Things are pretty traditional up here. Not only is Maramureş the region that's been referred to as the most "anachronistic" in Romania, it's also arguably the most pastoral, as it escaped collectivisation under Communism, and as such the old ways have survived pretty much intact. Most people up here have at least a vegetable garden and some chickens running around in their yard, and some have additional plots of land where they grow food to sell or keep a couple of cows. Combine this with the distance from big towns and the lack of foreign influence that comes with it, and most people haven't experienced much outside of the traditional culture. I try to keep this in mind when I run up against the slightly more unpleasant experiences--getting stared at on the street for dressing differently or not being able to find certain things because they're not commonly used in the tried-and-true, Romanian way of doing things.
I've been trying to do my part to familiarise people in the area with the different cultures and customs that I'm accustomed to, such as explaining (and explaining, and ... explaining) that it's not uncommon for people in the States to go outside with wet/damp hair, and that it doesn't make us sick whenever we do so. Trying to use conversations to demonstrate differing approaches or points of view, either obliquely or directly. And, of course, using the universal communicator, food, to open up a different world of understanding.

I really enjoy cooking, and it's been a bit disappointing that I have less need to do it here than I used to. Since it's just me at my apartment, and I don't have people dropping in or coming over for dinner, more often than not something I cook will last more than a week. It's good, from an economical standpoint, but not so much from an enjoyment and experimentation approach. I went through a soup-cooking phase a few months ago, and had so much left over after testing out half a dozen different recipes that it all ended up in yogurt cups in the freezer, waiting to be eaten.
I'd hoped that cooking with my host family would be a way to offset this; my host mom cooks for several people in the house, and they go through food at a much faster clip than I do. We've had some sessions of making recipes she's wanted to try, or food preparation for a holiday meal, but she doesn't seem be as much of a fan of culinary experimentation as I am; she tends to want to make things that are familiar to her, with occasional exceptions for recipes that catch her eye in some way or another, like carrot cake or lasagne. I would turn up with a recipe for cornmeal and rosemary cake with balsamic syrup or cucumber-avocado soup and I could see the struggle between distaste and politeness playing itself out on her face as she read it over. At long last, and with no clear winner presenting itself, she'd say "It's ... interesting." On one occasion she went so far as to agree to try making something, but backed out when the time came to do the actual cooking.
But since the schoolyear ended recently, and the older of the two boys just finished middle school, I decided to do a bit of baking on behalf of the family. I found a quite good recipe for peanut butter-hazelnut brownies, as well as a few assorted shortbread selections, including sage, white pepper, and almond. I only brought over a couple of each of the shortbreads, characterising them as my "experiments" in the hopes of blunting the inherent oddness to people who were used to making desserts with tried-and-true ingredients like vanilla, lemon, chocolate and apples.

The brownies were popular, not surprisingly, as were the more traditional shortbread selections like almond and coffee. Sage and white pepper received more mixed reviews, and on first tasting I wasn't sure in exactly what context the "interesting" judgment was given. I'd given it a shot, but assumed that this was going to be the same mixed reaction I'd gotten to most of the variations I mention or proffer, be it tahini in "eggplant salad" or rooibos mint tea. So I was surprised when a few of them started asking for the pepper shortbreads. I sent one of the boys home with a box of them after an inquiry, and was informed at my next visit that they had all really enjoyed them--so much so that they actually wanted the recipe for them. I was, to put it mildly, quite shocked, but equally pleased. Not all of my culinary experiments have done very well, but perhaps I'll leave having given them a few new food ideas, just as they have me.