Given that this is a relatively normal week (for example, no handsome American dragging me off to Budapest this week), I thought it might be a nice time to do a "week in the life" type thing. And, also, I'm procrastinating. What a great way to do it.
Sunday morning...I slept through. Given that I went to bed at 5:30 am, this made sense. I needed some hours in bed to recover from the fun night before at Oldies, a ridiculous dance club here in Brasov that plays an equally ridiculous selection of music. So, late nights follow. (Although we must also account for the time change, which skipped an hour and made everything a little later.) And with them, late awakenings.
Monday I had meetings with students starting at 9:30. These meetings are related to my Effective English Writing class. Their first drafts of the first assignment were due last Thursday. Because of the limited schedule (7 class meetings the whole semester), the only way they can get feedback from me on their first drafts is to have a one-on-one meeting with me.
And of course, the ones who show up are the best students. The meetings were productive - we did a lot of simplifying. The silly part is that we have to meet at McDonalds. But there's a good reason for this - it's the only place (aside from KFC) where you can buy something at the counter and then sit at your table undisturbed. A lot of students feel uncomfortable meeting at a cafe where they feel pressured to buy something. But at McDonalds, it's not a big deal. Seeing as I was sitting there for several hours, I had an orange juice and later a cappuccino, so as not to be rude. In the evening, I finished reading the first drafts, as well as make up assignments from people who missed class the week before; updated grades and attendance on Yahoo (I set up a class Yahoo group for such things); and sent some e-mails to the students.
Tuesday involved some boring moments; my apartment is not very inspiring. This is what happens when you don't have an office but still have work to do. On Tuesday I did some planning for various things - mostly American Culture Club, a little for advising. In the late afternoon I took off for a meeting, and ran into my (former?) Romanian tutor on the way. I haven't seen her since January, and I didn't even recognize her - she lost weight and dyed her hair. So we had an awkward and brief conversation, and promised to stay in touch on e-mail. I also ran into one of my students from last semester, who I swear grew like 5 inches. Or maybe she was wearing heels and I wasn't? I dunno. But she was tall.
The meeting, for the American Culture Club, was our first real meeting at the public library, which has graciously given us the space for at least 2 hours a week, as well more when we need it for events. We had a small turn out with just me and 5 students, but it was productive. We talked about our first event, which was over the weekend - the Multicultural Film Forum. We also talked about some of our upcoming events and leadership in the club. Next week we're having a visit from a Fulbright professor, so we discussed some of things we can ask him about. We're also planning a weekly documentary film series for Fridays, but we're still deciding which films to show. I think it's going well. I think. But sometimes emotions fly high and people start yelling in Romanian. This is when I get lost.
Wednesday I purposely slept in, because I've been sick for three weeks and finally had some time to rest up. When I woke up I realized I had a meeting with a student to run to, so I quickly got ready for the day. Sadly, she didn't show up, so I just sat for half an hour. To be fair, it wasn't rudeness or forgetfulness. I honestly think she didn't get my e-mails. This seems to be a problem a little bit too regularly, with e-mails to me and from me.
After waiting, I headed off to Kaufland for some grocery shopping. This is practically a whole-day event. First is the matter of catching the bus - which I happened to work out just fine on this day. However, sometimes I have to wait for 10 minutes or so. The bus ride takes about 20 minutes, as I am going to the end of the line, and it's not very direct. I was prepared for Kaufland: shopping carts cost a refundable 50 bani (about 20 cents). I know what it's like to show up without one, so I always check before leaving for Kaufland. And since I've been there, I also understood the woman who asked me if I had 50 bani I could give her in exchange for 1 leu, which was exciting. I like helping people - and I don't get many opportunities here. Inside the store, I bought many of my favorite things (pears, strawberries, the best bread ever), but skipped the avocados, which have been climbing in price since I got to Romania.
Wednesday afternoon and evening I spent planning. Most of this was for my presentation tomorrow, at a local high school. I also had a little work to do for class - specifically for next week. This week I only have one class, and I taught the same lesson last week, so planning is minimal. Next week I have two new classes to plan for, and three to teach, so I try to balance the load by getting some work done this week.
Today (Thursday) I had one morning class for Discourse of American Media. The first half was me talking about the article we read about media as political actors; the second half was students presenting their Class Project assignment. I called it that because they freak out when they hear "Presentation." So today there were supposed to be 4 partner groups presenting for a total of 8 students speaking. I had three actually speak, and all on their own. One of the presentations was excellent (she found 5 different media stories about Bush in Ukraine and did a decent job analyzing them), one was sufficient, and the other was a good attempt. But I was proud of all of them because they actually came to class prepared for their presentation. This can be rare.
When I got home, I learned something that made me celebrate the fact that I took a shower this morning, and washed dishes last night, and more importantly, did laundry yesterday. However, my plans to mop today, as well as my plans to do fun things like wash my hands and flush the toilet, must be postponed. Why? Someone apparently hasn't paid the water bill for awhile. This is the first time this has happened to me, surprisingly. I have a tricky water situation, as my water is on my neighbor's bill. Generally she comes by and timidly knocks on my door to ask for the money. She hasn't been here for awhile. Did she already move? I hope not. If so, I'm screwed, because I don't have the bill. If I don't see her tonight I will have to 1. suffer a showerless day tomorrow, and 2. call my landlord. I know you're wondering why I didn't call him the instant water didn't come out of the faucet. Well, he's in Bucharest until tomorrow, my neighbor pays the bill, plus I have 2 litres of water from the store. You see, This is Romania. You just gotta go with the flow (or lack of it).
I quickly ran to pay my internet bill in fear of losing my connection to the world. I have to go pay it at the cashier, which is a 20 minute walk from here. Strangely, I like the walk - strange, because it's along the main road, with all of its exhaust and dust in my eyes. But it's interesting nonetheless. Afterwards I wandered through the fresh fruit, flowers, and vegetable market and bought more strawberries. Now I'm sitting at home, thinking about what to make for dinner, thinking about what to wear tomorrow, thinking about what else I need to do to prep for tomorrow, and trying not to think about the water situation.
Tomorrow, Friday, I will spend the morning at an academic conference here in Brasov. Most attendees are from Romania, with the keynote speakers coming from the U.S. and Hungary. The conference is called "Interface Between Theoretical and Applied Research," which seems at the same time possibly vague, boring, or interesting. I can only make it for a few hours. Hopefully those are interesting. In the afternoon I have a presentation at Andrei Saguna High School, which is considered by many to be the best high school in town. The presentation is about studying in the U.S. at the undergraduate level. It's mostly an introduction to the idea, since the college experience in the U.S. is totally different than the idea most Romanians (especially in Brasov) have of being a university student. After the presentation, I'm apparently hopping a train to Sibiu for the weekend. Sibiu is 2.5-3 hours by train, to the West. I've been told some Fulbright women are gathering there. Should be a good time.
Which means that Saturday I will be in Sibiu, hopefully getting to know it a little bit. I've been there twice but only for a matter of hours: once for a Fulbright dinner, and once for a train to Timisoara. And it's good to get out and see more of Romania, especially my neighboring cities!
No comments:
Post a Comment