Our address? Posted just above the main door, just in case anyone forgets...So yesterday afternoon I was sitting in the kitchen checking my email when I heard American English being spoken in the hallway; disheveled hair and all, I opened the door and... unsure of what to say - why did I rush to open the door? - Hi! Are you English? (duh.) There were two women in the hall, one American (Northern California) and one Romanian. We got to talking - why are you here why are you here - and Cynthia and her husband and their Romanian friend work/volunteer here/run an orphanage for HIV positive (street?) kids. They come to Constanta several times a year, staying for 10 days (ish) at a time and their office is right down the hall. So that was neat meeting them, and I've got their contact info... which I suppose isn't entirely necessary as I could just go and knock on their door!
So, Constanta. After a few more days here I'm really starting to like the city. People seem semi-friendly and not at all pretentious, women work out at the gym and there is a bakery! just down the street. It's sunny and warm-ish, the food is good (and inexpensive) and wine is cheap; people speak English and we have Canadian friends here! Yay! So, some more about the city.
Constanta (pronounced Constantza) is home to approximately 350,000 people, and is the largest port city on the Black Sea. The second largest city in Romania (and oldest) was founded around 500BC when Greeks founded the colony of Tomis for trading and commercial purposes; the Danube river delta isn't too far away. It was renamed Constantia by Emporer Constantine (950ish) but Tomis is still all over the place. Steve's team is named Tomis, there's a Tomis Mall, a Tom mall, a Tomis boulevard, a Tomis city fortress and much more I'm sure. Other interesting factoids? Ovid was banished here (and died); it's the centre of Islam in Romania; it's home to one of the country's top handball teams (handball is HUGE here) and one of the top volleyball teams (Tomis!); there are pink buses and rules on the road total zero.
This is a bit of an aside, but on my way to the gym this morning, I saw police talking to some normal looking people on the street; and who was giving whom a good talking to? While the normal person was reaming out the police officer (who didn't get out of the car - I wish I knew what they were talking about), people in the cars stuck behind the cruiser were honking! And shaking fists out the window! Maybe this is an indication of the degree of respect people have for er, law enforcement officials? Or just law enforcement? I have no idea what crime rates are like here BUT! There seem to be absolutely no rules on the road. At a pretty main intersection near our house that sees four lanes on each side of the square, there are no lights! Wait, that's a lie. There are lights but they are flashing yellow. This means Go And Don't Get Hit. It's madness! MADNESS! So in our little Tomis car, we must be aggressive (otherwise we'd never get anywhere) but be cautious. The car is no bigger than a ladybug.
But! It's better than nothing. There has been no progress on housewares but that just means I don't have to cook and we eat at the Flora or a restaurant... fine by me I guess. It would be nice to be able to make tea, or a hot meal, but we can keep being patient... for now. Here are some pics of the place with a few randoms thrown in there for fun.
Our front door, and just inside: the kitchen is to the immediate right, bedroom second right and a living room to the left
View from the kitchen window; the sea is just behind the buildings
Kitchen and wireless hotspot
Yes, the doorways are a weeeee bit... wee. 
A wee bedroom
The living room and laundry room; there is some decent furniture but no shelf, table or desk. Stuff lives on the floor.
The view from the laundry enclave
This car is for sale by the cubic centimetre (1 euro/cm3) - is that weird?
A local coiffure, Mary Style! Even though I don't know what it means, I'd stay away from a hair place that has Frizerie on it's front window...
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