbs with trustworthy translations and interpretations in languages you don't know is a tricky task, and in my search I came across a few Romanian proverbs and expressions that I thought were interesting... so I'll share them here!

Așteaptă, murgule, să paști iarbă verde.

Literally translated, this one says "Wait, little mule, to eat the green grass."  Strangely, the website I found it on translates it as "While the grass grows, the seed starves," meaning something along the lines of don't wait too long for a great thing because in the meantime you might miss the good thing right in front of you.  I'm not convinced, though... so at risk of publishing a totally misinformed opinion on the internet, I think this proverb is about impatience. I can picture some farmer petting a young donkey on the head as it tries desperately to eat the first growth of spring, then gently tugging him away to eat old winter hay for just a few more weeks until the grass is good and green and lush.

Cine s-a fript cu supă, suflă și-n iaurt.

In English, this one is "He who burned himself with soup blows even on yogurt."  I love this proverb and its message about our tendency to remember past pain and become hesitant to try things again, fearing we'll experience the same shame or discomfort.  But yogurt won't hurt us... though our fear that it might can sometimes overcome that knowledge.  Also, I just think this one is funny.

Cine aleargă după doi iepuri nu prinde nici unul.  

Literally translated, this proverb says "He who runs after two rabbits doesn't catch either of them."  In other words, choose a goal and focus on it, or else your efforts will always be scattered and only half-successful.  It's kind-of like the opposite of "kill two birds with one stone."  Poor animals.

Copiii, nebuni și bețivii spun adevărul.

I am not so sure that this proverb is totally true, but I find it interesting anyway.  It says "Children, fools (crazy people), and drunkards tell the truth."  I do think those three groups of people tend to have fewer filters for what is considered correct and acceptable to say, and their frankness can be refreshing and insightful.  But truth?  I guess it depends on the subject.

Cu moartea toate diferențele dispar.

"With death, all differences disappear."  A little bleak perhaps, but this one might be the truest of all of them.  In the end it doesn't matter if we stored up treasures on earth; the differences between Roma and Romanian or black and white or rich and poor will all be made right.  Justice and mercy will reign.  For many of the people we work with here, that's a huge source of hope and encouragement and joy, and I learn from that every single day.

Sri Lanka.

A few days ago I got back from Sri Lanka, from an amazing week of IMPACT leader training.  One of the amazing (and exhausting) parts of my job as the international replication coordinator for IMPACT is traveling to the first training in any new country that begins the IMPACT program.  I do this to get to know the partner and their on-the-ground context as well as I can; to ensure that each program has a similar starting point; and to build trust and friendship for the years of collaboration that are ahead.  After that first training, though, I tend to send other trainers back to the country, so that they can bring their own perspectives and help share the privilege and challenge of helping IMPACT grow and develop in new contexts.

So this time it was Sri Lanka!  I was nervous, as it was our first time partnering with an organization in the Indian subcontinent, as well as our first time working in a post-war context.  Sri Lanka's violent civil war only really ended a few years ago, and many of the youth that our local partners are working with have PTSD from some of the horrible things they've seen and experienced.  Yet despite this, there are so many similarities between the Sri Lankan context and the Romanian context (or other countries where IMPACT is growing).  A huge exodus of young people from the country to work in more wealthy neighboring countries, where they're often exploited but earn enough money to send to their families back home.  A rural population that's shrinking as agriculture becomes less appealing to young generations, and youth who move to the big cities only to find themselves mired in poverty.  Increasing influence of technology -- smartphones, Facebook, and social media becoming commonplace among the young.  A desire for a better life, for economic security, for a sense of hope and belonging.  All of that is familiar.

It's an honor to lead these trainings.  The participants are so often amazing and experienced and I usually feel like I learn more from them than they learn from me.  This course was no exception, as the local partners shared their vast wisdom with me, usually speaking in their second or third language!  It's humbling and thrilling, and I am excited to see how IMPACT will make a difference in their work.

So here are a few pictures of my 11 days in Sri Lanka -- good memories and an exciting beginning!

 A good training on non-formal education always includes good games!

 Training participants share their expertise with each other as they think about how to adapt the program to their context.

The training participants! 

Dinner after the training each evening was an adventure... 

My co-trainer and I took one extra day in Sri Lanka to tour a bit, including visiting an elephant orphanage! 

On our last day in Sri Lanka we took a few hours to walk the beach in Colombo before boarding the plane back to the Romanian winter.

Construction.

One of the things you don't realize about life in a concrete communist bloc apartment until it happens: when neighbors do construction, it is really loud.

The apartment below our office is undergoing complete renovation -- literally gutting and rebuilding of every single wall.  Thus, since early December the soundtrack to our days has been the ear-splitting rattle of drills and the pounding of hammers.  All day.  Every day.  From 9am to 6pm.  It's... character-building, I guess.

Thankfully, last week when I went down there in desperation, they opened the door to my knocking (I don't know how they heard me knock over the noise) and agreed to take a 45 minute break so I could complete a Skype call with a partner in Haiti.  They're reasonable and friendly, and I know it's not the workers' fault.  But I can't help considering asking if they would take a break for a "Skype call" that lasts for, you know, three days...