More flight options out of Romania

Tarom, the Romanian National Airline, has just joined the Sky Alliance; increasing flight options to 841 from 31.  As of this point I have not seen any details on where those flights will be landing, but one can only surmise that some will be going to the USA.  This would be great for us, since our current options for choosing flights between the USA and RO are limited.  Perhaps the prices will drop as well with more competition, but I’m not going to hold my breath on that one.

Working on Visas

Please keep us in mind over the next two weeks as we scramble to get the paperwork together for our long term visas.  We have to have all the documents etc. by May 20′th.  Due to the lengthy holidays and vacation time in the government of the last two weeks, little has been accomplished thus far.  Please pray that we will be given good answers on what to do and cooperation as we seek to do it.  The red tape and bureaucracy here can be more than frustrating in the best of circumstances. ;)  Please pray that all will go smoothly and quickly.  Thank you all for your prayers and support.

The Archers

Holiday after Holiday in Romania

Due to Easter in Romania being at a latter date this year and the 1’st of May holiday, we are currently in the middle of a 12 day period in which very little if anything is accomplished. Specifically speaking, at the government level; although many of the common people feel it is a sin to work on a holiday. I expect that many welcome any excuse not to work, but regardless of their motivation, there has been very little work done of late. It is sad to see some of the people working themselves to the point of exhaustion on Wed. - the only day between the Easter Holiday and the First of May Holiday. The Romanian Orthodox Church has 78 Holidays on the 2008 calendar (including Sundays), in addition to the Romanian Government’s National Holidays. There is nothing wrong with holidays and celebrations, if they occur for the right reasons. However the lack of a “Protestant Work Ethic” has been very detrimental to this country in the past, present, and I fear it will continue in the future. Only by God working in the hearts of the Romanian people will this mentality ever change. We pray continually that this change will take place.

Bucharest is now the most polluted capital in the European Union.

It is a rather dubious honor, but Bucharest, Romania has recently overtaken it’s closest competitors for the title of Most Polluted Capital in the EU.  Click here for a short article with more information and statistics.

Easter Preparations

You may not have known, but here in Romania we will be celebrating Easter this weekend. It is over a month later than in the USA this year because here they follow the Orthodox calendar as opposed to the Catholic calendar that is generally used in America. Easter is a huge holiday here in Romania, rivaled only by the lengthy Christmas/New Years celebrations. Everyone in the country has been preparing for the last few days and the preparations will only heat up over the last couple of days before Sunday. To be more accurate, here Easter is considered as beginning on Thursday evening and continuing through Sunday. The cities are flooded with people now, especially in the market and food stores. If I wished to I could easily spend all day bussing people back and forth between villages and city (if I had a bus that is). So, as we prepare to remember this most essential time in the history of Christianity, we would like to wish you all a Blessed Easter (even if you have already celebrated it).

Site Renovations are “tentatively” Finished

I may have a few small issues to play with over the next day or so, but unless some problem has occurred that I’m unaware of, the site ought to be fully functional. As you probably noticed, there is a different design now as well as a few new features. I personally like this format much better than the old one, and I hope that you do as well.

Curtiss

NOTICE - SITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

I will be doing modifications and implementing a general overhaul of this blogsite over the next several hours.  You may experience problems while navigating between posts and pages.  Please come back and visit us again, as the “remodeling” won’t take too long. Thanks!

A Few Quick Facts

Did you know….?

That Romania has a -0.43% annual population growth?

That the estimated amount of Romanian children living without their parents is over 700,000?  (due to parents working abroad)

That the current Inflation rate is nearly 9%?

That the 2008 minimum salary in Romania is 140 Euro/month?

That to remain in the EU a minimum salary of 500 Euro/month is required by 2013?

That out of a population of roughly 21.5 million an estimated 2 million  are working in Spain and Italy alone?

Of the young men my age that I knew when I first came to Romania in the late 90’s, nearly 3/4 have left the country?

Based on the statistics ^^^ and their realistic options for the near to mid-term future….. I cannot blame them for leaving. 

Please pray for Romania!

Changes to Site (upcoming)

I just wanted to make a quick post to say that I hope to be doing some fairly extensive changes and updates to this site sometime in the near future.  It should not be offline for very long, but it may be in a bit  of disarray for a day or two.  I hope to be able to go to a city that has high speed capability to do the actual changes and updates.  Thanks as always for the visits!

Romanian Grain Production Woefully Low

It has recently been announced that Romania has the second worst grain/cereals production per acre in the European Union.  Romania’s greatest natural resource is it’s deep, rich, loamy soil that with the proper fertilizers and herbicides can be wonderfully fertile.  Romania was once called “The Breadbasket of Europe” and the same soil is still there; the problem is that it has been abused for years or merely abandoned.  EU funds are available to improve Romanian agriculture, and due to the near total lack of agricultural infrastructure within the country, those funds are greatly needed.  However, as so often happens here, those funds are likely to be misappropriated and embezzled to the extent that they may never reach the economic sector in need.

Here is a link with some more details:

http://english.hotnews.ro/stiri-top_news-2758706-romania-has-the-lowest-cereal-production-the-but-tariceanu-plans-push-romania-become-the-second-agricultural-power-the.htm