Vesel Cemetary

I visited the Vesel Cemetary in Sapanta (a village of Sighet).

It is a unique cemetary for it's tradition of wood cross carved ephitaphs. In 1935 a wood scupltor, Ioan Stan Patras, started carving carving wooden crosses to mark the graves. He painted each cross in blue - the color of hope and freedom specific to the Maramures region. Each cross depicts an image from the life of the person who is burried - mostly relating to the person's profession such as teachers, farmers, horsemen, weavers, mothers - unless the person was too young to have a profession when he/she died - in that case they are depicted with images of childhood or the cause of death. Some of religious people are depicted praying. Each cross has a witty ephitaph that reads like a lymric.

The sculptor Patras died in 1977, he is burried there and honored with his own cross which describes the cross he bared all his life, working to support his family since he was 14 years old. Since his death, his apprentice has carried on the tradition.

Sighet Prison Memorial

Sighet has a prison that was used from 1948 to 1977 mostly to house political prisons. The prison was closed in 1977 due to Romania's obligation to comply with international laws that came into effect in 1977 - UN Convention on Civil and Political Rights. It would be a violation of international law to continue the detainment of persons for political reasons.

The Prison was made into a Memorial Museum in the last few years. It is a memorial to the thousands of people and families who suffered from communist persecution in Romania.

The Prison is chillingly placed in the center of the town of Sighet.

It was shocking to see the horrible conditions that were endured and to learn about the stories of the people who were imprisoned - mostly for political reasons because they opposed communism, supported the resistance movement, were intellectuals/students with the power/will to organize anti-communist campaigns, or were formerly top-level government officials prior to the communist take over.

Prison cells were a small and narrow space with no heat (absolutely freezing in this cement icebox), no toilets, and high windows above head level which were sometimes blocked to prevent light as a punishment. Some prisons were prevented from sitting or laying down by having their metal-rack beds/cots removed.

Many techniques and instruments of torture were used - electric shock, being hung upside down, having to stand in water up to your knees for extended periods of time. There were specific isolation cells called "Black Cells" with no windows, no light, prisoners were chained by their ankles to the center of the cell naked and only given 1/2 food rations.

Both men and women were imprisoned. Women who were pregnant in prison would have the baby taken away 3 months after the birth. The children were put into orphanges without ever knowing their identity!

Families were never told if their relatives in prison were sick, dead, or well. Sometimes families had to pay for their relatives to be fed or clothed.

Group 18 in Botiza

From left to right: Adela, Laurenzo, Curtis, me, Julie, Al, Rebe, Alec and the guy in the front is someone we don't know.

It was a nice weekend, spending time with my group - Alec, Curtis and I took the train up to Salva, hopped a Personel Train to Iza where Ioana met us to take us to Botiza.


Saturday morning we went to the market - where we learned how to kill a pig, we visited an old medicine woman, Matt & Laurenzo had a beer and made some friends, Julie picked up some tourist-Romanian guy (you go-girl!)...

So busy morning!






On Saturday afternoon we took a hike with "poufy" (Botiza's version of Lassie) up the hill/mountain, through the orchards, around the hay stacks, over the deep entrenched road... A few of us hung-back from trying to reach the peak - I hung-out with Maria and had some girl talk.

Maria is a 10 year old little girl from Botiza. I tried to convince her to marry a guy who will cook for her - she looked at me like I was out of my mind!


Curtis Before...
Julie, Matt and Curtis who went on climbing, came barreling back down the hill, running... Curtis led the pack with his arms raised yelling "BEAR!!!!" Right at the end of the hill he bit it! It seemed staged and therefore comical - he fell so dramatically. But it was real and he ended up hurting his ankle. So Matt and Rebe - wonderful people that they are - improvised with a make-shift sled from thick braches that were on the ground. Curtis got on top and they pulled him down the hill! It was tear-jerking love...

Curtis After...

Later Curtis (after some tuica treatments) was nursed back to health by an old medicine woman in the village - who also offered to sleep with him... Rebe immediately identified with the old woman.

Sunday morning we were all on our separate ways - I went up to Sighet - I hung-out a little with Julie and later met up with Rebe, Al and Ioana, who showed me some sights and sent me off on the afternoon Accelerat train - jam packed with whole the population of university students from Sighet with enough luggage to occupy all the space in the small compartment - computers, ancient monitors, baggage, probably kitchen sinks too. I had to "sweet talk" the conductor a little to sit in first class. The 9 hours (2 accelerat trains - which I had the good fortune to connect and buy a ticket in the 5 minute window between trains in Cluj) was aggonizing! And I came home with flea bites all over my back! One of the greatest fear-factors in public transportation - the fleas you're likely to pick up!

Pumpkin Pie

PUMPKIN PIE!!

The ladies I work with wanted me to make pumpkin pie - I don't know why. But I agreed and I made it! My first ever pumpkin pie! I had a to make it completely from scratch including baking a pumpkin and scooping the guts out. Friday we get to eat it.