From Craiova to Istanbul

Shortly after I wrote last week’s post, I took a day-long trip to Craiova, which is Romania’s 6th largest city. I went with a Romanian co-worker and we attended a presentation/round table on the closing of a democracy building grant the Embassy had awarded a non-profit there. The actual programming was pretty boring for me, since it was all in Romanian and I couldn’t understand it. However, that was all redeemed afterwards, with a massive, traditional Romanian meal. We ate at a small restaurant that is connected to an Orthodox church, and run by the priest’s wife. It lasted nearly 3 hours, and was pretty tasty. I though the appetizer was the main course, but then came the soup, coffee, main course, and dessert. And, of course, copious amounts of wine. This was during some orthodox holiday (something about Peter and Paul) that required them all not to eat meat, so everything was veggie, down to the last soy schnitzel. The train ride was about 3 hours each way, so I naturally slept sitting up with my mouth wide open, in typical Bethany fashion.

As for my day-to-day life, things are pretty much the same. I’ve been running a lot in preparation for the Marine Corps Marathon in October. So a lot of my time is spent running around the massive park by my apartment. So far no dog attacks, though I did have one run 2 miles with me once. I got paid for the first time today, which is good. I survived on 50 lei (about $15) for the last 3 weeks and I was running low on food! I did have a low moment a few days ago, when I was feeling very lonely and homesick. This is not like study abroad, where everyone is your age and everybody wants to be your best friend. Most people here have their own lives and families and friends. And I knew all of this going into it, but not having a close friend or family member around can start to grate on you after awhile! Fortunately, I see Natalie this weekend and Stephen in a couple weeks, so I’ll get recharged.

Speaking of this weekend, as I mentioned before, I will be in Istanbul with Natalie, my friend from Vienna who is living in Switzerland right now. I’ll be there from Saturday morning to Tuesday night. I’m hoping to hit all the main sights (Blue Mosque, Aya Sofya, Bosphorus River, and the Grand Bazaar) without going completely broke buying baklava and Turkish coffee. :) I’ll post after I get back and share some pictures. Happy 4th of July to my American friends and family! Eat a brat, drink a beer, and blow something up for me!!