Thankful

I'm a couple of weeks late, but as I have read the many Facebook posts about things for which my friends are thankful, I thought I would also share some of the things for which we are thankful here in Bucharest.  I could write an entire post about why we are thankful for our children, our family and friends back in the states, our new "family" and friends around the world, and much more.  But instead, I thought I would use this opportunity to share about some of the more obscure things for which we have developed a deep gratitude.  So, in no particular order, here they are...

McDonald's

 

Please don't judge, but I have to say it..."I am so thankful for McDonald's in Bucharest!"  I am well aware that it is not the healthiest meal option, and I am a little embarrassed about the number of Happy Meal toys strewn about our house, but when you live in a foreign country with small children, it is a life-saver!  Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of other good restaurants here, and we like trying new places, however, most Romanian restaurants have very little urgency and by the time we interpret the menu, decide what everyone will eat, order our food, wait for the food arrive, eat, wait for the check, and finally pay the bill....two hours have passed and the kids are wrecking havoc on all the other customers.  On the other hand, to walk into McDonald's knowing exactly what everyone will eat and have our food ordered and on the table in 5-10 minutes is a wonderful experience!  Of course, the best option with three kids is to just stay home for meals (that way there are no witnesses to the mayhem).  But as my fellow moms can attest, there are those days when the thought of preparing another meal sends me over the top...and those are the days that we say a prayer of thanks for McDonalds! 

Romanian Drive-Thru

(I didn't take this picture myself, but it cracks me up!)

My Clothes Dryer

Most families in Romania do not own a clothes drying machine.  This is mostly because apartments here don't have space for one, but also because the added cost of electricity is quite significant.  We are fortunate to have the space for a dryer, I don't know what I would do without it!  Well, I guess that's not entirely true...I know exactly what I would be doing if I didn't have a dryer....

These are the drying racks that most families use for drying clothes.  A while back, we experimented with dryer usage vs. the drying rack...unfortunately, we discovered that we could cut our electricity bill in half by limiting the dryer usage.  So, when I'm being a good little housewife and staying on top of the laundry, I try to use the drying rack...but there are those rare times when I'm overwhelmed with housework and I am especially thankful to have my clothes dryer!

Paid Parking Lots

In the States, we hated strongly disliked paying for parking.  Many times, we would choose to park several blocks away from an event just to avoid paying, or to pay a cheaper rate. Oh, how things change...

For our family, trying something new here in Bucharest is always full of challenges.  One of the biggest challenges is the uncertainty of parking...maybe one of the 6 spaces in the parking lot will be empty....or maybe we will circle the block 8 times looking for a place to parallel park and hope our side-view mirror doesn't get knocked off...or maybe we will find a spot to hop the curb and park on the sidewalk...or maybe, just maybe, there will be a paid parking lot where we can pay 3 lei/hr ($1/hr) for a nice, easy parking spot!  Oh happy day! :)  Thank you, paid parking lot!

Google Translate

What would we have done in our first few months here without Google Translate?!?!  We used it for EVERYTHING!  For example, I would get very excited to find "instant" things at the store (soup mix, mashed potatoes, pudding, etc), but as it turns out, when you buy something from a Romanian grocery store, the preparation instructions are typically in Romanian!  So...Google Translate to the rescue!  I spent many hours typing instructions into Google Translate those first few months (and those instant potatoes probably took longer to make than real mashed potatoes when you factor in the computer time, but oh well!).

We would also get weekly emails from Carter's school...a year ago, I could understand about 10% myself and then Google Translate would do the rest.  (I am happy to report that I can now interpret about 80/90% myself and leave the last 10% for G.T!)  While it isn't perfect and it often makes mistakes, it has been such a huge help!

Chips, Salsa & Dr. Pepper

The comfort foods of home!  Yes, they are a bit more expensive here than in the States, but after a long day of language, logistics, and kids, it's worth every penny!