Wednesday, July 20th-Friday, July 22nd, 2011 "Welcome to Romania"

Day 12-14: Bucharest and Brasov, Romania

Day 12, Wednesday, July 20th: Travel Day from Vienna to Bucharest (via plane) and Bucharest to Brasov (via train)

Today was a long day of travel! Other than our first day of international travel, this one came in a close second. We started in a chilly Vienna, where we last wrote, and landed in a hot Bucharest. Hot, as in hotter than Houston and no moving air. We took a fast paced minivan ride from the airport to the train station. Several times the driver crossed himself—this, of course, made me a little nervous. I thought even the driver thought we were in trouble and was asking God for some favors with the traffic. Beth informed me it is very normal to cross yourself whenever you pass a church in Romania. Phew, death avoided once again.

Our train ride from Bucharest to Brasov was even hotter than the city of Bucharest, which is difficult to imagine. After finding some cool relief in the McDonald’s of the train station for a few hours before our train pulled out we found ourselves on a train car with no AC, windows that did not open, and a sun that was beating down on us creating a large oven. During the first 45 minutes of the trip both Beth and I were wondering if we would make it to Brasov without passing out (seriously) but once we hit the mountains and the outside temperature dropped we were in much better shape. In addition to being cooler we also gained an excellent travel companion. Apparently Romanians have discovered portable DVD players and have a love for Michael Jackson music videos. They do not however appreciate personal earphones. The soundtrack for most of our three-hour ride to Brasov was Michael Jackson. Luckily she had two DVDs of videos so it was several decades of music. It was at this point that Beth leaned over to me and said, for about the tenth time, “Welcome to Romania.”*

We were picked up in Brasov by Sarah and Mary, Beth’s good friends and former colleagues/roommates. We hiked up 80 stairs to their apartment to a picture perfect view of the town and surrounding mountains. After a quick glass of wine we all walked to dinner with Steffi and her three adorable kids: Roxi (8), Costel (6), and Beca (6). The kids had missed their Beth and welcomed us both to the city with a handwritten sign and balloons. I wish teenagers were this excited about seeing us.

Our Italian dinner in the city center was delicious. We finished eating in the middle or a torrential down pour. Steffi and kids got a cab, however, Sarah, Mary, Beth, and I were a little too close of a walk for a taxi driver to want to take us so we walked. We were drenched. Beth said again, “Welcome to Romania.”

Day 13, Thursday, July 21st: Brasov and Bran (to see Dracula’s Castle)

We had a leisurely morning after our long day of travel. Beth took me on a walking tour of the town of Brasov. We saw the Black Church (which got its name because of a fire in which you can still see some of the soot leftover), the two watchtowers of the medieval city wall, one of the narrowest streets in Europe, and a bank (which up until a few months ago) that still had bullet holes from the 1989 revolution. The bank, which you should see in the picture, recently repainted the outside of the building and left a small portion of the old wall framed in memory of the revolution.

After a delicious lunch at a German bakery (we can’t get enough carbs on this trip) Steffi and the kids drove Beth and I to the small and nearby town of Bran to see Dracula’s (really, Vlad the Impaler’s) castle. Ironically, Vlad only went to this castle a few times. However, the small town has quite a busy tourist section around the legend of Dracula. The castle was built right into the mountain and provided us with a brief history of Romanian royalty.

In the evening we had a nice dessert party with several other Canadians and Americans who work in Brasov. All had interesting stories of how they came to Romania and became involved in helping children, the poor, the sick, and in general less fortunate of the country. We all had a fun evening!

Day 14, Friday, July 22nd: Brasov and Budila (the Gypsy village)

We had another leisurely morning (I think this is mainly my fault, I can’t seem to get out of bed before 10:00! Too much traveling makes me sleepy! No one wakes me up and the room I’m in stays dark!) and started our day with a walk to visit the new apartment Sarah and Mary will be living in in August. My jaw dropped and Beth and I were both a little jealous at the space, quality, and beautiful views money can buy here in Romania. We are thinking maybe we live on the wrong continent…

In the afternoon Steffi had to take a baby from the hospital (at which Firm Foundation’s volunteer work is centered and where Beth spent her time while in Romania) back to his parents in Budila. The three month old grinning and absolutely adorable baby boy (thank goodness international adoption is closed!) rode quietly next to me out to the village. To say the village is like a different world is an understatement. There is poverty everywhere in the world and in each region it is extreme for a variety of reasons. Here it was tough to imagine what life is like during the harsh, 30 degrees below freezing winters, when there are holes in the shacks most of the gypsies live in. As we drove through the village the car was recognized and waved at by mostly smiling faces because they know the car sometimes comes with supplies. As Steffi handed the mother her baby back, which she had dropped off at the hospital for an unknown to us reason, the mother asked why Steffi did not bring milk and other supplies for her. It’s very hard to describe the scene and situation these people live in. Its also hard to imagine, after seeing it in person, how one can survive a lifetime in the village.

We have two short days left in Romania and then it is home to Houston. Tomorrow we will go visit the hospital Beth worked in and hold babies for a few hours. For anyone that knows Beth, the baby whisperer, I now see why she loved her work and being here for three years.

Love,
Beth and Jesse

*The other times she said this were when we ran into other nice surprises upon our arrival. My other favorite was when we went to exchange some money in the train station and a kind Romanian man whispered to Beth, “Don’t exchange there. It’s the mafia”. I was tempted to exchange there to try and get on the good side of the Romanian mafia (lord knows you don’t want to be on the bad side of any mafia!), but we moved on to another stand that was open, however, unattended. Again, Beth said, “Welcome to Romania. Allow me to introduce you to Romanian time. The customer does not always come first here. Actually, the customer rarely comes first.” Welcome to Romania indeed.