Bucharest Update

I'll have a few new posts on my trip to the Danube Delta up soon, but in the meantime, I thought I'd give everyone a quick update on what's going on right now. I've been in Bucharest for almost two weeks now. I've been staying with my friend Jenny, who I met in the language class in Brasov last year, and her husband Fabien. Jenny and Fab have been the best of hosts for the past two weeks. They've been so welcoming--they even let me join them for a holiday weekend at the Delta!

Staying with Jenny and Fab has made my transition to Bucharest life very easy this time around. Last week I found an apartment in a cool part of town with roommates who seem really fun. I also started my work in the archives and found a bike to ride around the city. Now that I'm all settled in, I'll be moving to my new place on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to exploring my new neighborhood and riding my bike to the archives. The research has been a bit slow thus far, but I have a bunch of new leads to follow up on this week, so I hope that it will improve very soon.

Those of you who have read this blog in the past will know that I occasionally write about being lonely, or homesick, and even downright miserable once. While I can't say that this trip has been entirely without little pangs of homesickness or lonely moments, I can tell you that it's been a whole lot better than past years. I've been really happy here over the past few weeks, and while I certainly miss my friends and family back home, I'm having a great time. I've been able to get in touch with a lot of my friends from last summer and the year before, and I've already made a few new friends. Staying with Jenny and Fab has helped a lot as well. Dinners with the two of them and going jogging and to yoga with Jenny have made me feel very at home here. And finally, the fact that Mike is also spending the summer abroad helps more than I had expected. It's wonderful to talk to someone who really understands the ups and downs of a long trip like this because he's going through the same thing.

I'm looking forward to moving into my new place, getting to know my roommates, and making more progress with my research. Oh, and if things weren't going well enough already, Mike is coming to visit a week from Wednesday! More posts (with pictures next time) on life in Bucharest and my travels in Romania to come soon!