Heidelberg (Germania)

Manastirea Fontenay

Ceasul astronomic - Notre Dame de Strasbourg

Muzeul Marquise de Sevigne (Ciocolatei) - Illkirch (langa Strasbourg)

Peretele se afla in cartierul Montmartre si am dat peste el intamplator. Enjoy.

Notre Dame

Sacre Coeur

Turnul Eiffel

I'm back

Dupa o lunga absenta, am revenit pe blog. A trecut deja o saptamana de cand sunt in SUA. Am ajuns in Boston dupa multe ore petrecute in avion si in aeroportul din Budapesta. A fost primul meu zbor cu avionul, dar nu am avut probleme. Decat ca parca nu mai ajungeam odata!
Cand am ajuns in Boston m-a intampinat Emily cu steagul Romaniei. Ea si sotul ei( aproximativ 70 ani) sunt familia pe care facultatea mi-a dat-o pentru cei patru ani pe care ii voi petrece aici. Momentan stau la ei, pana marti cand ma mut in campus pentru "orientation". Am o camera mare cu geamuri pe 3 pereti(!), baie proprie (am un geam mare si acolo), si dulap urias pe care nici daca as vrea nu l-as putea umple.
Revenind,am ajuns in New London seara, la 11, si m-am pus direct in pat. A doua zi m-am trezit la 5 si nu am mai reusit sa adorm la loc. Am mai lenevit in pat si dupa micul dejun am primit un program cu activitatile pe care Emily le-a pregatit pentru mine pentru intreaga saptamana.
Programul nu l-am respectat in totalitate, dar vreau sa va zic ca saptamana asta cred ca am facut cunostinta cu cel putin 100 de persoane si daca am retinut 5 nume e bine, puteti sa ma felicitati. Memoria mea nu era excelenta nici inainte, dar vreau sa va zic ca am inceput sa imi fac griji. Imi voi exersa memoria zilele astea si o sa scriu ce am mai facut saptamana aceasta.

Book assignment

Bill, the teacher that will be accompanying the group to France, is a Biology teacher. After e-mailing us some useful advice related to packing and Strasbourg, he decided to hit us with an academic e-mail. Basically, he gave the group an assignment. He presented us with a list of 24 books from which each of us had to pick one and read it. Later on, he would give us instructions on how to analyze it and how to write about it.
The book I picked is called The X in Sex: How the X Chromosome Controls Our Lives. Interesting title and a seemingly very good content. Plus, Mr. David Bainbridge(the author)

debunks once and for all Aristotle's notion that maleness, and hence the Y chromosome, is a more active, superior state of being, and instead hails the X chromosome as more profound, interesting and powerful-not just more than its "sad, shrunken" Y counterpart, but more than any other chromosome in our cells.

Of course my choice was biased and I am anxious to read the book after reading the editorial review above from Amazon.com. Maybe this book will provide me with some strong arguments when trying to convince my male counterparts that women are indeed better. (Sorry guys)

Here's the entire list:
1.The Measure of All Things.
2.Dust: A History of the Small and the Invisible
3.The X in Sex: How the X Chromosome Controls Our Lives
4.Time Lord: Sir Sanford Fleming and the Creation of Standard Time
5.The Emperor of Scent: A Story of Perfume, Obsession and the Last Mystery of the Senses
6.Calendar, Humanity’s Epic Struggle to determine a True and Accurate Year
7.Aquagenesis
8.Measuring the Universe
9.The Prophet and the Astronomer
10.Merchants of Immortality: Chasing the Dream of Human Life Extension
11.Parallax: The Race to Measure the Cosmos
12.Shrinking the Cat
13.The Northern Lights
14.Salt, A World History.
15.Madness: A Brief History
16.The History of Pain
17.Longitude
18.Eclipse
19.Scourge: The Once and Future Threat of Smallpox
20.The Impact of the Gene: From Mendel’s Peas to Designer Babies
21.The Gene Masters
22.The Double Helix
23.The Map That Changed the World
24.A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire

Shopping session

4 August
Portofel centura (cica asa se numeste in romana, de la Auchan citire)/money belt - 22.4 RON/ approx 7.5 USD
Flash drive memory stick - 55 RON/ approx 19 USD
Mouse - 27 RON/ approx 9 USD
Casti cu microfon/ headset - 31 RON/ approx 10.5 USD

Urmatorul pe lista/ next on my list:
laptop - 650 USD

Romanian style

This post is for the amusement of my Romanian friends. Americans will probably find the following bizarre/freakish/off-the-wall/crazy, you name it.

You know you're Romanian when..

• You grew up on liver pate sandwiches.... and thought that it was normal.
• You make your own noodles.
• You had to share a room until you were 21.
• You eat everything with sour cream.
• You try and reuse gift wrappers, gift boxes, and of course aluminum foil.
• You are standing next to the two largest suitcases at the airport.
• You arrive one or two hours late to a party - and think its normal.
• All your children have nick names, which sound nowhere close to their real names.
• You talk for an hour at the front door when leaving someone's house.
• You know what a Dacia is.
• Your parents never throw anything away and if you by some chance manage to get something to make it to the garbage can... it mysteriously appears back where it was again.
• You have lace tablecloths.You have lace curtains.
• You have lace curtains hanging across doorways.
• You have rugs covering every inch of your house.
• You have or ever had rugs on your walls.
• Your mom tells you you're too skinny even though your 30 pounds overweight.
• You ever heard of 'stomach stew'.
• Your mom tells you you're too skinny even though your 30 pounds overweight.
• You ever said, "Nu pot right now ca sunt busy!" or any other sentence in a similar bilingual format.
• Your house is full of Romanian medicine that is probably illegal here.
• You ever had to hide your little tv from your parents.
• You and your friends have ever been kicked out of a restaurant or recreational park for being too loud or rowdy.
• Your mom recycles plastic cups and paper plates, and sandwich bags by washing them.
• You have a vinyl tablecloth on your kitchen table.
• You use grocery bags to hold garbage.
• Your dad ever butchered a pig or lamb.
• You ever ate pig skin.
• You keep leftover food in your fridge in as many numbers of bowls as possible.
• Your kitchen shelf is full of jam jars, varieties of bowls and plastic utensils (Got free with some household items).
• Your mom ever chased you with a rolling pin or a broom telling you to stop so that she could hit you.
• Your dad ever threatened to smack you across the mouth for being disrespectful.
• Asking if you can get a discount at a discount store on clearance items is normal and not embarrassing for your parents.
• You don't use measuring cups when cooking.
• You feel like you've gotten a good deal if you didn't pay tax.
• You can only travel if there are 5 persons at least to see you off or receive you whether you are traveling by bus, train or plane.
• You only make long distance calls after 11 p.m.
• If you don't live at home, when your parents call, they ask if you've eaten, even if it's midnight.When your parents meet strangers and talk for a few minutes, you discover you're talking to a distant cousin.
• You have bed sheets on your sofas so as to keep them away from getting dirty.
• It's "normal" if your wedding has 600 people.
• You dont know half the people at your wedding cuz your parents invited them.
• You've seen the ground while inside the lavatory of a train.
• You have mastered the art of bargaining in grocery shopping.
• You walk out of the grocery store with no less then two packed shopping carts weekly.
• You have really enjoyed reading this :)
  

How do my fellow Romanians feel about the list above? Which of those is typical for a Romanian?
Americans, which one do you find to be the most outrageous?

Later Edit (LE):
You sat down to watch Borat and realized it was actually filmed in a ghetto Romanian village and were too embarrassed to tell your friends it wasn't really Kazakhstan

Unfortunately, it is true. It was filmed in a Romanian village.

8 zile!

8 zile, adica exact cat mai am pana ma urc in autocar cu destinatia aeroportul Ferihegy din Budapesta. De acolo voi zbura cu Swiss Air catre Zurich, iar apoi Boston. New London se afla aproximativ la o ora si jumatate de Boston si este aflat intr-o zona de munte, in apropierea unui lac.
Facultatea la care voi studia se numeste Colby-Sawyer College si este un "liberal arts" college. Asta inseamna pe scurt ca voi studia cate putin din toate domeniile punand accent pe biologie, domeniul in care voi fi licentiata la absolvirea facultatii.
Bun,acum povestea se complica putin. Am fost acceptata intr-un program oferit de facultate numit Global Beginnings. Asta inseamna ca primul semestru voi studia in afara Statelor Unite, insotita de un grup de studenti si un profesor. Tarile la oferta anul acesta au fost Italia si Franta, eu am ales Franta. "De ce Franta?" va fi titlul unui post viitor.
Deocamdata pregatirea bagajului a constat in achizitionarea unei genti uriase, cu carcasa tare. Am purces frumos la Auchan, am intors toate bagajele de pe acolo pe o parte si pe alta pentru ca in final sa imi aleg un ditamai geamantan rosu. Da, ati vazut bine, rosu! Eu zic ca daca era galben era mai grav. D-apai verde! Unii dintre voi stiu care sunt sentimentele mele legate de culoarea verde, insa in ultima vreme am inceput sa o suport pentru ca imi aduce aminte de sfarsitul liceului. O sa-mi fie dor de voi, 12 A!
Va pupa Maricica!

Bun Venit!

Dragi prieteni,fosti colegi si profesori,/Dear all,

Dupa cum stiti (sau nu inca), in curand voi pleca la studii in SUA. Am decis sa incep sa scriu un blog deoarece multi dintre voi m-au rugat sa le mai trimit un e-mail cu poze si vesti despre mine de "acolo".
De cate ori vreti sa vedeti ce mai fac, pe unde am mai calatorit, care sunt impresiile mele, puteti sa intrati pe blog. Voi incerca sa scriu periodic si sa pun poze sau chiar videoclipuri. Va tin la curent.

Pe curand!

M.