i do! it has wonderful hills, forests between neighborhoods, pretty flowers everywhere. we went in a nearby state park, it was incredible, i didn’t recognize any plant. i thought rhododendron was a tropical plant, but it is allover Pennsylvania. the smells of the flowers are almost hypnotic. I also like the remains of the old steel mills and factories scattered inside the city and the (apparently) friendly people. there are more mixed couples than in the last years and there are some hints of green attitude: more bicycles and adds for smaller car, recycling, saving energy. we live under the pink umbrella of the university, where everything seems to be nicer. although when you get away from it, if you turn off an unnecessary light, there will always be someone who turns it on after you leave, just in case the sun suddenly disappears.

running is unnatural. if you want to keep fit, work, walk, shop without a car, don’t hire a maid, take the bus, please. or dance, it looks nicer. america would look prettier if people made parties in the street instead of running in those ugly shorts. imagine street parties everywhere! i would love that!
and also, that would eat up lots of calories!

i started swimming, by the way. i felt a bit stupid practicing a sport, but i am mostly having fun. when i get tired i just stay on the surface without moving a finger and the world becomes incredibly quiet.

this is what i said today, somehow rudely, to a nice, naive american woman. she was telling me how a friend of hers doesn’t get the flu anymore because she walks a half an hour every day. i told her that, for practical reasons, in other countries people walk for hours but they do get the flu. and that walking is not a sport you do for your health, but a regular way of transportation. i don’t think she believed me.

today i bought from “barnes and noble” “nostalgia” de mircea cartarescu in english. i kissed it 3 times. i have a list of friends, colleagues and even a boss to whom I want to borrow it to. i  looked inside and i felt funny when i found names like “gina”, “lili”, “sandu” among the english words.

I don’t think they will like it. american books are epical, like movies. i tried to describe it to a friend and she said, maybe it is like john fowles or like umberto eco? i didn’t know what to say. maybe it is. i think it might be a bit like “paradise” by toni morrison. i look forward to find out what they might actually think of it.

today we walked in the hill district, a no walking zone for the whites. i’ve only been there before by bus, but today we really wanted to see this cheap, pretty house with a garden, on sale in a poor black neighborhood. so cheap that it drives you crazy for not being able to just put it in a truck and move it in a safe place. when i will tell my collegues that i walked there, they will get mad at me for being crazy and naive.
pittsburgh is very segregated, more than any european can imagine. to find out how segregated, i looked up on the web and I discovered that yes, it is very segregated. i also found out that it is one of the safest places in america about crime in general, but one of the worst in terms of murders. strange distinction, isn’t it?
the house looked indeed pretty, the streets deserted. everyone was looking at us, mostly the whites passing by in their cars on center avenue. how did i feel? anxious to get on the other side, meaning, to arrive in the next white place, downtown. i also felt puzzled by the lack of groceries. it is one thing not to find them anywhere in a rich white neighborhood, quite another to realize that all the poor people have to have cars as well to get food. the oil has doubled in price since we left america last time, 2002, but very little has changed. just a few more people on bikes. i am very proud to be a biker in usa, and a bit scared, too, but i hope i will become more and more confident.

azi am terminat de citit cartea cea mai buna a anului 2008 (multumiri lui puck pt ea). “l-am servit pe regele angliei” de hrabal. se vede pe acum, nu poate sa imi pice ceva mai bun in urmatoarele 10 luni si jumate. m-a umplut de entuziasm , asa ca am povestit-o de-a fir a par prietenilor pe durata pranzului si am continuat la cofetarie, pana cand, ca sa tac, au zis ca or sa o citeasca si sa nu le stric surpriza.

Cartarescu a luat bataie de la Hrabal, imi pare rau, zau ca imi pare.
si trebuie sa mentionez cofetaria select (din iasi), unde iti creste serotonina in slavi de bune si insiropate ce sunt toate prajituricile. cu frisca din smantana, cica.

l-am invidiat pe cartarescu pentru visele pe care le descrie el in jurnalul lui, pentru ca eu nu prea mi le amintesc pe ale mele. insa asta noapte am suferit cumplit privind neputincioasa cum mitza crantanea capul unei broaste testoase care nu mai apuca s aisi bage capul in carapace de bleaga ce era. si cum mai apoi ceva a taiat in doua pisica si mergea pe 2 picioare, ca un om: se nascuse o noua specie de mitza.

cand eram mica am citit tot sf-ul din biblioteca orasului, sectia pentru copii. am asteptat cu nerabdare sa imi dea si mie buletin si sa imi iau carti din sectia pentru adulti, ca nu mai aveam ce citi de la copii. cand am implinit 14 ani si am intrat in sfarsit, cu mare emotie, la adulti, neam carti sf. asa ca am citit ce era pe acolo, ce era sa fac?

sa nu trecem de pravalii fara sa amintim patiseriile astea mici din bucuresti. toamna vand placinta de dovleac, in rest alte placintele: cu nuci, mere, branza dulce sau sarata. una e pe strada academiei, inspre lipscani aproape de banca. alta in piata galati, pe linia tramvaiului 5. mai e aia de langa agentia de voiaj cfr, pe vremuri era acolo un magazin de margici si nasturi, tinut de 2 babe surori, foarte lipsite de amabilitate, ca toti intrau sa se uit si nimeni nu cumpara nimic.

cea mai tare, mai ales la gustul cozonacilor, e la coltul dintre pargarilor cu grozovici, pe langa spitalul gh.lupu. le-as propune la astia de la metropotam sa faca o lista si sa si-o puna pe site:) pacat ca or sa dispara bunatatile astea. si asa s-a inchis cea mai mica si mai buna cofetarie din bucuresti, aia de langa cinema europa.:(

biblioteca mea a inghetat in 94, pentru ca de atunci nu am mai avut bani deloc, nici pentru carti, nici pentru concedii, nici macar pentru o pereche de pantofi, cand mi se rupeau cei vechi trebuia sa imi cumpare mama altii. apoi, dupa 99, cand am plecat din romania, nici atat nu a mai intrat acolo vreo carte.
biblioteca asta e in iasi, intr-un apartament de la etajul 8, e asezata pe 2 pereti din sufragerie, pe rafturi de stejar masiv sustinute de suporturi de fier forjat. stejarul a costat 6000 lei atunci, prin 93-94. fierul forjat a costat o nimica toata, inca mai existau prin curtile si garajele constructorilor rezerve furate in comunism de pe santiere. suporturile au fost sudate de tata, asta n-a costat nimic, i-am platit doar cateva sute de holzsuruburi cu care sa fixeze lemnul. combinatia de stejar, fier negru si carti vechi si galbene pline de praf arata romantic rau, nici nu mai seamana a a simple amintiri, ci a flashuri dintr-o viata anterioara a cuiva care avea candva o biblioteca.

nu imi vine sa mai scot vreodata din ea foile dactilografiate cu traducerile proaste din filozifie indiana buna, in format a4, care circulau in comunism ca forma personala de impotrivire si din care am un raft plin. nici albumele de poze ale cuiva mort demult, pe care le-am mostenit. nici fluierul de lemn. nici bucata de capitel culeasa dela o casa daramata. nici ziarele vechi uitate pe un raft de sub televizor. nici macar o singura carte.

in biblioteca a mai inghetat un pick-up cu doza magnetica-astea erau cele mai bune inainte de 89- si un raft intreg de discuri de vinil, toate cu muzica clasica. pick-up-ul are nevoie de un amplificator nou, nici doze nu se mai gasesc; ce-am sa fac oare cu el? dar cu discurile? dar cu noptiera bunicii, asa de veche si urata insa necesara pe atunci, incat, in chip de reconditionare, am lipit pe ea sute de timbre adunate inca din copilarie, toata colectia mea? dar cu florile, pe care le darama pisica nou-venita de pe pervaz, sa le scot afara in frig? dar covorul vechi cu patratele, sa il arunc si pe el, cand si asa pe cel de la bunica, cu flori, l-au mancat moliile? dar linoleumul ramas de pe vremea cand s-a construit blocul, cu alb si albastru, de-a dreptul fermecator in uratenia lui deplina, sa il inlocuiesc cu gresie moderna, de la care faci cistita daca nu umbli cu papuci? dar balconul, sa il inchid cu termopan si sa mai am un geam intre mine si frumoasa priveliste cu dealuri,cu blocuri vechi cojite mai ceva ca la venetia, cu turle de biserici si turle de termocentrala? dar cu frigul ce fac? ca bronsita am facut deja, in numai 2 zile.