finally an update!

so i know i've been really bad about keeping up my blog...i've just been so darn busy. it's kind of crazy to think about things, like the fact that i am here in romania and will be for the next 2 years. i have my own apartment, which can be pretty lonely at times, but it is my own and i love it. i never realized how attached i would become to some of the other volunteers and how hard it would be to venture out here on my own. i have been fortunate enough to see my best friends since i've gone to site, before the first day of work started, but walking into my empty apartment last night made me realize that i am here alone and have to make the best out of making this new place a home. i do wish that my best friend wasn't across the country but i have my people on the west side. the people here at site are pretty great though.

so the training part of things is over. i am officially a peace corps volunteer which is something i feel like i've been working so hard toward the past year and a half. it feels really good to get to this point. we had the big swearing-in ceremony with the ambassador and it made it on the romanian news which was cool. then of course it was time for us to pack all of our things and head to site. for the past few weeks, since school didn't start until today, we've just been taking time to integrate into our communities and do a bit of traveling.

i had my first experience camping in a tent last week at a music festival. it was so much fun and so exhausting and it left me a little bit cranky because i couldn't get a good, full night of sleep but i would so do it over again (except maybe minus the rain leaving everything wet part). there are already plans in the work for other festivals. it also led to me being able to spend my birthday in the city of targu mures which is gorgeous. i couldn't think of a better way to enter into my 22nd year of life. i've gotten to see a few places so far and every place is so amazing for its own reason (the most important one sometimes being the volunteer who lives there). but the country is beautiful, the people are the friendliest i think you'll ever meet, and there is history wherever you go. i look forward to even more traveling i have coming up in the next few months, partly because i'll get to see a familiar face. some of us are meeting in a few weeks on the west side of the country to hang out. we have a conference, supposedly at the end of the month for all of the "wardens" appointed to help carry out the PC emergency action plan. i'm not sure what's happening in october but i'll work it out. there will be something planned for november, whether a bit of traveling or just thanksgiving dinner at the ambassador's house. and then in december we have the biggie...our in-service training...which will be all of the volunteers getting together. so on top of my excitement to finally be starting school, i have a few more things coming up.

i do love spending time with my community mentor here at site. he is very laid back and lets me do my own thing, which is vital for me. i look forward to working with the rest of my colleagues too. i had my first day of school today and minus a rough start (my alarm was set for pm not am which caused me to be 25 mins late and i had no light in my bathroom to get ready in the only mirror i have in my apt) the day went pretty smoothly. i found a little group of teachers romanian/english that also don't speak a lick of hungarian that i kind of banded with for the time being, until i can get acclamated to the language. all of my colleagues seem eager to have me there and they are very welcoming. my adjunct director is more than willing to help me work out any issues i may have, which is  a huge support and stress reliever. as of now, no one knows exactly which teachers i will be working with for my time here. all i know is that this year i will be in 6th, 7th, and 10th grade classrooms for my 16 hours a week. the thing with the romanian education system is that teacher's don't know what schools they will be at because of testing they have to complete every summer. it's pretty crazy and definitely makes me feel grateful that i 'm in the position i'm in.

there are still a lot of kinks that need to be worked out before i feel completely comfortable here. one major issue being having internet installed in my apartment so i don't have to sit out in the churchyard everytime i need to get stuff done. it'll also make it a lot easier to communicate with people when i have a steady connection, which i haven't been privy to since i've been in country. like right now it is raining outside so i'm stuck inside typing this hoping for the rain to stop sometime soon so i can put it up and do some emailing for official PC business. others are little things like learning how to work the washing machine so i can do laundry more efficiently and getting gas so i can actually use the stove. all in it feels like home. but then again, i go to another volunteer's house and she makes me move some furniture around, clean the kitchen (complete with explosions of water leaving it constantly flooded), and replace a roll of toilet paper and it now feels like home too. i'm definitely giving myself time to adjust and staying positive about things. i am excited to have everything worked out and get into a routine of work and just starting this whole process of becoming a member of the community.

so it doesn't sound like the rain is going to stop anytime soon. i will probably tote my computer to school tomorrow and use the internet since there doesn't seem to be much else to do there.