Yes We Can

When will the United States realize that more people die from bad nutrition than are murdered? A difficult problem that is facing American society in these days is obesity. The awful reality shows that America is the unhealthiest place in the world. Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, admits that it is a huge "health crisis"("M. Obama aims to end the..."). Adults and children have health problems caused by obesity. If, for example, we look at one American family we will be surprised to see that one child who is 12 years old weighs almost 352 lbs and her younger sibling (4 years old) is already obese before starting school. These extra pounds put kids like this at a big risk for diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. We may agree that nobody forces adults to choose unhealthy foods. But I noticed that American people don't know too much about food. Even though many think that obesity is a matter of personal responsibility, the government can prevent and lead the national fight against obesity.

Government is a powerful institution; it has the resources and ability to influence laws and rules. In this case, the government has the power to regulate the fast food industry and the restaurants. Today fast foods, big brands, supermarkets produce and sell highly processed food. Government should provide supermarkets with food ambassadors who teach the American people how to shop and also show them how to cook. People don't know what they are eating. The labels are false; they show low fat on a product, but that product is full of sugar. But if the stores have a knowledgeable person in nutrition who is there to help us, consumers will eventually learn what the labels are saying and how to cook healthy meals in a short time. Another way that government is fighting obesity is the new health care bill that the president signed in March. This bill will make all the restaurants and fast foods to count their calories and show them on the menus or on boards. This will make it impossible for thousands of restaurants to hide the reality and more difficult for consumers to ignore it. "New York was the first in the country to put the calorie posting law in place," Mary Clare Jalonick, the author of the article "US law to make calorie counts hard to ignore" said and continued "since then, California, Seattle and other places have done so" ("US law to make..."). The government can work with all the restaurant industry and make them more transparent with their products.

Let's not forget about the government's role in educating children about nutrition. The purpose of schools is to teach. Unfortunately, these days, the school system is totally wrong. Children don't get knives and forks when they eat because it is too dangerous, even though they use scissors in the class. That automatically endorses having fast food "on the go." Government has to launch different programs for kids, like classes on nutrition and physical education. One of these programs supported by the government is "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" lead by a British celebrity chef who went to Huntington, West Virginia. His goal is to help people eat better. I was surprised to see Jamie Oliver surrounded by kindergarten children who didn't know the name of the vegetables. He said, "If the kids don't know what stuff is, than will never eat it" ("Teach every child about food").

First Lady Michelle Obama started a new revolution which aims to end childhood obesity. The purpose of her campaign "Let's Move," she said, is "to help parents deal with a national health crisis" ("M. Obama aims to end the..."). This program has four main key points: to improve parents' information, quality of food in schools, access and affordability of good food and physical education.

The First Lady came out and told the people that she understands, as her pediatrician once told her that her daughters had a weight fluctuation which is not good for them. She was surprised because she thought, like many other parents, that her children were eating reasonably. This approach is very helpful for American parents to not feel guilty because they are not aware of nutrition. She didn't stop there. She took action and started building a vegetable garden right behind White House. Children from different schools came there to help take care of the garden. It also made them work in the garden which involves exercise, one of her goal to take them out from isolation. I consider it a smart way to teach kids about growing and eating fresh vegetables.

Some people may believe that everybody is personally responsible for what they choose to eat. I know that American people are very strong in asking for the right to choose what they want. I learned that since I moved here in the U.S. While I agree that choice is important, if people do not have the knowledge to make the right choice how can these people be left to decide for themselves what to put in their mouth? For example french fries are considered a healthy vegetable by adults. This is our reality and we have to accept it and stop blaming industry and let the government help us through all these programs and new laws. People need the nutritional knowledge in order to make free choices.

To summarize, the government has a lot of work to do in changing American's views about processed food. "Many companies are on board with improving school food," Obama said ("M. Obama aims to end the..."). It is a good beginning. There are some plans that need approval in Congress because they require new funding. Like Jamie Oliver said, "If America does it, other countries will follow" ("Teach every child about food").

Is your work your life?

Jason Lee Miller, in his blog "Yahoo Says Americans Work Too Much," points out that statistics demonstrate that Americans work way too much.

Looking at numbers and percentages I have to agree with Jason. But from my experiences with some American people I will say that it is not quite true. They go to work late in the morning and come home after 8 – 9 hours. They don't seem to stress too much about their job. This is not too bad. It is interesting that when I first came to the United States I noticed that American people are more relaxed than European people. It seems that they go to work knowing what they have to do without anybody watching over their shoulder. They also have the option to go out to lunch. On the other hand some of Romanian companies are not allowed their employees to leave the factory at the lunch time. Isn't this a good example? I was there and I know how I felt.

In my opinion, we work because we have to, not because we want to. We have lots of expenses such as the mortgage, school, car, clothes, food, and health care. These are things that we can't live without. If we have money without having to work we look for activities that we enjoy doing rather than looking for work.

Are we working too hard as Jason remarked in a survey done by Yahoo HotJobs? Maybe we do work too hard mostly because the new era of communication makes it possible to keep us connected to work tasks even when we are at home. I strongly support that people should set their own limits between work and personal life.

Miller, Lee Jason. Yahoo Says Americans Work Too Much. Jason Lee Miller, 2007. Web.

6 April 2007.

aging

OMG! I am shocked. I just discovered that I have more than a few grey hairs.

I still can't believe it. I keep looking in the big mirror and try to understand why right now and why me. I know that it is normal but I am scared to see myself with grey hair. I don't feel old at all and I always thought that only old people get grey hair. Old people like my grandparents, not young people like me. I don't want to have grey hair so young.

I never paid attention to these details and so I didn't notice that my parents were becoming grey too. My mother may have blond hair, but she colors it so it is hard to really notice the grey. My father's hair turned grey a few years ago but I didn't really notice it.

Now I have something else to be concerned about. What is the reason for my grey hair- am I aging or are there other causes?! Maybe my new country isn't so good for me. That is hard to believe! I read that being stressed and worried can make your hair gray. Even though there is no evidence to support this idea, I honestly believe that I am not stressed or worried.

I am scared thinking that one day my grey hair will be more visible. The change is inevitable. I don't know how to deal with this and to accept this way of aging. For some it is a beginning of the end, others accept it as a sign of wisdom.

I can explain and even found a nice reason for my wrinkles. They are my "happy wrinkles" because I am a happy person and I smile and laugh a lot. For my hair turning grey I have to find some other nice explanation. . .

winter storm

The winter came like never before. It was the first major snowstorm since I moved to Washington DC a year ago. It reminded me of my childhood winters when there was a lot of snow and schools were closed.

Here it started to snow one afternoon and continued throughout next day. It was so beautiful when I woke up as I looked out my bedroom window. I was jumping around, happy like a child. It was a brief period of happiness because I soon realized that we did not have power in the house. Everything needs electricity in our house: the stove, heat and hot water. With a cold house and without a warm breakfast I still enjoyed the snow. I went out by myself because my hubby is from California, and is not so fond of the snow. It was so quiet and so white. The snow came up to my knees. The branches of the trees were bent over from the heavy snow and the cars were buried. There were not a path to walk any more.

When I went back in the house, which was like an igloo by then, I found J wearing his winter jacket and gloves sitting under a blanket waiting for electricity to come on. What can you do to have fun in this kind of situation? Not too much! It was too cold in the house to play scrabble or other games. There were more things to do outside. So we went for a walk with our friends and their dog around the neighborhood. I was surprised to see people cross-country skiing through the streets. And it wasn't just a few people, there were lots of people doing this kind of work out. It was very interesting and seemed like a cool thing to do when you are stuck in the snow and the gym is closed.

We started to get hungry, and could not cook yet so we walked down to the neighborhood hang out praying that the restaurants had power and were open. Luckily, half of them were. We enjoyed a nice, warm late lunch and some margaritas. When we got back home the power was back on..........

Because of this storm the federal government shut down for 4 days, the schools were closed as were many offices. DC hibernated for a wile.

Just two days after this first storm finished, we are now expecting a second one. There will definitely be mountains of snow for a while.

bradul "american"

Vine Craciunul! E perioada cadourilor si a impodobirii. E vanzoleala si agitatie mare peste tot.

Eu, asa cum imi e stilul, incep sa cumpar cadouri mult inainte de luna decembrie. Nu ma lasa sufletul sa dau toti banutii [multi] deodata, intr-o singura zi. Asa ca din punctul cadourilor de vedere totul e aranjat in luna decembrie. Mai raman, eventual, cateva lucruri ce stiu ca vor fi la mari reduceri cu apropierea Craciunului.

In Decembrie imi ramane doar sa cumpar bradul. Si stresul nu e atat de mare ca in Timi, unde greu gaseai bradut care sa fie la un pret acceptabil si sa aibe ceva mai multe crengi. Am fost surprinsa sa constat ca aici nu exista brazi golasi. Toti sunt frumosi si plini plini de crengi. Mai mare dragul sa treci printre ei si sa alegi unul. Preturile difera in functie de soi si de inaltimea bradului, nicidecum de cate crengi are.

Asa ca, cumparatul bradului nu e mare lucru. Mai mare mi-a fost surprinderea cand a trebuit sa caut suport de brad. Stiam ce-mi trebuie: sa fie din metal si sa aibe trei picioare. Pornesc prin magazine la cautat suport. Nu vad nici un suport de genul celui de acasa din Timisoara. Suportul brazilor care erau in magazine erau acoperiti cu ceva material. Ma uit sub material si vad un soprt mare de plastic, cu o forma ciudata. Intr-un final renunt sa caut, ganadindu-ma ca nu caut in magazinele care trebuie.

Acasa imi intreb sotul unde ar trebui sa caut suport de brad. El, ridica din umeri. In viata lui nu a sarbatorit Craciunul. Stia ca ne trebuie suport si ca trebuie sa ma uit si dupa ceva fustita pentru brad.

-Fustita?? E acelasi sens ca si fusta pe care o imbraci??

-Da!

-Fusta la brad?

-Da. Iar bradul trebuie udat ca sa nu se usuce asa repede.

-Udat? Unde sa-l ud? Cum vine asta?

Deja lucrurile incepusera sa se complice. Nu mi-am putut imagina unde vine pusa fust si de ce ii trebuie bradului fustita. Cum sa ud bradul cu suportul pe care eu il aveam in minte?

In fine! In final o sun pe D. care e romanca de mult stabilita in US si o intreb ce imi trebuie pentru brad si unde sa caut. A inceput sa rada cand mi-a auzit intrebarile, dar mi-a inteles nestiinta. Mi-a explicat ca sunt mici sanse sa gasesc suport cu trei picioare. Aici suporturile sunt mari, rotunde si din plastic. Tulpina bradului intra intr-o "oala", loc unde pui apa. Si da, imi trebuie o fustita ce vine pusa in jurul acelui suport. Mi-a spus si unde sa le caut.

Pornesc la cautat suport. Gasesc.....mari si urate mai sunt. Nu ma mir de ce imi trebuie fustita. Fusta acopera acel suport si da o imagine placuta bradului.

Am cumparat suportul si fustia (e rosie ca focul sa-mi surada norocul).

Sunt super multumita de cum arata bradul meu [american] ;)

being prepare

S-a dus toamna. Stiu, o sa ziceti ca frigul a venit de ceva vreme, iar decembrie e deja la mijloc, ba chiar pe terminate. De acord cu voi.

Daca m-am mutat la casa, am parte de spatii verzi, copaci multi si batrani si deci multe frunze uscate in perioada toamnei. Personal am avut ceva munca cu frunzele astea in curte. Acum le maturam, pana seara erau la loc.

Deci, cum nu poti tine pasul cu caderea frunzelor, pana mai ieri inca mai calcam pe frunze uscate. Nu ma plang pentru ca de cateva ori au venit niste omuleti care au suflat frunzele de pe spatiile verzi din fata caselor si le-au dus nu stiu unde.

Ei, dar azi, am fost intampinata de un munte urias de frunze ce asteptau cuminti sa fie "supte" de o masina nu foarte mare si duse departeee. Uitandu-ma in jur nu am mai vazut nici pic de frunza. Totul e la locul lui, doar ca frunzele uscate nu mai sunt nici in copaci nici pe jos.

Si pentru ca tot vorbesc de intretinere, acum cateva zile au venit altii care au taiat crengile copacilor ce atingeau acoperisul caselor. Eu m-am bucurat, dar cred ca veveritele nu au fost la fel de incantate ca mine.

Suntem gata sa asteptam iarna cu a ei zapada.

Si cand zic gata, inseamna ca toata lumea e pregatita la propriu. Americanii astia sunt foarte prevazatori. Cum s-a anuntat ca e posibil sa ninga sau ca vine inghetul, cei responsabili au si aruncat cu sare pe trotuare, la intrarea in magazine, in statiile de autobuz.... ce mai, peste tot. Si ce daca nu ninge si deci nu zapada, nu ghetus? Dar avem sare peste care pasim si poate ne mai sucim si glezna calcand pe bulgarasii de sare.

Totul e luat in serios - s-a contractat o firma care sa ne curete cararile si parcarile de zapada. Totul e planificat din timp. Nu lasam sa ne ia iarna prin surprindere............de parca iarna te poate lua prin surprindere!:)))

getting lost

I recently moved from an apartment in the city to a townhouse in the suburbs. I wouldn't exactly call where I moved a village in the US but to me it seems like a "modern" village in Romania. It is a big change for a girl who lived all her life in a city and in an apartment building.

During communist rule in my country all the buildings were grey and looked exactly alike. After the revolution people felt the need to distinguish themselves from one another. So they began to do little things to their apartments like changing the types of windows and doors or the color of the trim.

But the biggest changes appeared in the new "modern" villages close to the city where people would build their own homes. There you see houses next to one another but with roofs and walls painted in different colors: one house may have a red roof with yellow walls next to another house with a blue roof and white walls. And you will never see a house with the same design and shape as the one next door. The houses now are also very big, something that we did not have under communist rule. After so many years looking alike, the goal now is to be unique and different.

So when you go to a suburb in Romania you will be shocked by the mix of design. I always saw this as normal, but when we were living in Romania my American hubby always used to tell me how ugly it looked. I didn't agree with him then, thinking that it looked nice to see people free to design their home in any way they pleased.

And I still do not agree with him. I like where I live now but in my new suburb everything looks the same. I mean everything is the same!! Red brick walls, gray roofs, white windows, white pillars, all the same height, and with the same type of landscape. Wherever you look you see the same picture. I'm not questioning whether it is nice or not- I have a more practical concern.

One day I came home on a different bus and I ended up in a different part of the neighborhood. I thought I recognized where I was and I knew I was pretty close to my home. There are street signs so I thought I could figure it out...no big deal. The streets are curvy and intersect so, to my surprise the streets signs didn't clearly show me what street I was on. I stood in the middle of the street and looked in all directions thinking I would see a landmark. What I saw instead were lots and lots of houses that looked just like mine. I started to feel frustrated and confused. Are you kidding me?! I was thinking "How silly is it that I can get lost in the middle of my own neighborhood". I picked a direction and started to walk, looking for any little thing I recognized. But everything looked the same so I didn't get to my house. There was no one on the streets to ask. So I turned around, hoping to see a person who could help me. I was back in the same spot, without seeing anybody and was getting disparate about the situation. I couldn't believe this. Finally someone walked by and I asked him where is my street. He laughed and told me that people always get confused here. That sure made me feel better. I didn't seem so stupid! A few minutes later I finally found my house.

I am still a little worried each time I leave my house that I might not return.