Week Fifteen

Christmas Week in Bucharest and as in the West (in my case at least), Christmas Eve is spent stocking up on food and alcohol, and of course buying presents. Oh, and cigarettes. I've switched to the local Viceroy Lights, on the basis that they're about 35p a pack and not too lethal. Mistletoe is another purchase (the Celts got close to here, though modern Romania was Dacian and Thracian at that time). The day's expenditure is funded when I get rid of the 100 Deutschmarks which I've been carrying round since I was last in Germany - I figure the Euro will be in full flow by the time I get back there. On one of our shopping tram-rides, I encounter another Romanian seasonal tradition - an old gypsy woman is carrying a white lamb in her jacket, with a bow in its hair/fleece (seriously). If we're prepared to pay, we can touch it for luck: needless to say, we're not prepared to pay. That evening we have a whole list of things to do (wrapping presents, cleaning the flat, etc.) but end up lying around listening to Billie Holiday until the early hours of Christmas Day.
It snows overnight and into the 25th, not that there was any doubt we'd have a White Christmas here. We get up just before midday, have breakfast and gradually prepare for the Christmas Day visit to Milena's mother. We arrive there with our bags of presents and alcohol at 3.15, about an hour and a quarter late, and find the Christmas meal ready to go. To an accompaniment of traditional regional carols and a curious mix of popular music, Milena and I and Milena's mother and her Uncle Liviu and Tina eat and drink our way through a prodigious quantity of both universal and Romanian fare. HBO's doing a seasonal promotion, so we watch a number of second-rate films as background after the meal, during coffee and more drinks (thankfully Romania subtitles, rather than dubs). After that, Liviu leaves and Milena and her mother embark on a long argument (it's their principle mode of communication), and we eventually head out into the frosty night at about midnight. Back at the flat, I prove that I'm a good son by phoning my parents for an exchange of seasonal greetings (actually, I get them to phone me back, proving that I'm not that good a son).
Some 10% of shops were open on Christmas Day (mostly kiosks and mini-markets - there was also a skeleton tram/bus service in operation): on Boxing Day this rises to 60%, and that 60% includes a number of internet places. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I put in significant hours on the website and get the whole thing active at the new location. My father assists from Edinburgh, reloading all the photos. Although the new photos haven't got home yet, my Christmas Cards apparently have (some even arrived before Christmas!): a reciprocated card from my parents reaches us on the 27th.
Milena's been fairly ill for the last few days (fever, respiratory problems, blocked dose, etc.), so she stays in bed sleeping for most of the rest of the week (except a visit to the doctor on the 27th). I use the time to update not only the website, but also my notebook, and start preparing for moving on (further research, planning future legs, etc.). Not only am I getting restless, but the immobility is destroying my financial situation: although our joint expenditure is only a little over £40 per week, commitments back home add a whopping £200 per week to that. So my seven weeks here, although I've only spent £400, has cost me about £2,000 ($2,900).
Anyone want to rent a house in Edinburgh (that's what's killing me - haven't let it yet!) ? Please . . .
On Saturday, to get back to the narrative, there's an unexpected heatwave: temperatures climb above freezing, and there's a big thaw. Not only does a lot of the snow and ice melt, but parts of the pavement actually dry out! Remarkable. The day is rounded off watching Fifth Element and Madness of King George (possibly the latter was on as a tribute to Nigel Hawthorne, who unseasonably died earlier this week).
We wrap up the week with a day of inactivity: despite resolving to get up at a reasonable hour tomorrow, to compensate, we only go to sleep at about five in the morning.