A trip out - Targa Mures

Cold!

Front garden of the house one morning
Look at the overhanging vines
Can't wait until Spring

Did I mention that it is cold here?  Last week saw the night temperature dip to -22 on one occassion, although during the day it rises to a whopping -14.  Also, plenty of snow to keep things looking fresh and christmassy.  A lot of Christmas decorations are still up - maybe they take them down for Easter? 


By the way, I only figured out the other day that if you click on the images you can get a full sized version.  Therefore I will only embed the smaller sized images.

A street in Tarnaveni - even the sun
looks cold

The cold is very different to that in England.  More pleasant in a strange sort of way.  You don't get chilled to the bone - its more a sharp pain.  Absolutely necessary to wear hats and gloves etc as well as a thick coat.


A trip out

A Romanian train at Tarnaveni station
more interesting than a picture of
a coach

Myself Kiki and Corina (see previous blog for details of who all these people are) decided to take a trip out to Targa Mures (I think there should be a diacritic on the last 's', but I can't figure out how to do it) which is the nearest large town.  One hour on the coach (12 Lei - about 2.40 pounds).  Very foggy.  I was slightly slightly concerned that we couldn't see anything out of the driver's window, but he seemed happy enough; and we got there safe and sound. 

A rare shot of Kiki and Corina not
shopping in Targa Mures.

The central bus station is quite a walk from the centre.  There is a modern Shopping Mall just off the centre of town and loads of shops in the town itself.  However much I had prepared myself for Romania, I hadn't prepared myself for the sheer agony of clothes shopping with Kiki and Corina.  I swear that time actually stood still at one point.  Anyway they enjoyed it. 

Not a bear cage.
Female public toilet Targa Mures

Targa Mures also has a massive supermarket which we visited just before returning. 


It is a lovely town which is well worth a further visit.  I might just give the shopping a miss next time though.

This is self explanatory

National Theatre
South Bank

People


We are starting to get to know the patients in the club a bit better now.  We also notice the difference when we see them heavily medicated.  This can be very upsetting when you have a really good session with someone one day and they are full of beans and enthusiastic about an activity.  Next time their eyes are half closed and conversation is very thin.

Several Churches - Targa Mures

We are also starting to realise what a huge spread of patients and conditions there are in the hospital.  We have a mixture of patients with Learning Disabilities (Difficulties, Differences), Attachment Disorders, Depression, Bi-Polar, Psychosis, Alchoholism, Epilepsy, effects of physical head trauma and Autism etc etc.  There are also a number of people who seem to have no underlying conditions at all.  They all suffer from the effects of an institutionalised based hospital system that is very medicalised in its approach to 'Mental Health'. 

Romanian buildings
Targa Mures

One thing patients all have in common is that they don't really have any ownership of their own lives.  A small, but important example.  At one men's session,we noticed that all the men had had their hair cut.  Now,maybe its the fashion and they all decided to get an ultra short crew cut; but somehow I doubt it.


We have a regular weekly meeting with the head nurses in each of the wards.  They were interested to know how we felt about the patients after having now worked in the club for a few weeks.  Without hesitation, both Kiki and myself said that they were lovely and that we really enjoyed the sessions in the club.

Romanian buildings
Targa Mures
(spot the difference?)

Although I moaned a bit about the shopping expidition earlier, there is a parallel.  Romanian women tend to devote a lot of care and attention on their appearanch; clothes and makeup.  It is such a huge contrast with the women patients in the hospital.  For many of them the hour in the club is the only chance they get to spend any time on their appearance.  Hospital clothes could best be described as shabby.  Their therapeutic space is to get a fresh coat of nail varnish and sometimes sometimes some lipstick.  I am sure that any one of them would love to spend some time clothes shopping in Targa Mures - makes me feel quite guilty about winging so much about my own shopping experience.


Assorted

No idea what this means

The 'rabbit man'(see previous blog) turned up at the house - I think he might have had a few sherries.  I also think that we had forgotten to tell Corina about him.  She rushed in extremely concerned saying that there was a strange drunk man in the garden waggling his fingers over his head and asking where the 'Americans' were.  I think she was even more concerned (and confused) when Kiki and myself simply commented, 'Oh, that's OK its just the rabbit man'.  - Rabbits are doing fine by the way.


By the way.  I am begining to absolutely fall in love with this country and the people.


Pe Curand


Paul