What an adventure this has been.
Thursday
We ended up leaving a little later
than expected, but I’ve become accustom to running on Moldovan time anyways
(Dad you would hate the running late thing). We had been waiting for another
couple, family friends of the Burlescu’s, who had seemed to have gotten a
little lost. Anyway we headed out for Moldova pretty late, crossing the
Moldovan-Romanian boarder closer to midnight. I was thrilled to add another
stamp to the passport, as as was Mikayla, who tried to film the whole event.
Apparently you’re not suppose to do that though, and a boarder guard opened her
door and started speaking to her in Romanian. At the moment, we were eating
pretzels so I told Mikayla to offer him one. I guess we were in a pretty silly
mood offering boarder control pretzels, after eleven most nights I become
delirious. Once the officer left Ana-Maria translated that he asked what we
were filming…Opps.
Getting through customs took a
little time, but once we were finally through I was able to fall asleep until we
were awaken to eat potatoes and chicken (at like 3 am… on the side of the road.
At that point in my life I had to take a step back and ask myself, “how the
hell did I end up here… on the side of rode in the middle of nowhere Romania eating
chicken and potatoes?!” So that was interesting, I can check that one off
the list of things I haven’t done yet.
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| we made it. |
Customs at midnight.
After that strange experience, I
completely passed out until we pulled up to the cabana in Lacu Rosu around 6
am. Good morning world.
BUNA DIMINEAȚA!
It was freezing when we stepped out
of the car, freezing like if you told me that I had actually been transported
to the Alps, I would have believed you. Mikayla and I were a little more than
cold in our running shorts and long sleeves... minus two points for the dumb
Americans. When asked if we wanted to go to sleep, we more than eagerly
accepted.
At around nine we woke up to
Ana-Maria and her friend crying. They had been at Locu Rosu for a week with the
British boys camp that had just left to go home. Young love is tough, am I
right? After lots of hugs and trying to cheer Ana-Maria up. We ate a late
breakfast/early-lunch in the outside dining area. The scene here is really
beautiful. It was pretty chilly being up in the mountains, but the sun felt
amazing. We then went for a long walk around the lake, which is actually a
flooded forest; you can still see the stumps peaking up through the water. I felt like a zombie and my stomach was off (like very off.. like I wanted to curl up in a
little ball and not move kind of off), but the walk was still really nice.
We came back to cabin to eat and
relax, and I passed out so early... too exhausted and nauseous to function.
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| Pondering if we actually want to climb that mountain. |
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| (we did) |
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| silly leaf hats with Mamachica |
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| Photobombing tante luisa |
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| those damn tree stumps. |
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| our whole group minus Inga who took the picture! |
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| Ana-Maria and her friend rocking their new England hats. |
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| Sidenote: Many Moldovans apply for a Romanian passport if their ancestors are Romanian because with a Moldovan passport you usually need a visa for other European countries because they aren't a part of the EU. |
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| The Cabana |
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| And the forest |
Friday
Today we went swimming in a salt
pool! The place was almost resort-like, with these two large pools and
surrounding bars. They were extremely salty because they use natural water from the
salt mines that surround them. I was amazed that the water was so clean and
clear. Also you really couldn’t go underwater though because the water was so
incredibly salty, it would sting your eyes. This is what happened to me when
Inga said we would go under on “one, two, three” … turns out she only meant we
would go shoulder deep. The pools were great though and it was a perfect day
for swimming. Floating was so easy, if you picked your feet off the bottom,
you’d be on you back in seconds. It almost felt like zero gravity… I had never
swam in water so buoyant. It was a great day of relaxing and I finally got a
little sun this summer ( I am so pasty… by Wescott standards ). I felt so dead
when we drove home (we were about an hour and half away.) The drive was so curvy…
like Kelly drive on crack, for all my Philly readers who can relate. Papachica
also was not taking the turns slow at all… there were a few nail biters when
there was oncoming traffic flying around the same turn. Also the fact that he
did this all stickshift is extremely impressive. On the way home we stopped at
this one peak to pick and eat blueberries (mom, you would have been all about
it). I am now craving
my mother’s homemade blueberries pies and having the slightest bit of
homesickness set in.
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| Candid |
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| SO SALTY |
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| I'm like actually convinced Moldovans don't drink water. |
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| We'll all float on okay |
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| Also the Italian hat always for the win. |
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| Eating ALL of the blueberries |
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| YUM |
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| YES ROMANIA |
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| Purple tongues! |
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| Something was really funny |
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| I swear |
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| Cousin Christina! |
Saturday
Today we slept so late, almost
until nine! I don’t think I’ve slept that late during this whole trip. Waking
up in the mountains is great, very chilly, but refreshing. After eating
breakfast, we headed out to hike a mountain called “the Killer”. I noticed
Papachcia had wine with breakfast, pregaming the whole event. Another two
points for my adoptive Moldovan father. Papachica is always killing the game
with the wine.
Anyways the hike was a good one; I
have no idea how long it took us to get to the top, but probably close to an
hour and half. We stopped about halfway in this picturesque wild flower field
to snack on eggs and cucumbers. I felts as though I may have fallen out of a
storybook, the view was amazing. Of course we took tons of pictures, but they not
do the sights justice at all. After resting for awhile, we all headed back down
the slope with Mamachica and friends collecting flowers for tea (everything is
edible if you believe). Once at the
bottom, we stopped for ice cream, which really hit the spot because the hike
was really hot, most of us were shirtless by the top even with the change of
altitude making it cooler. While we snacked on ice cream, a cold front came out
of nowhere and it suddenly was pouring. Then minutes later it was hailing… the
weather in Romania is probably as predictable as @ElizabethWescott’s moods.
Once we finally made it back to the
cabana (mostly dry!), we all collapsed. I had only intended to shut my eyes for
a second, but ended up being more than an hour.
When Mikayla and I finally did wake,
we enjoyed soup on the front porch with Inga. The weather continued to be
strange AF because it was muggy, but at the same time pretty cold. As I watched
steam rise off the mountains, it was hard to imagine out of any place in the
world, I was here in the middle of bumblefluff Romania. I definitely have been
missing everyone at home a little more this week, especially my family because
I could see them loving all this – being outdoors and all the hiking. As much
as I love being on this impromptu vacation, it is all bittersweet. Half of me
if here, but the other half is half a world away.
We spent the rest of the day
hanging out and playing different indoor games… from Jenga to this new one,
Dutch Blitz, which was this tricky, fast-paced, and strategic card game –
Mikayla hated it. The rest of the day was pretty slow paced, I think the hike
had us all beat.
Mamachica was also obsessed with bears, "Orsi" and was jibber jabbering about them the whole hike, it was hilarious. She claimed these were bear tracks, I'm not sure I'm convinced...
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| popping all the pills for all the pains |
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| Eating our ice-cream |
Sunday
Today we
slept in to nine again—we are sleeping in so late and I'm still so dead by the
end of each day. At breakfast, another couple and their young boy (he has to be
around two) joined our group of the Burlescu’s family friend. Our group then
decided we would be doing another hike (YES!). Today’s hike was hella steep, at
certain points I had identity crisis and wasn’t sure if I was Maddie Wescott or
survivor man, bear grylls About halfway into the hike Mikayla had started to
feel really nauseous. This whole trip our stomachs hadn’t quite been right, but
on today’s hike we were both very much on the struggle bus. And struggle buses
aren’t so good at going up mountains. We did make it to the top though, with
Mikayla only throwing up once! Woohoo! Girl is an inspiration. I’ll drink to
that (and of course we did, Papachica ALWAYS with the wine). Also a huge shout out
to the dad in our group doing the whole hike with his two year old son on his
shoulders, talk about a super dad (don’t worry @BertWescott, you’re still the
best in my book).
The view was amazing though and (for
me) worth the climb. We drank wine and snacked on tomatoes, cucumbers, and walnuts.
While Mikayla’s stomach settled, the group took tons of photos, trying (and
failing) to capture the amazing expanse. I was so amazed how I could possibly
be this lucky to have ended up here of all places. To all those Eastern Europe
doubters, this place is sick.
On the way back down, my stomach
took a turn for the worse (too much heat, not enough water?) so I opted out of
taking photos in the grassy wildflower field. I so desperately needed shade,
and the field was just baking in the heat. Looking back I think it was due to a combination of the heat, humidity and our new Moldovan diets (highly bread
and grain based), but Mikayla and I were determined not to let anything deter
us from putting Romania on the map. While we rested, the adults in our group
all collected flowers for tea… they left with arms full that they would later
dry back at the cabana. These Moldovans do not mess around with their flower
collecting and tea making.
When we
arrived back at the cabana, we ate some soup, as is the Moldovan way. When in
doubt, eat all the Borș or Zama. I was cracking up as they kept offering
Mikayla wine to settle her stomach. I can never remember a time where alcohol
has helped settle my stomach… but maybe the Moldovan body’s work differently?
The Americans were not killing it today, so we eagerly agreed when Inga
suggested we nap for an hour before our next activity.
That next
activity being zip lining. Are you jealous of Romania yet? We walked/hiked a little ways
from the cabana to this zip line that had been set up between two taller trees
in an opening. Zip lining with Romanian mountains as a backdrop was really
cool, even if it had begun to rain on us. Honestly, the light drizzle felt nice
after such a long day with headache and upset stomach. The group’s tensions
from the hike and exhaustions definitely dissipated with this zip lining
excursion. With the rain picking up, our clan hiked back down to a small outdoor
cafe to enjoy beer and this Romanian pastry, called Kütõskalács. It sort of looks like
a stretched out doughnut, but much thinner and covered in cinnamon and sugar. Over
this snack we tried to teach mamachica the word “acquaintance” because she has
been having us saying really hard Romanian words all week. Apparently our
attempts and accents are pretty funny because it usually ends up as all the
Moldavans hysterical.
I’ve definitely picked up more words here in
Romania because everyone in our group has been speaking only Romanian. I’ll
list a few so you can all be super impressed with my cultural immersion (@Zach
#Cultured #worldly)
Here we go: Plin (full), Îmi plaçe (I like), oboset (tired, I use
this one often), Munte (mountain), Copaci (tree), Ai nota (swimming)
Now that you’re thoroughly
impressed I’ll continue with this blog post that is already entirely too long
(sorry friends).
Mikayla and I have definitely been
spoiled with Ana-Maria and Inga, who will usually speak most English with us at
home and around the house. Here, I’ve found that I am grasping for small words
that I recognize and trying to form meaning from the jibber jabber. Most of the
time I feel as though I am surrounded by the silly nonsensical language of
minions. I so wish I were bilingual here, but at the same time I’ve found that
the little Spanish I remember from high school has helped me remember Romanian.
(@DannyWescott, I know you hate Spanish, but stick with it kiddo)
One last point, it has been both
freeing and isolating without any wifi. @ElizabethWescott, I think you would
have died about five minutes into this trip without wifi or data. Absolutely
died. Also I’ve been most
homesick on this entire trip while here in Romanian. I miss hearing from my parents a lot. There
are little things throughout the day that I would love to share with people
back home. Sometimes it’s just for a moment, but I would kill for a lot of
you to be here experiencing this with me.
Monday
Today we
rose early (7 am!) to hit the salt pool. It was much hotter, both in and outside of the water. Our whole group left with a little
color, myself included. My burn was strangely blotchy from the salt drying
on my skin. Side note: This salt pool is the real deal, like absolutely stings
any cuts or bug bites. Another day of relaxing, which was really nice because I
think my body is really feeling the hikes from the days prior. Definitely a
wake up call that it is time to get back in shape and fast. It has been really
difficult training here this summer and trying to make the most of this abroad
experience. It has probably been one of the biggest things I’ve struggled with
because I know I should work out, but at the same time running at 5:30 am leaves
me exhausted and less adventurous after work. I’ve come to the (harsh)
conclusion, that in life that majority of things really don’t matter,
especially collegiate sports. It’s four years of my life that when I graduate
really won’t mean anything, so I might as well make the most of the amazing
experience that is my reality now. I’ll try to continue training, but I
definitely will not be in the best of shape this fall. Yet I’d rather be in
crap shape and know I made the most of Moldova.
We ended
our Tuesday with Ana-Maria coming into our room and asking if “we want to play
a game with kids”. Another camp of Moldovan kids had arrived today or
yesterday, and Ana-Maria is all about organizing games. Despite the language
barrier, the games were so fun. These kids are just so silly; I couldn’t stop
laughing. The day ended on a very fun note.
Tomorrow we
head back to Chisinau and my last week of Moldova begins. I cannot believe that
in a week I will be back home. I’ve never felt farther than at this point right
now.
These cows got in our way.. silly cows.
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| cows. cows everywhere. |
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| blueberries! |
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| Not blueberries! |
Tuesday
Plot twist, we will come home
Wednesday. At this point in the trip, Mikayla’s stomach had only gotten worse
and she really needed the medicine that she had brought from the U.S.
While Mikayla stayed in bed, I
ventured with the group down the lake. A whole combination of things were
really bringing my spirits low on Tuesday. I never really knew what was going
on or what the plan for the day was because everyone would naturally just speak
Romanian to each other. While walking
down to the lake, I felt just so detached from the group who were all chatting
together in Romanian. When Mamachica put her arm around me, I wanted nothing
more for my own mom’s arms.
Naturally I started to cry, but
it’s okay because no one noticed. I have become really good at silently
crying #lifeskills.
At the lake we rented these
rowboats, and I paddled around trying to avoid all the submerged stumps of the
flooded forest. The stumps and fallen trees were actually a huge pain in the ass, but after that rowing experience I think I could easily row Head of the Charles in a single. I would kill all the turns. Actually maybe we a father-daughter double (@BertWescott). Also dad, side note.. there were men biking up some of these mountain, and you're probably the only other person I know who would be crazy enough to do that... mad props.
Anyways, it felt really good to be back on the water, even though the
rowing was not at all what I was used to. Mamachica was loving the fact that
they had a bona fide rower paddling them around, she is so silly sometimes.
Next we searched for the perfect
Ia—the traditional Moldovan/Romanian shirt. They white and flowy, and come in
all different embroidered patterns and colors. I found such a pretty one with
red stitching that Mamachica ended up loving just as much, so she bought one
too!
Back at the cabin, Mikayla was not
feeling much better at all. All the same, Inga and Mamachica insisted that she
need some fresh air. We then as a group traveled to a pasture to the home of
some shepherds. The smell of the fresh
milk/cheese/dairyproducts/chickenpoop/pigfeed as well as the sweltering heat
made Mikayla feel so much better!! (only joking). Though her spirits were
lifted because I am such a fabulous companion and forced her to take silly
pictures with all the farm animals.
I am so grateful
that I was able to see such a beautiful country though, and the mountains were
truly spectacular. It just reminded me how it’s such a crazy big world out
there and how crazy I am to see this small part of it. All the same in this great big world, I am excited to return back home to my small part of it.
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| Always Moldovan flower children at heart. |
