Sec. 1 Nr. 1 Sc. A Et. 5
An address to which my short visit is about to end. Though that's not to say it wasn't without its fair share of craziness, because it most definitely was. I'm pretty exhausted, but it was a tossup between which I felt like doing less, blog or pack, and packing won, so I'm gonna give this a shot.
non-exciting day activities:
woke up at 8:30 and got out of bed. had slept ehhh. then everyone exclaimed that they couldn't believe I was up so early, asked why I was up so early, asked if I was up so early because I hadn't slept well, and told me I should probably go back to sleep. That was an interesting change from home. (dad, these people really gave birth to you?) Anyway, then I seriously passed out until 11:15. Those 3 hours were fabuulouss.
Then we had breakfast.
Then we left for the park (we took the subway, then the bus)
Then we had lunch at a restaurant that I believe was called City Grill?
(mommy: I had 2 mititei, fries, and a pepsi)
Then we took the bus home. That brings us to crazy event number 1.
Bus Adventure:
Soo there we are, sitting nicely on the bus. I'm not really sure how the ticket business works here. I have a lot of admiration for the nyc public transportation system, because whatever it lacks in cleanliness it makes up for in overall amazingness, both with area covered and ease of use (i think?) and such. But anyway, so I'm not really sure where a ticket is supposed to be given and when. Both my grandparents have a card that lets them ride for free. They had bought me 2 tickets on the way there, and at some point, apparently the first one got punched on the way there. So we're riding on the way back and this woman, all official and dressed in blue with this little machine that looks like a portable credit card machine? With a little screen and numbers and such, comes around and asks for our tickets. My grandmother gets out her pass, and then motions to the woman that my grandfather has my ticket. The woman then goes up to my grandfather, who yells back to my grandmother that my grandmother has the ticket, and there's some yelling across the bus. This occurance is far from unusual for my grandparents. (Though actually occured significantly less than I originally anticipated.) Anyway, conclusion was that my grandmother had the pass. She then gave it to this woman. The woman starts going at me in rapid-fire Romanian that my ticket isn't valid, and that we have to pay a fee for having this outdated ticket. I have little more than a vague idea of the wtf is going on, but I kind of nod along, and my grandmother tells this woman that I don't understand Romanian. The woman proceeds to say lots of crap about how my ticket isn't valid and how we need to pay a fee. She then tries to tell me in English. Her english blows, (Stop thinking that I'm not one to talk, she ends up being a bitch, so I'm allowed to be one too,) and the only part that makes sense is that my ticket isn't valid and that I need to give her 50 lei. )50 lei = appox. $25. In any normal situation, that would set of huge alarms for me. But, (and I recognize that this is a very bad thing,) when I'm in a situation where I don't even have the remotest idea of what's normal, I throw my common sense knowledge out the window a little bit, assuming that it no longer applies. It didn't help that rather than show any sign that this is wrong or bizarre, my grandparents are bickering over who is going to give her the 50 lei. Had I been more skeptical, or had THEY appeared more skeptical, I would have waited longer, rather than try to remove the attention of half the bus from my arguing grandparents. Then she started asking me for my passport. Now I didn't have it, but even so, there was little chance in hell that I was handing it to this random bus woman. So I reached into my wallet and gave her the 50 lei which she literally snatched out of my hand. So that was a lil suspicious. THEN, then a bunch of people started yelling. (People that weren't my grandparents.) 2 or 3 women and a guy started screaming at this woman, wtf was she doing, why did she just snatch the money from my hand, and things of the sort. (My romanian kind of kicked in by this point and I recognized that I had done something retarded and this woman was not legit at all.) So these 4 or 5 people start screaming at her to give my money back, which believe it or not, she does. Then this guy in red, who looked kind of sketchy and had one eye that was fogged up/messed up, and who normally would have freaked the hell out of me, (but who I was currently very grateful to for getting my money back), i think told me to stick near him as he got off at the stop. My grandparents and I were also gonna make a run for it and get off at that stop, even though we normally would have had a few more to go. So I was standing near this guy and holding my grandmother's hand and the doors open and then guy snaps at me to stay there, while he and the faker bitch got off the bus. And he said to wait there until the bus left and he was gonna watch to make sure the annoying woman got off and left. (At least I think that's what he said...) So that was a little crazy. And then after that, I no longer had a ticket, cause that horrendous woman had taken it. But that didn't end up being a problem somehow. Which brings me back to my overall lack of understanding for the bus system here. But anyway, I gained a HUGE amount of respect for the public voice here, (for lack of a better word,) because all these people had really jumped on this woman for giving my grandparents and me shit. Especially after seeing that video that was circulating about the metal hospital where that woman was dying and so many people were just chilling in the waiting room. I know this is a TOTALLY different situation, and I can't imagine how it would have played out in New York since thankfully, it hasn't in my presence, but regardless, it was quite the epic scene.
So the original plan that was supposed to happen when we got home was that we were going to chill for a little while, I was going to call the airport about my bag, and then my grandfather and I were going to go to a movie. So we got back to the apartment, and my grandfather didn't come upstairs with us, because he went out to buy water and pepsi. soo my grandmother and I go upstairs, and we've arrived at adventure number 2.
The Quasi-Break-In Adventure
So my grandmother and I arrive at the door, and she notices some scratches on the door, (it's made of wood,) underneath the lock and on the side wall thing that the door closes onto. She also can't open the door. The locks turn, but the door is jammed somehow. She says she thinks that someone tried to break into the house. I'm skeptical at first, assuming that the scratches were probably there and she just didn't see them. The door kinda messes with my skepticism. Then my grandfather comes and confirms that the scratches are new, he also can't open the door, it's bad. My grandmothers counsin, (i think cousin) lives downstairs, so we went to stay in her house while my grandfather called the police. I find out that there were several almost-break-ins and a couple actual break-ins recently in this building. There were some phone calls in other apartments where there was no one on the other end, and people think that it was the thief calling to see if anyone was home. Another theory is that it's actually someone in the building that knows people and is kind of keeping track of when they leave the house. Because we were only out for a couple hours. Just today, an apartment was broken into on my grandmother's cousin's floor, and one room was turned upside down and a bunch of things were taken, though the other room I believe was left untouched. Also, last month, some students were staying in an apartment, and their apartment got broken into, but nothing was taken, so that was suspicious. So my grandmother is a little worried at this point, but we come to the conclusion, (and the police and my dad said the same thing,) that if the locks were still shut, it's extremely unlikely that the apartment was broken into. Why/how would theives lock the door from the outside when they left? Anyway, so I stay downstairs for most of the action, but the police came and my grandfather brought them upstairs, and then a locksmith came and repaired the lock. While the locksmith was repairing we came upstairs. My grandfather was pretty upset that we missed out on the movie, though my grandmother and i kept trying to tell him that this was unexpected and WAY more important. But yeah, so that whole fiasco took a while, but fortunately, they didn't get in for whatever reason, and nothing was taken.
As for the rest of the night:
It was about 6:30 by this point. While the locksmith was here, the airport called to say that my bag was coming at some point after 8. We decided that my grandmother would stay at home to wait for them, and my grandfather and I ate dinner, and then went to the movie. The movie was American, in English with Romanian subtitles. It was a movie about Goya, the artist, and had Javier Bardem and Natalie Portman in it. It was unbelievably ridiculously horrifying and scarring. That's not to say it wasn't good. It was quite good. It was just traumatizing as all hell. There was a lot of death and torturring, and some crazy people, and Natalie Portman gets raped, (not to mention that watching a semi-naked Natalie Portman get raped isn't ideal grandfather-granddaughter quality time,) anndd I'm not easily freaked out but jeeeeez i have no desire to see that again. Then we came home. (We went both ways with the Metro.) The Metro station is right around the corner from my grandparents house, which is extremely convenient. The fact that my grandfather says the code to the door every time we come home in order to make sure that I remember how to get in, (even I'm leaving tomorrow morning,) is probably less than ideal considering today's events, but what can you do. Then I took a stellar showing that (surprisingly? not surprisingly? am I just a huge snob?) had very hot water annndd had my very own shampoo, conditioner, body wash, AND loofa, which may not sound so exciting except that they were from my very own overpacked suitcase!! Oh yes. Don't hold back your excitement. My suitcase DID arrive, complete with all the clothes that I blatantly did not need. I know. I was very relieved too. (I mean, I really was relieved to see it, because need all the clothes or not, I didn't want to leave without the suitcase, and worse, I didn't want it to be completely gone. So though it's going to be a huge pain to carry it tomorrow, I am more than happy to have it.)
THEN i ate some grapes and now here i am! Staying up way later than I should, since I need to wake up at 7 tomorrow to leave at 8 to take the 8:30 bus to Sinaia. So I'm going to pack and pass out. I don't think I can set my cell phone alarm because I don't think it knows the time anymore, so let's hope they're able to wake me up tomorrow...
random stuff:
yes. my grandfather does have those eyeglasses with the sunglasses that flip up. and yes. he does wear them up almost all the time. and yes. we ARE the coolest people walking around Romania.
marion: HAH. I get to be in a country with a good exchange rate! hhaaaaahhhh. :) but i love you. and miss you. and can't wait to hear about all the euros you spent on ice cream and non-alcoholic drinks...!
moni: he hasn't worn a tie, so i haven't gotten to see him tuck it in. :( though btw, romanian guys aren't ass bad eye candy as i thought they would be. they are sketchy as all fuck. but they aren't that ugly! arrggg i miss you.
and finally: my Romanian has been holding me quite well, and I'm as surprised as I am proud. Granted, if my grandmother didn't speak any english, (my grandfather doesn't really,) we'd be in a more difficult situation. But I've been speaking almost entirely (shitty) Romanian, and it's gotten me by with the two of them, and my understanding is definitely good enough so that at least they don't have to speak any English, and I'm glad I had these couple days to adjust to the language before heading over to the program. I still read like a toddler and talk like an idiot, but the fact that I can put together what I want to say, (most of the time,) is good. Though, before I toot my own horn too much, when people say things to me in public, I'm almost always lost. My grandparents speak realtively slowly and extremely loudly, so as far as Romanian goes, I've got it kinda easy. I definitely don't pick up on everything that's said to me in public places, aka movie theater, restaurant, crazy bus woman, etc. buttt i'm not doing all that bad, so I'm relieved.
but anyways, i miss everyone a ton. so those two misses were redundant.
email me! LStreja@gmail.com! or comment! i miss social interaction! i thrive on it! tell me about your scandalous lives! i care! for realsies!
-lots of love-
edit:
sunburn update!
i couldn't leave this entry without one. because i KNOW that everyone wants to know that both my nose and my eyebrow are peeling. and i didn't want to leave you guys feeling empty, unfulfilled, or unable to sleep because you didn't know the exact details of my sunburn. well now you'll know. my face is less red, despite the ugly peeling on right side of face. (yes. right side. just like my right arm was red when my left arm wasn't. and the right side of my stomach was darker than the left.) annd my stomach's still red, but my arms aren't really. and nothing is peeling besides my face. (cause why would something like my stomach, that doesn't show 24/7, peel? that would be fortunate or something. jeez.
-again. lots of loving. and missing. bye!-
