Hotel Dalin Bucharest

... sa fie transformate fundamental. Pasunile si livezile de meri vor fi inlocuite cu campuri de sonde, gradinile vor fi taiate de retele din sarma ghimpata iar raurile, altadata limpezi, vor purta din acest moment si pentru totdeauna valurile de hidrocarburi.

Mai intai a fost Steaua Romana la 1895, apoi Astra Romana si Creditul Minier pe la 1910. Noile societati erau proprietare a sute de mii de hectare de teren si au concesionat de la tanarul stat roman ...

... of living. My driver was running out of time as he had to go to the airport to pick up a fare so he found me a guide at the Village Museum for all of 20 minutes. This guide talked at the speed of light practically and I caught about every 3rd word. But we managed to see 3 houses in the museum in that time, or rather 2 houses and one church.

Back to the hotel and the driver was now so pressed for time that he ...

... because I thought every street was going to be my last, we made it to the train station. It actually was quite an enjoyable walk thru the city but I dont think Lonely Planet would recommend what we did. I had the giggles on the train but fortunately (for the other passengers) I passed out for the 5 hours to Sighisoara. Dracula was born in this town. My favorite town yet because the communist leader Ceausescu didnt get his hands on ...

... good English and loved to chat about their country. There's not a lot available in the way of street food. Shaormas, a Romanian donar of sorts, are very tasty and filling and can be had for three to five bucks. A whole margarita pizza, less than five bucks. A half litre of beer will run you around a buck in the store and anywhere from $2 to $3 in a resto. Now that's more like it. The food is tasty too. I frequented a place called Turque's Deli ...

... to avoid the city's many dangerous inhabitants. We were told the people were rude, bad tempered and treacherous. "Romania: a beautiful country. Pity it's inhabited" was one local's view. This is not something we have really been warned of in other places (and some other places this warning could be warranted). Apart from the lady on our first day who screamed at me in Romanian for waiting with our bags inside a phone booth (when the alternate ...

... to the stark, cold monumentalism of Ceauşescu's Piata Unirii, I tried to cool off in the common room downstairs. Not a whole lot of improvement there, so I decided to go for dinner instead and actually happened to find a fairly cheap place with AC. Absolutely enormous portions too - I ordered some penne and a salad and both came on huge platters. Anyways, returning to the hostel afterwards for a shower and the usual pre-bed preparations, I figured there wasn't much ...

... in Transylvania, which is actually quite mountainy (it's near the Carpathian Mountains). It was hard to see most of the scenery though, since it was pitch black out and snowing. We made it to Brasov in 3 hours, arriving at 9pm. Not too shabby considering our mini-bus only cost like 8USD. The mini-bus stopped right next to Brasov station. Luckily I had contacted our hostel and told them we might make it a day early cause we did. Also, I learned that they had a booth with ...

... these nice houses which at one time were abandoned because the government forced people out. Afterwards we went to dinner at this traditional Romanian restaurant where I ate bear, wild boar, pheasant, venison, and an assortment of other delightful things. It was the best meal so far i think. Afterwards we just went back to the hotel and went to bead to gear up for transylvania tomorrow.

... as teachers-The course has been exhausting (in the boring sense) but has given us a chance to get to know each other because it is so weird being dumped in a foreign country and then be expected to lean on a group of people who you don't know at all for support. We are already in some senses very close and yet simultaneously know very little about each other and the lives we have left behind!! Oh well I'm sure it will all sort itself out as time goes on. But for now...la reverdere all!!!

... watching carutsa's (horse drawn wagons) go by with huge stacks of hay from a long days work in the fields near the magura (hills). I love the sound of the church bells ringing for just about any occasion in town....funeral, wedding, change of the hour. I love watching the wedding parties leave the church down the street from me and in procession the wedding party will walk out onto the street with a band accompanying them and proceed to take over the street and in a world of their own ...