The Pickup Sticks

March certainly is clipping along, isn't it? Each time I look at the date on my watch, I'm a little taken aback. Have we been here for a month? Seriously? Cause it feels more like a week one minute and more like a year the next. Much like the Twilight Zone.

I'm going to go about this entry through the "strain of thought" method because I'm at a wireless internet cafe that doesn't have electrical plugs and the battery on my computer is not the most robust. So...one brief story that I am amused by the more I think about it. About a week ago I was sitting at the kitchen table with my gazda and her friend and they were chatting up a storm. I really like to just sit and listen to people talk Romanian as they naturally would, without slowing down for me, and see how much I can pick up. This time around I could tell that they were talking about shoes, food, and the weather. Pretty typical conversation. The friend started gathering her things and getting ready to go and she turned towards me and said, very pointedly to me and in english, "I have to go. I have to eat my cats and dogs." It was a relief to hear someone else make a mistake in a language. I've probably said several unintentionally amusing things in Romanian, but it's good to know that it's still a two way street. Here, whenever I meet a new person, the first thing they say is "Oh, my English is not very good...please forgive me" and then spout out something along the lines of Shakespearean poetry. If their English is not very good, my Romanian is non-existent.

In just two weeks we get our site placement announcements. A conversation with my program manager made it sound like I'll be going somewhere that could use my GIS skills, but where in Romania that is, I do not know. The thought that in six weeks we'll all be packing up our bags AGAIN and moving to our own spots, potentially twelve hours by train away, is both enticing and palm-sweat inducing. I'm hoping for somewhere in the mountains because I grew up with the things and find them comforting and picturesque and cooler in the summer. We'll see. There is a small small chance that I'll stay in Ploiesti, but I've heard from many people that PC training is in this city because every other city we'll be placed in is nicer and prettier. And, I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan of Ploiesti and look forward to getting out of it. It's not horrible and, in many ways, reminds me of Reno, but the pollution, traffic, and dogs are definitely downers. I've discovered that Saturdays are burning days, when people burn their trash, and have come to loath the day. My throat hurts, my eyes itch, and I'm tired pretty much the hole day. The traffic, more pointedly the speed of the traffic, baffles me. I used to complain when a car went 35 through a neighborhood in Reno, but that's considered slow here. Stop. Look. Listen. Very good recommendations for Ploiesti pedestrians. I don't even want to talk about the dogs. They're everywhere and although many of them are surprisingly well-cared for strays, I've seen several heart-breaking puppies sitting, confused and naive, on the curb.

Now I'm complaining and painting a negative picture of Ploiesti and I don't want to do that. It is really a neat city and I've got several pictures that I need to share, but there are still the things that get to me, just like the things that would get to me in Reno. On the plus side, this city has some of the best freakin' pastries I've ever had and everything is made in the store where you buy it, which is a crazy-awesome concept to someone coming from Wal-Mart America, I think. Food is much more local and it does taste better that way. Plus, it's spring here and the flowers are popping out, turning the grey bloc apartments a bit more cheerful and making the smoke filled streets a touch more tolerable.

I better go. I sense a dead battery approaching, unfortunately. I wish I had more time for this. It's calming. Hope all is well wherever you are.