Two more weeks of training to go as of yesterday. Last time I mentioned that we will not be going to Bucharest for swear-in. It turns out that this is a good thing for a few reasons: 1) PC was not going to pay for an overnight stay, 2) Our gazdas are now invited to the ceremony in Brasov and 3) It's hot as hell in Bucharest. So, the charge d'affairs from the embassy will come up here and swear us in on Friday, August 5th. We don't have an ambassador in Romania at the moment, so the the cda will preside over the ceremony.
I scored an "intermediate high" on my oral language exam. It was a simulation, thus the result is not official. However, my skills can only improve over the next ten days, so I'm confident that I'll at least get the same score. The next level is advanced low. I'm going to try to shoot for that. I was a bit concerned with my progess a few weeks ago, but lately thing have been clicking and I'm feeling more comfortable with the language. Eu sunt ferecit cu aceasta (I'm happy with this)!
A volunteer from group 17 is having a party at the apartment in Brasov tonight. I'm not going because I'm not to keen on being in a bloc apt. with 30-50 volunteers and random Romanians. It's going to be hot, sweaty and crowded; not my idea of a good time. So, I think that Victor's going to chop up some wood and fire up the 'ol gratar (grill) tonight and we'll have some pui (chicken), porc (pork), and mici (salty sausage). I'm going to buy the beer tonight because I'm not too fond of Victor's beer of choice - Ciucas Brasov. It's cheap and it stinks. I prefer Bergenbier, Ursus, Ciuc, or Timisoareana.
I'll be leaving Codlea on Monday, August 8th for site. It's about a 6-7 hour bus ride to Piatra Neamt from Brasov. Teachers report to school on September 1st and students report on the 15th. I'm hoping that I'll be able to start planning asap upon arrival. I've got some ideas for thematic plans and it will be interesting to see how receptive my counterpart is to them. During the first few weeks at site I'll be wakling around a lot and trying to get to know people in my city. I also hope to do a bit of sight-seeing in the area and get together with volunteers in the area. I'm also planning on returning to Codlea a couple of weeks after I go to site. This will be a nice opportunity to see Victor and Ica and pick up the printer I bought.
That's about it for now. For those of you who actually read this thing, let me know if you have any questions. I'd be happy to answer them. In fact, it helps me understand my own situation better when I answer people's questions. I'd like to post my responses on the blog. In fact, I think I'll do just that with the next post. Durkin sent me an e-mail recently with some questions that I was glad to answer, so I think that I'll post the e-mail.....
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