Group C's questions...

-How did your camera get stolen?

My camera got stolen by my own stupidity. I took a trip to five different countries over my two week Christmas break and I took my camera with me. I took a bus to the Budapest, Hungary airport and from there I flew to Berlin, Germany. I was traveling with a friend who had fallen asleep on the floor in the airport. I thought it was funny so I took a picture and then packed my camera back into my bag. But I didn’t bury it and so when I got to Berlin and went to go site seeing I found that someone at the airline had taken my camera. I should have carried it on with me, but I didn’t. When I got back to Romania I wrote the airline a letter, and sent a few e-mails but I never heard from them. At least it got stolen at the beginning though, and not the end. That way I only lost one picture of the trip, not two whole weeks worth.

When my parents come to visit me, they’re going to bring me a new one for my birthday present. That just means now I have to wait until June before I can take any more pictures.

-Is the camera the only thing that you have had stolen?

Sadly, the camera wasn’t the only thing I’ve had stolen. When winter first hit, my sister sent me a ski cap with the Detroit Tigers’ logo on it (they’re my favorite team and baseball’s my favorite sport). I loved that hat, but it got stolen too. And I’m pretty sure one of my students took it. By now I’m ok with it; I realize that my possessions aren’t as important as I once thought they were. I can live just fine without a Tigers’ ski hat.

-What kind of internet access do you get?

I have really good internet at home. It’s broad band.


-What kind of things do students use as soccer ball substitutes?

Tin cans or tennis balls are used often. Any type of ball they can find also be used-basketballs, volleyballs, whatever.


-Do students or other people follow professional soccer? The national team? Other professional sports?

People here LOVE to follow soccer! Each large city has their own team, and people are very dedicated to the team of their choice. Steaua is the name of the Bucharest team, and that’s the one all my students follow. Because it’s the capital’s team, it’s also considered the “national team.”

They also follow other countries national teams. Real Madrid is popular; and David Beckham just put L.A. on the map by moving to their team. During the World Cup this past summer, every game was watched by almost everyone even though Romania wasn’t playing. This is a soccer-crazed country.

-What's on TV? "Romanian Idol" perhaps?

Ummm…I’m not really sure. I don’t have a television so the only time I get to watch it is when I visit friends. My friend Kim says there’s a dancing show, kind of like “Dancing with the Stars” called “Dancez pentru tine.” Cartoon network is translated into Romanian. There’s also the Monica Gobel Show which is a reality TV show about an 18 year old model who married a 60-something year old man. Though most TV shows are old American series, still in English with Romanian sub-tittles. Because we are so close to Hungary we also have Hungarian TV, but I don’t ever watch that even when I have the chance because I don’t understand a word. For some reason there’s also re-runs of The Simpson’s, but it’s in German.

-Do you think that the classes are more challenging in Romania than they are in the US?

No, I’d say if anything the academic work is more challenging in America but there are different challenges over here in Romania. A lack of resources is a big one-students have to provide the chalk for the classrooms and if they can’t afford chalk then there simply isn’t any.

-Is it starting to get warmer? Are the trees starting to get leaves?

It is starting to get warmer. Most days are in the 50s, and I love it! As far as the trees go, they would have leaves if the trees had any branches. I’m not sure why, but when it first started getting warmer out a group of men went around and cut off all the tree branches. It’s very sad, all the trees look naked. I’ve asked several friends about why they did that, and nobody seams to know. Everyone just said “they’ve always done it.”

-Are there big national or international chain stores? Is there a local McDonalds?

There are lots of chain stores, but not many that we have back in the States (other than fast food). Leonardo’s is a shoe store that I’ve seen in every Romanian city I’ve ever been in, as well as giant Wal-Mart type stores called Real, Metro and Kaufland. Real and Metro are French chains and Kaufland is a German chain.

As far as fast food, most cities have at least a McDonalds or a KFC and the bigger cities have a Pizza Hut. But they’re really expensive, so I hardly ever go. Plus there’s not any in Zalau so that helps. Zalau also doesn't have a Real, Metro or Kaufland-but we do have a Leonardo's!

In Romania there's a different type of fast food. Since most people can't afford to eat out, going out for a pizza at a little restaurant is very special. Or eating a chicken sandwich with french fries is also a treat.