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.