A Month of Changes

Hello faithful readers!

Well, we have now been here in Bucharest for one month. Crazy! To celebrate, we thought we'd post 31 observations of how life here is different from life in the US:

1. Time difference - being seven hours ahead of friends and family makes it harder to keep in touch via phone and skype.
2. Our washing machine is in the kitchen. Interesting...
3. We have no dryer and must dry ALL of our clothes on a drying rack on the balcony.
4. We have a gas stove with no temperature gauge (so all our temps for cooking are approximate).
5. We use public transportation all the time (buses, metro, trams).
6. We still do not have wireless internet after trying to get it for three weeks.
7. Our apartment building is in the middle of the city. Sometimes evenings aren't so quiet and fresh air from open windows is not really an option.
8. Walking to the grocery store is a weekly (and sometimes biweekly) event.
9. Language...
10. Tasty salad dressing has not been found yet.
11. In order to receive a package, we must take two buses. Our first time it was hard to find, but now we know.
12. You can find taco seasoning at Carrefour (similar to Wal-mart), but nowhere else.
13. We had never been to Ikea until we moved to Romania.
14. Ikea is the only place you can find ziplocs.
15. Our daily schedule is very different and always subject to change. Typically, we have breakfast, do language study, have lunch, get out in the city for a few hours, then come home for dinner.
16. The pizza has very little sauce on it. Most Romanians add ketchup (which is pretty good).
17. Slippers for guests are an essential element in every Romanian home (because, it would be culturally unacceptable to go barefoot or wear shoes inside).
18. Most stores only have one type of thing (appliances, food, clothes, etc.). For example, if you want food, school supplies, and clothes, you have to go to three different stores (unless you go to Carrefour, which is far).
19. Beds do not have bedspreads, they have duvets. We had never heard of a duvet until moving here.
20. You have assigned seats in the movie theatre and they are serious about sticking to your seat.
21. Everyone holds on to some kind of railing on the bus and the metro. If you don't hold on, you will fall due to the jerkiness.
22. On the bus and trams, you must scan your card. But it is more like an honor system of whether or not you scan your card (many times we were the only people that scanned cards).
23. When using public transportation, the doors do not stay open very long and you must rush in and out. Most people stand by the door before the bus/metro stops.
24. Most of the ice cream here is actually gelato, which is awesome! Just can't have it everyday...
25. There is no shredded cheese, and milk is not refrigerated at the store.
26. Note cards do not exist in Romania.
27. The typical dress for church is much more conservative.
28. DVD players that play movies from the States must be "universal."
29. There is a lot of graffiti in Bucharest.
30. They have castles older than our country. (see previous post)
31. Most people are very friendly, help us in our limited Romanian, and are very forgiving when we try to speak Romanian.

This is not a comprehensive list, but there are only 31 days in the month of October.  :)

Thanks for reading!