Saturday, Sept. 23, 2006: 5:15pm
Well, hello there! I've been in Romania for two whole days now! My fourth Habitat for Humanity Global Village build. What an adventure it has been so far! The trip didn't start off so well, though. My AA flight was late leaving New York so I got into London Heathrow really late and almost missed my connection. Thank goodness, though, to the British Airways gentleman who let me Fast Track and cut the REALLY long security line and to the people on that line who let me cut ahead. From there I ran full speed (thanks to my Asics) and made my flight. Said flight then ended up leaving an hour late, though (Again!). But it was all good in the end. Lindsey Guenther (a teammate) and I were able to wait for Brad Reigstad (a friend from my Poland build) since his flight got in at 4:30 (we were originally supposed to get in at 3:00; we arrived at 4) at Otopeni Ariport in Bucahrest.
A bit about where we are building: We're renovating old Soviet Bloc apartments in Oarja (pronounced Warja), about 30 minutes from where we are staying in Pitesti (pronounced Pee-tesht). We worked about two hours yesterday and until 3pm today. There's been demolition work, drywalling, clean-up, and scraping and sanding of walls so far. These buildings were used to house soldiers as they came through to gather crops and do some harvesting. So tearing down these walls is like tearing down a part of communism. Who knew you'd ever play a part in something so symbolic? It's kind of cool, actually. Tomorrow is Sunday, and we have the day off. We're heading back to Bucahrest for a day of touring.
What I've learned so far: Drivers don't care. They'll speed and run you down; cause accidents at the drop of a hat. Bucharest was especially bad. No crosswalks! Also, I still can't speak Romanian. The first attempt resulted in the Romanian hotel clerk asking me to slow down. But I'll try again. Can't hurt, right? I'm using that extensive cheat sheet Gabi made me, which is helping a great deal, as I'm recognizing snippets of conversation here and there, numbers, words. There are so many stray dogs, and they will not hesitate to come up to you. It's sad when you see them eating from the garbage. Apparently, there is a program to castrate them, as our volunteer coordinator Alex told us. The grocery store clerks wear really shorts skirts, micro-minis almost, as part of these red suits. Guess the owner wants to keep the customers coming back. But it's the kids that are the best. They love to say Hi! and get quite the giggle when you show them the photo you just took of them with your digital camera.
Well, that's about it for now. We're off to dinner in a bit. It's still raining; been like that all day. As I type this, Rebcca Henders (my team roommate) and Brad have gone off to get umbrellas. The site manager said it is supposed to clear up on Monday afternoon. At least we are building inside!
We're seven hours ahead, in case any one was wondering.
Check back in a few days. Until then, "Noapte Buna!" (Good night!).
Well, hello there! I've been in Romania for two whole days now! My fourth Habitat for Humanity Global Village build. What an adventure it has been so far! The trip didn't start off so well, though. My AA flight was late leaving New York so I got into London Heathrow really late and almost missed my connection. Thank goodness, though, to the British Airways gentleman who let me Fast Track and cut the REALLY long security line and to the people on that line who let me cut ahead. From there I ran full speed (thanks to my Asics) and made my flight. Said flight then ended up leaving an hour late, though (Again!). But it was all good in the end. Lindsey Guenther (a teammate) and I were able to wait for Brad Reigstad (a friend from my Poland build) since his flight got in at 4:30 (we were originally supposed to get in at 3:00; we arrived at 4) at Otopeni Ariport in Bucahrest.
A bit about where we are building: We're renovating old Soviet Bloc apartments in Oarja (pronounced Warja), about 30 minutes from where we are staying in Pitesti (pronounced Pee-tesht). We worked about two hours yesterday and until 3pm today. There's been demolition work, drywalling, clean-up, and scraping and sanding of walls so far. These buildings were used to house soldiers as they came through to gather crops and do some harvesting. So tearing down these walls is like tearing down a part of communism. Who knew you'd ever play a part in something so symbolic? It's kind of cool, actually. Tomorrow is Sunday, and we have the day off. We're heading back to Bucahrest for a day of touring.
What I've learned so far: Drivers don't care. They'll speed and run you down; cause accidents at the drop of a hat. Bucharest was especially bad. No crosswalks! Also, I still can't speak Romanian. The first attempt resulted in the Romanian hotel clerk asking me to slow down. But I'll try again. Can't hurt, right? I'm using that extensive cheat sheet Gabi made me, which is helping a great deal, as I'm recognizing snippets of conversation here and there, numbers, words. There are so many stray dogs, and they will not hesitate to come up to you. It's sad when you see them eating from the garbage. Apparently, there is a program to castrate them, as our volunteer coordinator Alex told us. The grocery store clerks wear really shorts skirts, micro-minis almost, as part of these red suits. Guess the owner wants to keep the customers coming back. But it's the kids that are the best. They love to say Hi! and get quite the giggle when you show them the photo you just took of them with your digital camera.
Well, that's about it for now. We're off to dinner in a bit. It's still raining; been like that all day. As I type this, Rebcca Henders (my team roommate) and Brad have gone off to get umbrellas. The site manager said it is supposed to clear up on Monday afternoon. At least we are building inside!
We're seven hours ahead, in case any one was wondering.
Check back in a few days. Until then, "Noapte Buna!" (Good night!).
posted by Maggie | 6:59 AM
1 Comments:
Sounds very interesting, are there many police officers around? Will you try and take a picture of a Romanian police car for my collection?
Nothing really going on around here, The JETS won! Woo Hoo!
Anyways, I really miss you and will see you in 10 days! Keep up the good work babe!
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