Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Constanța!

Yesterday I heard from the Fulbright Commission in Romania.  I have been placed at Universitatea Ovidius in Constanța, Romania.  It is located on the Black Sea and is the fourth largest port in Europe!  I must admit I was a bit sad to be so far away from Cluj-Napoca, where the majority of my friends live (Constanța is about a 14 hour train ride away), but I am now all the more motivated to tour as much of Romania as possible!  I'm getting all the more excited to live in Romania.

On the topic of all things Romanian (which is really what this blog is about, anyway), this past Friday was my birthday.  Of course my birthday has absolutely no correlation with Romania, but my birthday gifts do.  Among other wonderful gifts, Lauren's stand out as the most Romanian, as they are, in fact, about Romania.  The first is a small guide to Romanian customs and culture.  The second is a delightful book with much humorous narrative, called The Complete Insider's Guide to Romania.  I'm quite excitedd to read it, once my teaching portfolio is complete. (Tomorrow is my last day of student teaching, Woohoo!)  Word is that it is not my only Romanian-themed gift (*cough* Kim's present *cough*) so I shall see when I am home for my break!  Hopefully I will apply for a passport renewal while I'm home.

Since I have lots of papers to grade for tomorrow, I best be going!  More information to come once I hear from the professor with whom I will be working at Ovidius.