STORY 1: TAP DANCING DRUNK MAN
..."When standing at the usual bus stop, this time with two other volunteers coming to help with a project, a local old drunk man sees me and decides to come up and greet us.
He goes up to Nils and claps him on the back like they're pals and he mumbles stuff to Nils, which Nils doesn't understand and he talks to Emily and Nils for a bit and Nils and Em nod their heads and pretend like they are Romanians too.
The guy then turns to me and talks to me a bit and asks the usual questions "Where are you from, where do you work, etc..." and I tell him I'm going to the mayor's office cause I work there. He says he's going there too. Then he tells me he knows martial arts. I told him cool and I asked from where did he learn it. He blabberd something like: "from oNoaew, ihgo-nasgh-owe," and I didn't understand him. He then demonstrates his moves by doing "handpuppet-sign language" at me and asking me if I understand...yeah. He then kinda goes in to hug me (I'd already shifted my purse from my right shoulder to the left to free my small but ready arm just-in-case) and that caused Emily and Nils to larch forward a bit in worry, but he didn't actually end up hugging me. He'd wanted to whisper drunk language to me.
What was I thinking?: He's a drunk old guy and I'm sure one good push or clog would tip him over.
Anyway, then he says his goodbye and he walks away. SERIOUSLY, DURING the whole entire SITUATION, I had to BITE my cheek for BURSTING OUT LAUGHING! I snorted/chocked a couple times, but Nils and Emily were here to see a traditional Romanian celebration (Wednesday, at our Intercultural week project) and they were more freaked out and worried that I was. I had turned my back to the guy to finally catch my breath and apologize to Em and Nils, and the guy then makes his goodbye by walking backwards on the main asphalt highway and then trying to do "Karate" as his farewell but he more or less gave us a tapdancing show instead.
I was a bit freaked out that he'd get hit by a semitruck but luckily ongoing traffic saw him and evaded him as he made his exit.
Nils, Em, and I then saw our taxibus come and we loaded on and got seats. I turn and tell Em I'm sorry and that's not normal on the way to work, and Nils watches the old guy chase the taxibus...cause he's missed his ride. Sucks for him, twas a 40 min walk...but he'd maybe sobered up by the time he got there. "
STORY 2: All ASIANS ARE NINJAS
.."So I was on my way back to Romania after being home in the US from before Christmas til New Years day. I was going back with the optomistic mood of "whatever happens, happens," which is great for traveling long distances for a long period of time.
What did happen was that I met another volunteer at the airport and we took our last flight together and arrived in Bucuresti. What then happened was the my baggage never showed up, and I'd realized that my SIM chip in Romania was in my lost luggage.
Luckily, either Lufthansa, or the Bucuesti airport has the survice of delivering lost luggages to your home =D So while I helped this PCV tug 1/2 her baggages back to her home, mine would be driven to my doorstep (when they were found of course).
We saw that the earliest train left at 7pm and that would mean we'd arrive in Galati at 11pmish. She lives in Galati and I would need to arrive in Galati before 6pm to catch a maxibus back to my site (which was not going to happen). I didn't have my phone to ask a friend if I could crash over, but luckily the PCV offered to let me stay at her place = 1 problem solved.
We managed to evade creepy pushy taxi drivers (one offered to drive J and I all the way to Galati for 100 RON [Not horrid cause our train ticket would cost 54RON each] but he basically tried to steal J's luggage in his hast to distract us from using other forms of transportation and load us in his vehicle. We then managed to find the autobus station where a bus would drive a load of people from Bucuresti to Galati for 30 RON per person =) We left at 5pmish and got back at 9pmish.
Then we navigate the city and end up at the gate of J's home.
She lives in a small house behind a large house of a retired couple. There is a large metal gate in front of the home. J had left the key with them so she wouldn't leave it in the US by accident. She calls and calls and they don't answer their phone. We yell and scream and we get no answer. We know they're home....we knock on the gate...and soon I ask J "have you ever jumped a fence?" She said no she's never tried. I told her now is as good as a time to try. She debates..and finally ask "well,,,have you?" And my oh my have I!
BUT this wasn't my home and I didn't know the people, so I wasn't sure if it was appropriate. It was icey outside and cold and we were both travel-worn and frustrated, so I did it. J gave me a hand in getting over, so I manged to get over safely; no landing on anything of the spikes as I hurled over.
I landed sturdily on both feet and I jog over to the door and knock loudly!
An old man answers the door and he is appalled and shocked and upset. "How did you get in!?!" he questioned? "Who are you!??!" I hastily try to present myself as an associate of J's as quickly as I can! "Sunt prietena cu J!!, suntem prietene!!" "J, Jaaay!!"
When I finally gesture enough for him to go over to the front gate and let J in, he's no longer shocked but upset at J for letting me surprise them like that. After he lectures J in how to properly come home: calling for instance instead of having a friend break in, he then asks "Cum?! (How?!)" meaning how did you get in? and I responded simply and innocently "Am sarit (I jumped)" *bates eyelashes*
He then laughs and pats me on the back and asks for my name, and where I'm from, etc...
When he's out of earshot I whispter to J "We just probably reinforced the stereotype that all Asians are ninjas huh." "Yeah...probably." "Oh well."
*shhhhh*
1 comment:
ninja! hahahaha, how funny. when i was on vacation over the summer, i had to hop a gate and unscrew stuff to get it open so we could get in, cuz someone had forgotten the key. fun times.
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