“Trucks, dogs and a bear” or “Me and Romania”
Hi there!
You have already heard about me, I am the one from Czech Republic, the red head one. I am also the one who was a bit surprised, in the best way, by her new live in Romania. We were told we are going to live in a typical rural house. OK. I was prepared for dry toilets somewhere in the end of our yard, mice everywhere, hot water only from stove… sharing my room with all the other volunteers.
Nope. First of all, we have two bathroom inside the house, both. Well… almost inside. So far I have my own room just and only for myself. So far I have discovered the advantage of kitchen placed in yard – you eat when you need to, not when(ever) you have a sweet tooth. And so far I discovered how amazing Romanians are. Not sure when your bus leaves? No problem, somebody stops and takes you even if you are not hitchhiking, just stay in the bus stop and wait for a minute or two. (Well, we already know it does not work if you are French with dreadlocks or dark Italian. But it works if you are a nice person, especially girl. Sorry, boys.)
My first weeks were about discovering local… everything and everyone. I have been introduced to our adopted dog Fifty Shades, chickens, local volunteers (sweet young people with heads full of ideas, jokes and notions), to my/our activities, and, of course, to „my“ organization. Yeap, all of it in the same time. During the week we make interesting and entertaining lessons such as music, languages or handicraft, we play games with local kids, and show a movie. During weekends our programme is up to us, which means I am walking around the neighborhood.
Last time I wanted to see the nearest mountain, Moşa (1420). It took me 5 hours to get there, half the trip was just climbing through a forest, but it was worth it. I love crazy hiking with no road, so I would enjoy it anyway. I took some pictures and a snack on the peak, then it was time to come back. And I did a bad, bad choice to follow local „tourist mark“. I ended up in… nowhere, far, far away from home with only two hours of light left. I had to decide and to do it quickly. Fine, lets go across the forest, my GPS tells me the direction and I do not need to be afraid of bears, our boss claims they live only among the big mountains.
Well, it turned out he was wrong. We were staring at each other, two living statues on an animal path between bushes, one of them furry and four-footed, the other one human. I had to laugh when the bear ran away so, so fast, that it made me wander if he survived the speed. Next time I am more careful about my decision, 40 kilometers is quite a lot for one hike. Next time I am riding the bear!
See you soon in my next report! 😉
Anna
volunteer from Czechia
Anna se află în România pentru o perioadă de 6 luni, din august 2016 până în ianuarie 2017 în cadrul proiectului Building Youth Supportive Communities 2 (ref nr 2016-1-RO01-KA105-024246), proiect co-finanțat de Comisia Europeană prin Programul Erasmus+ și implementat în România de Asociația Curba de Cultură.
Hitchhiking in Romania
Thursday evening, Dodo and Kristi came by hitchhike from Râmincu Sărat to pick me up from Schiulești. We enjoyed our evening together, and Friday we left at 10:00 am. First direction: Râmnicu Sărat.
So we walked, and we met, at the end of the village, a girl who told us that a friend of her goes to Ploiești (the middle of our way to Râmincu Sărat). We waited for him, and he came! We left Schiulești and he brought us to Ploiești. There he didn’t want us to continue hitchhiking he wanted us to take a bus. He dropped us to the bus station, and he also gave us 50 lei for tickets! It was crazy! I never saw this before! We had to wait 45 min in Ploiești before the bus departure, so we went in restaurant, but when we came back… there was NO BUS anymore. Shit… we had to take a cab to go out of the city to hitchhike!
Two cars picked us up and we arrived in Râmnicu Sărat. There we joined the other friends. We were 6 in total therefore we divided ourselves in two groups and the adventure started!
It was a mess at the beginning, two cars took us, but we were still in Râmnicu Sărat. Finally a car brought us on the way to Constanța…
And there was a problem: there were not too many cars using the road. So we were waiting in a gas station, we didn’t have sign, so a guy took us to the closest city (Crazy Romanian peoples are so helpful !!!). After a long wait another guy took us to a crossing in our way. We were in a Roma village, so EVERYONE was looking at us, it was a little bit scary… Luckily 3 minutes later 2 guys, electricians, really cool guys picked us up! They brought us a bit closer to our destination. There we were waiting aaaaaaaand waaaaaaaiting for someone, when finally a young guy with his van stopped. Bad luck, he had just 2 seats in front and we were 3. After negotiating among us, 2 of us went in the front and one in the back! Nordine was the first in the back! After that me and later Yasmine! And what else do you think it was travelling with us? A baby cat! This way 2 hours and half past with his van! It was really cool!
Finally we arrived to Constanța where we met our host from coachsurfing. Dan with his wife Maria. They were amazing! Now it came the time to enjoy the sea and the city and the holidays !!!
The way back was by hitchhiking as well. This time we were two, Nordine and me! We waited 5 minutes and a couple took us until Bucharest ! Surprisingly they spoke really good French! They also ask us if we wanted to take the bus, they proposed to pay for us (crazy this Romanian, too helpful!!!). We refused of course. The trip continued with McDonalds breaks and with another couple driving us. They stopped in a gas station and bought us water! Later they dropped us in Ploiești! The last car taking us was an English car! With again a really cool guy!
Result of this weekend: I realized that I have never met people so Friendly and Helpful before!
Margot
volunteer from France
Margot se află în România pentru 5 luni în cadrul proiectului Intercult’rural (ref nr 2015-3-FR02-KA105-010806) co-finanțat de Uniunea Europeană prin programul Erasmus+ și implementant în România de Asociația Curba de Cultură.
Enjoying Romania
Catching some free days our EVS volunteers traveled around a bit and they discovered the culture and the traditions, the landscapes and the beautiful cities. So this post will be mostly made of pictures and less of words.
Folosind câteva din zilele libere voluntarii SEV au călătorit prin împrejurimi pentru a descoperi cultura și tradițiile, peisajele și frumoasele orașe. În majoritate acest post va fi alcătuit din poze și prea puțin din text.
