Transmitted across thousands of miles on the frail backs of weary electrons
right to the comfort of your cluttered desktop, here is your latest news about
the Bruno (and a Graham) family, brought to you courtesy of your favorite and
only on-site reporter, Dominic Bruno!
Really, if you want to hear about Romania from someone else’s perspective,
your going to have to put some pressure on them. If you’re ok with the
current system, then you’ll have to tolerate my tardiness with updates
(especially regarding the website). <more…>
What treasures will be revealed in this grand showcase of journalistic
persistence (if not prowess)? Cinnamon rolls, stagnant pits of sewage, and
the wonders of Budapest,Vienna and Cluj-Napoca await if you should choose to
read further. If these flavors sound somewhat bland, the “delete” button is
right over there.
Jeff, Dad, and I continue to work weekly at Noah’s Ark, the Good Samaritan
(G.S.) operated home for orphans with developmental disabilities. Outside the
back door of this home, a small, uncovered pit held drain water from the
upstairs rooms. Our first project was to put in an enclosed drainage system
through which this nasty stuff would run through pipes out into the street
(just like all the other houses). Since then, we have constructed 3 sets of
sturdy storage shelves in outside sheds. Thursday, if the snow holds off, we
hope to pour a small concrete canal to also help with the drain system. The
GS social worker holds life skills classes at the Ark once a week. Mom and
Jana have been attending these classes, adding weight to the social worker’s
presentation through their presence, and developing friendships with the young
women.
In the middle of October, Dad and I spent two days working with a team of
Romanian engineers on a Habitat for Humanity project. These engineers came
from various departments of LaFarge, one of the largest construction supply
companies in Europe. Dad and I worked on installing insulation and sheetrock
in a 4 apartment house complex that Habitat is building. Having a Romanian
team of volunteers, as this was, is rare. In Romania’s Communist era, the
people were required to do mandatory volunteering on their days off from
work. Because of this, volunteering now has unpleasant connotations for
Romanians.
Toward the end of October, the traveling and R&R bug overtook Mom and I. We
snagged a ride to Budapest, Hungary, about a 6 hour drive north-west. Our
plans were decided at the last minute, so we hadn’t arranged a place to stay.
After finding no vacancies at two hostels, we ran into an amazingly friendly
Czech couple who helped us find lodging. That night we had dinner and walked
around the Parliament district of Budapest with the Czech’ers. In the
Parliament area, there were huge displays in remembrance of the Hungarian
people’s unsuccessful revolt against Communist rule in 1956. I had never
heard of this event; seeing the displays and monuments, as well as our
discussion with our Czech friends who had lived under Communist rule, I found
the evening to be very intriguing. It highlighted the distance between the
free American life and the restrictions and deprivation of life under
Communist control. Budapest was a pretty city, split into Buda and Pest by
the Danube River. Mom and I have a similar travel style of eating often and
enjoying just walking about, so I had a great time, seeing old castles,
churches, monuments, and the like. A specific highlight: we found a little
cake and pastry place near our apartment that served delicious goodies; as a
bonus, after 1800 until closing, everything was half price!! Probably not
surprising to anyone who knows Mom and I well, in the span of four days, we
became regular customers.
After four days, Mom left for home, while I continued on to Vienna, Austria,
to finish out the week. In Vienna I met up with a good Gonzaga friend
Michelle Manson, as well as her friends Claire and Becky, who are studying in
Paris this semester. While the temperature was a bit cold, the good times
continued in Vienna. We visited an art museum, sat in the wrong seats at a
relaxing Mozart concert, ate apple strudel, listened to musicians on the
street, and took an extensive walk around the park and adjoining estate of the
Schonnbrun palace. It was a good break to talk about the glory days of
previous school years and kick back with friends.
Clark had last week off from school, so the whole family decided to journey to
Cluj-Napoca, a large college city in Romania. Our friend Nini, the older son
of the family we live with, goes to school in Cluj, and he showed us around
the city. Adrian, Nini’s younger brother, went with us on the trip and helped
out bunches by acting as our spokesman. Cluj, with a population of over
300,000, is one of the largest cities in Romania and is bustling with people-
many students. The university that Nini attends has its faculties/colleges
spread out across the city; there is no central campus. Nini explained that
this fragmentation was the work of the Communist Romanian dictator, Ceausescu,
who was looking to minimize the rallying of students, possible threats to his
power. While in Cluj, most of us attended a professional basketball game of
the top Romanian league. I found the level of ball comparable to a low
college level; they weren’t Gonzaga, but it was quite fun. Sitting in an
arena watching basketball I almost forgot what country I was in as I yelled
out and cheered in English without concern of standing out.
Work with GS continues to be challenging. After three months, many of the
obstacles that GS faces in trying to integrate orphans into society are
becoming quite clear. The most aggravating of these blocks are those set in
the Romanian culture. Basically, employers don’t hire orphans. Some
employers have been disappointed by the work of orphans in the past, and this
feeling continues to cycle. Furthermore, employers don’t hire gypsies, who
face strong discrimination in Romania. (Romania contains the most gypsies
(Roma) of any country.) Many of the orphans are born of gypsy parents, but
growing up in the orphanage they don’t have a gypsy upbringing. This fact
doesn’t matter to the majority of the employers. A number of the orphans that
our family works with have the skills to move out of GS into the workforce,
yet are kept from doing so by lack of employment opportunities due to these
cultural barriers.
We all have begun to spend more time in the office, working on policy and
ideas to shape and guide GS. Dad, with his management experience, has become
a very valuable resource to the staff. Mom and Jana are preparing to take on
the role of restaurant trainers with actual authority. Jeff and Jana, with
their artistic talents, are working on various marketing and promotional
materials for GS. Jeff, drawing on his foreman experience, is working on how
to effectively handle the GS employee orphans. Besides taking vacations and
writing updates, I offer technical support to both staff and family for
various projects, still work at the carpentry shop a couple days a week,
brainstorm and plan with the rest, and take fewer naps than I would like. So,
if you’ve been ticking items off your list, you’ll notice that I’ve yet to
explain one item: cinnamon rolls. Items like this and chocolate cake have
been the work of Mom, providing yummy remedies for the cold-weather blues and
GS frustrations.
Once again, if you have any questions or requests or specific information that
you want to know about that I haven’t covered, please ask. Also, I appreciate
any and all the encouragement, support, prayers, and news that you send our
way. Thank you!
Also, feel free to forward this on to anyone you know who is interested, but
isn’t on the update list.
Peace to you,
dominic
website address: http://barney.gonzaga.edu/~dbruno
I haven’t updated the site in over a month, but a major renovation that will
improve navigation and update content is scheduled take place later this
week.
Note: Frank, Sheila, Jana, Jeff, Dominic, Clark and Aurelia are on a one year mission to Romania.
They need our prayers and support. Links to Dominics website:
Actually, I’m partly joking. NO more talk about baseball for the rest of the email.