Romanian "Ice Skates"

I mentioned in my last post that I've been learning a lot while I've been here. And I have. I've been learning a lot about Romanian politics and international diplomacy. But as I realized when I first arrived here, I've had to relearn a lot of things as well. By relearning, I guess what I mean is adapting to Romanian culture and society. Just learning to live here.

Since I started college and moved out on my own, I've learned to take care of myself and do all kinds of things that my parents used to handle. (Thank you, Mom and Dad!) Simple, everyday things like grocery shopping, banking, and laundry. Through trial and error I learned how much food to buy for the week, which brands to buy or avoid, what temperature to wash clothes at, etc.

OK, you may be wondering where I'm going with all of this, but hang in there. I do have a point. What I'm trying to get at, I guess, is culture shock. When I arrived in Bucharest, I had to relearn a lot of these basic skills. Not because I somehow forgot them on the flight over here, but because things are just different enough to throw you off. When I first got here, it was very disorienting. For example, it took me two to three weeks to figure out how to grocery shop here. That probably sounds pretty ridiculous, because how hard can grocery shopping be, really? But not only are the brands different, but the varieties and quality of the food is different, as are there relative prices. Certain things that are standard issue in American stores are either unavailable or prohibitively expensive here. And take pharmacies for instance. In the US, you can buy over-the-counter items by picking them up off the shelf, no need to talk to the druggist. Here you can't browse. You need to be able to tell the pharmacist exactly what ails you (and I have yet to meet a pharmacist here who speaks any useful English), and then they find a remedy to offer you.

My point is that tonight I realized that I've done it. I've relearned these basic life skills to the point that they are no longer remarkable. They seem perfectly normal to me. Which is why it's always a culture shock to go home as well. It's sort of like when you go ice skating. You get used to the motion of the skates, and then when you take them off and try to walk without them, its a bit tricky for a while. You feel unsteady walking on solid ground, because even though you've been doing it for years, your body adjusted briefly to the motion of skating. I've gotten used to the motions of living here, and when I go home in a month, I'll have to remember how to walk without my Romanian skates.