Class B's questions answered:

- Do you consider yourself fluent in Romanian yet? Or just good enough to get around?
I’m no where near fluent yet, but I’m trying really hard to bebefore I go home in August 2008. I can do basic things, like get stamps at the post office, order off a menu in a restaurant, explain why I’m an American living in Romania, but I still struggle with un-rehearsed conversations.

- Do you miss your family and pets? (Students are intrigued by your turtles!)
I miss my family and pets very much. My twin is my best friend and I haven’t seen her in almost ten months; it’s very hard. It’s really tough to be away from home when important things happen. I was here when my cousin Clementine was born, and I’ll be here when my godson will be born this summer. I missed Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays and even friends’ weddings. But I know that what I’m doing here, not only in school but with my other projects as well, really makes a difference. I can see how my work directly helps people and that makes me feel good. Plus, I have the Internet in my apartment, we talk online a lot. My whole family meets online every Sunday to catch up, so that’s great. As far as my turtles go, I brought a Beanie Baby turtle to Romania with me as a substitute until I can see mine again. It’s not quite the same, but this one doesn’t need to have his tank cleaned.

- What do you do for fun? In your free time?
For fun I do a lot of the same things I did back in America. I hang out with my friends, listen to music, watch movies, read. On weekends and during school breaks I travel around Romania. There are a lot of Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV) in Romania so I always try to visit someone new every time I travel. That way I get to see a different city or part of the country and can sleep on someone’s couch for free. Some of the other PCV have projects that they’re working and need help with so I try to do what I can. I’m translating a website into German for a friend so she can advertise in Germany and Austria, stuff like that. But to be honest, living over here is really tiring! Walking everywhere makes my body tired, and thinking in a foreign language all day makes my brain tired so I sleep more here than I did back home.

- Have you ridden any horses?
I have ridden horses, but not here in Romania. When I was younger, my mom, sisters and I would go to a horse ranch every year for a week. That’s where I learned to ride. But since then I’ve gone on a camping trip in the Southern Alps in New Zealand on a horse, and even got to ride one of the famous dancing Lipizzaner horses in Austria. My friend Kenny, a PCV, lives in such a small village here in Romania that the village gave him a horse to use as his main mode of transportation, because there is no public transportation. I’m planning to visit Kenny sometime soon, and maybe he’ll let me ride his horse.

- What do you mean that it's illegal for you to drive?
I mean it’s illegal for me to drive because don’t have a Romanian drivers license. That and Peace Corps doesn’t allow any volunteers to drive while in service, for safety issues, so even if I did have a license I wouldn’t be allowed to anyway. But I really don’t want to-Romanians are crazy drivers! They even drive on sidewalks! And nobody wears a seat belt, so I don’t even like riding in a car. I’ll stick to walking and the bus.

- Do you feel safe in Romania as an American? Do you think there's a lot of crime?
In my city I feel very safe. Everyone knows who I am and knows why I’m here. They know that I don’t get paid, so they wouldn’t try to rob me. But when I travel I always have to be extra careful. No matter how well I speak Romanian, or how much I try to blend in I always stick out. My clothes, my haircut, even the way I walk makes it known to everyone that I’m not a local. And when I’m together with other Americans it’s even more obvious. It’s true, we Americans are very loud when together.

I don’t know if I’d say there is a lot of crime here. I think it’s about the same as any city in the States, but I think there’s more poverty here. It’s very common to see people digging through the dumpsters looking for food or clothing. And there are lots of people begging on the streets. This is also a race issue because most of the beggars and dumpster divers are Roma-also known as gypsies.

- Do people come to Romania from other countries (immigrants)?
Well, this is a very interesting question. In the area that I live in there are a lot of Hungarians and some Germans. But they didn’t move here. Their families have always lived in the area, it’s just that this part of the country used to belong to either Hungary or Germany/Austria. The borders changed, but the people stayed. There are a few immigrants from Turkey and other Baltic countries, but Romania has a different problem. All the young people are leaving. Because Romania is so poor, most 18-35 year old people are trying to leave and find work in other countries where they can make more money. Like my host family, whose two kids live outside of Romania, most of my co-workers have children elsewhere. It’s a brain-drain that the government is trying to reverse, but it’s not working very well. Maybe now that Romania’s a member of the European Union things will change.

- What's the name of your host family's granddaughter?
Her name is Alexia Boldgan.

- What kind of music is on the radio?
There’s a lot of techno, house, rap and ‘80s music. I’m not a huge fan of the music over here, so I listen to my iPod a lot. Most of the music is in English, meaning the kids hear, and use, vocabulary that they don’t really understand. I can always tell when a new song was played on the radio because the next day all my students will ask me what things mean. “Teacher Kate, what does ‘smack that’ mean?”