Petrescu Update

Recently spotted, pouting like a hussy.

He is currently the manager of league leaders (obviously) FC Unirea. Appropriately known as the Chelsea of Lalomita. Word

"They're making me go to Luton, LUTON!"

Its been a good week. Met up with a guy from sunny shropshire on saturday and he took me took a few bars where English speakers have been known to lurk. I met quite a few people which was good and a bit of a relief. One girl is the most west London person I have ever met but is absolutely lovely. It was a good night and I didn't realize that I was actually quite drunk until I tried to deal with the lift when I got home.

The lessons are going ok, still got a lot of improving to do but I think at least a few people have gained something from them. It was the manager of the schools birthday today. Everyone stood in a line and he came down like the royals do thanking people (I'm not sure for what), I even got two kisses on the cheek, these continentals. He brought in some food and more worryingly a karaoke machine. A guy called Alex monopolized it with some real tunes, including a rather moving rendition of November Rain. They love the classic rock, the IT guy listens to Alice Cooper's classic, poison, all the time (he also describes Robbie Williams as a genius) and in the office theres a cheeky copy of Dio. Eventually the little party subsided and everyone went back to work, except standing in the lobby of the nursery next door, surrounded by toys, Alex kept singing with one women provocatively dancing along for another twenty minutes.

I'm off to read about Charlton and after that I'll probably end up killing myself. much love everyone

Heres how they sell coffee here, its weird:
uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3l62VTsljT4

Obor

I live in the Obor area of Bucharest. Its fair to say its not Paris, but I like it. Its always fairly busy and everything you need is close at hand. Heres a few photos


Quite
well you never know


Theres a huge "shopping centre" (don't call it market) which is a curious mix of market and department store, they seem to sell everything and I'm sure if you asked the right person there isn't much they couldn't get. You can't take photos in there so this is a picture of the less glamorous shopping destination in Obor, the market. Its run down and full of stray dogs, and it serves as a reminder that poverty is still very real.

In a small corner, come rain or shine, men gather together under these little stands to play chess. A small crowd of sometimes vocal support gathers. Some play checkers, but they aren't real men.
This is the political HQ of sector 2. It turns out the political party that gave me stuff are further right than the BNP, and the Americans have them on a list of violent, extremist parties, oh my. Their leader is also the chairman of Steaua, so dinamo it is.

Well now you've seen it, you come visit, yes?

Squatting

Here is the best picture I can get of the room which has become home. Its pretty sparse at the moment but hopefully get some more decoration soon. The door at the end goes to a little balcony room, thing. It has a panoramic view of the car park and another flat block.
This is some new decoration. Its election time and this was given to me by a political party, ooo controversial. They knocked on the door and give me this and a bright green rain mac. Seems a lot of effort when you can't vote. Its pretty so its gone up. The election is fun, Romanian politicians adopt one of several poses on their posters. My favourite is the blazer over the shoulder, in a serious, lets get down to business way.

Anyway, I have no more time to waste, my new red pen and I are of to laugh in the face of peoples best efforts.

Jibberish

Buna, englez and englezoaica! I had my first Romanian lesson today. Its full of ungodly combination of letters, such as frantuzoaica, and more accents than French. It makes your tongue do things that would make a whore blush. I feel bad for the poor girl who teaches me, she speaks as much English as I do Romanian, she has a pretty hopeless task. She teaches via a combination of pictures, hand gestures and sympathetic smiles. I only provoked one outbreak of hysteria, as a I tried to predict what the word for a Turkish man would be. I hit it hard recalling the rules I had been taught so far to come up with an epic sounding noise that vaguely represented a word, it turns out the answer was Turc.

So: Ma numesc Mark. Eu (pronounced yoy?!) sunt din Anglia. Eu sunt student el (?) Roman, lucreza la International house.

That resembles Romanian so it's a start. Also:

bine= alright/ok
multimesc= thank you
verig= please
sigur= sure
care e= which
pa=goodbye to a friend

This has been picked up from watching Seinfeld (which is on all the time) with Romanian subtitles. Hopefully this little visit will have proved educational, you have learnt more than my students. pa!

Disclaimer: There is a good chance that none of the above information is accurate.

Moving in Circles

Today was my first lesson and it feels like forever since I had to think about teaching. I have forgot most but not all of what I learnt at NILE, which is better than expected. It was a one on one lesson which is very weird. It transpires that the student is actually quite a wealthy and powerful man. His firm is one of the largest in Bucharest, their offices are very swish, some poor lady had to run and around and fetch water on my students request. We sat at one of those long conference tables which a view of the opera house. It seems so stupid that I could teach this man anything. Asked him an question about an article he had to read, it was on the theme of great business ideas, and he simply had to say what the idea was. He not only knew this but expanded to include a lot of business jargon, and I sat there like an officer junior knowing this man is cleverer than me, much cleverer than me. It was alright though, he was very nice and it will become easier when I get to know him.

Domestically things are ok. I sunk to a new kitchen low by setting fire to a tea towel which now lives burnt and defeated in a cupboard. Beginning to feel at home in the flat, strange living by myself. If someone had been there they could have told me that I was setting fire to the damn thing. Settling into a commuter life style. Hopefully I will have my own internet later, as Addy the IT guy at school wrangles with the interweb. I hope so, the cafe owner is getting pissy with me, though it means I won't get my daily fix of gangster rap.

Hopefully some fun news sometime soon

proof if ever it was needed that accordion solos are the way forward:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=be7O4m9rOZE

Second First Impressions

Despite having been to Romania before it was still a shock. At the airport someone took my bag. A man ran all over looking for it and when he thought he had it was terrible to tell him the bag he found wasnt mine, he looked quite upset! The taxi driver that had come to meet me was great and despite not knowing what each other was talking about we managed to find the desk where thankfully my bag was waiting. Someone had taken it by mistake.

I was shown around the school briefly, which has everything I could need and the people were lovely, though I can't remember any of their names. Then I was taken to my flat. The area looks like a south London housing estate would if it had been under communist rule for sixty years, but that appears to be normal. The flat is great though. Basic but then so am I so I think ill do well here. Im an internet cafe across the street but I will put up some photos once Im allowed on the buildings internet network, the explanation was well over my head. Strangely I found out today I have no control over my heating at all, when I asked who did, I was told simply - the government. I have already embarrassed myself in my local shop, who when they found out I was English started to call me mummy.

Today the teacher trainer, Serina invited me to lunch with her and another girl named Dodo. I asked why she was called Dodo and all she said was that because she was told she looked like a "fuzzy sun", no I don't understand either. She did tell me that Mark spelt with a K is a very fancy name here, so I may swan around like royalty from now on. Serina showed me around, a clothes shop which resembled a brawl and a fantastic shop which sold hundreds of English books and also CDs and DVDs. Today reminded me of what I liked about Bucharest. Its nicer than it first appears and theres plenty of museums, parks and bars.

...no sign of Dan Peterscu