Know your sectors

I think any immigrant's hardest job is learning a foreign language. When you bump into somebody and they start rapidly talking to you, first you have to place the context before your mind can unlock the words you may already know. Are they talking about prices, do they need help or are they giving you directions?

If you're anything like me, to unlock that context you first need to recognise some key words. Ajutor, Buna, Miercuri and Zece are some of the 'context triggers' I've learned so far ... and then I discovered this useful list of Bucharest suburbs by sector here:

http://www.bucharestlife.net/2011/02/06/doing-away-with-bucharests-six-sectors-is-a-sound-idea/

Sector 1: Dorobanţi, Băneasa, Aviaţiei, Pipera, Aviatorilor, Primăverii, Romanǎ, Victoriei, Herǎstrǎu, Bucureştii Noi, Dǎmǎroaia, Strǎuleşti, Chitila, Griviţa, 1 Mai, Pajura, Domenii

Sector 2: Pantelimon, Colentina, Iancului, Tei, Floreasca, Moşilor, Obor, Vatra Luminoasă, Fundeni, Ştefan cel Mare

Sector 3: Vitan, Dudeşti, Titan, Centrul Civic, Balta Albă, Dristor, Lipscani, Muncii, Unirii

Sector 4: Berceni, Olteniţei, Văcăreşti, Timpuri Noi, Tineretului

Sector 5: Rahova, Ferentari, Giurgiului, Cotroceni, 13 Septembrie

Sector 6: Giuleşti, Crângaşi, Drumul Taberei, Militari, Grozǎveşti, Regie, Ghencea

There's a stack of very useful 'context triggers' which will undoubtedly come up in any conversation in Bucharest. Heck, it might not be enough to get you to the address, but at least you'll be in the right suburb! Just looking through the list, an interesting question is why anybody would name a suburb after the 13th of September. Let's add that to the yet-to-be-solved list, shall we?

PS: Aah, you just have to love Wikipedia

The name comes from the main street in the area: Calea 13 Septembrie, which is named after the date of the closing battle of the 1848 Wallachian Revolution which was fought on the nearby Dealul Spirii between the Ottoman troops and the Firemen division of Bucharest. The 13th of September is the Firefighter's Day in Romania since then.

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