Blogs from Romania, Europe - page 92

I don’t want to be a negative thinker. I make abstraction of the bad things around me and try to have fun. I criticize a lot though, but wouldn’t you? Just take a look at what the word “resort” means to some people. I photographed Costinesti and had a revelation of what civilization means to some. I expect things to be different in other countries. For now, I am actually stuck here and obliged to “enjoy” the weird vacation I’m having in this fair. There’s food everywhere. A multitude of kiosks and small shops, fast food counters and “get it yourself” cafeterias pave the way to the beach. It’s a sad view. The place is crowded and smells like fish, kebabs and, the most popular, shawarma (saorma). Maybe it does sound interesting. For a moment you ... read more

so were actually ın Istanbul rıght now (ıncredıble) but ıll get to that ın the next update. ıve fınally found a computer wıth wındows xp so ım every so slowly uploadıng pıctures onto all the prevıous romanıan entrıes. that beıng saıd, go back and look at the pıctures. theres only a few so dont get too excıted, but take what you can get.... Anyway...after arriving in Bucharest, it took us 40 minutes to find our hostel, despite its being located um...2 blocks from the train station. I blame it on the "English" used by the Canadian hostel owners in their directions. This cute little boy let us in and tried to help before his Mom came back from the bank. The story of the place is kind of interesting...The hostel itself is an old home that ... read more

So today Jeff and I did the most unexpected thing ever. We fucking climbed down a mountain. Oh, ya, in the rain. Who does that?? And yes, I almost fell like 400 times on slippery-ass rocks. I even scraped off half of the skin on my side on a tree that I had to grab onto so as not to fall off the mountain. And then after not falling even once on the mountain, we get down to a set of stairs and I slip and almost fall on my ass. Stupid manmade structures. We've also visited the Black Church, which was burnt at one point, I think. Also saw this old 16th Century fortress atop a hill. And ya. We shopped a little, but I didn't buy anything. It was sort of a weird, not-doing-much ... read more

Alecia: It’s now July 16th, and we have 2 weeks of pre-service training left. At the end of the month we officially become Peace Corps volunteers, and depart for our new home. Last week we learned where that new home was: Odorheiu Secuiesc and we paid it a visit. Odorheiu Secuiesc is the un-official Hungarian capital of Romania. It’s a town of about 40,000 people (98% of which are ethnically Hungarian, or Szeckler as they call themselves) nestled in the rolling green hills of central Transylvania - - the bellybutton of Romania. The Hungarian connection is emphasized by three daily buses making the 12 hour trek from Budapest to Oderhei so Hungarian tourists can experience what they consider the best of Hungarian culture. At this point I have a lot to learn about what it means ... read more

So I eat lots of mushrooms in Romania. Because there aren't many vegetarian-friendly dishes. But there are lots of mushroom dishes. I can't complain. I really like mushrooms. Also, I could never live in Romania. There are too many stray dogs and I would just take them home with me. I would be like Ace Ventura Pet Detective, completely surrounded with dirty, smelly, mean dogs. How glorious, haha. Finally, my back is like an aligator's. I'm peeling like crazy. And. Two days ago I was oozing from my back. I think I had little blister things. It was gross, but I sort of secretly thought it was cool. But don't tell anyone: it's a secret. Anyway, we're in Brasov right now. We just arrived today from Sighisoara, which was a rather small town where Dracula was ... read more