ULIM Tour

More meetings at ULIM this afternoon. I got the key to my office! Very exciting. I'll be in Room 219, for those of you near 52 Vlaicu Parcalab. (One of my assignments was to make a sign for my office door. I think Zina will be sprucing it up for me. Photos of the office will follow!)

I will be sharing an office with a professor from Turkey and a professor from Germany. The Turkish professor helps organize the caucus of foreign professors at ULIM -- from China, Korea, Spain, Turkey, Germany, Austria, Poland. Apparently the other foreign professors are here to teach languages. I believe I am the only foreign professor here teaching in another discipline.

The gracious Turkish professor (who is here as a part of a Turkish govt program to teach Turkish in countries abroad; at home he teaches English) showed me around campus and brought me to meet with the Dean of History and International Relations. The facilities I will be using are in the high rise building that I overlook from my kitchen (you've seen the photos in earlier posts). The relevant floors were ground floor through the 7th floor. Of course, I now laugh at stairs. Ha, ha, ha.

We saw several reading rooms/libraries (see photos in this post). The classrooms were all being renovated. Everything everywhere smelled of fresh coats of paint. Though the semester begins tomorrow (Sept 1), classes won't begin until Sept 15. Several of the classrooms are "country rooms" - that have been "adopted" by a country - and decorated with information about that country. Neat idea. Many of these rooms were being set up, or they were locked. Photos will be posted later.

I learned where the copy centers are located, where I can go to print documents, where the restrooms are, etc.

Then we went to the 7th Floor to meet with the Dean of History and International Relations. (The acting Dean. As I mentioned earlier, the Dean is heading to GW on a Fulbright this year.) She said they would like for me to teach in their MA program. Which is fantastic. Except that I had been planning on teaching undergraduates during the day, when Peggy is at school. This latest development means that I will need to find a nanny while I teach evening classes. Friends are already on the case, and I am hopeful we can find someone soon. (The other twist is that classes may not be scheduled until Sept. 10, which means I will try to find a nanny - but not know what days I will need her?!) Flexibility will become my middle name. Good thing my mantra is Improvise, Adapt and Overcome! (with the tag line: Make it harder!)

We then went for coffee across the street at the Roberts Coffee, managed by one of his Turkish friends. (I posted a photo of my apartment window, as seen from the coffee shop). Over a latte (and later over a Turkish tea), he gave me a thoughtful overview of Moldovan political and economic history and answered my questions about what it was like to be a foreign professor at ULIM, etc.