I am not sure exactly what this card is but it is certainly difficult to obtain. I think it is similar to a green card in our country. I am allowed to enter the country and work but before thirty days have passed, I must get this card. In the paperwork I received from Fulbright it seems easy enough thing to do. I am supposed to present myself at the police department and I will be given this card. That sounds easy enough. Now I am beginning to understand why my students say, "But you're in Romania now."
First I have to go to the police station at the county seat which is Suceava. Not difficult until you remember that I have sworn not to buy a car and so I will take a minibus. Apparently, these are not regular minibuses, but cars owned by individuals who take anybody and everybody to Suceava. It seems that you stand on a particular corner and say, "Suceava," in a questioning manner. Someone will approach you – I assume the driver of the first car in line. He says, "Suceava?" You nod and he leads you to a car and you get in. He goes back to the corner and gathers more people until he has stuffed his car. It is 5 lei per person and he puts as many people in as he can. I saw one car leave with four people in the back seat of a subcompact and only one person in the front with him. This air freshener is hanging from the rear view mirror. This is probably going to be another interesting ride as the driver thinks he is Mario Andretti.
Between Gura Humorului and Suceava we have encountered several road construction areas and a slowdown as we neared town. It seems the sheep knew what time it was and it was time for them to head in for dinner. They have a schedule and they stick to it.
When we arrive in Suceava, he drops us all off at some nondescript corner. It is a five minute walk to the police station from here. OK, that translates into ten minutes for me. I am still wearing heels and there are essentially no sidewalks. Apparently, the last time the sidewalks were worked on was in Ceausescu's time. I would be fine if it weren't for the sidewalks. The sidewalks are not really sidewalks at but remnants. Marble-sized, smooth river stones in concrete that is almost entirely gone. There is just enough cement left to hold the round stones in place. It is a feat to stay upright while finding purchase on the marbles. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to their placement and so I have to watch my feet every step of the way. I may have to break down and buy a pair of sensible shoes. GASP!!!
The University of Bucharest stands between where we have been dropped off and the police station. It is a huge complex but there are no students lolling around. They must actually be studying on this lovely Tuesday afternoon. The police station is a nondescript building. I spied two ATMs, one on either side of the entrance. These ATMs are not next door, but are part of the façade of the building itself. This can't be a good sign.
Fortunately, Daniela has done this before and so we enter and go upstairs, directly to the Office of Foreigners. No one is there and the door is locked even though the sign on the door says they will be there until 1600. (That is 4pm for you Americans out there.) We wait for a few minutes and a man comes along who says he can help me. I dig out the paperwork from the Fulbright Commission that describes my placement here and my passport. He says that I cannot have a card because I am not earning wages in Romania and so begins the saga of the identification card. He goes from one office to another with my paperwork. I sit smiling outside his office as we have never been invited in. He comes back and has a conversation with Daniela and then goes to another office. This goes on for about twenty minutes. He asks for my insurance card. This reminds me of Lithuania in the last few years. It is all about the insurance card.
He and Daniela have a conversation and she starts writing. I am guessing that these are things I need to do before I can get this card. Finally, it is determined that I need a medical exam from the school physician who must be one of the women who came into my classroom earlier in the week. I will have to find her office in the maze of buildings. I have to have a lease which can only be drawn up by a notary. It sounds like the notaries need the income. And finally, there are three taxes I will need to pay. One is a few dollars. One is 60 dollars – a bit steep. And the last one is 399 lei which is a little less than two hundred dollars. Welcome to post-Soviet Eastern Europe. There is a fee for everything. And to make matters more interesting, I have to go to two different places to pay these taxes.
It is time for a call to the Fulbright office in Bucharest. This gentleman and Mihai have a discussion. It seems that when Mihai faxes some paperwork, I will not be paying the two higher taxes, only the smaller one which is fine. I have some homework. I can see how much fun this is going to be. We thank him for his assistance and head back to Manasteri. This is where we wait for a car back. This process is a bit less civilized. This is a busy street and so the car slows, all of these people mob it and whoever is first or most aggressive gets in leaving everyone else to wait for another. Somehow we manage to get in a car and get home.
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