Again, I must apologize for how long it has been since I posted last. A lot of internet fraud comes from Romania so it can be difficult to access certain pages from Romanian IP addresses. Alright, enough nerd talk. I have been a busy Alanica since we last spoke. I now have my own apartment, a nice studio apartment on the edge of town. I have a big balcony with a wonderful view of a parking lot and a steel factory. The apartment is owned by the mayors office and they are responsible for furnishing it, which… of course, means that I have lived there for three weeks and still dont have any drawers, shelves, chairs or even a full stove. I only have a table top 2 burner. Oh, and my fridge lacks a freezer and smells like rotten fish. I am promised all the issues will be solved soon, but right now it is certainly livable. It has been remodeled in the past few years and isnt stuffed with junk from the owners grandma, like other volunteers’ apartments. I am keeping busy working on the place, installing shelves in my pantry, a shower curtain, laundry lines, etc.

I also recently got internet at my place. So I should be able to be more responsive to emails now and hopefully post some pictures soon. I havent posted any since before July 4th. That will change, although I make no promises for when. I also have bought a guitar from the guitar factory, Hora. It is a very nice handmade instrument that I purchased for the equivalent of $70. In the states a guitar of similar quality would cost 5 times as much. They also sell mandolins and violins. If anyone is interested in and instrument, it’s only a 17 hour flight away! So I have been finding ways to keep busy living on my own (the first time!).

I have also made some friends with some kids in town, all high school kids. There arent too many people my age here, there is no college so they all go to Targu Mures or Cluj Napoca. But I am happy to meet high school students because I know I will be using them as an asset for some of the work I will be doing in the future. Maybe you are wondering what kind of work that will be? Well, so am I. I have been coming to the office for about 3 weeks now and I havent really gotten the ball rolling on any projects yet. It is slow going, but I dont want to push anything to hard this early, I am just sitting back and observing. Observing the needs of the town, and observing how things get done in the mayors office. I dont want to jump into anything without having a good idea how long the fall is.

If you want to send me any postcards or letters or peanut butter, send me an email and I will send you my address.

Pace, (peace)
alanica