It's not Winter in California when...

o You can see your breath in your bathroom and kitchen.
o You are stepping on an iced puddle at 10:50am.
o You can still see your breath at 11am, and again starting at 4am.
o You have to burn wood every single evening, and sure it's fun, but it has to be done!

There's some others, but here's a video of the first snow I've had in Romania, and I think ever. I've seen and felt hailing a few times in my life, but never fluffy cottenlike snow. I was staying over at Mihaela's that weekend, and her block's heating was t-shirt and shorts weather.
Blocks all have their heat controlled by the city (some apartments can adjust how much heat comes in through the radiators, but not at Mihaela's place). You can hear her asking her son if he's "cu minte" (which means have you been "of mind" or have you been good?) and in the background you can hear him say "da" (which means yes!). =) Dragos is way like my godbrother Evan.

Why Romania fits me....

I think Romania is a great fit for me, and I didn't realize it until after I ended up here.
Romania is beautiful, and while there are things like abandoned dogs all over and cement block apartments, I still think it's beautiful.

I was made paranoid of the dogs, how they're wild and may bite you, but I've observed that if you leave them alone, they'll leave you alone.
I won't pet them, but they're cute and generally they look healthy, I mean their coats are shinny and I can't see their ribs. They're kinda like people/wolves, they get in a clump, have a conversation, and then they split up and wander and walk about getting food or finding a warm patch of sun to sleep in (sorta like cats).

The cement block apartments look industrial, but the insides aren't bad. Some people have fancy doors inside, and my home has hard wood floors. Actually, most homes I've been to have great insulation. I've been to a few other homes so far, and it's been fun. People pet my face and smile at me. One family friend knows a bit of English, so he's been helpful. His daughter learn.......class starting. Later!!!!!!!

(Pauza [recess]...)
(disclaimer: my spelling will be off, I apoligize while I'm transitioning, I'm getting bits of French confused with English and Romania.)

Anyway....today is Miercuri (Wednesday) and I feel like my language is improving. I'm still working on my "r's" and my "t's (with a swivel tail)".
Seriously! These are the two sounds I have the hardest time in the World making!! Probably in life. Romanians take their R's very seriously, they can roll them for minutes on end. Those of you, especially from Poly, know I can't roll my r's. I think I'm getting better at faking it...
The t with swivel sounds like: tzzzzz, like "eat" in Chinese. I can make that sound, thanks to genetics, but still have trouble incorborating it into words.

Guess what else! Ciorba...(cha-orb-ba) is a traditional meal Romanians eat before every lunch meal. Guess what's it's made of??? Heart of cats!
Just kidding. It's like beef stew!!! Except with pork or chicken and not stew. But it's like my favorite food in the US! I think Mom's is still the best, her food always is =P, but hey, I don't mind eating a similar thing Every day!

All in all, I like it here. Did I mention they have the hottest boots ever! I want, but I'll probably have to wait until after I leave Romania, luggage space is limited.

For those of you wanting to learn some Romanian, "byki.com" is a site you can download flash cards. There's not many, but it's helpful. You can play them slow too to hear the words.