Coming back from a two week visit with my family in
Connecticut involved five airports, four planes and a big bump – the kind that
left me with a hefty travel voucher. I came back with a cold too, but a NyQuil
induced coma of 24 hours cured that up real quick.
As is typical on any vacation I take, my intentions of
working on my Romanian were lofty. Reading aloud, some intense study sessions,
new vocabulary words, nailing down those pesky grammar issues that have plagued
me for years – the plans were set. But any really good plan has some wiggle
room, and I was in the mood to wiggle. There were gab sessions to enjoy,
mountains to climb (OK it was just a hill) and thrift stores to explore.
I believe that Connecticut has the very best thrift stores in the country, if not
the planet. Picture Talbots sweaters with original price tags and buttons still
attached, as far as the arm can stretch. My sister Joanne and I went four
times to the same Savers and I now have enough sweaters to get me through the next Ice Age. Which
by the way has not hit the East Coast yet, some days it was just sweater
weather. I’ll blame my lack of Romanian lessons on global warming.
One of my first days back home I read a passage of Romanian out loud to my husband, who by the way stayed home in California where it was cold. It was rough, my reading that is. My short two weeks away
did a number on my Romanian pronunciation, that was apparent. It had
nothing at all to do with the amount of chocolate consumed or all the Hallmark
movies I watched. Time away and global warming, they are language killers of the worst kind.
So my first Romanian meeting back after the NyQuil induced
coma was a bit nerve wracking. Everyone was happy to see me, and I stumbled through
my story about my family being fine and the weather in New York being so warm.
I've found it’s just easier to tell a person from Eastern Europe that my
family lives in New York. They don’t know about Connecticut and its thrift
stores full of never worn cardigans.
To my pleasant surprise it was the most I ever understood in
my history of attending Romanian meetings in Sacramento. I got most of it, or
at least I think I got most of it, which is a victory. There was even a video
played that had Romanian dubbed over English, and I didn’t have my typical
scenario of the English voices trying to drown out the Romanian. I heard the
Romanian and I got it. And the last talk was by our dear Grigor, who talks at
the speed of those people at the end of an infomercial. You know, those guys
who read 10 minutes of material in 5.7 seconds.
I’m chalking this language victory up to two things - giving
my brain a rest from Romanian, and my new hearing aid! Yes, my dear Mom
insisted I see her “hearing aid guy" in Brookfield Connecticut, right down the street from Savers. He was great to work with, and he set me up with a fancy new hearing aid to
combat the hearing loss I have from Meniere's Disease.
Frank the hearing aid guy says
my situation of really good hearing in one ear and horrible in the other is
frustrating to my brain and emotionally draining, like having my brain cut in
two. Yep, I would say so. It was wonderful from the moment I tried the loaner on, I danced around the office and hugged Frank and his assistant. I absolutely love it. I hope my brain can forgive me for putting it off so long. Romanian grammar, I’ve got my whole brain back and I’m coming at you.
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| Loved it from the second it went in my ear. |
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| Me and my brother Jeff on the Walk Over the Hudson. It wasn't cold, the hat was for a bad hair day. |
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| My friend Sara's feet and my feet with a sign. It's what people do now. |
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| Me in Warwick NY December 2015, no coat! |
