Touring the Southwestern Frontier

The wide Piaţa in Calafat, with the War Memor- ial in the fore- ground

The next morning was Sunday, 22 March. Shirl and I proceeded south from Caracal to Corabia, then turned west along the Danube Valley. The weather was simply beautiful, with temperatures of a comfortable 14.5 degrees C. (about 50 F) in bright sunshine. The Danube's floodplain stretched off to our left, intensely farmed virtually all the way to the river, with the hills of northern Bulgaria visible beyond. For most of the ride along the frontier, the Danube itself was too far away to be seen, so at Bechet we turned left on the short road to Port Bechet, and paid a fee of 20 lei to get the right to cross over into Bulgaria, planning to drive the other side as far as Vidin, then to reenter Romania at Calafat. What they didn't tell us at the tax stop was that there followed a 90 Euro ferryboat ticket. Our weekend's supply of cash wouldn't support that price (of about 400 de Lei), so we reneged, and turned back from the ferry office, receiving a coupon rather than a refund from the border police on the Romanian side. (The price for Romanians was only 210 de Lei, but with an American passport and German plates on Klaus, I thought I had best not argue that my Permis de Şedere made me a Romanian resident.)

We continued west along the Romaniian bank of the Danube to Rast, where we again turned to the Port in hopes of dipping a foot into the Beautiful Blue Danube. As you can see, we found such a place immediately beside the Frontier Police boat station, where a number of locally-owned rowboats were also moored.


From Rast we contined to Calafat, the south-westernmost city in Romania, and stopped for a late lunch in this attractive city, which looks and feels almost Mediterranean. Though it was still only about 50 degrees F, the bright sun and clear air made it quite beautiful, especially after a long winter of rain, snow and grey days in Transylvania.

Not yet ready to call it a day, after lunch we looked at the map over coffee, debating whether to head north toward Timişoara, or east toward Craiova. The decision was made on the basis that we would phone Kerry the Fulbrighter/Playwright Glamsch in Craiova, and if he were able to have dinner with us, go there. Kerry was available until 8:00, so we drove the 90 minutes of Euro Highway (good two-laners) to Craiova. Entering the Craiova metropolitan area, we passed the following sign, and had to stop. (Frank, if you read this post, please call my friend Bill Cargill at CB Construction in Campton, and refer him to my blog. I hope he can help me gain access to this subsidiary to write a Harvard-style business case study. Romanian business students desperately need relevant and recent local cases to discuss in their classes. Please ask Bill to e-mail me. Mulţumesc! )

We met Kerry in downtown Craiova, and went out for a wonderful meal, at which our long-budding friendship came to be cemented. Shirl, too, had long wanted to know Kerry, having also followed his beautifully written blog, "Romania, Romania, Romania."

The day ended at a brand new Pensiune on the road toward Targu Jiu, as we had decided to head for Hunedoara in the morning.

30 March Comment:

From the content of the last two posts, you'd think I have had nothing to do of late but travel. The truth is quite the opposite, which explains why I have told this story over a week after the fact. There is presently too much going on in my life to allow time each night to report the day's events. Perhaps, I shall one day catch up. As this night ends, I face tomorrow, and Shirl's departure back to New Hampshire. Of course, I shall miss her. Shirl has bonded with Romania and the Romanians in her short month here more deeply than I could ever have hoped, and in doing so has bonded still more deeply with her husband.

Off-Target Trip to Timişoara

Shirl at Cozia

Saturday, 21 March: After our night in Sibiu, and after a lazy morning at the Pensiune Hermannstadt spent drinking coffee and shooting the breeze with staff members Mitros, Tibi and Leo (a Jawa rider), we took Klaus south. Forsaking the road to Timişoara, we chose instead to head down E81 to see the Danube River Valley, and that world-famous river that forms the border between Romania and Bulgaria. We did so partly in pursuit of spring, which was just present on the calendar, but not yet evident in the weather up in Transylvania.

Stopping only to view an old German John Deere tractor, and to visit the monastery at Cozia, it took half of the afternoon to reach Ramnicu Valea, at which point we chose Ro 54, a much less- traveled country road that went due southward, avoiding the main roads that diverge there, westward toward Craiova and eastward toward Bucharest.

Now south of the mountains and into Wallachia, Romania's historical southern region, formerly a kingdom in its own right, we found ourselves enjoying bright sunshine and farm fields in cultivation. Traffic had all but evaporated, and the driving was thoroughly pleasant past black fields just burned-over, brown and lumpy fields whose soil had just been turned over by tractor-towed harrows, and bright spring-green fields of newly sprouted crops. It must have made a wonderful patchwork, if viewed from a light plane, and I commened to Shirl that I had brought my pilot's license and logbook with me to Romania, and might arrange an hour or two of dual before coming home to New Hampshire, if time permits. The landscape grew flatter as we continued southward, first reminiscent of central Iowa, then later of western Illinois: alluvial land in the flood plain of a major river.

We stopped for the night in Caracal, finding a pleasant pensiune (the "No Name") with a jovial young manager named Ovidius. We had dinner there, resting well in a modern room. And before leaving the next morning, we exchanged e-mail addresses with Ovidius, and told him that if he ever gets to Boston, he should try its No Name Restaurant. And that recommendation goes to all readers, as well. [You won't see it advertised, but it has been on Boston's Fish Pier since 1914. Take a taxi, and ask for "the No Name." Order the broiled sole. You will thank me. [If you prefer to pay four times as much for less-fresh fish served more elegantly, Jimmy's Harborside and Anthony's Pier 4 are on either side, within 500 meters.]

Three-Day Sojourn Southwest

This week saw a few months work reach a successful climax. I am not yet at liberty to describe the project, but soon I will fill you in. Some readers may even benefit personally!

The project has entailed much extra work for a goodly number of committed folks. As one of those, I end the week physically tired and emotionally exhausted. As a result, Shirl and I this afternoon escaped in Klaus to a Pensiune in Sibiu. We have just had a huge dinner with friend Charles at a Saxon-Romanian restaurant, and are tomorrow turning westward toward Timisoara. From there our course is yet uncertain, but we needn't return to Cluj until Tuesday about noon, if we so choose. So into the uncharted (by us, at least) southwestern sector of Romania we go. We may even cross into Bulgaria for awhile, or dip our toes into the Danube River. Whatever we do, as spring is now here, and the days are pleasant and warming, we will come home to the apartment well aired out, and mentally refreshed, God willing.

Silence 'Splained

On Friday my PSU colleagues Trent Boggess and Roxana Wright arrived from the states to visit UBB. We have been in conferences and meetings, and I've been too beat to blog.

The news today is that FOUR visitors will be joining me for nine days in May. Sons Alex and Jesse from New England, daughter Piper from Colorado, and our great friend Caroline (Cally) will all be here at once. I foresee one heck of a week.

Meanwhile, Shirley has taken to Romania like a duck to water. I think Shirl and I will be back here often, as time goes by, "God willin', and the creek don't rise."

Sure hope so.

Day of Peace

Romanian Orthodox Cathedral (1923-33)
and Avran Iancu Statue, Cluj-Napoca (1)

There were no events on today's calendar. That made it a special day for me here in Cluj. As last evening we'd had dinner with Kathy O., a fine event indeed, and then run her up the hill to her apartment in Klaus, I had parked after 8 PM (when it is free) in the Piata M.V.'s public lot. Hence, I had to go to the car before 8 AM today to prevent a tow or a ticket. Shirl and I had hoped to spend our free day strolling through downtown Cluj, but it was raining a bit hard this morning, so Shirl slept in while I went out to take Klaus home to the Faculty of Letters. As I did so I called Mihaela L., but caught her in her car on the way to work. When she arrived at FSEGA, Mihaela called back. I told her that I was looking for some books sent me by my brother Wally well over a week before, addressed to me at the Faculty of Economics, and that they had not yet appeared. Mihaela kindly said she'd check to see if they had arrived. Soon she called again, and explained that they had arrived in Cluj, but were being held in the post office's customs department (VAMA). She gave me its address, Str. Aurel Vlaicu nr. 3.

By that time Shirl was up and networking from the kitchen, now linked to the Internet via our new cluj-mcd hotspot, and I was negotiating air tickets through Travelocity to make my next (April) 4-day dash to Kansas City and back. Lazy man that I am, I had Skyped Shirl from the "office" corner of the bedroom, and we were communicating via chat. "Want to go to lunch and pick up Wally's books?" "Sure, give me a minute to pull on some jeans!"

So, we went across to McDonald's for a Big Mac, then grabbed a cab to Customs. Though I showed the post office agent my Permis de Sedere, he asked to see my University ID, or a business card, as the package was addressed to me at the Faculty, and my Permis de Sedere showed only my Romanian home address. I was able to convince him by telling him who had sent the books, and from where, so I retrieved the books for a 1 Leu "storage fee," as they had been there over three days.

Back on the street, I called Carmen Tagsorean, and asked whether we might come over to the Center for International Cooperation (CIC) office, so she and Shirl could finally meet.

Carmen is always busy, but was generous enough to give us a very pleasant invitation. Ten minutes and another cab ride later, we were at her desk, sipping tea and coffee. In fact, quite a bit of work went on as we chatted, for she gave me the latest draft agenda for next week's planning meetings, Carmen ordered me some business cards with my UBB title and work address, and I showed her how to access HBS Publishing, and search for cases and articles. She had been asked by a colleague if i might know of a case on the insurance industry, and while in her office we found that HBSP lists over 170 items when one searches the topic "Insurance."

After our visit to Carmen at the CIC office on Strada Avram Iancu, the weather had softened enough that we walked about two Km home to our flat, visiting Piaţa Avram Iancu and its cathedral on the way. It was a most pleasant stroll, save that Shirl stepped in a hole in the pavement on the sidewalk, hurting (but thankfully not spraining) her ankle. Once home, we shared a supper of ciorba de linte, and mici sizzled in a skillet.

Today has been just as Shirl described the interior of the city's magnificent Romanian Orthodox Cathedral: peaceful.

(1) Photo Source: http://www.beyondtheforest.com/Romania/CJ4.html

Klaus' Friends

Klaus wouldn't start this morning. When I parked him Saturday night at the Piaţa lot after returning from Colţeşti, I had left on the ceiling light, which I'd been using to look for the GPS pouch in the glove box. I didn't find it, because Shirl had stuck it under her seat with the mount. Over the weekend, the battery had gone flat as a pancake. I opened the hood, and couldn't find the battery. I called Melinda, but she was about to teach a class. I called Alexandru and woke him up, and he agreed to go to a parts store, buy jumper cables, and come to my aid. He is a fine friend, indeed. An old Dacia pickup pulled into the adjacent space. The man got out, went to pay for the parking spot, then returned to ask me my problem. Then another man (Marc) joined him. Before long, half the men in the Piata M.V. were gathered at my car, a set of cables appeared, and I called Alex just in time to save him an unnecessary rescue mission. To make a long story short, we found the battery under the rear seat, Klaus came to life, and I bought some good men some Pepsis. See why I love Romania?

Romania Re-Examined: A Continuing Process

Tonight I have for you several updates on my earlier post on Romanian university practices:

1. At the Re-Examination session for my Operations Management class last month, I was approached by a student who had never attended, and had not written a case analysis. He was, however, aware of the "Word to the Wise" that I had posted to the Englshline Yahoo Group in November. He clearly had a good understanding of that message, for he asked if it were possible for him to pass the course simply by passing the make-up final. I told him that since it was worth ony 25%, he would be wasting his time, but that he was welcome to take it if he liked. He decided not to stay, but, as Melinda monitored the one student trying to earn a 5 in the course by getting a 9 or 10 on this exam, he and I had a chat in the hallway about why he had not been attending. "I have a job with a company that markets MTD Power Equipment, an American company that makes lawn mowers, lawn tractors, and snow blowers. It is based in Cleveland, Ohio, but I work in marketing for its distributor here in Romania. I have been developing a plan for launching a new line of chainsaws, and I have not been able to take time off for classes." I told him that I own an MTD snow blower in New Hampshire, and that I think their simple, rugged and inexpensive equipment offers excellent value. "I respect your choice," I told him, "but that does not mean that you can get academic credit when you haven't done the assigned academic work." We parted on good terms, with his planning to find another time to take this required course.

2. System Engineer Darius at the Faculty of European Studies was helping me post some files last week, and we got to talking. I showed him my blog post from 20 February, "Romania Re-Examined." Darius said, "You are right, of course. But when looking for a job, what do employers ask? They always ask, 'What is your experience?' And if you have no work experience, you will not get the job. That is why so many students do not attend classes and seminars." "Fine," I said, "that is a valid life choice. But then, how can they expect also to earn a university diploma, if they do not participate in the courses?"

3. Then there was the comment I received to "Romania Re-Examined" from Ms. Diana Constantinescu. Diana is a serious student who feels that the present system of grading and of granting degrees in Romania devalues her hard work in learning the course knowledge that the professors are there to deliver. She urges me to stick with the American system of requiring multiple student outputs, and of grading based on each student's performances in all the learning activities of the course.

4. On Friday I taught my first Management Accounting session and seminar, as I had been in Kansas City the previous Friday. The students at this class impressed me. At the break between "Course" and "Seminar" I passed out my first-day caselette, and gave the class an extra twenty minutes to analyze it. When we resumed, several who offered their opinions proved well-schooled in the fundamentals of business cash flow analysis, and quickly saw several paths to solving the liquidity problem that the one-page caselette had posed. I had more students in that day's session than I had yet seen in my classes here in Romania: 40 were present. After the seminar, talking with my teaching teammate Prof. Ph.D. Alexandra Mutiu, I learned that we had 79 enrolled in the course. As is typical, we had only about 50% in attendance. I hasten to point out that it was the attending students who had impressed me so favorably. I have no idea whether any of the ones not present could have analyzed the case as quickly or as cogently.

5. After class Prof. Mutiu volunteered that she, too, had seen my blog post of 20 February. She also agreed that it was accurate. I told her what Darius had said about the importance of work experience in employers' recruiting processes. As she had also read Ms. Constantinescu's comment, Alexandra added her belief that, however hard it might be to find their first post-university position, a year after going to work the students who had worked hard in the University and attended their classes would move up the promotional ladder faster than the others, and end up in higher places in most organizations.

6. I then asked Alexandra about the practice of offering a three-chance final examination, commenting that to make it fair to the early-takers, it was necessary to write three completely different examinations, as even though they are collected each time, much information about the course's prior final examination (an oxymoron) would surely get out to those planning to take the second one, or the make-up. Alexandra's response was immediate: "Of course the questions get out. Students use their cell phones to photograph the exam, or to Fax their friends from the exam room."

Let the discussion proceed. I am still withholding judgment.

Piper's and Women's Day

Today is daughter Piper McDougall's birthday, so let me begin by wishing her a happy day, and a beautiful spring in Aspen.

It is Women's Week in Romania and tomorrow is 8 March, Women's Day. We men are recognizing our better halves with daily gifts, and showing appreciation for their loving attentions to our needy selves all year long. So, today I bought Shirl a new frying pan... a really nice one that should heat more evenly than the cheap thin aluminum one that came with the cookware set I bought at Auchan last September. I wonder how I'll get this one home.

I am today on Shirl's Macbook, and it is having I/O delay problems, so it has taken me fifteen minutes to write this short post. More will follow once I am on my beloved HP.

Shirley's Here!

There is much to report. The trips of 25 Feb and 1-2 March went smoothly, Lufthansa (comfortable) over and United (cramped) back. Munich is the best transfer point for Cluj, because the connections are perfectly timed, and the airport well-designed. The highlight of this transatlantic flight, for me, was seeing the southern tip and islands off Greenland, and then flying all across the frozen mountains and valleys of Labrador, true wilderness devoid of any visible signs of Man for hundreds of miles. I may have flown so northerly a route before, but if so, clouds had blocked the spectacular views.

On the way back after the ACBSP board meetings, I flew to DC in the company of "LTC Jen", a delightful career Army logistics officer and Iraq veteran on her way from Ft. Leavenworth to Richmond, Va. We talked for the whole trip, finding many mutual interests, such as parenthood, logistics, and history. Shirl was waiting to meet our flight when it arrived at Dulles, so I was able to introduce those two young mothers. Jen has since e-mailed that upon her arrival in Richmond, she found the city "paralyzed" by eight inches of snow, and Ft. Lee closed, giving her a "snow day."

Shirl and I had a light supper between flights in DC, then boarded UA 902, n0n-stop to Munich. Checking boarding passes, I discovered that our pre-requested (through Travelocity) adjacent seats had not come through, and we were assigned seats across the wide-bodied Boeing 777 from each other. Shirl and I wanted to sit together, so the gate agent reassigned us to a center-section pair, with Shirl in the center. The plane took off on time. By an hour later, we perceived UA's pricing strategy: make steerage truly uncomfortable so experienced passengers will pay the premium for "Economy-Plus" seating. These Economy seats were so tightly arranged that one could harldy move. Fortunately, Both Shirl and I had interesting seat-mates. (And no, that is not self-congratulatory.) I was sitting with Ms. Judith B., an MBA from The Darden School at UVA, and CEO of a marketing firm presently operating in Istanbul. She was brilliant. We had a good chat, sharing stories of our mutual acquaintances in the U.S. business school community, and of our respective careers. Shortly after our in-flight dinner, all four passengers on Shirl's right and left fell asleep, effectively trapping her in a cushioned corral. God love her, she sat there quietly, and let us all sleep.

We got into Munich a bit early, because one passenger's medical emergency caused our flight to be cleared into the airport without any circling in queue. We never learned, back in steerage, the nature of the problem, but the paramedics came aboard and offloaded the troubled passenger while the rest of us waited in our seats.

About an hour later we boarded a STOL four-jet AVRO commuter airliner flown by Lufthansa's Inter-City subsidiary for the short hop east to CLJ, which was only a 90-minute flight across Bavaria, Austria and Hungary. Going out on the 25th I had enjoyed some views of the Austrian Alps, but Shirl missed seeing them, as on our eastbound flight the clouds obscured the mountains.

Shirl has been here about two days now, and has already met Monica Z. and Lucian B., two of my teaching assistants. She seems to like the apartment, and has taken to Romania as quickly as did I. We're looking forward to planned dinners with Mihaela and Mr. Lutas, Victoria and Florin Moldovan, and Melinda and Monica with their respective beaus.

We are now off to lunch, and an afternoon in the country, as it is a sunny afternoon. I will prepare for Friday's class on Thursday. (What else is new?)