Blogs from Romania, Europe - page 95

Hello Friends! I have managed to get back to the internet cafe in Valea de Munte. One of the volunteers left today so we hitched a ride with her drive to the town. We have to take a rather unreliable bus back so I could be here all day but that's just how it is here. Rebecca was the volunteer leaving and we're really sad to see her go. She was only here for 2 weeks but she was a lot of fun and a good cook. Maryanne and I are planning to meet up with her in Paris in a few weeks. Maryanne is going to London for a week before heading back to the U.S. and she leaves here a few days after me so she's going to take the train to Paris. Becca ... read more

can anyone tell me how to become a che guevara? or angela davis? or rosa parks, martin luther king, ionesco, or any revolutionary, be it a revolutionary counterracting a political, ideatic or any kind of defective system? yes, this still has to do with my travels, for i would be unable to want to create a revolution if it weren't for my travels back to my country. i don't know how many of you have felt trapped between two physically-distinct worlds, two cultures, two languages, two political systems, two continents, two mothers, two sisters, two brothers, two lovers?! many times i find myself lost in the states, unable to understand many of the cultural traits that together sum up american individualism (i would have to thank toqueville for his amazing article on american individualism). to better ... read more

Unusual train stop unleashed a dream. my head kept on banging against the headboard designated for train-sleepers, failing, at every minute, to deliver the very scope it was meant to achieve. my head hurt, although not enough for me to fully wake up, shoo away the half-sleep and even sacrifice a few wakeful hours until my arrival to bucharest. i kept daydreaming with my eyes closed, my head banging against the headboard, wondering about the purposes of everything around me; for it occurred to me that even the door to my compartment was opening, on its own, itself banging against metal and plastic and god-knows what else, making an absurdly loud noise that should have woken me up eventually. it didn’t. i was obstinate enough to remain still, as if not to lose the little ... read more

whoa! was i sick today. morning sickness. i wish i had a little soul inside of me asking to get out (aka baby), but, as i am not Virgin Mary :), it was just a bloody stomachache. pizza last night. or a "napoleon." or...well, the cause matters less. what matters is that i woke up in pain, wiggled my legs around in the house, again in pain, and until now, i've been feeling dizzy, weak, etc. california certainly didn't prepare me to simply sit around, sleep as much as i want, eat whatever i want, relax. once my belly stopped aching, my back and legs were giving me trouble, as a result from laying down for more than 6 hours. it reminded me a bit of the times i had knee surgery, and had to sit ... read more

oh man. romania. never thought i'd make it back here. a lack of funds could've been blamed, although family matters sometimes protrude certain cavernous cavities of the heart, and pain becomes a tad more real than i would like it to. i spent the first few days (beginning may 26th) walking up and down bucharest, drying up my lungs with 555 tobacco, but most importantly, smearing my heart with good consistent familiar words from alexandra, a much-needed preparation for the upcoming meeting with my mother, aunt, and everyone else. bucharest is bucharest. many streets, even more people to see, many lights and sights, much corruption, stress, tight pockets, even tighter attitudes. i should have likened bucharest with a decrepit paris, but even that is too much to put on the old town's shoulders. sleep calls. i ... read more