"Everyone Speaks English and Will Help You"

Well, Almost Everyone!

Day 2 in Bucharest: I must be out of my mind!

Doug's housekeeper is a sweet lady named Ms. Elana. Our first acquaintance was during my visit last year. One day when Doug was at work and Matt and I were still in the apartment before our day's excursion, Ms. Elana unlocked the door to find me standing in the living area. She was startled, apparently not knowing I was there and surely not knowing who I was. (She and Doug rarely see each other.) When she opened the door last year, I noticed that she started to back out when she saw me, and I immediately said, "I am Doug's sister." She obviously didn't understand English so I motioned what I thought was a good sign for brother and sister...that charades thing and I always stunk at charades. Well, I really stunk on this one because she got very red and motioned what I knew to be "It's OK." Later, I found out she thought I was a "lady visiting." This year, she knew I was coming and knew who I was when she got here. Whew!

So my Day 2 started with Ms. Elana, as she was asked to actually ride the bus with me to Ikea and the mall to make sure I would make it. Oh, how directionally impaired I am. So once we got off the bus together, she told me something in Romanian and then she got on the return bus and off I went to Ikea. What a fun store. After Ikea, I walked to the "new" mall in Bucharest. I believe this is the first such enclosed mall and resembles the malls in the U.S., just made up of mainly small, boutique-like stores catering to size 6 teens and very, very pricey. Based on what Doug said, I wasn't surprised to find very few people in the mall. After deciding to grab a bite of lunch, I visited the food court to find McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, and the normal Asian carry out. It was an honor to pay 2 RONs (87 cents) for 2 bags of ketsup at McDonalds! Then the real adventure began...

I returned to the bus stop where Ms. Elana showed me to grab a bus to return to Doug's. It ended up being a stop where multiple buses stopped, and I just jumped on the first one that stopped. Count 5 stops, Denise, then you will be at Doug's. On the 5th stop, nothing was recognizable. No problemo, "Everyone speaks English and will help you." My question "English?" to those around me on the bus gave me that stare again. Out came my trusty pen and tablet to draw pictures. My futile attempt to draw a lion with the word "zoo" above it proved to work. The lady behind me wrote "Banessa Zoo" and I gave her the hand signal for "yes" and said "Da." To get me going in the correct direction, a little man escorted me off the bus and pointed to the other side of the road and held up 5 fingers (5 stops down the line). So where the little man escorted me and the bus dropped me off was in the location where the Industrial Revolution began! The photo says it all. I stood there for 30 minutes and watched these crazy truck drivers drive like crazy (in this industrial area), passing cars when oncoming cars were right upon them! I soon realized I needed to back way off the roadside as I awaited the next bus to who knows where. So Mr. Little Man told me to catch the bus on the other side of the road for a return trip back 5 stops and that should get me to the Banessa zoo, by Doug's apartment.

Well, it didn't! Long story short. On my return trip, I still noticed things that were unfamiliar. On that bus, I found a young man who spoke English and told me the bus I was on wouldn't go to the zoo. Great! Then things started looking familiar--BECAUSE I was back at the mall where I began the whole journey. This time, I was determined to get it right. God dropped down and whispered in my ear, "Bus 301, Denise, not 304." Well, that made a difference and I jumped on, counted my stops, missed my stop as I saw Doug's apartment go by, got off on the next one, and then walked back to Doug's apartment. I became one with the road construction men. All I can say is I was wisely given 5 bus tickets this morning for 5 round trips--to last me 5 days. I blew 3 days' worth today as I worked on mastering the bus system!

Speaking of road construction, that could be a topic of many blogs! Check out some photos. Interesting to this American: major Interstate-like highway and you'll see a worker with a pick ax and wheel barrow working on the highway; how efficient can the workers be when they wear rubber flip flops and rubber sandals?; the electrical poles still blow my mind--just keep adding wire and looping what is left over! Then notice the little dove on her nest on the utility pole. Last year it was stork nests on the poles (which are concrete).

So, so much for being adventuresome. Wednesday will be better since Doug has arranged a tour for me. The people of Romania are so gracious and I look forward to a more "guided" adventure Wednesday.

Off to wash the Industrial Revolution/Road Construction Dust off to prepare for a night out on the town with Bro...escorted, guided, and safe.

Anyone want to buy 2 roundtrip bus tickets for the Bucharest transit system??

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