Bucuresti - day 2-3

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I woke early as usual, but since Mariana is a late-riser I slept in, too. I had to explain my unique breakfast recipe to her. With her son we all went to the market to buy the makings for ciorba. I kicked myself when I realized this would have been a spectacular video moment of taken soup-making from the first steps at the market to emptying the bowl.

As M. made the soup I made calls to some of the hostels, as I was seeking a bit of a change from the place I usually stayed. Though the place was familiar to me there was always an entirely new staff on each visit. I went to eyeball two places and chose the cheaper one, but only because it was closer to M. and it would be likely I’d get a street level room. It was also much closer to the Metro, assuming the general strike is short-term.

The ciorba was great. Mariana is a dynamo of ideas and she put her brain to work, trying to hook me up with some Romanian supporters for my book program. She introduced me to a fascinating woman who came to me in M.'s rather than us going out because of the heavy rains which blocked our excursion to the park. At the end of the evening I made my way to the hostel and found myself assigned to an upper bunk. YIKES! My bum foot was no help in climbing and I had to make used of an alternative to the ladder. I asked a girl to move her towel so I could step on part of her bed frame. She just looked at me like I was asking her to remove her clothes. When she didn't respond I started to step on her towel and she said "That's my towel!" I replied "Yeah.... You wanna move it?" Only then did she give me the purchase I needed to make the climb.

The roommates were chatting and drinking and talking general late-night BS. When the subject turned to Romania they were obvious novices and I couldn't help but throw the random comment in. I rose at 6:30 and it was obvious everyone else was sleeping in. During the night they had closed all the windows and the room was stifling. I made my way out for some coffee (none provided) and to get some money and seek out a net cafe. A tentative late date date cancelled and I spent lazy afternoon purusing used books.

I was astounded to see all the shops in the Metro at Piata Universitatii closed and cleared out. This added to the disruption I felt when I saw that Piata Amzei was totally destroyed in the name of modernizing into a squared-off glass and steel structure. The goal of the day was to get settled into a better room, get some food and wash some clothes.

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