The Romanian economy has never been that great. Since becoming a member of the European Union (EU) a few years back, things have become even more challenging. Someone told me just the other day, "now everything here costs the same as it does in Germany and other western European countries, but our salaries haven't changed" (salaries vary of course, but many make between $500-$700 per month and the taxes are out of sight). That means many many Romanians really struggle to even get food on their tables. Most people, even those who live in the city, have to have a garden or at least have access to one. The garden can be in a nearby village, on family land, anyplace they can find to plant. Romanians need to be able to grow their own fruits and vegetables and even raise some animals if they can. This is how they survive. Sure there are grocery stores, but prices are so high, much of what is sold is out of reach for the average Romanian. Every home I have visited on this trip so far has had a garden and some type of animal-- pigs, chickens/hens mostly. Some have cows and goats and fairly small pieces of property. All the people I work with at RCE have gardens/animals.
An area south of Arad near the village of Vinga, is known for its onions. Here you see a couple of pictures of "baby onions" being sold along the road. They are put in bags and sold for 15 lei, which is about $5. People literally take small chairs/stools from their homes and head out to the side of the road with many bags of onions. You see tables galore on one stretch of road near Vinga. Come springtime, they baby onions will be planted. 
Here is some pork hanging in a store room in the back of an RCE staff member's home, waiting to be eaten. The meat is first covered with a strong salt and kept in a container for six weeks. After that the meat hangs in a smoke house for three days, then hung to dry. Romanian diets are heavy in pork and chicken. Potatoes and bread can also be found at most mealtimes.Below you'll see pictures of what I had for dinner tonight. Sarmale (sar-ma-lay), a traditional Romanian dish, is pork, rice and onion wrapped in cabbage leaves. The bread in this part of Romania is known to be the best and it IS delicious.
Child = copil (co-pea)
Hope= speranta (spay-ron-sa)
The adoption part of RCE is known as "Speranta Copiilor" which means children's hope or hope for the children
Some struggle, but I think it should be recognized that there is a growing middle class that live quite comfortably. Prices at the supermarkets and malls are not cheap (some prices are even high by our standards!), but you can get great deals at the open air markets. Your point is well taken, however, that it is amazing how Romanians in general are able to do so much with so little. And, oh, what I wouldn't give to have a plate of sarmale right about now. YUM!! Maybe with a bowl of Doina's chicken soup. And then finish the meal off with a slice (or two) of Carmen's famous strawberry cake! You know what I'll be dreaming of tonight. Pofta mare, mi amiga!
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