“I” after “E” except after “C”...

How many of you remember all those grammar lessons you had in grade school??  Seriously...who can possibly remember the rules as to why/how we say what we say?  We just do it automatically, right?!  Well, imagine learning all those rules IN Romanian...when you don’t even speak the language yet!  Yes, this is my new life!  Four hours of language lessons every day!  It’s been fun, but challenging and it’s only day two!  

My days are pretty set in stone now that training has begun!

• Get up at 7am
• Leave house by 8am and walk to school (about 35 minutes)
• Language class from 9am-1pm
• Lunch from 1pm-2pm
• Sessions from 2pm-5pm:  Economy, Government/Politics, Practicum, Diversity, Society/Culture, Teaching English as Foreign Language, etc. 
• Walk home (arrive around 6ish)
• Dinner at 7pm
• Chit-chat with family after dinner
• Homework from 8pm until done
• Bed at 10ish or later

I don't think this schedule will change much, although the afternoons will be in classrooms once our practicum's begin.  It's pretty tiring, to say the least!  

We have 10 weeks to master the language at an Intermediate-Low level and we’ll have to take a verbal test to prove this.  During this time we are also getting training on what we will actually be doing.  We will get our site placements in week 6 so that is pretty exciting!  Then, after we have passed the training, we will be sworn in by the American Ambassador in his home...it's supposedly quite a to-do!  Then, we will be official Peace Corps Volunteers and the fun begins!

Noapte Buna!  (Good night!)

Arrival in Romania!

I am safe and sound in Targoviste, Romania!  I have been up for over 32 HOURS and am so exhausted I can't see straight!  Before I go to bed I wanted to share a quick run down of the last few days:


Our groups of 39 volunteers had orientation in Philly on Tuesday - For those that may remember, it was just being in AFS again...skits and all!  :) After the orientation was over a bunch of us went out for dinner.  We split into a few different groups and I went with the Irish Pub contingent (all in their 20's!)!  We ended up staying out drinking beers and getting to know each other until around midnight - lots of fun!  Like an idiot, I woke up at 5am the next morning and that was that...I was awake.  


We left for JFK around 9:45 a.m. and I was horribly car sick the whole way...I forgot how my body hates being on busses.  This set the stage for feeling horrible for the rest of the travel.  The flight from JFK to Munich was delayed because of weather and the arrival of Obama to NYC, so we sat on the tarmac for over an hour...then the flight took almost 9 hours.  I didn't sleep a wink and spent about one hour downstairs outside the bathrooms trying not to throw up.  Fun!  Plus, the TV's weren't working properly, so we couldn't choose what to watch, had to watch whatever was on...grrrr!  

We flew Lufthansa and they did a horrible job of hydrating us, so by the time we landed we were all dying of thirst.  But no water for us!  Because we were late to Munich we only had about 20 minutes to get to the gate.  Of course Security insisted on opening ALL our bags which was annoying!  We just made it - I literally had to beg them not to close the gate!  After about a 2 hour flight into Bucharest, we had another 2 hour bus ride....seriously?!  Luckily, someone gave me some motion sickness medicine for this leg.  I know, Mom... I bought motion sickness meds, but I had to move my packing around because, of course, I volunteered to be the Document Leader and had stuff to carry in my backpack on the airplane.  

Since all our travel was without a PC official, our group needed four volunteers from Philly to Bucharest to handle all the movement of people, bags, and documents.  I was in charge of everyone's passports and tickets...yikes!  We actually had a girl lose her passport at the last minute prior going.  It was found over in front of China Air on the floor...strange to say the least!  Luckily, there were no big issues - other than 3 people not getting their bags in Bucharest, all went well.  It was great to arrive outside the airport in Bucharest and see a huge Peace Corps banner with about 15 staff/volunteers there to greet us!  It was also nice to no longer be in charge.

The bus ride out to our hotel was interesting as it was through a lot of little towns outside Bucharest.  What a country of contradictions!  You'll see a nice, newer concrete house and next door is a run down little bungalow and in the front yard of that is a lean-to made with what looks like trash and blankets.  Very interesting visually!  And the dogs!  Good grief, the dogs!  There are stray dogs everywhere...it is too much.  And it's not like they are all of a similar breed...they are all different type.  All just roaming around, peeing and pooping anywhere they want to!  I took some pictures and will post them when I can.

So we just finished a good dinner with the Country PC Director and a bunch of staff and now a bunch of us are sitting in the hotel lobby catching up on emails.  Tomorrow we have a day of more training and then on Saturday our Gazda's (host families during the next 11 weeks of training) will pick us up and on Monday the fun begins!

To top my crazy tiredness off, I am experiencing some type of vertigo after all this travel... like when you ride a roller coaster and after you get off you still feel the movement.  That's how I feel right now... I can still feel the plane dipping and the bus moving down the road.  It is VERY unnerving.  I talked to the medical director and he said that after a good shower, meal and rest I should be fine. 

I can't believe I'm actually here, starting this adventure!  It's pretty damn exciting!!!

P.S.

I'm thinking that picture above is pretty much like what I'll be living in...just sayin'

Gratitude!

Over the past few weeks I have had numerous gatherings, parties, dinners, etc.  I've tried to contact all the people I wanted to see before I left - of course, there were some that were left out.  Not because I didn't want to see them, but because it's so darn hard to get calendars in sync.  So frustrating!!  To those I'm referring to...you know I wanted to see you, but time just got away from me!

I did, however, get to do the following:

• Numerous breakfasts, lunches, coffee breaks and dinners with good friends (you know who you are!)
• A long happy hour with my Cinti. friends (from 3pm to midnight...exhausting and fun!)
• One last girls night out dinner...yummm - Thanks Ellen, Maddie & Mary!!!
• A great party given by my mother for friends in Dayton - Thanks Mom!
• Another great party given by my sister for family and friends in Cincinnati - Thanks Meg!

Wow!  It's been a humbling experience to have so many people want to see me and give their good wishes!  And I got TONS of great gifts... who knew!?!

I am so very grateful for all the amazing friends and family I have.  Thank you for giving me such a fabulous send off.  I appreciate all of you!!!!!

Buna Ziua! (Good Day!)

Learning a new language is hard!  We were given 10 simple lessons with Romanian words and phrases to learn before we arrive.  I can now count to 100 and request a beer...that's about it!  It reminds me of when I went to Denmark as a young AFS'er.  I was supposed to learn some basics prior to going and all I could say when I arrived was "This is a radio, not a hat" and "I'm not that kind of girl".  The sad part...I didn't get to use either phrase the whole time I was there!  Bah!!

So...I made out all my little flash cards, and go over them (somewhat) regularly...but it does not seem to be sticking.  It's like my brain is a sieve - everything that goes in just leaks out.  I'm sure it's because I have too much other stuff on my mind right now:  what to pack, what to box up and send later, whether or not I can sell my condo-or rent it, what papers still need to be notarized, insurance decisions, when to sell my car...the list goes ON AND ON! 

I'm sure when I am there...in Romania...studying language with the rest of the crew and focusing on that alone, I will be able to retain something... anything!  So... Romanian men, just wait...soon I will be able to tell you that "I am NOT that kind of girl!"

Home...

I'm sitting at Starbucks creating a Mid-Term exam for tomorrow night (Intro. to Homeland Security - woohoo!), listening to Billy Joel sing "You're My Home."  This song always makes me feel calm (which is nice because I have not felt calm in a while).  There's a section in the song when he talks about where home can be: "Home can be the Pennsylvania turnpike, Indiana's early morning dew, high up in the hills of California..."  It makes me think about where my home will be for the next few years, as well as making me sad about leaving my current home. (I know...the song is actually about a couple, but today it's making me think of the physical location of home...not the lovey-dovey home!)

I have always been a "nester" with a great need to create a home, wherever I may be.  For this reason, I am sure I will be able to find comfort while in Romania.  It's in my genes!  It's the other aspect of home that I will miss.  The comfort of having family and friends near you; whether to talk to on the phone, run errands with, eat meals with, head to the movies, lounge around and watch TV with, laugh with, cry with, fret with...that is what I will really miss. 

The Peace Corps cares a lot about how their volunteers will handle this issue.  It's brought up in the application, interview, medical clearances, and final interviews.  They want to know what you will do to combat the lack of friends/family...how you will handle the emotional aspect of leaving all that you know.  I have thought a lot about this and know that it will be difficult - at first.  As with many aspects being human, we can get used to pretty much anything.  I know this will be hard but, I also know that I will create a new "home" in time - in every aspect of the word.  I bet that when I am ready to leave, I'll be writing the same things here, but about leaving Romania!

So, today, a lot of thoughts of home.  46 years in Ohio - a home of amazing family and friends.  Now it's time to venture out and nest in a new home!

The Joys of Packing

Since I moved to Cincinnati in 1990 I have lived in nine (9) different houses!  I have a proven track record of being able to pack up and move...sometimes with very little notice.  It's easy enough to pack when everything is going to one place...your new home! 

Now I am faced with packing up my belongings to scatter around to at least four different places - not one of them my new home. 

• My mother has space for things like rugs, pictures, dishes and some other special belongings.
• My wonderful friends Patty and Tom have a small guest home on their property and have offered to take the majority of my furniture - what a God send!
• Ellen and Maddie have graciously offered their basement to hold a storage unit of mine that will house all my Christmas belongings and whatever other boxes I can fit on it.  They will also babysit my flat screen TV!  I am going to ask (beg) them to take some more boxes - I have too many.
• My friend Jeff may have some room for boxes, but that has yet to be determined. 
• My worry is that I will have way too many boxes and will have to find a fifth location.
• Uggggggghhhhhhh!

I thought about just renting a storage unit, but when you start adding up how much that would cost for 27 months I decided it was not worth spending the precious money!

On top of the worries of above, I can't seem to actually PACK!  I have done purging...lots of purging!  I know that's good, but I must get moving on the actual packing.  I sit around in the evening, looking around and tell myself to get moving, but just can't.  I'm immobile! 

Now, my house is on the market, so it has to be nice and clean for showings.  This makes me want to pack even less, as then it will look more cluttered. 

Maybe because I know that I still have two months before I leave for Romania, I'm just stalling around.  Maybe I need someone to buy the place and want it to 2 weeks for me to finally get off my ass and get moving!  Maybe I need to get a grip!

So, here I sit...typing, instead of packing.  I have to get moving...maybe I'll go shopping!