Exciting Events - International Version

Sorry it's been awhile, folks! In my brief hiatus, some exciting things have happened in my life. Probably the most imporant, is that I got engaged. Stephen came to visit for a week and popped the question in Herastrau Park last Tuesday. Being abroad presented some interesting challenges. For example, ring is about a half a size too big, but I have to wait til I get home to resize it. And you have to call family/friends on Skype, which means a lot of people don't pick up the unknown number. It's also rough saying goodbye to your brand new fiance when you know you won't be home for another 4 weeks. Oh well, life goes on!

I also moved out the Baneasa, one of the suburb areas of Bucharest. I hesitate to call it a suburb, because it's actually crappier than the inner city. Europe is so backwards. However, I do get to live in a really nice house (a house in Europe, I know, didn't know they existed), for the next 3 weeks. And there are two cats that live with me, though they're quite shy and don't hang out with me as much as I would like. I have to take the bus into the city to go to work, which takes about 45 minutes. Another downside- I can't get in very much outdoor running, since there are no sidewalks and the drivers are crazy. However, this family has a membership to the gym/spa next door, which I can use while I'm here. It's actually really nice and has a hot tub and I can get my weekday runs done there. But I'm going to have to bus into the city to do my long runs on the weekend.

Also, Stephen located an apartment for us to move to when our lease is done at the end of August. We'll be moving downtown, which will be a nice change. We'll be on the 10th floor, which I'm sure Thor kitty will get a kick out of.

Next weekend, I'm taking a short, one night trip to Constanta, which is a city on the Black Sea. I went there last time I was in Romania (October 2008), but it was the off-season and not very nice. I'm hoping to spend some quality time with a beach while I'm there!

And it's official. I've bought my train pass to go to Sofia, Bulgaria and Belgrade, Serbia during the 5 days I have after my internship is done before I fly home. I'm excited about it, but it'll also probably involve some pretty miserable moments. I'm spending 4 nights on the road, 2 of which will be on an overnight train, and 2 of which will be in a sketchy Eastern European hostel.

Last but not least - I am getting very ready to come home. It's been fun, but I just want to go home. I have about 3 weeks left, then a couple days in Baltimore chillin' with siblings/friends, and then home to KC. So ready.