Mai întâi mă uit la hartă și după aceea plec la aeroport.

Mai întâi means first or first of all. It tells you the order of actions.

In this sentence:

• Mai întâi mă uit la hartă = First, I look at the map
• după aceea plec la aeroport = after that, I leave for the airport

It is a very common way to organize actions in Romanian.

Other similar expressions are:

• mai întâi = first
• la început = at the beginning
• prima dată = first / the first time / first of all, in some contexts

They are both time-order expressions, but they refer to different points in the sequence.

• mai întâi = first
• după aceea = after that / afterwards / then

So the sentence is structured like this:

1. Mai întâi = first action
2. după aceea = second action

You could think of it as:

• First I look at the map,
• then / after that I leave for the airport.

Because the verb here is a se uita (la), which means to look (at).

This is a reflexive verb, so it normally includes a reflexive pronoun:

• mă uit = I look
• te uiți = you look
• se uită = he/she looks

So:

• mă uit la hartă = I look at the map

If you say only uit, that comes from a different verb, a uita, which means to forget.

Compare:

• mă uit la hartă = I look at the map
• uit harta = I forget the map

That is a very important difference.

Because a se uita normally takes la before the thing you are looking at.

So:

• a se uita la ceva = to look at something

Examples:

• Mă uit la hartă. = I look at the map.
• Se uită la televizor. = He/She is watching TV.
• Ne uităm la cer. = We are looking at the sky.

English says look at, and Romanian also uses a preposition here: la.

Both can relate to looking, but they are used a little differently.

• a se uita la = to look at, to watch
• a privi = to look at, to gaze at, to observe

In everyday Romanian, a se uita la is extremely common and natural, especially for ordinary situations:

• Mă uit la hartă. = I’m looking at the map.
• Mă uit la televizor. = I’m watching TV.

A privi can sound a bit more formal, literary, or deliberate in some contexts:

• Privesc harta. = I look at the map / I examine the map.

For a learner, mă uit la is usually the safest everyday choice here.

Both are possible in Romanian, but they do not mean exactly the same thing.

• hartă = a map / map in a more general sense
• harta = the map

In your sentence, mă uit la hartă is very natural and can often be understood as I look at the map from context, even without the definite article.

Romanian does not always match English article usage exactly. After some prepositions, especially in common everyday expressions, the noun may appear without the definite article even when English uses the.

So:

• mă uit la hartă = natural Romanian
• mă uit la harta orașului = I look at the city map / the map of the city

If you want to specify a particular map more clearly, Romanian often adds more information rather than just using harta alone.

Because la aeroport is the normal way to say to the airport in this kind of sentence.

Romanian often uses a bare noun after la when talking about going to familiar places or destinations:

• merg la școală = I’m going to school
• merg la magazin = I’m going to the shop/store
• plec la aeroport = I’m leaving for the airport

If you want to identify a specific airport more precisely, then Romanian would use a definite form with extra detail:

• plec la aeroportul Otopeni
• plec la aeroportul din Cluj

So in your sentence, la aeroport is completely normal and idiomatic.

Because la is a very common Romanian preposition, and it can have different meanings depending on the verb.

Here it does two different jobs:

1. mă uit la hartă

   • with a se uita la
   • means look at

2. plec la aeroport

   • with a motion verb like a pleca
   • means to / toward a place

So the preposition is the same, but the meaning comes from the whole verb phrase, not from la alone.

This is similar to English, where one preposition can appear in different expressions.

Because Romanian usually does not need the subject pronoun when the verb ending already shows who is doing the action.

Here:

• mă uit = I look
• plec = I leave

The endings already tell us the subject is I, so eu is not necessary.

You could say:

• Eu mă uit la hartă și după aceea plec la aeroport.

But that usually adds emphasis, like:

• I look at the map...
• As for me, I look at the map...

In neutral sentences, Romanian normally omits eu.

They are both 1st person singular present tense forms.

a se uita

• eu mă uit = I look
• tu te uiți = you look
• el/ea se uită = he/she looks

a pleca

• eu plec = I leave
• tu pleci = you leave
• el/ea pleacă = he/she leaves

So the forms uit and plec already contain the information I.

It can be translated either way depending on context.

The basic meaning of a pleca is to leave / to depart. But in many situations, English might translate it more naturally as go.

So:

• plec la aeroport can be understood as
  I leave for the airport
  or
  I’m going to the airport

Romanian focuses on the idea of departure. English may focus either on leaving or on going, depending on what sounds more natural.

Yes, but the meaning shifts slightly.

• plec la aeroport = I leave for the airport / I’m setting off for the airport
• merg la aeroport = I go to the airport / I’m going to the airport

A pleca emphasizes the start of the movement, the departure.

A merge emphasizes the movement or destination more generally.

In this sentence, plec la aeroport fits well because the two actions are sequential:

1. First I look at the map.
2. Then I set off for the airport.

Not completely. Romanian word order is fairly flexible, especially with time expressions.

The original sentence is:

• Mai întâi mă uit la hartă și după aceea plec la aeroport.

You could also say:

• Mă uit mai întâi la hartă și după aceea plec la aeroport.
• Mai întâi mă uit la hartă, după aceea plec la aeroport.
• După aceea plec la aeroport can also become și apoi plec la aeroport

The original version is very natural because it clearly highlights the order of events.

Yes. All of these can mean then / afterwards / after that, though the tone differs a little.

• după aceea = after that
• apoi = then
• pe urmă = afterwards / later / then, a bit more conversational

So you could say:

• Mai întâi mă uit la hartă și apoi plec la aeroport.
• Mai întâi mă uit la hartă și pe urmă plec la aeroport.

All are natural. După aceea is a clear, standard choice.

A learner often notices both parts here.

• ă is a very short central vowel, something like the a in about, but shorter.
• ui in uit is pronounced as a diphthong, roughly oo-eet blended quickly.

So mă uit sounds approximately like:

• muh oo-eet

But not exactly English sounds, of course.

Also note:

• mă is just the reflexive pronoun here, not a separate stressed word.
• In natural speech, mă uit flows together smoothly.

Because Romanian can connect the two clauses simply with și plus a time expression.

• și = and
• după aceea = after that

So:

• Mai întâi mă uit la hartă și după aceea plec la aeroport.

literally works like:

• First I look at the map and after that I leave for the airport.

This is completely natural Romanian style. You do not need any additional linking word.

Yes. Both verbs are in the present tense:

• mă uit
• plec

Romanian often uses the present tense for:

• things happening now
• routines
• near-future actions
• planned sequences, depending on context

So this sentence can describe:

• what I usually do
• what I am doing now
• what I am about to do

The exact time reference comes from context, just as it often does in English.