Bucharest is alive with celebration as AISB teachers scatter among the pubs and restaurants to raise an elbow to the end of Week One. It’s really been very good. As I knew they would be, the students are world-wise, curious, ambitious and talkative! The class size here at AISB is dreamland. A number of homeroom classes feature 8 – 10 students per, but boy do they keep you on your toes at all times with their responses, their ten million questions and their impatience to let you in on every angle of the topic at hand. We’ve had to fashion class agreements by which we can run a civil conversation, and this is typical in all classrooms. In many ways, it’s highly stimulating to work in this environment. It certainly gives one pause to reflect on class environments in places where this kind of importunate student is sometimes considered “principal’s office” material! These students have so much to offer; I'm looking forward to the venture and cross my fingers that their ongoing inquisitiveness will be satiated even if they may not all talk at once. On the other hand, there is still much ground to be covered in the music department. The kids seem more than keen to hear about music history, and we need to get on the “same page” in the music theory department.
In other news, Millie is driving in Bucharest! Actually, the little yellow car hopped around for the first while, until my early training on a standard came home to roost. But the Romanians are kind and refrained from honking as I stalled when entering intersections and fought to feel the difference between first and reverse backing out of parking lots. Thank goodness for the colour of the car. Thank goodness for a patient and kind husband. Thank goodness the car that I nearly hit wasn’t occupied. I gave the car’s guard a scare though. I have no idea what he said to me.
We are still trying to get a handle on a schedule that will allow for eating properly. We have many not-so-hilarious-until-you-tell-someone stories about cooking home-style out here. Don’t even get me stahted about the things that can’t be found on the grocery shelves! On the other hand, we’re looking forward to scouring the net for a hundred ways with eggplant. Millie made chicken noodle soup and invited the neighbours. Now, trying to find star anise in Bucharest --- there’s a story! When you buy a package of spices, there are many pictured on the front. It turns out that a Romanian's guess is as good as mine when it comes to figuring out which one is actually inside the sealed package. A very nice fellow "helped" me find the correct one, insisting (pointing) that it matched the star anise pictured on the package. Bear in mind that pictured along with it were cinnamon sticks, nutmeg and cloves. The package felt bumpy like anise, so I thanked him profusely and went on my way. Of course you can guess the end of the story because otherwise I wouldn’t be telling it. Cloves! Needless to say, I passed on the cloves, added 3 bay leaves, peppercorns and three batches of parsley. The neighbours said it was the best soup they ever had. I think Ed called them ahead to tell them to say that, as he was there to witness my momentary meltdown over the star anise bit.
Today promises to be another scalding day. I think this year will be remembered by us as the hottest in our memories, beginning with June in Canada. We'll remember that in February! Hope that you are all well and happy!
Millie
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Millie buys an iron
Hi all,
We are just delighted to hear from you through the wonders of cyberspace! Over here we have been attending sessions called "Information Technology" that will bring us up to speed on all that's available through computer resources. When these sessions are at the end of a day, my brain just lets some of it spill over onto the floor ---like the water in my wash machine. There is much to absorb in this International Curriculum, one spin-off of which is to appreciate what it feels like to be a student again.
Meanwhile, life in Romania just gets more interesting every minute. Buying an iron ---now there's an experience. By the miracle of Latin roots, we were able to determine that the clerk wanted us to pay for the iron and the alarm clock separately. After that we were quite baffled, and the more puzzled we looked, the faster the speed of her Romanian. Ed did manage to distinguish the word "guarantee' and a security person came to our rescue pointing us in the direction of the "guarantee" cue around the corner. We debated the pros and cons of waiting it out; as it turns out the acquisition of a guarantee is a serious matter. The clerk officiously took the iron out and plugged it in, pointing and chattering in Romanian while all I could do was give him the ubiquitos thumbs up and hope that it didn't mean something bad in Romania. He filled out papers, I signed them and then the stamping begins. The Romanians LOVE stamping stuff. (When you leave a grocery store, there is a stamper at every exit. Of course, the first time we had no idea. Ed sailed right by and the stamper had to chase us and then try to find which bag we put the receipt!!) Anyways, so then this guarantee clerk starts all over again, this time with the clock, setting it, turning on the radio, the alarm..... stamp, stamp, stamp, stamp.
Sunday morning about 8 of us took a lovely walk around one of Bucharest's lakes, after which we went to the farmer's market where you can find the best tasting nectarines in the world. We are going to be so grateful for those Romanian lessons as I am about tired of playing charades with all these wonderful, patient folk. They are a sweet, gentle people and one elderly babuschka-clad woman even gave me a kiss when I bought 5 sunflowers. Of course, I had asked for one sunflower, but didn't have the heart to return four of them after she had (supposedly) misunderstood me. Anyway, five sunflowers grace our living room table.
We really are enjoying ourselves. The city has many beautiful sections and we'll try to get some pictures across the web soon. The faculty at the school is genuinely wonderful and we have had dozens of social events already. Tonight the "arts" faculty is off to dinner followed by a jazz club downtown. Tomorrow we get to meet the students who will be new to AISB this year. It's a whirl, in a good way.
Love to all,
Millie
We are just delighted to hear from you through the wonders of cyberspace! Over here we have been attending sessions called "Information Technology" that will bring us up to speed on all that's available through computer resources. When these sessions are at the end of a day, my brain just lets some of it spill over onto the floor ---like the water in my wash machine. There is much to absorb in this International Curriculum, one spin-off of which is to appreciate what it feels like to be a student again.
Meanwhile, life in Romania just gets more interesting every minute. Buying an iron ---now there's an experience. By the miracle of Latin roots, we were able to determine that the clerk wanted us to pay for the iron and the alarm clock separately. After that we were quite baffled, and the more puzzled we looked, the faster the speed of her Romanian. Ed did manage to distinguish the word "guarantee' and a security person came to our rescue pointing us in the direction of the "guarantee" cue around the corner. We debated the pros and cons of waiting it out; as it turns out the acquisition of a guarantee is a serious matter. The clerk officiously took the iron out and plugged it in, pointing and chattering in Romanian while all I could do was give him the ubiquitos thumbs up and hope that it didn't mean something bad in Romania. He filled out papers, I signed them and then the stamping begins. The Romanians LOVE stamping stuff. (When you leave a grocery store, there is a stamper at every exit. Of course, the first time we had no idea. Ed sailed right by and the stamper had to chase us and then try to find which bag we put the receipt!!) Anyways, so then this guarantee clerk starts all over again, this time with the clock, setting it, turning on the radio, the alarm..... stamp, stamp, stamp, stamp.
Sunday morning about 8 of us took a lovely walk around one of Bucharest's lakes, after which we went to the farmer's market where you can find the best tasting nectarines in the world. We are going to be so grateful for those Romanian lessons as I am about tired of playing charades with all these wonderful, patient folk. They are a sweet, gentle people and one elderly babuschka-clad woman even gave me a kiss when I bought 5 sunflowers. Of course, I had asked for one sunflower, but didn't have the heart to return four of them after she had (supposedly) misunderstood me. Anyway, five sunflowers grace our living room table.
We really are enjoying ourselves. The city has many beautiful sections and we'll try to get some pictures across the web soon. The faculty at the school is genuinely wonderful and we have had dozens of social events already. Tonight the "arts" faculty is off to dinner followed by a jazz club downtown. Tomorrow we get to meet the students who will be new to AISB this year. It's a whirl, in a good way.
Love to all,
Millie
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Millie writes this today:
Well, the endless "to do" lists are slowly replacing the party atmosphere that greeted us on our arrival just under a week ago. I daresay that the week went by "faster" for us than for most of you. As I type this in the library, I am surrounded by my new friends, all of us trying to wade through the yards of internet information that we trust will spit out the right cell phone to buy! Being teachers of course, this process could take days! Ed's words: "If I get this one, it will end up owing ME money!" Music to his ears.
We spent the day in "culture shock" workshops, faculty meetings and being introduced to the International curriulum by which this school abides. At this point, we have not met any staff other than new faculty and boy, are we ever getting to be buddy-buddy! The weekend in the mountains was divine, replete with a day of cycling, hiking, amazing food, and singing one verse of every song that the group ever knew!! When we got back, we were delighted to find a washer and dryer hooked up in our apartment, and almost immediately "undelighted" when upon first try, it spewed water all over the floor and flooded the kitchen. This type of thing is likely not unexpected in Bucharest apartments as every room has a drain in the middle of it. This would have offered some immediate solution to the condition, except for the fact that the drain hole in the kitchen had been sealed! WHO KNEW??? Anyhow, to do the wash at all may have been ill-advised at this time, as we have no hot water. Mom, I am able to relate some hard-to-believe memories of boiling water on the stove, pouring it into the tub, adding some cold and voila ---- it's a bath! Welcome to Bucharest.
The weather has finally broken out of its scourging hot temperatures and we can turn our air conditioner down. Yes, this same apartment has AC. Mind you, it's located in a little dark hall and bedroom doors need to be closed to encourage any of it getting to the main living area of the house. The apartment is very large, which was a lovely surprise. We are exactly 5 minutes from the school in our little yellow VW Polo. As I mentioned in an earlier email, all new teachers are zipping around in a carbon copy of this car -- all yellow! Won't we be a sight arriving at school every morning! Maybe this is intentional, as judging from the way the locals drive, I expect there to be a plethora of fender-benders. This way, the police will have a heads-up before they even arrive at the scene. Oh, it's one of THEM again!!
We live on the fourth floor where our senses are treated to a fine view accompanied by an (almost) constant chorus of dogs. The city is well equipped with canines of the roaming variety, and we had quite a time of it one morning as we naively traipsed along a side road, exploring the neighbourhood behind our apartment. We got through the snarling only to discover that the "street" was a dead end. We were not so brave when we turned ourselves around to face the dogs that, you guessed it, were now much braver. Welcome to Bucharest.
We have so much to write, but will have mercy on you and try to wrap up information in small bits and pieces. We hope you are all well and happy and enjoying the "dog days of summer". Just a minute --- could that wonderful, old saying have originated in Bucharest?
Millie
Well, the endless "to do" lists are slowly replacing the party atmosphere that greeted us on our arrival just under a week ago. I daresay that the week went by "faster" for us than for most of you. As I type this in the library, I am surrounded by my new friends, all of us trying to wade through the yards of internet information that we trust will spit out the right cell phone to buy! Being teachers of course, this process could take days! Ed's words: "If I get this one, it will end up owing ME money!" Music to his ears.
We spent the day in "culture shock" workshops, faculty meetings and being introduced to the International curriulum by which this school abides. At this point, we have not met any staff other than new faculty and boy, are we ever getting to be buddy-buddy! The weekend in the mountains was divine, replete with a day of cycling, hiking, amazing food, and singing one verse of every song that the group ever knew!! When we got back, we were delighted to find a washer and dryer hooked up in our apartment, and almost immediately "undelighted" when upon first try, it spewed water all over the floor and flooded the kitchen. This type of thing is likely not unexpected in Bucharest apartments as every room has a drain in the middle of it. This would have offered some immediate solution to the condition, except for the fact that the drain hole in the kitchen had been sealed! WHO KNEW??? Anyhow, to do the wash at all may have been ill-advised at this time, as we have no hot water. Mom, I am able to relate some hard-to-believe memories of boiling water on the stove, pouring it into the tub, adding some cold and voila ---- it's a bath! Welcome to Bucharest.
The weather has finally broken out of its scourging hot temperatures and we can turn our air conditioner down. Yes, this same apartment has AC. Mind you, it's located in a little dark hall and bedroom doors need to be closed to encourage any of it getting to the main living area of the house. The apartment is very large, which was a lovely surprise. We are exactly 5 minutes from the school in our little yellow VW Polo. As I mentioned in an earlier email, all new teachers are zipping around in a carbon copy of this car -- all yellow! Won't we be a sight arriving at school every morning! Maybe this is intentional, as judging from the way the locals drive, I expect there to be a plethora of fender-benders. This way, the police will have a heads-up before they even arrive at the scene. Oh, it's one of THEM again!!
We live on the fourth floor where our senses are treated to a fine view accompanied by an (almost) constant chorus of dogs. The city is well equipped with canines of the roaming variety, and we had quite a time of it one morning as we naively traipsed along a side road, exploring the neighbourhood behind our apartment. We got through the snarling only to discover that the "street" was a dead end. We were not so brave when we turned ourselves around to face the dogs that, you guessed it, were now much braver. Welcome to Bucharest.
We have so much to write, but will have mercy on you and try to wrap up information in small bits and pieces. We hope you are all well and happy and enjoying the "dog days of summer". Just a minute --- could that wonderful, old saying have originated in Bucharest?
Millie
Finally settled (dust, that is)
Hi all! We arrived easily and reasonably well adjusted, both physically and mentally, on the appointed day, and were quite overwhelmed by a large airport welcoming party from the American International School of Bucharest, ready to whisk us off to our appointed lodgings. Great beginning! Then we learned to our bemusement that they had not really been expecting us at all at that time, but rather, had been awaiting a different group of teachers who had been delayed by storms etc. and who were, even as the cell-phone-frantic administration sorted out the situation, partying in Warsaw, ready to arrive the next day. We were actually scheduled to arrive much later that same evening. (Wires crossed somewhere in the email network of communications, I suppose.) Once it was sorted out that it was us and not them, we fought our way through horrendous rush hour traffic, through suburban Bucharest, with our jovial and intrepid administrator, Arnie, at the wheel.
He deposited us at our digs. Now we had lived in apartments before, but this one, by any standard is massive. Nine foot ceilings, tiled floors in kitchen, bathrooms AND large balconies (2)! Hardwood floors newly refinished. Large and airy windows. This place was built according to the aesthetics characteristic of Soviet era architecture, we are enjoying the legendary Eastern Bloc workmanship. So there's a piece of baseboard missing. Maybe the lightshade in the bedroom is gone and the drain in the kitchen floor is plugged. And what if the washing machine empties onto the kitchen floor. At least you've got one! We enjoy watching the swallows building their nests right outside the bedroom window, and the dogs you may have heard about? yep, they bark and revel all night long, fortunately at intervals. "Tackle everything with a sense of bemusement--that's the way to get through your Romanian experience." --advice from our IT man here at the school. Sage words indeed.
Finally, last night, after our fabulous weekend in the Carpathian Mountains (near Bran, Brasov), we managed to find the time to utilize an arsenal of cleaning supplies that we garnered from a department store near here, to tackle a layer of dust on everything, and to scrape away the glue and cement that these fine aforementioned construction artisans had left for us.
But really, everyone we will be working with is SO nice. We live in a block with 3 other teacher couples, and by any comparison, we are having a wonderful time so far, and are optimistic that it'll only get better yet. More (much more) later.
Friends, if you wish to email your Romaniac buddies privately, we are reached at ednmillie@hotmail.com .
He deposited us at our digs. Now we had lived in apartments before, but this one, by any standard is massive. Nine foot ceilings, tiled floors in kitchen, bathrooms AND large balconies (2)! Hardwood floors newly refinished. Large and airy windows. This place was built according to the aesthetics characteristic of Soviet era architecture, we are enjoying the legendary Eastern Bloc workmanship. So there's a piece of baseboard missing. Maybe the lightshade in the bedroom is gone and the drain in the kitchen floor is plugged. And what if the washing machine empties onto the kitchen floor. At least you've got one! We enjoy watching the swallows building their nests right outside the bedroom window, and the dogs you may have heard about? yep, they bark and revel all night long, fortunately at intervals. "Tackle everything with a sense of bemusement--that's the way to get through your Romanian experience." --advice from our IT man here at the school. Sage words indeed.
Finally, last night, after our fabulous weekend in the Carpathian Mountains (near Bran, Brasov), we managed to find the time to utilize an arsenal of cleaning supplies that we garnered from a department store near here, to tackle a layer of dust on everything, and to scrape away the glue and cement that these fine aforementioned construction artisans had left for us.
But really, everyone we will be working with is SO nice. We live in a block with 3 other teacher couples, and by any comparison, we are having a wonderful time so far, and are optimistic that it'll only get better yet. More (much more) later.
Friends, if you wish to email your Romaniac buddies privately, we are reached at ednmillie@hotmail.com .
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