Luckily, my town is not very big and doesn't have a lot of hills, so I can walk to work or the supermarket pretty quickly and easily. If I have to visit any cities nearby, like the city of Iași (pronounced Yash), I take the train. The train is pretty comfortable, but can sometimes be late. Driving here is different than driving in the USA though, and it can be a little scary. People drive much faster and more aggresively, so you have to be really aware even if you are just crossing the street. If I have to go further, like from my city of Suceava to Bucharest, I fly. One of the best things about living in Europe is that most flights are cheap compared to the USA. I can fly from Suceava to Bucharest (which is about 441km or 275 miles) in about an hour, and it ony costs around $50!
Although I don't think getting around in Romania is any more connected to the enviornment than it is in the USA, I do think that using different modes of transportation has helped me to understand a really big problem in Romanian life and culture. That problem has to do with Romanian infrastructure: there are not enough highways and roads in Romania, and roads that do exist are not kept up very well. This causes big traffic jams in every city and also has a negative effect on the Romanian economy. The majority of Romanian people see this as a problem their government needs to work on, and you hear people complaining about this issue all the time. But if you ever take a roadtrip or take a bus or taxi during rush hour, you will definitely understand why!
