Bucharest - apt, car and classroom

8/27/06 - okay...back in bucharest we go...below you see more shots of my apartment...the first is of my bathroom...which is tiny, but functional, especially since i raised a shower curtain...like most european towns, most places in bucharest have tubs and hand held shower heads and NO shower curtains...i was just making a mess with that...so i had to resort to the american way in the bathroom :)

the man who owns the apartment loves the color red...so it is in every room...although i am not really complaining as he supplied everything for me :) although i have been told he is really nervous about having someone he doesn't know from another country living in his flat...oh well...here's another shot of the bathroom...like i said...red...

the shot below shows you my bedroom...you will notice that there are curtains on the windows and pictures on the wall...but every way you turn...NO CLOSETS!!!! so i am still waiting for a wardrobe to hang my stuff in...the school is getting me one as it was promised to me...but it hasn't been delivered yet...hopefully this week...

the funniest thing about the bedroom has to be the sheets the school left me to use before my shipment arrived...they were to fit a child's twin bed...and i have a queen....hahahahaha...also on the sheets are cartoon characters...which at first i thought were penguins...and i thought they were being tricky...but then realized they were really crows and chickens...whatever :)

next up is my car...a VW polo...these are not made in the states...but are similar to a vw golf...i am very glad to have a car...but feel i got the short end of the stick...i am one of the only ones of the new teachers who didn't get a new car...which i am okay with...but i got one of the oldest cars of the fleet...with no power steering...which i can adjust to...the thing i am most cranky about is that i have no radio....grrrrr...but the car works well and gets great gas mileage...

driving here has been a challenge, but i think i am doing just fine...most folks really are good and pay attention to street signs and pedestrians crossing...we all park ON the curbs...but i guess that is pretty normal...the one thing i am not adjusting well to is the amount of impatience people display while driving....mostly men i might add...but they have no idea how to wait for a light patiently....they all move up to the front of the line and block off the lane in the opposite direction...they do that on major roads...passing is a way of life....and man do they speed....i drive quickly...they put me to shame...so i am doing well with the driving...keeping up with most folks and surviving the myraids of round-abouts...thank goodness i lived in jersey :) no more pictures will post...so i'll continue this in the next update....