Fără limite.

I'm staring out the window on a gloomy, misty October day, thinking about running.  Or rather, thinking about how I wish I could go running.  My body has been suffering from a lack of exercise lately, a lack of exercise induced by long weeks of meetings and cold, dreary weather and a lethargy that takes over my willpower just as the fog sinks deep into the Jiu Valley.  It's fall, a time that for many years of my life has been marked by cross country season and long runs in crisp, cool air.  But here, for some reason, it hasn't happened.  It's hard for me to run often in Lupeni.  Maybe it's the street dogs, maybe it's the stares, maybe it's the fact that there are few routes to take that don't involve running up mountains.  But as I gaze out at the rain and low-hanging clouds today, I'm feeling antsy.

The reality is that there's not much to do in Lupeni.  Our entertainment options are limited to three restaurants, which serve semi-decent pizza and traditional Romanian food, accompanied by pop music and thick clouds of cigarette smoke.  There are a few bars and betting parlors and one dance club, none of which we have tried.  There are a couple parks, which are always full to the brim on warm days.  But that's about it.  We usually make meals and share them with people, play games, watch movies, or go for hikes when we are looking for something to do.  And for the most part it's fine: we are busy, we rest well, and we are mostly content.  But as this fall chill rolls in, I'm a little worried that this winter will make me stir-crazy.

And we're not the only ones.  Most of the IMPACT kids I talk to are astonished that we moved here.  They can't wait to move away, either to big cities like Cluj and Timişoara, or out of the country entirely.  They think Lupeni is boring and hopeless.  The mountains are beautiful, they'll admit -- but they don't really like it here.

So what to do?

Well, one of our friends here, Felipe, is obsessed with rock climbing (to put it mildly).  There are some nice outdoor climbing spots nearby, and in the summer we spent plenty of Saturdays climbing together in Uricani.  But in the winter, it's cold and snowy (heck, it snowed here on October 3rd, so we're not just talking about the winter!)... and climbing in the snow is not so fun.  Felipe has been bringing IMPACT kids climbing with him too, and they also have loved it.  So a few months ago, he decided to try and open a climbing gym in Lupeni.  With help from other FNO staff, he's found a building, gotten the support of the organization that oversees that building, put together a plan for renovation and construction, and now is raising funds to build it.  Eventually he hopes to turn it into a self-sustaining business.  It's a sweet project, and one that I'm excited to watch unfold.  There's a community of climbers here, some of whom struggle to find steady employment, and a climbing gym would give them a place to work, a chance to develop business skills.  There are a lot of kids who have expressed interest and willingness even to pay a small fee to be able to come and climb.  And quite frankly, there's a huge need.   Lupeni doesn't have a community center, it doesn't have a YMCA, it doesn't have anywhere where kids can go hang out and engage in constructive activities -- particularly in the winter.  If the climbing gym goes well, it could potentially expand into a much larger community center (the building is huge -- but that's far down the road).  And for me personally, the thought of getting to climb in the winter?  Well, it helps me feel far more optimistic about the dark, cold, wet, and snowy months ahead.

If you want to pledge money to the Fără Limite Sală de Căţărare (Without Limits Climbing Gym), please donate here.  We -- and the youth of Lupeni -- would be really grateful.