Update from Bucuresti (Bucharest)

The past couple of days have been indeed not boring at all. It seems time flies in this country. There is a strange feeling that the day is spent running from one place to another on these very congested streets.

We've been trying to sign up for a cell phone plan for the past two days. It seems the process is as complicated as possible. The first day I went to try to sign on with a plan, I was told I needed a rent agreement in addition to the passport. Since we don't have a rent agreement, I enlisted the help of a friend to get the phones for us. The second day we went, we were told we also needed a copy of the most recent electric bill or phone bill in addition to the previous documents. So, we went there again later and successfully put in an order for the cell phones, only to find out we have to go back the following day to pick them up.

We get around town by taking taxis everywhere. Taxis seem to be the only inexpensive thing around. For about 2-3 dollars, one could almost cross the city from one end to the other. Taxi fares went up a few months ago and they will go up again on Jan 1, according to some of the drivers. So far we've had strange experiences with cabs so far: today we took a cab that had a stalled engine at every corner, while later one was so noisy it hurt our ears. Needless to say, they beat public transportation in comfort.

Today we also did our first 'big' grocery shopping at a supermarket called Carefour (a French chain meaning "Crossroads"). We only got a few things, but the bill was about $45, roughly 1.4 million lei. Overall we find prices to be very high, even higher that the US, fact which continues to baffle us greatly because the average salary in Romania is roughly $200 and there is no shortage of shopping crowds anywhere you go. There is a buying frenzy in the air, it seems, perhaps worsened by the upcoming holiday season. Maneuvering a cart at Carefour today was absolutely painstaking, there were without a doubt a few bruised ribs and toes consequently.

Yesterday we saw our first apartment (of many). We were pleased with the findings, from the way the building and the apartment looked, to the location and the neighborhood it was found in. The price: $1040 per month! This is a 1000 sqft apartment on the third level of a 4-storey building. It is a bit on the older side and has no central AC, but it is clean and the building has been well taken care of over the years, something not very common in Bucharest where most building have fallen to negligence.

Tomorrow we plan to visit the school where our girls will attend, something they are very excited about. In the afternoon, we'll be attending an 'Operation Christmas Child' presentation at the clinic where we will be having our mission base. This project is sponsored by the Samaritan's Purse and involves about 200 children coming from needy families. This will be very special for Daniela as she sponsored a child with her own money this year.

Blessings from us and more updates as soon as we get a more reliable Internet connection.

- C