FIRSTS!

I've officially been in Romania for four weeks now! I can't believe it! I'm really not homesick yet, but on several occasions I HAVE missed the convenience of living in the States. Especially when it comes to cooking. No brownie mixes here! Canned soups are just a memory now. And edible frozen food is no longer a part of my life. All of this is probably for the better, but I admit I have had to adapt. I've also had to sort through my recipes and find ones that I can actually get ingredients for. Hmmm...it is almost dinnertime, can you tell? I didn't intend to sit down and write about food. Moving on!

I thought I'd share with you a few of my "firsts" in the last week or so.

FIRST time on the Metro by myself! I went to a new friend's birthday party and managed to find my way there and back by myself! I also met an interesting man with a snowboard who told me I had a beautiful face (in Romanian), which I suppose counts as my FIRST time getting hit on here! Yessss! Actually, I was pleased that he said this in Romanian first, because the bigger compliment for me was that it meant he thought I looked Romanian. That's what I'm going for! :-)

FIRST time getting lost came the very next day. :-) I was headed to church, and though I've ridden with teammates every other week, the weather was nice so I thought it would be a good time for me to figure out how to take the tram. It should have been easy. Just go three stops, get off and walk. But for me...well...not so much. I got off at the right stop, but then thought it didn't look right, so I got back ON the tram and went two MORE stops. By that time I knew I'd been right the first time. I couldn't figure out how to get back on the tram going the opposite direction (the stops aren't always marked well), so I started walking...in my nice Sunday church shoes, of course! I knew I had to turn down a side street, but I couldn't tell which one because although I had a map, the streets don't always have signs (or at least signs that I can see!) and I'm directionally challenged anyway! :-) Eventually I saw a group of women wearing skirts and decided to follow them. And guess what? They went right to the church! I'm not sure if they knew I was following them or not. But God certainly heard my prayer for help and I was only five minutes late! It was actually an amusing experience, and I'm glad I've been lost once now so I don't have to be concerned when (not if!) it happens again.

FIRST time teaching a class here! I had nine kids on Sunday night for my "English" Jr. Church. What a fun group of kids! We talked about being examples with our words, and they especially enjoyed singing "Keep Your Tongue From Evil", by Steve Green. The hardest thing is keeping the wide variety of ages (pre-school to fifth grade) all interested and engaged. This week I should have twelve kids, so we're already talking about finding some help for me. That'd be good! :-)

FIRST time paying a bill (other than rent) by myself! My very kind doorman (who speaks a decent amount of English), volunteered to walk me to the office of the building administrator where I had to pay it. As it turns out, the building administrator is the man who had come to read my water meter last week (which is a whole OTHER story), so we'd met already and he was well aware that I couldn't speak much Romanian. I paid the bill, and he tried to set me up with his sons. Oh Romania! It sounds much more flattering than it actually is. Everyone wants a green card. Ha!

FIRST Romanian dinner! I've made a new friend, I think, and the dinner was just the icing on the cake for the evening! She took me to a traditional restaurant and ordered me a traditional meal. I enjoyed it and especially LOVED the dessert! It was like donut/funnel cake covered in cream cheese and jelly. YUM!!! Let's not talk about calories! :-) It was a fun night, full of good food and laughter! Thanks to those of you who are praying I'll find friends. It IS happening...slowly. Please keep praying.

So those are some of my firsts! If your life seems dull, book a ticket to come visit me! Cause I can promise you...it NEVER is here!! :-)