If It's More You Want

With the absence of English textbooks in my school I have been reduced to reading...a lot. I have plowed through two books, John Irving's Widow For One Year an Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed, and am on to my third which is not by choice (The Sum of All Fears). It seems I did not choose enough books for the PCV Book Collection as I should have. If my calculations are correct (and because I am a women, they always are) I will be finished with my measly 4 other books (two of which I have already dipped into) in no less than two weeks. Rereading books has never been enticing to me, but under the circumstances it may have to happen. Other than spending the usual hour and a half at school, in which I sit in the library perusing the books in Russian (when I can't speak or read the language) and ask if the English books have arrived, I spend my time at home helping with the food, the dishes and attempt to increase my knowledge of the Romanian language. My host sister and I make the usual nightly rounds, checking in on her friends, and hanging out with the fellow 15 year olds of the village. It turns out they enjoy hanging out at the bars, smoking large amounts of cigarettes and downing shots of vodka and wine. Oh do not think they are totally hardcore, they still need a chaser after every shot. They have not graduated into manhood yet. The day before school begins is known as the "Day of Preparation." This translates into "The Day When The Tenth Graders Come To School To Take Part In Free Child Labor." After they clean every inch of the school, cut the grass, maybe plant flowers, repaint, and whatever else needs tending to, the school will be ready for all the children to learn in a clean and pretty environment.