Shiny happy people

...3 minutes after we arrived to Nagyvárad (Oradea)

FIRST POST FROM ROMANIA

I'm here!
It's absolutely wonderful. I start teaching Tuesday - yay! :)

Question!!

Hello! Jeehyun writing here...I have a question regarding the village students' level of English proficiency. Maybe Jon, Zsofi, or Kinga can help me?

So, as the time of departure nears, I actually got myself to sit down and generate some concrete lesson plans. But I think they can be improved a lot if I knew exactly how proficient my students (both villages are in Romania) are. Would the younger students understand me if I explained the rules of a game in English? I've been trying to learn Hungarian, but couple weeks of cramming can only get me so far...

Thanks!!
JH

Introducing myself and Oradea (Nagyvárad), Romania

Hello, volunteers! You're wonderful PD Jonathan introduced me to you on this blog a few weeks ago, so hopefully my post won't come as complete surprise. Just to recap my background: my name is Zsofi (the Hungarian version of Sophie -- I was born in Szeged, the city in which you'll have your midpoint break), and I was a volunteer in what was back then known as the Eastern Europe Village Project (Croatia, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia) in 2004 and 2005. I was later hired as the European Liaison to oversee the newly split Croatia/Romania and Hungary/Slovakia programs for 2006 and 2007. (I first met your PD at orientation in Budapest in 2006.) Although I am no longer formally involved with LE, I try to help out with the Europe programs when I can. If you have any questions for me, ask away!

I also want to introduce you to a very important city in Romania -- Oradea (Romanian name) or Nagyvarad (Hungarian name). Kinga lives and works there, and most -- if not all -- of you will at least pass through the city. I spent a week there last July and had a great time hanging out with Kinga (and the volunteer who taught there during the second session), despite the 100 degree heat. The city isn't huge, but it has some wonderful sights and a picturesque downtown area.

Here are a few photos to get you excited about traveling to Oradea/Nagyvarad!

Hungarian-Romanian border

Me (left) and volunteer Jenny (right) in front of a fountain in Oradea/Nagyvarad

Clothing question

So since I've been researching Romania, rather than working on my finals, I've found that the towns seem to be fairly religious. Kinga, I was just wondering if you thought if you thought I should make sure to pack a set of nice clothes to wear to church with my family.
Thanks!
Lily

You Might Have Been Wondering Too...

I was just wondering if I needed to book the Hostel we're staying in for orientation myself and how I would go about doing that. I also wondered how much per night the Hostel would be.

I emailed Jon and he gave me a really helpful answer and suggested I post the question on the message board!

Here was the response...

Hey Vanessa,

You don't need to worry about booking the hostel. We will take care of the reservation and you will pay when you arrive. While I'll be able to give you an exact nightly rate soon, expect for the time being about $15 per night.


Hope that helped everyone!