Latchkey Kid

Communication:
I was able to talk to Shannon for free, if you load skype (www.skype.com) on your computer, computer to computer talking is free, however the times are usually difficult. The best time I can usually talk is 6:00 pm Romanian Time (takes me some time to get to the internet café and get set-u) 10:00am Chicago (CST), not the most convenient time.

I’m going to try www.voipdiscount.com, which should allow me to call from my computer to anyone in the U.S. for free but we’ll see.

The one nice thing is that I’m not charged for any incoming messages or calls.

Weather:
The weather is slowly but surely getting better, it has been raining the last couple of days and has been around 40’s/50’s but getting warmer.

Little about the food:
Surprisingly enough they have very good pizza, of course not quite Chicago standards but better than the other 49 states (NY doesn’t have squat but a large slice you can fold – big deal, I prefer square pieces anyway). However, it maybe healthier since the food is not soo fattening here. I have found the late night food after going out since I can’t seem to find any burrito or gyro joints here. It is called a sawarma , it is pieces of chicken or lamb (that is on a gyro like spit or set-up) and the chicken/lamb is wrapped around a pita (however not enclosed, opening and flared out on one end) with French fries, cole-slaw and some 3 kinds of sauces (which I have no idea what they are), not bad, getting used to it real quick.

Oh can’t find any buffets, Mongolian bbqs, or brazilian churascaria’s anywhere as well so the gluttony factor has been totally removed as well as no El Milagro or really any Mexican restaurants. As you can imagine there are no such things as refills or ice in drinks for that matter. I have had one cocktail with ice and thank goodness it was Jack Daniels or I probably would’ve gotten diarrhea.

McDonald’s is pretty much the same, however, as stated in Pulp Fiction, there is no quarter pounder, it’s a Royal with cheese (I get a kick out of ordering that all the time). I have gone to KFC once and it’s close, not quite as many items (no chicken bowls, with the mashed potatoes, cheese, corn all in one concoction), however they do have this mayo garlic sauce which is not bad.

The regular diet consists of a lot of chicken, potatoes, some vegetables and bread coming out of my ears, hey I can’t complain, really never hungry.

Chocolate is a huge craze over here, especially any American candy bars which they sell here. I don’t drink coffee but they tend to serve me a little every morning. One Saturday morning I had a big cup of coffee, didn’t eat much, then went to the café to study and had two espressos, well, let me tell you (and for those of you who know me, know that I don’t need coffee at all), my heart starting palpitating so quickly I started to get dizzy and nearly lost it, let’s just say I got up and ate a chicken snitzel sandwich with a mineral water and life was almost back to normal. I really don’t do coffee anymore.

Someone send over some Superdawg and a large coca-cola slurpee from 7-11.

Showering:
Yes, there is hot water, however, it there are no shower curtains, and no shower head holder. Turn water on, when it gets warm, soak up, turn off, shampoo and soap up the body, turn water back on rinse and pray that the whole floor didn’t get wet. I am actually getting pretty good at it.

Do I stick out?
Definitely, however, I always get that second look, and the group of kids (boys give me the hardest times) can’t decide whether they want to make fun of me or not, it is actually quite amusing at time. Yes, I get the Chinese imitations at times but so far it is really not bothering me.

I can only imagine what they are thinking when I go up to them.
Ok, here come an asian, wonder what he is going to speak to me in? And then I have an American accent trying to speak Romanian, I’m sure that throws in some confusion somewhere.

Overall:
I feel like a latchkey kid. Gazda family makes sure I am dressed appropriately before I leave and makes sure I have my key. My gazda (host) mom (everyone refers to as gazda-mom, gazda-dad, gazda-brother, etc) makes breakfast and prepares two sandwiches and a fruit for lunch. They worry and text message me if I’m late especially if I don’t let them know ahead of time. If I go anywhere outside of Ploiesti, I have to let the Peace Corps office know.