So it is becoming increasingly difficult to find time to make posts, but I am here and I am trying my best. I am enjoying my life in Romania, though it is very busy, it has been a wonderful experience thus far.
Well let's see what has happened since my last post. I went to see my site this past week, I returned home on Friday morning after an overnight train ride which went very quickly as I slept the whole time....not very well, but sleep is sleep. When I got home I did take a nap however and for those of you who know me very well...you know that does not happen very often :)
My site was interesting, but I think I am going to enjoy it there greatly. It has 2 streets in it with one intersection, so it is very small. There are about 2000 people who live there, and from what I have seen so far, the community is very friendly. It was so nice to be in a small town environment again, I could feel the community ties and everything which is something that I have really missed being in the city here in Romania.
I did not really do a whole lot on my site visit, I met my director, saw my school, tried to talk a little Romanian, badly I might add, met my counterpart (the individual who I will be teaching with) and walked around the town. I did get to see the Moldovan border as well and went to the beach. That was fun, it was so nice just to sit and relax in the sun, and to attempt to get a tan :) My director kept telling me to get out of the sun because I was so white, but I told her that that is why I needed to be in the sun, I was in need of a suntan! I did not burn however, so that was nice, my tan lines have evened out a little bit, but they still need some work :)
When I returned back to site, it was back to work as usual, and we started right back into language classes. We have been learning a great deal of grammar lately so that is always fun, but I feel like my language skills are slowly getting better. I am trying anyway and that to me is what matters in the end.
Lets see what else is new, this past weekend it was extremely hot, we even got to over 100 degrees, and I usually do not get to warm to quickly, but I was hot this weekend. It has been lovely this past week however in about the 70s, so that is definitely nice I have been enjoying it. Oh and on a random note, the mosquitos in Targoviste are crazy, they are everywhere. They are not so bad at my gazdas house, but I know other volunteers who are being eaten alive. I was hoping they wouldn't be bad here...but what are you going to do...it is just a fact of nature.
So on a closing note, I am preparing for a similution for my Language Proficiency Interview, we will have the simulation tomorrow. We need to pass this exam in order to become volunteers, and I was worried about it, but I think that I will be alright...at least I hope. I have learned a lot this far and I definitely have enough to function here in Romania, and the town that I am going to speaks no English...so I have to learn it. I am excited for it however and I know that it will be a great experiece. On that note...I need to e-mail mom and dad and I would love to get e-mails from all of you and I will try to answer them the best I can. I love and miss you all!!!
~Until later
Sarah B.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Site Placements!!!
So I have officially been in Romania for 6 weeks and last week we finally got our site placements! We have something to look forward to after these very difficult and challenging weeks learning the language and the culture! I am so excited!
So after that introduction I bet you all wonder where I am going to go...huh? Well I guess I can share that bit of information with you! I will be going to Trusesti, it is in northern Romania, about 30 Kilometers from the Moldovan border. It is a small town which consists of several small towns which makes up a comuna, in which there are around 5500 people but in my town there are only around 2000. So I got what I wanted a small town!
While I am in Trusesti, I will be teaching grades 5-8 and maybe 4th grade as well. I am so excited to start working, but nervous at the same time. I will be replacing a volunteer there, Tory, and she is absolutely amazing, so I do have some big shoes to fill. She keeps telling me that I will be great, but it is intimidating because I have seen how amazing she is! But Tory says I will fit perfectly in this site, and I trust her judgement as well as my program manager, they all really know what they are going to be doing!
So small town rural life in Romania awaits me. I don't know a lot about my city yet, but I do know that I will not have running water during the day....but Tory has told me how to get around this. I also know I will have access to the Internet in my apartment so it shows that technology rules here! I know that all of you love that! In case you didn't notice, I did say my apartment, I will be living alone! I do like living with a gazda family, but it will be nice to have a place to call my own! I can cook again and as we all know I love to do that, and I will be able to be in control of my own diet! I have not gained any weight, but I haven't lost it either, but at least I am at the maintenance point.
Let's see what else is new...I think that I am picking up on the Romanian language pretty quickly. I was very proud of myself I had a very long discussion with my gazda the other day. We talked about my family and her family, what my parents do, how old my nieces are, how old my brother is, my grandparents, I even was able to explain that my grandfathers died before I was born. This concept was difficult, but she understood, so I was excited for that!!!
Oh another interesting thing that has happened. I now understand the meaning of don't let the bed bugs bite. Yes I have had an encounter with bed bugs. My gazda did get rid of them, but my arms and legs are still feeling the brunt of the attack. They do not hurt at all, they are just a little annoying since they are everywhere and they itch. The PC and my gazda worked together however and as far as I can tell they are gone. I slept in my room for the first time again last night, so we will see if they are gone or not...let's hope they are gone. I was looking for them last night before I went to bed, but I did not see any, so that is good! Only time will tell!!
Other than that things are going great here. I am learning a ton, nervous about leaving my clan of Americans, but excited to start working in the Romanian school system and to experience small town life in Wisconsin. I miss and love you all!! Iubesc voi si te pup! (I love you all and kiss you)
La revedere (Goodbye!)
Until Later
~Sarah B.
So after that introduction I bet you all wonder where I am going to go...huh? Well I guess I can share that bit of information with you! I will be going to Trusesti, it is in northern Romania, about 30 Kilometers from the Moldovan border. It is a small town which consists of several small towns which makes up a comuna, in which there are around 5500 people but in my town there are only around 2000. So I got what I wanted a small town!
While I am in Trusesti, I will be teaching grades 5-8 and maybe 4th grade as well. I am so excited to start working, but nervous at the same time. I will be replacing a volunteer there, Tory, and she is absolutely amazing, so I do have some big shoes to fill. She keeps telling me that I will be great, but it is intimidating because I have seen how amazing she is! But Tory says I will fit perfectly in this site, and I trust her judgement as well as my program manager, they all really know what they are going to be doing!
So small town rural life in Romania awaits me. I don't know a lot about my city yet, but I do know that I will not have running water during the day....but Tory has told me how to get around this. I also know I will have access to the Internet in my apartment so it shows that technology rules here! I know that all of you love that! In case you didn't notice, I did say my apartment, I will be living alone! I do like living with a gazda family, but it will be nice to have a place to call my own! I can cook again and as we all know I love to do that, and I will be able to be in control of my own diet! I have not gained any weight, but I haven't lost it either, but at least I am at the maintenance point.
Let's see what else is new...I think that I am picking up on the Romanian language pretty quickly. I was very proud of myself I had a very long discussion with my gazda the other day. We talked about my family and her family, what my parents do, how old my nieces are, how old my brother is, my grandparents, I even was able to explain that my grandfathers died before I was born. This concept was difficult, but she understood, so I was excited for that!!!
Oh another interesting thing that has happened. I now understand the meaning of don't let the bed bugs bite. Yes I have had an encounter with bed bugs. My gazda did get rid of them, but my arms and legs are still feeling the brunt of the attack. They do not hurt at all, they are just a little annoying since they are everywhere and they itch. The PC and my gazda worked together however and as far as I can tell they are gone. I slept in my room for the first time again last night, so we will see if they are gone or not...let's hope they are gone. I was looking for them last night before I went to bed, but I did not see any, so that is good! Only time will tell!!
Other than that things are going great here. I am learning a ton, nervous about leaving my clan of Americans, but excited to start working in the Romanian school system and to experience small town life in Wisconsin. I miss and love you all!! Iubesc voi si te pup! (I love you all and kiss you)
La revedere (Goodbye!)
Until Later
~Sarah B.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Happy 4th of July!
So things have been super busy here we finally finished practium and it went well. High School was a little bit harder for me, but I was glad for the experience. My last day of lessons went well, so I was glad that we ended on a positive note. I really enjoyed teaching and I was told I was a natural in front of the classroom, so I did not experience the nerves, which was nice to know. I just remind myself that I am the expert in the language and it is my native language, so why should I be nervous! I loved teaching though, I think I am going to have a great time in my two years here.
So other than that we just did a lot of language and lesson planning this week. I did have my site placement interview which we talked about possible sites, and I requested a small town, so I think I may get that! I hope so as we all know the city and I do not mix very well, you can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl!
So I hope that you all had a Happy 4th, we had a gazda party here but unfortunately it rained. Well actually that is an understatement it poured and we were outside in a park so it was kind of a bummer, but hey it was worth a try. After the gazda party I went home for a little while, but then the volunteers had their own party. It was a ton of fun and definitely an awesome 4th in Romania. It was nice to be able to spend such an important holiday for the USA with the great new friends that I have met here.
So as I mentioned earlier, on Wednesday I find out where I will be going for the next two years. I am a little nervous, but excited, it will be nice for it to be more concrete. I am nervous about leaving however because as of right now I still have my American bubble that I am in since I am continually surrounded by at least 35 Americans, I am excited to work, but it will be sad to leave them. I am hoping that I will be in a small town, with beautiful scenary because it isn't as depressing as the bloc apartments are, and there probably will not be a lot of English spoken there so I will be forced to learn the language. That is the best way to learn the language however is to completely immerse yourself in it. I am experiencing this at my gazda, she does not speak a single word of English, not even yes or no, but I think that I am improving. I am working really hard to pick up the language, and I am enjoying speaking with my gazda, especially since it is getting easier to comunicate.
Let's see, not a whole lot else is new here, just the end of practicum and language lessons. I am having a good time meeting new people and trying new experiences while I am here. Life is good here so far and I cannot believe that I have been here for 5 weeks, it is going by so fast! My language instructer says she has faith that we are all going to pass the LPI - Language Proficiency Interview, so that makes me feel good. I am nervous about it since it is just 6 weeks away and then I will be starting my service right after that.
Well that is all for today. I hope you all are well and not roasting too much in the states. It is ridiculously hot in Romania today, but other than that I am fine here. I love and miss you all!
Until Later
~Sarah B.
So other than that we just did a lot of language and lesson planning this week. I did have my site placement interview which we talked about possible sites, and I requested a small town, so I think I may get that! I hope so as we all know the city and I do not mix very well, you can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl!
So I hope that you all had a Happy 4th, we had a gazda party here but unfortunately it rained. Well actually that is an understatement it poured and we were outside in a park so it was kind of a bummer, but hey it was worth a try. After the gazda party I went home for a little while, but then the volunteers had their own party. It was a ton of fun and definitely an awesome 4th in Romania. It was nice to be able to spend such an important holiday for the USA with the great new friends that I have met here.
So as I mentioned earlier, on Wednesday I find out where I will be going for the next two years. I am a little nervous, but excited, it will be nice for it to be more concrete. I am nervous about leaving however because as of right now I still have my American bubble that I am in since I am continually surrounded by at least 35 Americans, I am excited to work, but it will be sad to leave them. I am hoping that I will be in a small town, with beautiful scenary because it isn't as depressing as the bloc apartments are, and there probably will not be a lot of English spoken there so I will be forced to learn the language. That is the best way to learn the language however is to completely immerse yourself in it. I am experiencing this at my gazda, she does not speak a single word of English, not even yes or no, but I think that I am improving. I am working really hard to pick up the language, and I am enjoying speaking with my gazda, especially since it is getting easier to comunicate.
Let's see, not a whole lot else is new here, just the end of practicum and language lessons. I am having a good time meeting new people and trying new experiences while I am here. Life is good here so far and I cannot believe that I have been here for 5 weeks, it is going by so fast! My language instructer says she has faith that we are all going to pass the LPI - Language Proficiency Interview, so that makes me feel good. I am nervous about it since it is just 6 weeks away and then I will be starting my service right after that.
Well that is all for today. I hope you all are well and not roasting too much in the states. It is ridiculously hot in Romania today, but other than that I am fine here. I love and miss you all!
Until Later
~Sarah B.
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