1. The Language. I love hearing another language spoken all around me. It is an experience unto it's own. When you live in a country so different from your own you start to realize how small you think the world is and how big it actually is. I love hearing my friends chatter on in Romanian and a sense of wonderful joy fills me when I realize I know what they are saying and can respond without hesitation, which is very rare.
2. The people. By this I mean the people I don't even know that well like the few older ladies from our apartment building who sit outside on the benches in the evening and great us as we come home. We say -out of respect- "Buna" and they respond "Ceau" or "Ceau, ceau". One lady in particular takes time to stop and chat with us even though often it is a struggle to understand one another. The first time we met her she was waiting for the elevator and all four of us had just tumbled forth from the tiny space, talking and laughing. She said to us "Un chet, un chet" basically "Slow down" or more connotatively "Where's the fire?" We smiled and introduced ourselves and from then on she has always greeted us with a rather grandmotherly smile.
3. The small shops. And by small I mean itty bitty,
where things are stacked on every surface and even on the floor so that
you feel that at any moment things may come crashing down on your head.The counter is crowded with foriegn candies and snacks. Hardly any of these shops give out exact change since 1 bani (cent) is worth less than a third of an american penny. Since being here I have only received two such coins and keep them as mementos seeing as they are somewhat rare.
4. The street merchants. There are quite a few people from town who sell veggies or fresh milk on the street -literally- they
set out their wares on the pavement and sell right from the street. the veggies bundled up with string and laid out on a blanket and the milk in water bottles. This is the same milk I see Brother Sandu using to make his potent Romanian cheese every few weeks.
5.Fresh baked bread for 1.89 Leu. Right now the exchange rates is about 3.73 lei for $1 which means that a loaf of bread from the 24 hour (or as they say here- Non stop) bakery across the street is approximately 50 cents. And it is so wonderfully delicious spread with double cream feta!
6. The Piata- All the fresh organic fruit and vegetables you could ever want, hand picked blueberries for about $1.50/lb or 1 lb of raspberries for $1? don't mind if I do. Also there are plenty fun and quirky souvenirs, hats, clothes, and much, much more. Definitely an experience.
7. A Sound. One very specific one that took us a while to figure out and sounds like someone banging on a pot every morning (slightly more melodious). This is actually a propane merchant. Everyone here buys tanks of gas for their stoves so this man goes around town every day and when he stops he hits a stick against the tanks to let anyone who needs gas know that he is there and then people can buy gas if they have run out.
8. The Food. I will explain with a few pictures.
Zuchini fritters. Sort of a Salted Zucchini pancake.
Gogosi- Romanian Donuts, with fresh cherries
Carnați- garlicky sausage with fresh bread and tomato and cucumbers salad
The dressing on the salad is double cream feta. Yum!
And here is a picture of us making Sarmale -cabbage rolls.
From the left- Rivana, Corina, Emily, Brittany, Me, and Soya Eva- who teaches the girls cooking.
From the left- Rivana, Corina, Emily, Brittany, Me, and Soya Eva- who teaches the girls cooking.
9. The relaxed atmosphere. Seriously, everyone seems a lot more relaxed here. Often the girls and staff will tell us to go take an afternoon nap and each of the girls will insist that we can rest in their bed.. They all call us Harnica -hard working- and tell us to rest or slow down.
10. Sunday Lunch. As with many European on Sunday there is one large meal in the afternoon and maybe a snack in the evening. These meals last for a while since they are so large.We start out with eggplant spread, chicken salad, bread and other such appetizers. Next is a soup (or two) also with bread. Then onto the main course which usually consists of meat, potatoes and a side. And lastly dessert with coffee or tea. A few times I didn't think I would be able to walk home afterwards, luckily the rest of the day is devoted to rest.
11. Christian songs and hearing people pray in Romanian- A wonderful way to learn new words in Romanian and wonderful experience in realizing that God knows and understands every language. I hope the day comes when I can speak Romanian well enough to speak, pray, and sing in it well.
12. Church Bells- There is a nearby church whose bells ring every 15 to 30 mins in the morning- luckily we are far enough away that they don't wake us up but are enjoyable to listen to after we wake up. They keep me happy as I make my morning coffee and get ready for the day.
13. My apartment and all its quirks. See post.
Post from: June 10th, 2012
Our Apartment
Definitely one of the funniest things about our time here has been learning the quirks of our apartment.
First of all our windows both open from one side and vent open from the bottom. We also have a door that does the same so the first time someone found that out they thought the door was literally going to fall out of it frame and onto them. Slightly terrifying and then very funny.
Next is out Refrigerator, which liked to make its presence loudly known by humming every thirty minutes or so. Then one night when our friend, Geta, was over she "fixed' it the Romanian way- she wedged a deck of cards under one side tilting it slightly and therefore stopping the noise, only in the morning did we realize that that also made it stop working altogether so we took the card out and now I don't think it ever stops humming. We'll see if we get used to it...
Also, we have a washing machine. A three hour cycle washing machine. Not kidding-THREE HOURS. And every once in a while it goes on a spin cycle that makes it sound as if it will take off like a rocket ship. That part is still a bit frightening every time.
One of my favorites is what we affectionately call our 'bower" it's sort of like a shower minus a curtain and the shower head has no place to stay put so you have to hold it. With no curtain one can't really stand to shower so you have to sit in the tub. Hence bath+ shower= bower.
And just in case anyone was worried about my safety here just know that my front door has not one, not two, but three deadbolts. It's quite inventive really three deadbolts in one lock, to lock or unlock it you just turn the same key in the same lock three times. I really doubt that anyone could easily break in.
Last but not least is our elevator. (Thank the Lord we have one since we are on the eighth floor, our dear friend Andreea has no elevator and is, I believe, 10 floors up) This elevator has a maximum capacity of four people and maybe three with groceries. It is tiny and yet it still manages to serve all ten floors of our building. Though it works quite well we are all a little frightened at the possibility that one day this changing room sized elevator may plummet and that the diamond like pointed lights in the ceiling might kill us. However nothing has led me to believe that this is actually possible...yet.
So that is our apartment in a nut shell. It is an ongoing adventure.
14. The view from my apartment. All of the buildings have red clay shingles and trees pop out all over the place. When I look out the window there is laundry hanging out from the windows, people walking on the streets below, child laugh and play, and everywhere everyone is talking and shouting in Romanian. Gorgeous. Again a few pictures to explain
So that's the short list. I will miss so much more that I cannot even rightly express in words. But I know in my heart what they are and I look forward to the day I will return and experience all of this again.
13. My apartment and all its quirks. See post.
Post from: June 10th, 2012
Our Apartment
Definitely one of the funniest things about our time here has been learning the quirks of our apartment.
First of all our windows both open from one side and vent open from the bottom. We also have a door that does the same so the first time someone found that out they thought the door was literally going to fall out of it frame and onto them. Slightly terrifying and then very funny.
Next is out Refrigerator, which liked to make its presence loudly known by humming every thirty minutes or so. Then one night when our friend, Geta, was over she "fixed' it the Romanian way- she wedged a deck of cards under one side tilting it slightly and therefore stopping the noise, only in the morning did we realize that that also made it stop working altogether so we took the card out and now I don't think it ever stops humming. We'll see if we get used to it...
Also, we have a washing machine. A three hour cycle washing machine. Not kidding-THREE HOURS. And every once in a while it goes on a spin cycle that makes it sound as if it will take off like a rocket ship. That part is still a bit frightening every time.
One of my favorites is what we affectionately call our 'bower" it's sort of like a shower minus a curtain and the shower head has no place to stay put so you have to hold it. With no curtain one can't really stand to shower so you have to sit in the tub. Hence bath+ shower= bower.
And just in case anyone was worried about my safety here just know that my front door has not one, not two, but three deadbolts. It's quite inventive really three deadbolts in one lock, to lock or unlock it you just turn the same key in the same lock three times. I really doubt that anyone could easily break in.
Last but not least is our elevator. (Thank the Lord we have one since we are on the eighth floor, our dear friend Andreea has no elevator and is, I believe, 10 floors up) This elevator has a maximum capacity of four people and maybe three with groceries. It is tiny and yet it still manages to serve all ten floors of our building. Though it works quite well we are all a little frightened at the possibility that one day this changing room sized elevator may plummet and that the diamond like pointed lights in the ceiling might kill us. However nothing has led me to believe that this is actually possible...yet.
So that is our apartment in a nut shell. It is an ongoing adventure.
14. The view from my apartment. All of the buildings have red clay shingles and trees pop out all over the place. When I look out the window there is laundry hanging out from the windows, people walking on the streets below, child laugh and play, and everywhere everyone is talking and shouting in Romanian. Gorgeous. Again a few pictures to explain
Yeah.
15. Walking everywhere. I love to walk, I think I could walk everywhere for the rest of my life if i sold my car. A bonus to walking to and from work and all the stores is that it is 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit every day I have a killer tan (at least for me).So that's the short list. I will miss so much more that I cannot even rightly express in words. But I know in my heart what they are and I look forward to the day I will return and experience all of this again.
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