by Last night I FaceTimed my brother. I really enjoyed our chat. Years ago I found my brother a bit hot-headed or aggressive but now he’s simply a really nice guy. And he’s happy. The trials of 2012 and ’13 now seem like ancient history. Last week he took a very comprehensive dyslexia test that was free with the Army. When he was five or six he complained of “words jumping about on the page” and that’s absolutely what he experienced in this test. Not just words but squares or other shapes. He clearly tested positive for dyslexia, and will now get some special coloured glasses.
Finding somewhere to live has become a bit of a nightmare. On Tuesday I looked at a place that was actually quite good but the agent talked incessantly and tried to pressure me into making an instant decision about where to spend the next 365 days of my life (most rental contracts are for a minimum of one year). The more she talked, the less I wanted to know. One agency told me that Timișoara was the most expensive city in Romania to rent, including Bucharest. A quick look at any of the equivalents of TradeMe (there are several in Romania) confirmed that they were having me on. Dealing with owners on the phone has been a challenge. Speaking a foreign language on the phone is hard enough anyway (no gestures or facial expressions to help me), but many owners are suspicious of foreigners, so I’ve usually been swimming upstream from the moment I’ve opened my mouth. I had to laugh when one owner added “Exclus străini” (“No foreigners!”) to the bottom of his online ad as soon as I got off the phone with him. Yesterday my tennis partner agreed to accompany me to an agency. He was very good: “He’s not a refugee! He’s an English teacher!” This agency has an apartment for me to look at tomorrow, so I’m hopeful, but I’m cutting it a bit fine now. I’ve given some thought as to what I’ll do if I have to leave the country.
Romania’s parliamentary elections took place on Sunday. The Social Democratic Party, or PSD, easily won with 46%. I have virtually no handle on Romanian politics, so I have no idea what to make of that. Rather shockingly, turnout was only 40%. Were most people so content with their lot that they didn’t feel the need to vote? Or did they think that nothing would change whoever got in? Or that the PSD were bound to win, so why bother? Or that they didn’t want to participate due to the level of corruption?
There’s snow on the ground this morning, and we’re currently a couple of degrees below zero. Teaching is still going well and I’ll talk about that next time.
