Reporting for Duty

Hello my faithful millions! It is I, your dear giver of wisdom. Or in this case, an update in how I am doing over here in the eastern edges of Europe. In short, I am doing swell. Spring is finally coming. I have come to the conclusion that I hate winter in a city. Well, correction, I hate it if I do not have the opportunity to travel to other places and do things, such as ski or hike or whatever I have grown up doing in the states. It is really actually quite boring without being able to do these things. I spent the whole winter sitting in cafes, but not, the sun has been shining and it has been steadily getting warmer, with a colder day thrown in there every now and then. The trees are about to pop, with the buds showing the first of their leaves and the flowers on some trees and bushes already blossoming. It has instilled a new enthusiasm for me. I have spring fever I guess. And I am so very grateful that is getting warmer. As I told in my last post a while ago, I have switched families again. This is my third and final family. The badita family. I have a mom, lily, my dad, titi (real name is Constantine) and my host brother Andrei, who is in the tenth grade. They are a really awesome family, as were the previous two. I think I really got lucky on this exchange. I live in a house a ways off the main drag and let me tell you, it is so nice! It is quiet, though when the dogs get excited and start barking, it can become pretty chaotic, and also it is bigger and has a room just for me! That’s right, no more Hannah Montana or Disney channel forever residing in the background of my life. It was a truly liberating feeling to shake off the weight of the Jonas brothers, Selene Gomez and the rest of the Disney gang. Living in a house is also a little more like home. I can go outside and shoot some hoops, I can read a book out on the wooden swinging chair, or I could just relax in my room. It was definitely a nice transition. Also, before moving I was worried about how far away it is form my school. I am no longer worried about that. Turns out my host dad drives us in the morning, and I do not mind walking back in the afternoon. It can be a pleasant head clearer after a day of school, especially since the weather is becoming warmer.
BIG NEWS!!!! The Europe tour is coming in less than a week!!!! Right now I would like to thank David O'Clair, who was the financier of this excursion of mine. Without him, I do not know what I would have done. So a big thank you to him. I hope he gets my letter. Anyway for those poor souls who don’t know the itinerary yet, here it is
Slovenia-Veneţia-Munich-Strasbourg-Paris-Amsterdam-Berlin-Prague-Vien.
Pretty freaking awesome! Also, it isn’t written, but I believe Budapest is in there too. It will be my second time in a few cities, and I am curious how I will like them the second time. I cannot wait though. This is truly a trip of a lifetime. I do not mean to make you all jealous, I am just really excited. I am most excited for Paris, Venice and Amsterdam I think. I am hoping I will be able to see my buddies when we go to Vienna, but that remains to be seen. I will have my laptop, but I do not know how the internet will be and I do NOT want to spend all my time on it, so I will be posting pictures on Facebook and that’s about it. Don’t worry mom and dad; I will call every now and then. So I will post again when I get back on the 19th, to let you know all about it. I am sure you will all be curious. For now, that is my life. Less than three months left, exciting/sad. Still cannot wait to see home again, but at the same time, I most def do not want to leave.
Goals: keep up the language learner and have a blast on the Eurotour

Routine.... again

Hey guys. Another post! This past month and a half or whatever it has been since I last updated has been one of those wake up, go to school, come home kind of months. Routine, routine routine. It is all soooooo..... Normal. I know that every second of the exchange can’t be completely full of excitement and new adventures, but I am starting to get bored. I think that is a sign that I am a naturalized Romanian of sorts. I am no longer finding as many new things, and it is my normal life. It is just as though I was doing my senior year back home, only without the work. I am so glad that I don’t have to do much work for school though. Trust me. This year is mine, and it makes me so glad that I can focus on the country and not on trying to remember a math problem or something like that. I think in all honesty I have benefited from this year off, so to speak. It has given me the opportunity to discover myself, a new land, a new language and a new culture in relative peace and quiet (Alexia often has the Disney channel on full volume). Oh! Speaking of that, I am changing families again this Sunday. It seems like only a few weeks ago I came to live here at the Stancius but here I am again, switching families. This time I will be going to the Badita family, who has a son in Colorado at the moment. Their other son, Andrei, will be my host brother. My first experience with having a brother in my life. We will see how it goes. This is one of the major things I do not like about the program. Having to switch to three different families in such a small space. We have about three months with each family, and it seems as though I establish myself in their family just in time to move again. It is not pleasant to have to recreate all of the relationships that I just spent so much time creating. But I guess I have done it once, so I will have to do it again. It was really cute/sad. About a week ago, at dinner, when we discussed my departure, alexia started crying. As much as she can bug me, I mean, she talks ALOT, I am going to be sad to leave. I will be glad to get my own room, but in a way I will miss the sounds of the Jonas brothers or Hannah Montana in the background as I shout to Skype with people. I am leaving behind yet another family as I move on. I will get used to it, I will adapt to my new family just as I have adapted to just about everything here over the past 6 months.

Prom is coming up on Friday! It is different than the prom in America in many ways, but it is all basically the same thing. The seniors get together to dance, show their stuff, and have fun. One of the major differences (the other being it is in March) is the fact that the prom king and queen is chosen based on a performance they must give. For example, my friend Valy is nominated to be prom king. He must participate in the group dance that my class is putting on and he must have a partner dance or skit. I believe he is doing a tango for that. I got sucked into this whole thing. I am partners with Cosmina, a prom queen candidate, and I must also participate in all this stuff. UGH! I cannot dance! We are having rehearsals with a professional dance teacher a couple times a week, practicing the dance to a song by a Romanian singer who does a special and famous Christmas program every year live on TV. It is an interesting dance, kind of like a fifties rock and roll song with the same idea in the dance moves, with heel clicking, dips, air guitaring and the like. I am doing ok, but you all know me. I am on of the least graceful people ever to be born, so I have to work at it quite a bit sadly. Then I have to work with Cosmina on a partner presentation. We decided not to dance, but instead do a pantomime set to a selection of music that tells a story. I spent a while yesterday creating this montage of movie quotes and music and all that remains is for me and Cosmina to come up with what we are doing. I had been worrying about this, about getting everything perfect, then Cosmina reminded me, we are just there to have fun. If we are having fun, the judges and audience will as well. I have to keep this in mind. I always worry unnecessarily, just ask anyone who knows me. Especially two weeks ago, when we had a rotary district conference in Bucuresti, and all of the students were required to give a presentation on their home country/district/town. There were about seventy Romanians in the room, and then there was me and my presentation on the wall, and I had to get my spiel out in Romanian. It is safe to say my nerves were shot. I got through it, and the presentation I had to a week later here in Slatina, though luckily to a much smaller crowd. So figure, why the heck worry about something as trivial as this. It really doesn’t matter a heck of a lot.
The eurotrip is coming up and I can hardly wait! I depart with the others on April 8th and we begin our travels across the great continent of Europa. The tour will include Slovenia-Veneţia-Munich-Strasbourg-Paris-Amsterdam-Berlin-Prague-Vien. Quite the itinerary no? :D :D I really cannot wait. I won’t keep rubbing in how awesome it is.

Ok, I again do not know when my next post will be. But I will write on my Facebook Page when I do post. As always, goals are to keep progressing and completing my integration into Romanian society. Wish me luck in my new family.

Another post?!?!?!?!

Hey everyone. I know, this is becoming a monthly blog. Whatever. I have been having way too much fun to write a post. A month has gone by since my last post. And alot has happened. First thing i should talk about is my new family. I am staying with the Stanciu family. There are two daughters, adina and alexia, my dad mihai, and my mother gabi. Adina is currently doing her exchange in Pennsylvania, near pittsburgh. So i have a little sister again. I forgot how much nergy it takes to have a six year old in the house. It is truly truly exhausting. She talks all the time, and of course, it is in romanian. All in all this is probably a beter thing. in fact i know it is. I am learnign so much romanian. I have to, or else i am in trouble. no one in my family speaks english, unlike at my last family. I now know why the rotary has kids change families throughout the year. The experience i am having with this family is soooo much different! It is more of a traditional family, with my sister here. I was an only child at the Jijaescu household (sometimes i wish i still was but hey, whatever) and it took some readjustment to fit into a family where i wasnt the only one. My room is actually my sisters playroom, so during the day, ti belongs to her, and at night, sometimes she sleeps in the bunkbed above me, sometimes i have to room to myself. It can be hard sometimes. I got used to alot of privacy at my old house, and I kind of miss it. I have very little time to myself. Still, i am enjoying myself here, and the Stancius are incredibly kind to me. For example, over the christmas break, as manyof you know, i went skiing in the mountians of romania, in a town called Ranca. The slope itself (yes slope singular) is serviced by a t bar, and i can make it down in about 20 seconds. but hey it was skiing. It felt so nice to be back out there on the slopes. especially after living the city life which involves alot of sitting in cafes and the like. It has been hard not to have access to the outdoors like i did back home, where i could go to the mountain after school, or got out in the woods for a walk if i wanted. I am used to it now, but it would still be nice to go for a hike when i wanted and not have to worry about getting mugged or lost or something. :D The city during the winter is very pretty. the lights were up for christmas, snow covered the ground and winter was definitley in the air. The weather is very strange. one day it will be blistering cold, and then the next it will be 50 degrees. a bit like new england i guess, i should be used to it. New years was a blast, as usual. I went to my friend sergiu's house and there were probably 12 to 15 of us there. We danced and ate and had a good time. I ended up getting home almost at 8 o clock in the morning. Yeah, i know, doesnt sound like me does it. I had a blast though. We toasted even for new years back in the states, i watched the ball drop and life was good. I walked home and the city was so beautiful. It was a bright clear day, and the air was so fresh. the city was silent, as everyone was falling asleep from the nights festivities. The remainder of fireworks and bottles were all over hte place, and i felt very content. It was great. And then, just as school started the next wedenesday, I got to go to AUSTRIA! on a ski trip. for those who know me even remotley, you would knwo that this is kind of a dream come true for me. and it did not disappoint. The alps are GORGEOUS! Austria is a truly diverse and beautiful country. we drove across it, so got to see everything, from the fields and flatness next to hungary, to the alps of the west. I went to visit my brother Tobi and my friends in Salzburg, and for how short it was, it was a great visit. I love Salzburg so much, and I am so glad i have friends there that are like family. The skiing, as i said, was phenominal. There was 45 + kilometeres of ski trails, with as much as you want off trails. It was sad though, I didnt have the best skis, and my mom wouldnt let me go off trails. but hey, it is a reason for a return trip! anyone want to come with? On the austria trip we also stopped in Budapest, which believe it or not, beats Vienna and Munich on my list of beautiful and awesome European cities. It is absolutley gorgeous! It is a city split in two by the river, with beautiful bridges, elegant buildings and tight, european roads between very pretty buildings. I am definitley going to have to go back there so i have more time to do what i want, as i was limited to what the group wanted to do. I highly recommend it to anyone! SO now that i am back in romania, things are winding down again for a while. I do not have any big plans on the horizin, though i think that there is one again a short vacation coming up. The in between semester vacation or somthing. I am not complaining. I do not know when my next post will be. Just check periodically. Hope you all are well, and La Multi Ani!