Happy 4th of July!

Once again, I'm sorry for the lack of posts lately. In addition to getting used to working full time, I've been having some computer problems and spending less time online as a result. But my computer seems to be recovering (with little or no help from my troubleshooting skills), and I have the day off of work today, so I thought I'd take some time to give you an update. There are a few things I wanted to share:


Living abroad as "Oregon Trail"
Several weeks ago I described this trip as an adventure, complete with plenty of difficulties. Although things have improved considerably, it still isn't all fun and excitement. Yes, I'm glad that I'm here. I'm enjoying myself. I'm learning a lot and seeing and doing things that I couldn't at home. But there are still challenges. For example, I'm still having banking problems, and there's no "Apple Store" to fix my computer for me. On a lighter note, I went and got my hair cut at a place in my neighborhood by a stylist (if you could call her that) who didn't speak any English.

So last night it occurred to me that living in Romania is sort of like playing a 21st Century, globalized version of Oregon Trail. You progress through the summer, taking in the sights and meeting new people, until a screen comes up saying "You have no way to access your money," or "You've been asked to move out of your apartment," and you have to decide what to do about it. There are less dire messages, such as "You need to get a haircut. Will you go to the overpriced European Salon near work, or take your chances with the glorified barbershop that charges about $9 for a cut and 'style'?" or "The vendor at the farmers' market switched the fresh lettuce you asked for with some rotten stuff from the back of the stand." I'm just lucky that I haven't gotten any of the really bad ones, the equivalent of "You have dysentery." I have six weeks left, and I'm hoping to avoid "Your passport has been stolen," "You've been arrested on false pretenses by a corrupt cop," and "You've been bitten by a stray dog. Game Over."

Timisoara
On our way back from Krakow, Adam and I had an unexpected layover in Timisoara, a city in Western Romania, near the Hungarian border. Timisoara is very multi-cultural, with a substantial population of Romanians, Hungarians, Serbs, Germans, and other ethnicities, and it is also the city where the Romanian Revolution started in 1989. I've heard that it is a very nice place, so the few hours that we had to spend there were not entirely unwelcome. Here are a few pictures from Timisoara:


A Romanian Orthodox Cathedral


Inside the Cathedral


Houses in the central square of Timisoara

Caine
I know it's been a while, but here's another Romanian lesson. The Romanian word for dog is caine. Unfortunately blogger won't allow me to insert accent marks, but it is pronounced like this: cuh-ee-nay.
Romania is full of dogs. Stray dogs, pet dogs, feral dogs. Sometimes you can't really tell whether they belong to someone or not. In the city, many of the stray dogs are well fed and friendly because people put food out for them or throw them scraps regularly. Here's a picture of a sad looking stray at the train station in Sinaia:


Caine

Tonight I'm going to the 4th of July party at the U.S. Ambassador's residence. I'll try to take some pictures, and either way, I'll be sure to tell you all about it!