Obedin

In the last 2 years, some changes have come to Obedin.

Exhibits A and B are the shiny new signs at the entrance to the village, pictured above.

The presence of the speed limit sign is significant only for the fact that now, when a driver exceeds 50 km/hr, their disregard for safety and human life can at last be quantified. 

The other sign is informing everyone that all driving activities within the boundaries of Obedin are now monitored by video surveillance. Where these cameras are located, who is doing the surveilling and, most importantly, what will be done about infractions, is nowhere stated. Not only does no one in the village have the answers to these questions, but no one appears to be aware that these new signs even exist, which perhaps explains why everyone seems to be driving down the road faster than ever.

In addition to the dubious claim of video surveillance, there is now semi-regular municipal garbage pick-up. Rumor has it, the pick-up is weekly, although no one can tell me exactly on which day this is scheduled, and I have only seen the truck once in all the time we've been here. But it's a start.

Perhaps the most exciting development is the presence of four hydrants dotting the length of the main road. This is hard evidence that municipal water and sewage is coming at last! Estimates for the completion of the project range from the end of 2021 to some time in 2022. The staging area for the work is in the old poiana, which has put an end to all impromptu football games, but I'll take running water and flushing toilets over chasing a ball in a weed-choked field any day.

Speaking of the pioana, the school next door is now for kindergarteners only. 1st through 5th grades go directly to the larger school in Breasta. However, the playground equipment has all been upgraded, thus ending the real and present danger of unvaccinated children dying of tetanus after going down the slide.

Hard to believe? Yes, but I offer visible proof below:

There is also now a new road (of sorts) that Nicolina calls "Nobody's Road". So called, because no one knows who made it and for what purpose. It was this road that we walked one warm afternoon when we took our traditional hike.

During the 90 minute hike up the hill, (made easier now thanks to "nobody") across the plateau, and back down through the forest, Nicolina and Alex filled us in on the whereabouts of all the kids we used to hike with way back in the day.

Irina, Roberto, and Anna Maria are all married and living in either Craiova or Germany. (Half way through the list, poor Alex, looking dejected, said, "I don't even have a girlfriend.")

A side note: as you look at the photos, you might wonder at the wisdom of taking a hike through the forest while wearing a skirt (and the ensemble in general) and it's not something I would have done if I'd had other options. But I did not have other options and the reasons why involve a long and uninteresting series of events, the sorts of things that only happen in Romania.

So many, many things have changed in this little village since I first came here during the hot summer of 1999. However, aside from the increased reckless traffic on the roads, all of the changes seem to be improvements, and for that, I'm happy. 

As we look forward to our future in Romania, knowing that, from now on, most of our time will be spent in Viştea and places further north, there will always be a special place in my heart for the yellow house on Strada Argeteoaiei, and the village of Obedin.