Yes, we are still there... Some of you have been rightfully complaining that no news have been posted here for a while (on month, to be specific). Actually not much has happened, but we are so busy getting used to it here....
First of all, Zoe and Amelie have started school on September 4. Zoe is in elementary school (she jumped 6 months compared to the Japanese curriculum, and is therefore among the youngest in her class), and Amelie is in the upper section of kindergarten. The French school is next door to the French embassy, in the very center of town. It takes us 15 minutes by car to go there in the traffic jams of Piata Victoriei (Victory Square), and parking there is a nightmare.
We have moved into our appartment on Washington Str., a small arbored street in a posh area full of embassies and VIP houses. Our residence is a brand new compound built by a Lafarge customer. Three families of Japanese expatriates live there with children ! We have not yet been able to establish more than a few seconds contact, but we hope they will get along well with Z and A. Actually Mr. Aso kindly contacted the Japanese ambassador, who promised to help us stay in touch with Japanese culture "la Bucuresti".
Otherwise, we have not yet had too much time to explore our new environment. The summit of the International Francophone Organization, with 60 heads of state, is the occasion of many cultural events this week. We'll see Carmen de Bizet tomorrow, and hope to see some cool street music or theater during the week. In the meantime, traffic will be a mess, with the major road axes closed to circulation. Imagine Paris on the finish day of the Tour de France, with Napolitan drivers.
Talk to you soon... We are busy thinking of week-end destinations before it is too late (it gets cold quickly here...).
