Buna Ziua! :) I have finally gotten a minute to sit down and reflect on the past week (whew! it is flying by!), so I thought I would share with you what I've been experiencing so far here in Bucharest, Romania. I have been keeping a written journal, so I thought the best way to take you along on my little adventure is to share my journal with you.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
I would give 5,000,000 RON right now if my ears would just pop!! We arrived in Bucharest today after a very long flight, but we actually arrived early thanks to the tail wind (don't ask me what that means!). I was almost certain that I was going to be detained at the airport because my sinus infection was at its peak during the flight over, and I believe I managed to scare all the Romanians on the flight because of the swine flu scare. Judging by the gloves and masks adorning all of the airport staff at Otopeni, you would think that we were bringing the black plague with us. I had to complete a health declaration form, and I managed to skate by without any hassle.
We were greeted at the airport by Dr. McCollum, and in perfect gentlemanly fashion he kissed me on the hand. He is such a sweet old man...I immediately felt like I was in a different country. We drove through the city to get to the university and my first impression is that there are lots of advertisements littering the streets because they have discovered the beauty of a free market economy. Also, the buildings look pretty run down. The university is not the most beautiful sight- it is very industrial looking. The bedrooms are simple, yet pretty spacious as far as dorm rooms are concerned. Eek! No air conditioning...thank goodness for the fan they put in our room. I don't think we'd make it otherwise. We are sleeping two to a room, and I'm very happy with my roommate selection. She has graciously taken on the role of caretaker since my sinuses are roaring which is making me feel downright awful. Ah! Of all the times in the world to get sick.
Soon after getting settled into the room I decided to scope out some food. I was pretty hungry so I went down to the cantina, and had my first encounter with non-English speaking Romanians. I was a little surprised since we are at the Romanian-American University.. seems like English would be a pre-requisite. Anyway, I managed to order two chicken legs and some very mushy rice. I couldn't taste it due to my plugged nose, so I'm not really sure how to comment on anything other than the texture.
Sadly, I've spent the day just resting because I want to preserve every ounce of energy in my body. I discovered there are four channels on the TV in our room, and I caught an episode of Saved by the Bell with Romanian subtitles. That was an entertaining way to start the trip! haha... The outings I missed today included a trip to the park next to the university and the Romanian version of Wal-Mart called Carrefour.
I am sad to discover that the computer labs are not as readily available here at RAU as I was expecting, so I'm going to have to rely on my roommate to communicate with Heath and everyone at home. At least we have internet connectivity in our rooms...thank God for technology! I'm going to miss Heath so much...*sigh* I don't want to think about being away from him for two whole weeks!
Ok, so it's about 10:30pm and I went with Orbin and Brad to grab some food at the Hard Rock Cafe-Bucharest. How American of me, huh? And drumroll, please........one of my ears popped! Woohoo. Now I can sort-of hear. We must've actually blended in a little at dinner because they assumed we were Romanians when we entered the Restaurant. It's nice to know I don't have a big tourist sign across my forehead!
So, I'll meet my Romanian classmates tomorrow at a pizza social, so that should be exciting! Anyway, enough news for tonight...La Revedere!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
I feel like a brand new woman today! Apparently Romanian time and fresh air agrees with me because I no longer feel sick. I still have the runny nose as evidence, but my body feels much more refreshed. We had a fantastic lunch at a Turkish restaurant called Turkuaz. Unfortunately, the Turkish chef wasn't there to cook us the Turkish items on the menu, so we ordered Romanian food instead. We started with the most delicious eggplant, garlic and tomato spread with pita bread. I ordered the dorado- whole grilled fish with a simple salt crust and lemon. Oh, and water is not free here, and you have to order it "plata" or you get the fizzy stuff. Bleh! I learned that the hard way. Water costs just as much as beer (bere). Anyway, I dared Ssanyu, one of the UAH students, to eat the fish eyeball for 1 RON, and she quickly obliged. Apparently having grown up with Caribbean roots she has had much stranger cuisine! haha...I couldn't be shone up, so I had to eat my fish eyeball also- very chewy, but not bad!
After lunch we strolled through a beautiful park along the waterside. The trees here are stunning- I want to bring them all home with me. The weeping willows are breathtaking, and they create the most gorgeous canopies along the walkways. We also indulged in some ice cream from one of the street vendors- yum!
Contrary to reports from some of the other students, I have observed the Romanian people to be pretty friendly. They are fairly aloof, but that is to be expected in any large city.
We met the Romanian students at the pizza social for the first time- they are very friendly. A few of the students were immediately interested in spending time with us- others were a little shy. The pizza here is quite different than what we are accustomed to. They don't cook the sauce on the pizza, but offer it on the side.
After the pizza social, Alana, Brad, Nicole and I went back to the park to explore a new area. The flowers and infrastructure of the park was beautiful. We could have stayed a lot longer to enjoy the atmosphere, but we met the rest of the group, including some of the Romanian students (Razvan, Raluca, Ruxandra, and Antonio) at the Hard Rock Cafe (I know, two nights in a row is embarassing!). We were told that there was supposed to be some sort of celebration and party for the restaurant's thirty-something anniversary. The beer here is very inexpensive, so we all had a couple and enjoyed the time to get to know each other a little better. The restaurant brought out a huge celebratory cake and handed out complimentary pieces to everyone there. The cake was very firm, and was not sweet by American standards- my kind of cake! :) It was funny, though, because the Romanians thought it was too sweet.
One of the highlights of the evening was walking back to the university with Raluca, one of the Romanian students. She is very interesting, and likes to talk a lot. It was really funny because her favorite restaurant is KFC of all places! She also told us about the gypsies in Romania...she said they are "weird" because they allow their horses to sleep in their homes while they sleep in tents outside. That must reallyl be a sight to see!
When we got back to the dorms we cracked open some of the 2.5 liter beers and ventured up to the 11th floor in an attempt to get on the roof to cool off; however, we were not successful. We did end up stopping by a dorm room where some Romanian students were staying that Blake had befriended earlier in the week. Only a couple of them could speak English, and said that we were the first Americans they had ever met. The students are taking finals this week and they'll be moving out for their summer "holiday". I love the way that sounds...
Many of the American students are self conscious of the fact that the Romanians might not like us, but I'm of the impression that they are hesitant and slightly nervous around us because it is a new experience for them. We are used to the "melting pot" that is America, but Romanians have not been quite as global, so their exposure to other cultures and people is somewhat limited. That is changing, of course, but it is a slow transition. Ssanyu is from the Carribean so she has very dark skin, which is a rarity here in Romania. She has received many stares!
Anyway, on that note, I think I'm turning in for the night!
Monday, June 15, 2009
So, this morning was the first day of class- we didn't make it to bed until 12:30am, so our 7am breakfast meeting was painful!! We had two lectures- one on globalization and one on Romanian history. The American professor that came along with our group taught the first class, and she is very bubbly. It was entertaining because we had a group discussion about the cultural differences between Romania and America and how the perceive us. We were noticing that the Romanian professor did not speak much about the communist era when he was teaching the Romanian history. Perhaps it is a sore subject since it was such a dire period for Romania. Raluca explained that Romania has suffered because no one knows how to properly manage a democratic and free market economy. She seemed to believe that there were some positive aspects of the communist reign, such as no unemployment and a developed infrastructure. However, she did acknowledge that communism was very bad for Romania. I found it fascinating that there was not a tone of disdain for Ceaucescu (the communist dictator of Romania). She said he "had" to sell off the country's resources to pay off the national debt. I was glad to hear her perspective.
We have been split into teams, with about one Romanian student to three American students (there are more of us in the class). Our Romanian student, Jasmine, is not very talkative because her English is a little more broken than some of the others, and she seems to be very shy. She speaks 3-4 different languages, though, which is so impressive. It really makes me want to go home and immediately begin learning another language!
We had a half day off because they were unable to fill the timeslots with professors, which was fine by me! At lunch we met in our VIP room in the cantina and we had
more pui (chicken!). I say
more pui because that seems to be the only thing they know how to cook at the cantina. This time it was prepared as a schnitzel. We also tried a soup called ciorba, which was pretty good.
I felt really badly because Jasmine invited us to join her to Carrefour, but we got separated. I guess I'll find out tomorrow if she's offended. We took the bus to Carrefour and the mall and we shopped for
hours!! I can now say that I own a dress from Europe :)
Traffic in Romania is certainly an attraction in itself. Pedestrians
do not have the right-away here! Apparently, it is a hassle for women to get a driver's license here. Most or all of the guys in our class have one, but the girls do not.
Anyway, the shopping experience was a bit demoralizing. The women here are TINY...with big boobs. The largest size in the store is a 42 (size 10 or 12), which happens to run small in terms of American clothing, so I was topped out in all the European clothing stores. I feel so healthy here, though. If I lived here I would be in far better shape...much more walking, better eating. This may be the only vacation I ever come home weighing less! haha...
Alana and I took Bus 261 back to the park in time for dinner. Wait for it....
more pui! Grilled this time- dry and not very flavorful. The potato pancakes and feta pasta redeemed the chicken, though. Anyway, the bus ride was interesting. There were three teenage boys that quickly figured out we were American and they decided it was an opportune time to practice their crude English vocabulary. I think they were showing off more than anything, but Alana was not quite as amused by it. By the way, I have never seen so many wild dogs in my entire life- all shapes and sizes!! They don't seem aggressive, but I'm going to keep my distance to be safe.
One group went downtown Bucharest today with a couple of the Romanian students, but I think we'll be going there sometime this week. I don't want to miss any great opportunities.
I was so happy because I was able to chat with Heath tonight...I miss him so much!
**Ok, I'm going out in a few minutes so this is to be continued!!
