Slowly Catching Up

Well, after one month in Ploiesti, I can accomplish a few things: use public transportation without getting hopelessly lost (sometimes), ask for a beer and where the bathroom is (and a few other things), and post photos online. Go to Winkflash.com and type in my username (jcridlinmoore) and secret word (moe), and enjoy the first taste of this wonderful new home I've found for myself. Romania is a beautiful country full of beautiful and kind people, and as I continue to learn more about the language and my new neighbors, I can barely contain my excitement. I think that, while I'm getting this blog off the ground, it makes sense for me to focus on specific areas -- and slowly build for you all a broad picture of this country, so:

Transportation: This seems as apt a subject to start with as any. Getting around in Romania is, at all times, a somewhat harrowing and invigorating experience. Traffic rules are obeyed voluntarily, roads (and sidewalks) are in various stages of deterioration, vehicles themselves are rolling pieces of improvisational art. There is, first and foremost, little or no public money to maintain infrastructure. And there is often very little private money to buy newer vehicles or even parts. And so your average Romanian citizen is a self-trained virtuoso in mechanics and fabrication. Somehow, they manage to tack and bind their cars and trucks together in a ways that works, and continues to work. Everything is worn, is older, has the patina of age and use, and yet somehow rattles down the road. The same could be said for the huge concrete apartment blocks, or the plumbing. Years of having to make do with less have created a society of supremely enterprizing and improvisational people. Romanians are proud of what they have, and how they maintain it, even when it amounts to relatively little. Much can be learned from this outlook, I think.

That's it for now. Let me know what you think (and check out Winkflash).