Dracula

Never before have I desired to read Dracula but I figured (as cliché as it is) that I probably should while in Romania. Much to my surprise, I’m glad I did…if not for the sole reason to see that Stoker had similar observations (even though he never stepped foot in Romania) of the land and people that I too am now experiencing. However, the astonishing part is that his were made over 100 years ago. Based on that statement, it would be all too easy to say that Romania has not progressed much but in reality, I’ve found that perhaps they are a people deeply rooted in tradition.

“We are in Transylvania; and Transylvania is not England. Our ways are not your ways, and there shall be to you many strange things.” And indeed there shall. I also use this starting point as a disclaimer; observations do not determine the difference between right and wrong, they simply determine that “our ways are not your ways.”

“I find the district […] is in the extreme east of the country, just on the borders of three states, Transylvania, Moldavia and Bukovina, in the midst of the Carpathian Mountains, one of the wildest and least known portions of Europe.” Bucovina is where I’m now a proud (possibly biased) resident and can confidently say is the most beautiful part of Romania. I believe it was named after the area’s beech (buche) forests after being annexed by the Habsburg Austrians in 1775. Coincidentally, I just finished reading Balkan Ghosts: A Journey Through History by Robert Kaplan, who also references this exact quote from Stoker to further describe Bucovina. I am in full agreement with Kaplan in that there is “this sensation of remoteness,” one that has brought an overwhelming yet refreshing calmness to my life.

“It seems to me that the further east you go the more unpunctual are the trains. What ought they to be in China?” Actually, I think the trains are probably the more punctual form of transportation here. However, punctuality in general really isn’t something one dwells on so much, which is a nice change of pace for those of us who always seem to be running behind by five minutes. The sense of time has been one of those calming aspects but also a bit frustrating at times when you’ve been conditioned to the mentality of; “If you’re early, you’re on time. If you’re on time, you’re late.”

“I read that every known superstition in the world is gathered into the horseshoe of the Carpathians, as if it were the centre of some sort of imaginative whirlpool; if so my stay may be very interesting.” Superstitions, whether you believe in them or not, always seem to sneak in your life. Honestly, I’m a wood knocker. Can’t tell you why but you can be sure that I knock it. One of my favorite cultural aspects here has been learning about all the different superstitions, which I have slowly revealed in previous posts. They have been a great source of entertainment and to my advantage, they are endless.

“Here and there we passed Cszeks and Slovaks, all in picturesque attire, but I noticed that goitre was painfully present.” I don’t know why but there are indeed an abundance of goiters.

“You must not walk here; the dogs are too fierce.” Story of my life…or so it often seems. However, the tables may be turning. Like most houses here, my Bouse does not have screens. Not really a problem; as there aren’t too many bugs nor strange men that will crawl through a window. But! I’ve always had this silly little fear that cats would come in and maul me in my sleep. I agree that’s a bit ridiculous so as the temperatures have increased I’ve been a little more liberal in my window opening. The insects inside have been getting quite large. In fact, there was such a gianormous moth that I saw it poop as it fluttered to my light. Nevertheless, I wasn’t so silly after all. Not once but twice one of those little buggers (and by little bugger, I mean a life size feline) entered my Bouse. I suppose it’s better than when the squirrels were chewing through the screens (chewing and entry) in Highland Park; they weren’t exactly laying on my bed waiting for me to come home like these filthy felines. As long as were on the topic, taxidermy isn’t just for the hunted. Yes, this is a picture of a stuffed cat mounted on a house. There are “many strange things” indeed.

You Say Goodbye...and I Say Hello

I remember the day I left like it was yesterday… After only two hours of sleep I was off to the airport at 4am with tear stained eyes and my entire family. Fortunately I had no more tears to cry as my breakdown three hours ago took every last drop; so I was left a bundle of nervous energy – the kind that makes you shake like you’ve drank too much coffee (not that I’ve ever done that.) And surprisingly, my three day old perm was no confident boost. A family friend at the airport helped grant my family “Military Access” so they could all come to the gate and wait with me. One of the security guards asked my sister which division I was in and her reply was one more of query, “Uh…the one that…uh...solves world peace?”

Since that departure, people have seemed to come in and out of my life at a much faster pace; yet we still managed to develop intimate relationships of understanding that will forever leave an impact on who I am. Some of these people I will stay in contact with but more than likely, I’ll never see the majority of them again. Perhaps it’s a result of getting older and going through more goodbyes or possibly the effect of emotional isolation over the past year or maybe neither one – either way, the goodbyes have not gotten any less disappointing but they have become more…I guess one could say, non-chalant. Meaning…less emotional, and perhaps less informal. Difficult to explain. Maybe at some point in your life you reach a particular limit and you become conditioned to think, “well, that’s that – time to move on.” Good or bad – nothing lasts forever.

Anyways, this past month or so has been filled with exciting new beginnings, nonchalant endings and a whole lot of that stuff that happens in between. I’ve gotten the opportunity to do so much recently that I hate to leave anything out but for the sake of trying to keep this remotely interesting ...I’ll say goodbye.

It's a...a...a Freeway!

Life continues to be a whirlwind of adventure and awkwardness…well, perhaps not so much of a whirlwind but more of a slow Polka. Once again I took advantage of my location and went with Keith and Tiffany (PCV’s) to Macedonia, Albania and Greece. I really had no idea what to expect but it was amazing. The more I get to travel, the more I realize is out there and the deeper my sense of curiosity delves. Additionally, the opportunity to travel around the Balkans has only helped me get a better grasp of Romania’s history and mentality. Obviously Greece was spectacular and had more history than I could process. However, it was Macedonia and Albania that captured my intrigue. Tourism there is a bit more raw and for me, I think you get to see the country and culture in a more realistic atmosphere. In Albania we were able to stay with a few different Peace Corps Volunteers, which was fun to see what they did, where they lived and hear about their experiences. Other than the gorgeous landscape, one of my favorite aspects was meeting so many fascinating people from around the world (Evangelical missionaries, Irish “IT” man, 2 guys biking around the globe, a Chinese girl who was on the Albanian Big Brother, Czech ladies on the ferry and the list goes on.)

Since Macedonia and Albania are not in the EU, I was expecting to see countries that were worse off than Romania. This was not at all the case in Macedonia, at least based on appearances. It had a very modern aura and the roads…my goodness; we traveled on a real live freeway! Here we are getting to go to places like Athens and all we could think about was how nice the roads in Macedonia were! As soon as we crossed the border on foot to Albania, there was an immediate change back to the roads that we are use to…except in place of the infamous Dacias were massive amounts of Mercedes Benzes (however you’d pluralize that.) On our journey through Albania, I observed several life size dolls on or hanging from the roofs of houses and a plethora of concrete bunkers. Apparently the dolls are used to protect the home from the Evil Eye and the 700,000+ bunkers were built in the 1960’s in the case of a military attack. In order to get the bunker job, the architect had to climb inside his own created bunker while the military fired away; if he survived the job was his. Also, it was mostly men who were out and about, so that was a bit eerie at times; especially on our bus ride from Albania to Athens when Tiffany and I were two of five women on the entire bus. When we arrived at the border of Greece, there was an endless line of buses all filled with Albanian men attempting to find work in Greece. Since I’m guessing not all of them were legit, we sat at the border for 6 hours! Once we finally got to Athens, the amount of English we heard was overwhelming. For the first time in over a year we could understand not only our own conversation but also those around us – it was a grand and much welcomed epiphany. The three of us often sat mute during our meals because it was so exciting to know what was going on at the tables next to us and even across the room. It was nice not feeling like a complete idiot for a few days. Everywhere we went, the cuisine was delicious and the abundance of lamb was a nice change from the abundance of pork. Not including Greece, the drinking culture was not quite what we have grown accustomed to here, so a variety of instances like no alcohol sales after 7pm in Macedonia tended to catch us off guard. In conclusion, I’m easily impressed by road quality.