Bună ziua!

My first few days here have been relatively uneventful in terms of sightseeing. I have, however, settled in nicely in my room, unpacked everything, and gotten a few of the things that I need. Kevi took me to a market to get fruit. It was super cheap, like $1 for 2 pounds of cherries. Since Romania is not on the Euro, everything is super cheap. I also went grocery shopping and only spent $30 on what would have easily cost $50 or $60 in the U.S. Plus, you can get anywhere in the city in a taxi for like $2. I could get used to this. :)

The other night I went with my new boss to a jazz club in town to see Darius Brubeck (son of Dave Brubeck) play. It was fun, but the combination of eastern Europeans and jazz musicians meant it started 2 hours late. But it was nice to get to know my boss before I started work. Working at an embassy is a whole different mentality, because your coworkers are also your friends because your options are so limited. These people are also fascinating to talk to, since they've spent most of their lives living in really interesting places. For example, my boss has worked in Bosnia, Ukraine, the Central African Republic, Mexico, and Barbados. Kevi spent her last post in Liberia and her next post will be Nigeria.

In other news, both my boss and roommate have strong Kansas City ties. My boss spent most of her life (before the foreign service corps) living in Kansas City, owns a house there, and will be retiring there in the fall. Kevi's family is from Lee's Summit and Raytown. Random!

I have some pictures to post, but can't do so right now. My computer won't connect to Kevi's wifi for some reason, so pictures will have to wait until I acquire an ethernet cord. Mostly, the pictures consist of Delilah (the dog) and the park around the apartment. The picture at the top of this post is the Romanian version of the Arc de Triumph in Paris. This version is about a block away from me.

Made it!

I've officially made it to Bucharest. Some guy in a black BMW got me from the airport and almost killed me and everyone on the road getting me to the apartment. But it seems like everybody drives like a crazy person here!

I'm staying with Kevi, who is a 2nd tour Foreign Service Officer at the Embassy. The apartment is really sweet. I get my own bedroom, bathroom, and porch. :) She also lives next to Bucharest's version of Central Park and their mini Arc de Triumph. I'm excited to train for the marathon next to Soviet-style statues. Kevi also has a Havanese, named Delilah. I'm normally not such a huge dog person (especially when they're little, white, and fluffy), but this one is absolutely adorable.

Went to some shindig at another Embassy person's house last night. It was fun, but I was so tired that it was hard to stay engaged in conversations! This woman's apartment was really awesome because it was decorated with stuff from her previous posts - Congo, LIberia, and other African posts.

Got home, unpacked, and took a melatonin. 12 hours later, I feel much more human! Now I am off to find some stores. My fan blew up even though I have a converter. And my blowdryer doesn't work. I wish they had a Target or something, because I have zero clue where to get that stuff!

And we have lift off, ladies and gentlemen!

Currently sitting in Heathrow using the free wifi, after my British Airways flight finally made it out of DC. Yay! Flight was spent watching Sherlock Holmes and giggling inside at all the British people on my plane. For some reason, screaming 5 year olds are just funny when they're British.

Now to get to Bucharest! In the mean time, I'm going to try to watch Glee.

The Countdown

Welcome to my blog! I will be documenting my summer adventures as an intern for the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest, Romania. There will be accounts of my run-ins with packs of dogs, pictures of Communist-era buildings, and the occasional interesting tid bit.

At the moment, I'm in Washington, DC, hanging with the family and friends. Assuming British Airways doesn't cancel my flight again and assuming the Icelandic volcano doesn't spew more ash, I should depart DC on Tuesday and arrive in Bucharest on Wednesday.

I hope you enjoy the blog and leave plenty of entertaining comments!