“Bunā seara. Sunt Canadianul din camera șase, cāminul trei.”

29 October, 2009. Universitatea de Nord din Baia Mare, camera șase, cāminul trei.

Translation: “Good evening. I am the Canadian in room six, building three.”

I have these words written out on a piece of paper that I carry with me in my coat pocket.  The university campus, which includes the dormitory where I live, is locked down every night at 8pm by security, with only the back parking lot entrance open for residents/students/faculty to get in and out.  The first time I came back to the campus after 8, a security guard stopped me and asked (in Romanian) who I was and where I was going.  Not sure how to respond, I pulled-out my passport and tried to indicate that I was the Canadian living on-campus, assuming he would then let me pass (how many Canadians can be living here, after all, right?).  Well, this didn’t seem to satisfy the guard, who then indicated that he also wanted to know a number (seemingly of the room where I live). When I replied “six” (or rather indicated this number on my fingers) he was more than satisfied (“Buna, buna,” he happily indicated), and let me pass.  I found this curious. Could there be more than one Canadian living in the dormitories here?  Or has there been a past history of Canadian burglars on campus?  Anyhow, after this episode I asked my colleague Horea to write down a few simple words to explain myself (in Romanian) to the guard in the future. As it’s turned out, I’ve not yet had to utter these words in my poor Romanian (or show my new “identity card”), as the guards either now recognise me, or have relaxed a little in their duties.  When I told this little story to some visiting Italian scholars last weekend (here to take part in the Poe Bicentennial Conference), they couldn’t stop laughing.  The story has since been passed on to a few Romanian colleagues and students (via the Italians), providing more than a few smiles and laughs.

Uncensored thoughts on the CEACS conference in Sofia

20 October, 2009. Universitatea de Nord din Baia Mare, Romania.

I just returned yesterday from a five day stay in Sofia, Bulgaria, where I was attending and participating in the annual conference of the Central European Association for Canadian Studies (CEACS). The theme of the conference was "Managing Diversity," and key note speakers included Dr. Keith Banting (Queen's), Dr. Lise Gauvin (U. de Montreal), Dr. Chelva Kanaganayakam (U. of Toronto), and Dr. Thibault Martin (U. du Quebec en Outaouais).

My first impressions of Sofia (aggressive thieving taxi drivers), and the conference itself were unfortunately not positive (and I do keep a very open mind to new places and new experiences, believe me).  In the weeks leading-up to the conference my correspondence with the conference organizers was less than illuminating with regard to accommodation arrangements, and within a week of the conference taking place the "final programme" was shortened from four days to three. My questions with regard to how this would effect conference participants' accommodations for Sunday evening (we were all to be housed in the ritzy Radisson Hotel) went unfortunately unanswered. This was not a big deal, of course, but left me with a sense that the organizers were less than fully organized. I quickly learned upon arrival, however, that the event itself was not poorly organized, per se, but that the manner in which you were treated (questions answered, made to feel welcome, etc.) depended very much on who you were, and how important you were perceived to be in the organizers' eyes. As the conference progressed, this behaviour became more and more apparent, and I heard similar complaints/comments from other participants (seemingly perceived insignificant, like myself). This behaviour was very unfortunate, as it left I, for one, with a rather poor view of the Sofia University organizers (but not the Association itself). Other Bulgarians I met (most of whom were not from Sofia University, but rather New Bulgarian University) were very pleasant.

This was the first time that I have attended a CEACS event, although not the first time I have attended a Canadian Studies conference outside of Canada, and there were some rather illuminating papers from non-Canadians and Canadians alike.  But, I will not go so far as to say all the papers were well done, or illuminating. Without naming names (or nationalities), it is my opinion that key-note speakers aside, perhaps only a quarter of the papers delivered were worthwhile. It was rather obvious that there was no peer-review or selection process involved, and simply everyone who responded to the call for papers was invited to speak. This meant that there were unnecessary concurrent sessions, and a good many papers that were simply very poor.  This was a great shame, really, and I fear this does very little for the public image of the Association. Simply put, there were enough good papers to fill two solid days of conference events, without concurrent sessions. I hope that the Association in the future will focus on quality, not quantity (this despite the organizers and many commentators expressing how "great" the event was in general).

The best part of the conference for me, was not listening to the papers (although I did get a tremendous amount out of Dr. Banting's excellent keynote address, for example), but in meeting the people.  It was great to meet old and new faces alike, including Canada's new ambassador to Romania and Bulgaria, Philippe Beaulne. I have returned to Baia Mare with a great many new contacts in the Canadian Studies world in Central Europe, and I look forward to working with them in the future, whether that be here in Central Europe, or from Canada. Indeed, I am still quite convinced that Canadianist scholars worldwide need to look to working more together in the future.

Photos from Cluj-Napoca, Romania

20 October, 2009. Centre for Canadian Studies, Universitatea de Nord din Baia Mare.

Photos taken in Cluj-Napoca, Romania last Monday (while the weather was still nice). A day after these photos were taken, the temperature dropped dramatically, and it even snowed in the evening. It's been rainy and cold pretty much ever since...

Cluj-Napoca from Belvedere.

On the Road: Cluj-Napoca (Romania) and Sofia (Bulgaria)

15 October, 2009. Sofia, Bulgaria.

At the moment I am in Sofia, Bulgaria, attending the annual conference of the Central European Association for Canadian Studies.  Although I am not a member of CEACS, I thought it would be a worthwhile experience to attend their conference and get to know some of the Canadianists from this part of the world.  The conference programme itself is impressive, with a keynote address by Dr. Keith Banting from Queen's University among the highlights that I am looking forward to.  But my first impressions of Sofia and the organization of the conference, I have to admit, are at present less than positive.  Although thieving taxi drivers are not unique to Sofia, they seem particularly well-practised here. And the organization of the conference?  Well, let's just say that from my point of view (keeping in mind that I've nearly single-handedly organized an international conference in the past myself), there is considerable room for improvement, particularly in regard to lines of communication and inter-personal relations.  Nonetheless, I'm trying to keep an open mind. First impressions are not always accurate, of course, and I still have four days here to come around.

Before coming to Sofia I spent two days in Cluj-Napoca. As I had to get to the Cluj airport anyway, my friend Maria suggested I come down a day earlier to see the city.  Well, Maria is a very busy woman, and although she took some time to show me parts of Cluj on Monday when I arrived, our plans to really hit the town on Tuesday were almost completely thwarted by terribly cold and wet weather (it even snowed on Tuesday night).  So, a return trip to Cluj will likely be necessary, as I did not get much of an impression of the city.

Stay tuned for photos from Cluj and Sofia in the next day or two...

Rainy Weekend

11 October, 2009. Universitatea de Nord din Baia Mare, Romania.

It's been a pretty rainy weekend here in Baia Mare, but that hasn't stopped me from staying busy.  I had my first full classes on Friday and Saturday, and my students appear to be a good (and hopefully motivated) bunch.  I am generally very impressed with their level of English - most seem to be very competant in the language, so I don't feel I need to spend too much time on language matters, leaving more time to get to the interesting "Canadian Studies" stuff :-)  In addition to "Canadian Culture & Civilization" I am now also responsible for "Romanian-Canadian Relations" and an "Intensive English" class for the francophone students.

As I've mentioned, a good majority of my students are teachers themselves, or aspiring teachers.  Four of the first-year MA students were gracious enough to invite me out for a drink on Saturday night - Anamaria, Cosmin, Andreea, and Robert kept me company with some intriguing conversation over a few Ursus bere (brewed in nearby Cluj).  And today, thinking I'd be spending my afternoon going over my paper that I will deliver next week in Sofia, I was surprised to get an "out of the blue" invitation from second-year MA student Raluca to join her and some friends and family at a cottage about 25 minutes outside the city in the Carpati mountains (the photo on the right is the view out the front door of the cottage).  It was a pity it was raining, but it was a fine afternoon/evening nonetheless.  So although I missed Thanksgiving at home this weekend, I was treated to some Romanian hospitality and had my first taste of mămăligă (or polenta) - a mixture of corn meal and cheese, with a little bit of bacon and sour cream.  I also had a sip of pălincă - a clear alcohol distilled from pears, and not unlike Slovak slivovica.

In the morning I will take a train to Cluj, where I will spend one day touring that city with my friend Maria, before heading onward by plane to Sofia, Bulgaria for the annual conference of the Central European Association for Canadian Studies.  I only hope with this damp weather my clothes (that I just washed early this afternoon) will dry before the morning!

Baia Mare Moon Rising

4 October, 2009. Campus of North University of Baia Mare, Romania.

I noticed this view last night when I was out walking, so I made a point of bringing my camera along tonight.  This picture was taken this evening at around 7pm. This is the moon rising over the Eastern Carpathian Mountains and the city of Baia Mare.

My Photos of Baia Mare and surroundings

3 October, 2009. Campus of North University of Baia Mare, Romania

I draw your attention to my Flickr site, where I have begun posting photos of Baia Mare and surroundings.  To the right is the Str. Crisan campus of Universitatea de Nord, where the small Canadian Studies Centre is located.

It was a lovely Fall day here today. Pity I don't know too many people here yet, as this will be my only "free" Saturday for several weeks -- my classes will be held mainly on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings/afternoons as most of my students are teachers and have their jobs to consider in addition to their studies.

Week One: I have arrived

2 October, 2009. Campus of North University of Baia Mare, Maramures District, Romania

Greetings from Baia Mare, where autumn appears to have followed me. I am told the weather was very warm and summer like right up until my arrival on Tuesday evening, but it's been jacket/sweater weather ever since. The evenings get so chilly that I actually have to close my window, but the trees are yet to show much colour.

My flights and train travel went smoothly, and I now know that when you buy a ticket through Expedia.ca at a "special fare," it means you're flying standby...still, no problems.  I spent Monday afternoon and evening in Budapest, Hungary, where I met my Slovak friend and former teaching colleague, Veronika.  I was glad for the opportunity to break-up my travels and get a good night's sleep before continuing on by plane, train, and automobile.  For the first time ever, I was bumped into "Business Class" on my flight from Budapest to Cluj-Napoca. But as luck would have it, this was one of the tiniest planes I've ever traveled on commercially, and there was no distinction whatsoever in the seating between Business and Economy classes... but I did take advantage of my free lunch ;-)

As planned, I was met in Cluj by a Romanian friend, Maria (who I'd previously met in Baia Mare a year and a half ago at the International Unconventional Meeting of Young Canadianists). Maria is a student in Cluj and was very generous in taking time out of her busy schedule to meet me at the airport.  The original plan was that she would escort me to the train station in Cluj and make sure I got on the right train.  Turns out she had a nice change of plans in mind....  We met her schoolmate and close friend Andrea, who drove us by car to Dej (about halfway between Cluj and Baia Mare). In Dej I was treated to some homemade traditional Romanian bean soup by Andrea's mother. It was simply wonderful soup, and it was an unexpected bit of hospitality.  I said goodbye to Maria and Andrea at the Dej train station and by 21.00 I was in Baia Mare, met by Horea, a PhD student and instructor in Canadian Studies at North University.

My accommodation in Baia Mare is a standard dorm room with a private bathroom/shower....  as I'm alone in a two-person room, I have a free bed, for any aspiring visitors ;-)  My neighbours are young undergraduates, but aside from the occasional loud voice or music, the students are rather tame by Canadian undergraduate standards.

Much of this week has been spent in conversation and planning with Dr. Ana Olos, who has been a big help in getting me here and arranging things.  Dr. Olos has introduced me to a number of people associated with Canadian Studies, the language department, and administrators at the university, as well as the director and some librarians at the nearby Petre Dulfu Municipal Library.  The Petre Dulfu Library is a terrific resource for the city and region, and far outshines the university library.  I met director Teodor Ardelean this morning and presented him with a copy of Paper Talk.  Much to my surprise, he has invited me to speak to librarians and interested members of the public at the library in November in relation to my work on the history of libraries in Canada. The library also runs a small publishing house and Mr. Ardelean, in full seriousness, invited me to research and write a book (in English, of course) on Maramures which he said the library will support and publish.  I sincerely hope I can take him up on this unique opportunity :-)

As regards my duties at the university as a teaching fellow, I will be responsible for two additional half-courses in addition to "Canadian Culture and Civilization" : an intensive English-language course for Romanian students whose second language is French (the programme is tri-lingual), and another on Romanian-Canadian Relations (!!).  I met about half of my Culture and Civilization students this evening and although their knowledge of Canadian Studies is not necessarily advanced, they seem keen to learn.  All of my students are teachers, or aspiring teachers (and I have since learned this is because an MA is required for secondary and high school teachers in Romania, and their choice of Canadian Studies has much to do with the fact the programme is tri-lingual -- most are English or French teachers).  As much of my teaching will take place on Friday and Saturday, and formal classes do not get fully underway until next week, I now have a week to continue to settle-in and prepare.  I welcome this time to rest a little further, as Romanian food has yet to fully agree with my stomach. In time this will correct itself, no doubt ;-)

The weekend ahead should include some shoe shopping, and probably not a whole lot else. :-)

Bună seara (good evening).