Monday, March 3, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Final days ...
Romanian dessert: every culture seems to have donuts!
Palace of the People -- inside the world's 2nd largest building constructed during communist times when people didn't have enough to eat.
Today the parliament meets in the Palace; but much of the building goes unused and the people have mixed feelings about it all.
To get to Bratislava, Slovakia, we flew into Vienna, Austria which is just 1/2 hour away. The countryside looked like southeast Wisconsin and was peppered with wind farms for miles.
Bratislava is full of surprises! I had no idea it was such a nicely restored medieval town. It's a little harder to find signs of communism here but not impossible. There is a sense of humor to this place despite the tragic history.
Monument commemorating the black plague.
Sadly, the US embassy is the only embassy that looks like a fortress. I got hairy eyebrows for just taking a photo of the security scarring the beautiful building.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Romania: Modernity meets ancient history
Fellow fellow Ricardo Estrada with me at the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation, a joint venture granting funds to affect democracy in countries like Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine.
Romania is 87% Christian Orthodox, similar to Greece.
Peles Castle
Built by former dictator Ceausescu, Parliament Palace. Second in size only to the Pentagon and constructed at the cost of thousands of homes and even lives.
The majority of people in Bucharest live in large, cramped, communist constructed concrete buildings. Advertising is everywhere.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Romania: more than Nadia and Dracula
Romania just joined the European Union in 2007. With the big push to gain entry (and the associated requirements to meet), it seems they are struggling with the next steps in their development. US AID is pulling out this year and moving investments to even more eastern countries, there's a lack of NGOs, the public is disengaged (thanks largely to communist rule the ended in 1989) and public officials aren't trusted with their high levels of corruption. Yet there are visible signs of progress contrasting the old with the new such as horse drawn working wagons parallel to very expensive cars (which are everywhere), and tenement style gray concrete housing -- which the majority in Bucharest live in -- side by side with mushrooming banks and financial centers. But again, considering the horror stories from authoritarian president Ceausescu just 20 years ago, the progress seems significant to this American.
More Rome photos
Pantheon -- just one block from our hotel.
Smart Cars everywhere.
Chestnuts roasting with the Spanish Steps in the background.
Our wonderful city coordinator, Flavia Liberati. A highlight was meeting her and going out the last night for dinner and drinks. She and her fiance, Antonio, ended up giving us a 3am tour of their favorite spots in Rome by auto.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Roma Day Two
We are getting a great mix of culture, politics and social issues here in Rome. Which is a good thing because it’s very hard to not just want to be a tourist and take in the antiquities, drink wine and eat pasta and pizza all day. Somehow though, we have managed to do a little of all that in just 2 days, and I even got to watch a football game – Italy and Real Madrid from a small bar while eating an incredible pizza. When Rome won, we were cheering along with the locals!
We have had two dinners with alumni from GMF (German Marshall Fund) which is one of my favorite aspects of this Fellowship. There’s nothing like meeting local folks who not only want to talk politics and welcome you to their country, but they have also been in the US on the same program and have plenty of stories of their own to share. Today, we met with the Vice President of Foreign Affairs and toured parliament (incredible architecture, the “new” wing was added on in 1650). Yesterday, we tasted wine at the oldest estate in the country (where they also happen to make an incredible olive oil – the best I’ve ever had) and toured RAI TV, the state-run channels.
We also visited the 6-month old contemporary art museum. It sounded a bit strange when I saw on the agenda that we would tour modern art in this town, especially since our hotel is literally one block from the Pantheon, but I learned it is part of the story. Italy is busily re-claiming old buildings and re-purposing them for modern activities; the museum are all government owned as are all the antiquities. I also learned today that Italy has 75% of the UNESCO sites in the world.
A highlight for me was an opportunity to have lunch at a family shelter for domestic violence victims. I ate Palestinian food while hearing stories from women from around the world. The nonprofit I visited was unique in a few ways, one of which was they aren’t associated with the Catholic church. Instead they focus on the empowerment of women and put violence issues in the context of larger societal challenges such as the sex trade and human trafficking. They also often employ the very women who have been through the program. One of this NGO’s programs is in Palestine and the woman I met was here because she had literally snuck another woman out of the country to receive medical assistance in Italy. The victim is a Bedouin woman who fell in love with a Christian; when the men in her family found out, one held her down while the other shot her.
Italy is also campaigning for a moratorium on abortion, which has been legal here since the 70s. A small faction in the parliament is fighting for this but apparently the women of Rome are protesting. I heard about a case in Naples where a woman had an abortion and just minutes later while still at the medical facility, a policeman entered her room and interrogated her. Apparently this has been in the news. I’ve been surprised to learn the role of women in this country, especially compared to Denmark where the majority work and they really feel they have equal rights (short of some disparities in compensation). In Italy, only 30% of women work. I think I am finely adjusting to the machismo of Italy. It’s hard to get a word in often, but it’s entertaining to watch the men compete for the air in the room. Again, I think the style and gender roles has been particularly noticeable coming from Copenhagen where everyone is so much more reserved in general. I do believe I am for the first time appreciating that Europe is not a homogenous continent and the dangers of generalizing about such diverse nations.
All for now, off to have dinner with the Pope!
We have had two dinners with alumni from GMF (German Marshall Fund) which is one of my favorite aspects of this Fellowship. There’s nothing like meeting local folks who not only want to talk politics and welcome you to their country, but they have also been in the US on the same program and have plenty of stories of their own to share. Today, we met with the Vice President of Foreign Affairs and toured parliament (incredible architecture, the “new” wing was added on in 1650). Yesterday, we tasted wine at the oldest estate in the country (where they also happen to make an incredible olive oil – the best I’ve ever had) and toured RAI TV, the state-run channels.
We also visited the 6-month old contemporary art museum. It sounded a bit strange when I saw on the agenda that we would tour modern art in this town, especially since our hotel is literally one block from the Pantheon, but I learned it is part of the story. Italy is busily re-claiming old buildings and re-purposing them for modern activities; the museum are all government owned as are all the antiquities. I also learned today that Italy has 75% of the UNESCO sites in the world.
A highlight for me was an opportunity to have lunch at a family shelter for domestic violence victims. I ate Palestinian food while hearing stories from women from around the world. The nonprofit I visited was unique in a few ways, one of which was they aren’t associated with the Catholic church. Instead they focus on the empowerment of women and put violence issues in the context of larger societal challenges such as the sex trade and human trafficking. They also often employ the very women who have been through the program. One of this NGO’s programs is in Palestine and the woman I met was here because she had literally snuck another woman out of the country to receive medical assistance in Italy. The victim is a Bedouin woman who fell in love with a Christian; when the men in her family found out, one held her down while the other shot her.
Italy is also campaigning for a moratorium on abortion, which has been legal here since the 70s. A small faction in the parliament is fighting for this but apparently the women of Rome are protesting. I heard about a case in Naples where a woman had an abortion and just minutes later while still at the medical facility, a policeman entered her room and interrogated her. Apparently this has been in the news. I’ve been surprised to learn the role of women in this country, especially compared to Denmark where the majority work and they really feel they have equal rights (short of some disparities in compensation). In Italy, only 30% of women work. I think I am finely adjusting to the machismo of Italy. It’s hard to get a word in often, but it’s entertaining to watch the men compete for the air in the room. Again, I think the style and gender roles has been particularly noticeable coming from Copenhagen where everyone is so much more reserved in general. I do believe I am for the first time appreciating that Europe is not a homogenous continent and the dangers of generalizing about such diverse nations.
All for now, off to have dinner with the Pope!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Roma ... at last
Fellows (Tim, Natalie and Kara) and estate owner (Giovanna Triscorio) at wine tasting. They also have orchards and I tasted the best olive oil of my life!
Visit to state controlled - Radio Audizioni Italiane -- which started in 1944 under Allied pressure. Fellows Tim and Natalie behind broadcasters' desk.
Lavendar and sage at side of estate.
Giovanna and Flavio, our Rome city coordinator.
Main entry to estate.
Inside the Pantheon.
Il Tempo - NY Times of Italy
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