(Yes, these are really my notes.)
In Romanian, apparently, some verb forms have no rules. I mean, there's a loose idea of how to conjugate stuff... but no verbs actually follow that pattern. Sometimes our teacher Andreea will correct us when we're confident that we've followed the steps correctly, shaking her head and laughing.
"That's not right," she'll explain, moving to the chalkboard to write the correct form, adding strange i's with hats and s's with tails to the word.
"What?" we ask, confused. "Why'd you add that?"
"Um, well, I can't explain. It just... sounds better."
Oh right, we think. It just sounds better.
I really do like Romanian, though. (Even if my sarcasm doesn't always show it...) I even formed my first sentence today! I said, "Rain comes from a gray sky," to my host sister, who gave me an incredulous look before indulging me with a kind, "Da..." (like, duh, American girl, now what?). Living here and being unable to communicate with any semblance of intelligence has been rather humbling, occasionally frustrating, and often really entertaining. But I'm learning. And I'm thankful for the lessons in humility and patience, no matter how much they sometimes sting.
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