Is August really over?

I finally now understand why my brother is SO horrible at writing his blog...he waits too long between entries and then doesn’t possibly know where to begin!  I have been meaning to write for ages, but have been entirely too lazy to do so.  Well, busy too - busy traveling and then lazy being home!!!

So...I will try to hit the highlights of the past month to catch everyone up on my life.  There are entirely TOO many pictures to post, so I’ll put up a few and then post the majority on Facebook.  (I have been going INSANE taking pictures...I cannot possible keep this up for the entire two years...although I did get a photo card that will hold 10,000 pictures...hummmmm.)

August...gone in a flash!  The first half was spent working in my schools (as I’ve already written about) and settling in to my new home...the later half having visitors and traveling.  Lindsey, who lives a mere hour by train away, came to visit me for a few days mid month.  We walked A LOT and spent most of our time deciding what and where our next meal would be.  We went to the one and only Chinese restaurant in the county (and it was gooooood!), made grilled cheese sandwiches (found cheddar!!!), and made homemade tomato sauce (I have since made two more batches and now have about 6 jars in my freezer for winter!!)  It was so nice to have someone here to just hang out with and speak in English!!!  

After Linsey left Gordon came for a visit.  He likes to walk and get lost, so that’s exactly what we did!  We found a huge tire company hidden away, walked over LOTS of train tracks, had women shoo us away from some obviously important and secret company (whatever!), and then happened upon a little oasis of cafe’s right on the river bank.  We sat, had a beer, and watched the barges head up river!  LOVED it!

The next day my big 14 day adventure began!  Gordon and I hopped on a train, picked up Lindsey about an hour down the tracks and headed for Botoșani to visit Grant (my PC BFF!).  Our trip consisted of heading to București and then taking an overnight train about 8 hours northeast.  We were lucky, our train had air conditioning!!  After watching Casablanca from my computer, the train lights were turned out and Gordon and Lindsey slept like babies...I sat there and watched them...ugh!  

We arrived safe and sound, were picked up by Grant, and took a bus to his little village of Vladeni where we had a fabulous visit!  Without going into great detail the following week went like this:  

• Kelly meets us at Grants and 5 of us spend the night there after a wonderful dinner with Grant’s Gazda family.
• We all take a bus to Suceava where we hook up with Melissa, Megan and Jovanka...the 8 of us stay at Melissa’s overnight (good thing I brought my sleeping bag).
• We tour the city and go to a rock concert at a medieval castle ruins (okay...Grant and I stayed at the top and sat/talked/drank wine while the rest went down to the mosh pit - yikes!)
• We all hop a bus to Iași and play tourist for the day - it’s a beautiful city and the weather was perfect!  
• We found a mexican restaurant with great food...but no ice for margaritas...so sad.  But, there was a cute baby there and the parents let me hold him (I think I was staring)...you know how I LOVE babies!!!  It made my day!
• We stayed at a nice little B&B (Gordon, Grant and I were banished to a room of our own because we snore...humph!)
• The next day everyone, sans Kelly, heads back to Grant’s for more fun and games overnight.
• Megan and I get in trouble for singing too loud...I mean really, how can you sing Rent quietly???
• Then we all took the LONG (and un-air-conditioned!) train trip down to Sinaia for our Peace Corps conference.

At the mall!

Touring

View from Grant's kitchen window

Abbey Road

#1 un-air-conditioned train

View from the train

#2 un-air-conditioned train

Sinaia is a tourist city in the mountains and it was beautiful.  Unfortunately, we spent the majority of our time stuck inside the hotel at the conference.  We were there with all the other current volunteers from the group before ours.  Part of the conference was beginning to plan what our “legacy” will be for the country.  The other part was all about teaching English.  Gordon and I presented a class on Classroom Management.

Views from my hotel balcony

This is what happens when you hang with 20+ year olds!

I don’t know if it was just a long trip or what, but I found myself a bit melancholy while in Sinaia.  I guess it was one of those “dips” we’re told to expect.  I felt homesick and really missed being with people who totally “know” me!  I missed my family and friends a lot - more than I probably had since I got here.  To top it off, there was a Procter & Gamble party going on in one of the restaurants I went to...how rude of them to remind me of my past when I was being sad!  ;)

After the conference Grant and I headed to Targoviște to visit our Gazda families.  It was so nice to see Cami, Cezar and Vlad...they had a huge meal prepared for me and we visited for the afternoon.  Fellow PCV’ers John and Abbey live nearby and Grant and I stayed the night with them.  Then it was off to București!  (Phew...I’m getting tired just typing about this trip!)

Both Grant and I had medical appointments in București and decided to get a little touring in while we were at it!  What a wonderful city!  So full of contradictions:  old/historical buildings next to communist era buildings next to modern/sleek buildings, graffiti everywhere but then beautiful parks and fountains on every street corner...I loved it!  We spent our first day there walking around the city for 9 hours...we were exhausted!!!  

The Palace of the Parliament (contains both chambers of the Romanian Parliament). The Palace was designed and nearly completed by the Ceaușescu regime as the seat of political and administrative power. Nicolae Ceaușescu named it the House of the Republic, but many Romanians call it the People's House.  It is the world's second largest building after the Pentagon!  It was HUGE!!!  It took forever to walk around it.

After the long walk around the People's House we found the Contemporary Art Museum...it was awesome!

Grant is just like Stephen when touring...nose ALWAYS in the travel guide! 

Seriously fancy street lights

One of the many city parks

An amazing covered alley full of restaurants

Graffiti like this throughout the city

This one's for you, Mom!!  ;)

The next day I had my medical appointment:  my neck had been bothering me for the past few weeks and since I have a history of a herniated disc the PC doctor wanted to have an x-ray done.  Turns out the space between C5/C6 and C6/C7 are too darn close together...nothing herniated, but certainly worrisome.  Also there is some strange bone growth on each area as well.  So, I had two days of physical therapy and now have a daily regiment of shoulder and neck exercises.  It still hurts - I think I’m going to have to break down and spend some money on a really good pillow.   Getting old sucks!!!

I got back home 5 days ago and must admit to not doing much since then other than making and freezing tomato sauce like a mad woman and slicing my thumb in the process (ouch!)  School meetings have started, but I have not had to attend yet.  I assume I will hear more this coming week as school starts on the 15th.  I hope I can actually get my text books a little in advance to start planning!  I'm now fretting over all the lazy days I've had and feel that I should have been planning more...I hate realizing things late in the day!!!

So...you are now caught up.  As I was typing this I was remembering the specifics of my recent traveling (way too much to write about!) - the fun I had, the laughing, the silliness, the singing (gotta love showtunes and Carpenters!), the sights...along with the homesickness, the worries about language, the anxiety of school starting - a lot of emotional roller-coasting in the month of August.  Lots of highs, and some lows.  But, the people I have met here - both in PC and Romanians, the friends I have made, the places I have thus far traveled too and seen... all worth it!