by Last night I got stopped by the local police, having just put up an ad for teaching. They told me that putting up posters isn’t allowed and can incur a fine. I pleaded ignorance (to be honest I was ignorant – I see so many signs for firewood and apartments and computer repairs and lost cats that I thought they might well be perfectly legal). The cops weren’t aggressive in any way and certainly didn’t fine me, but it’s a real bugger for me because the ads are effective and nothing else seems to be, and because I derived a certain amount of pleasure from making them and putting them up. They made me feel I was part of this city. Oh well. University campuses are still fair game I guess.
There are a lot of cops in this place, and that’s why I won’t risk putting up any more ads. The police often occupy themselves with stopping cyclists in the middle of town, because pedestrianised means pedestrianised, and that means no bikes. Bloody crazy if you ask me. One of my students thought so too, and said the policy was brought in by the current mayor whom he called “a stupid man”.
Today I got the keys to my new apartment. It’s fantastic, it really is. I’ve got a close-up view of the Orthodox cathedral with Romanian flags fluttering everywhere and people milling around. So much life. And inside there are more mod cons than I realised. I’ll miss this hotel a little bit though. I met two other long-term guests (inmates?) from overseas, both extremely friendly, open-minded people, as you might imagine someone who decides to live in Romania to be. The first was a French guy who has gone now. After chatting to him for a few minutes in French I quickly realised that my French is still miles better than my Romanian. The other guy, Tomás, is from Chile. Just a really nice bloke.
I won my third game of Words with Friends by 60 or 70 points and now lead my cousin 2-1. On my very first turn I had AIOQSU? (the question mark meaning a blank). My cousin had played an S on her first turn, and somehow I found SeQUOIAS for 109. Even with a lead of that size I didn’t feel entirely safe. I then started a game with a stranger purely by accident. That game was an eye-opener. I made four words of at least six letters. He didn’t make any. He kept the board really, really tight, and beat me easily, 463 to 351.
