I kinda feel bad

For the last couple of days, there has been a wake in my building. An old dude one floor down from me died recently. I assume they buried him today as the people and the casket lid that was in the hallway are gone. I see the daughter (?) and she is crying and I don't know what to say. How do I acknowledge her - good morning?

But the real reason why I feel bad is that I threatened him. I am really really sorry now that I did it. But it was two in the morning and he was blasting the manele - imagine hip-hop, techno, and Arabian music mixed. I went down in my pjs and asked them nicely to turn the music down. An hour later it was still blasting. I went down again and this time he touched my hair (the 'fro was in full effect). Now three in the morning, with me trying to get some sleep before I go to work the next day, is not the time to reach out and touch me. He got all hostile after I told him not to touch me and started yelling. I told them (the rest of the family was there) I would call the cops about the music. I left to try and sleep and the music played on and on.

Now, I feel like the daughter gives me the evil eye everytime I see her.

learning to drive

Time is flying and as always, I can only manage to get my butt in gear under pressure. It's amazing how many useful things one finds out when it's too late to be useful. Lots of that going on. Am always like - damn! wish I knew that earlier. But alas, one just has to make do.

As always, I realize how much of my home that I haven't seen while living here. So, I am attempting to get off my duff and prepare for the farewell tour of Romania. There is so much of the country to see that I can't get to by bus or train, so I have started driving lessons. Plus, I finally realized that driving a stick-shift is a good skill to have. This is the one and ONLY time my mother was right. I still refuse to take the rest of her advice.

Driving in Bucharest is scary. There are rules, the driving instructor was attempting to tell me, but they don't make sense. People and cars still seem to come out of nowhere. on my first outing, I was a bit scared that I would hit a pedestrian, but all was well. Though there are lots of things for my incredibly uncoordinated body to remember, I feel like I'm getting the hang of it.

Missing it already

Wow, it's been a while.

Today I went on a school trip to Campina and it was amazing. Easter and this trip have helped me to see parts of Romania that I haven't before and now my heart is breaking a bit. This is such a beautiful country and I have seen lots of it but there is so much more to see and I've so little time left to see it.

We drove to Doftanea Valley and showed the kids the river and how it changes with height, sedimentary rocks and tectonic uplift, and a hydrolectric dam. We then picnicked on the banks of the lake. The kids played in the water, climbed trees, and just had fun. The area is so lovely with traditional architecture and pastoral farming. Heart singingly beautiful.

It was a crazy awesome Saturday.