Wednesday, Nov. 14

Today I got to go back to the pool after the weekend away and then being sick. A couple of weeks ago I discovered the community pool here in Targu Mures and to my delight found that it is actually clean and chlorinated! I've been swimming 3 days a week & loving it. Proximity to the water is one of the things I've missed most here in Romania.

If you're expecting a picture of me at the pool, well, don't hold your breath. It's quite the sight, I assure you. Swimming caps are required. You'd be impressed with my swimming cap. And it's not even one of the disposable shower caps they sell at the entrance for those without the real thing.

Unfortunately, swimming was REALLY irritating my chronic sinus infection. I looked everywhere for ear plugs, but none were to be found anywhere in town. Mom suggested looking at the hardware store which is very logical. If you live in the US where people working with power tools think about protecting their hearing. Here, the man with the jackhammer digging up the street is more likely to wear flipflops than steel-toed boots. No ear plugs at the hardware store.

Remember my trip to Moldova last weekend? We spent a couple hours walking around Saturday evening, and guess what I found at a little hole-in-the-wall in Chisinau? Yup, ear plugs. A very practical souvenir, if I do say so myself.



That ranks right up there with the dictionary I bought during my high school senior trip to Florida. Which I still use, by the way. That's right, laugh at me. But Webster is still helping me remember how to spell in English...almost 15 years later. And I haven't had a single problem with my sinuses now that I have my ear plugs.