White-haired ladies and Gheorghe Zamfir

It was a beautiful, sunny morning in March. It reminded me of home. A few weeks before I had held a presentation about Romania, organized by the International Programs Office, for American and international faculty and students. A student from India wrote me afterward saying he loved my presentation and invited me to hold the same presentation for an adult day care center in Muncie. He was part of the local Community Center for Vital Aging, and he was interested in organizing cultural events for Muncie community members. I accepted the invitation on the spot. First, out of curiosity - I had never seen an adult day care in the US before. Second, because I felt the urge to share some of the beautiful Romanian sounds. And they loved it! The people in the audience were some nice, white-haired ladies who were having a geography trivia session when I arrived. They were fun, interested and enthusiastic about the Romanian history, tradition and culture. They loved the monasteries' architecture, and especially the sounds of Maria Tanase's traditional music, as well as the pan-pipe ("nai") sounds of Gheorghe Zamfir. They wanted to take photos with me after the presentation, and asked for Romanian traditional dish recipes. I left there with a good feeling. They'll do better in their next international geography trivia session.

Paul Allen Bennett Graduate Scholarship in Public Relations

I was selected to be the Paul A. Bennett Graduate Scholarship recipient this year. The Ball State Department of Journalism awarded me with a $1000 grant for the year 2010-2011. The funny thing is... I don't know if I'll be back next year! My Fulbright grant is for one year, and my Masters Program, for two years. I need to find financial aid or an assistant position which will allow me to self-finance the second year. Otherwise, I'll just remain with the honor of being awarded with the Departmental Scholarship... Not a small thing though.