The trip from Romania to US and back

Why I left:
They were swine flu paranoid. Just kidding...but the people and government are addressing the issue a lot more seriously than those in the US. Alcohol swabs are applied to every door handle and they have even provided the kids with face masks.

Just kidding. Like the rest of America, I'm indifferent, nonchalant, about this virus. While an epidemic is a cause for worry, the fatality is low.

I left for a wedding.
On my journey home, I saw surprising sites. (Note to self: I am not bringing my cat through Amsterdam)


The flight was nice, where we all got our own "Amusement" screen with TV shows, movies, music, games, news, etc..
The only international flight I've been without this: United Airlines >_<

And we got these cute yummy sandwiches with a history/lineage=)

And on the longer flight I got a cute box with my name on it (cause I ordered a special vegetarian meal). I was served a salad, chocolate cake, goooey pasta mush with pumpkin seeds, water and a breadroll with margarine <-- yuck =( I couldn't find the: I like cheese, butter, and all dairy products, but I just don't want to eat meat, meal.

I really do enjoy flying. When I was little I wanted to be an astronaut maybe just for the view from the sky.

Going over near the top of the world was beautiful. I went way out of my way to get window seats and my forehead was almost forever pressed against the window. I even cleaned them with my wet towels.

They have strange things in the airplane catalog. I could find this useful, but I'd have to carry it around and then set it up = a bit weird and too much work.

Here was the trip on my way back from Romania.

Here are the Rockies. You can take pictures once we past 10,000 ft altitude.

Here was the last thing I indulged in before I left the US continent.
Mocha frappacino...mmmm. They didn't syrup the top, but it's okay.

Amsterdam's airport is big.

Amusement screens again =D

But boo! Amsterdam's KLM and US staffed KLM = different!
There were a gazillion announcements I didn't care about, which were repeated over and over again. The headsets were so cheap, my broke after 5 hours of use. I got only 2-3 drinks and a weak meal. Look:

My egg thing wasn't an egg. Something yellow and rubber that was tasteless. the banana was good, but I was hungry. They charged for alcohol and for snacks >|
Expensive snacks too.
My KLM from Amsterdam-> Romania gave me more food in that 2 hour flight than my 14 hour international flight.
BTW: Custom rules. The US is anal about what we can bring in, and they'll fine you even if you accidentally bring something in. Romania doesn't care, nor really Amsterdam.
I had a stowaway. It was a triumphant treat after my long journeying.

Funny sights I've seen around village

Sadly, some of these moments are instant, and I couldn't catch them with my camera, Or it was unappropriated at the time for me to take a picture.

Here's my neighbor feeding her chickens: (may be me next Spring if I decide to go through having chickens: which would give me eggs and meat, but that also means: feeding them and having a coop and they smell, and I would have to kill and pluck them myself).


Sight #2: an old man with a cane chasing a cow than was running away from the herd and the man was darting too, he was agile.

Sight #3: escaping turkeys today, two of the older ones had leashes on their feet but they were gnawed through.

Sight #4: I was traveling to Galati by car, and in the lane next to us was a horse drawn cart towing a car in the cart. The car was turned on it's side to fit in the cart. I was so mad at myself for not having a camera then!

Sights I saw walking to scoala, game for Kor

So things are grey because....and because it was sprinkling rain at the time.



Here is a car with a sign on top: SCOALA which means school. These cars are everywhere and while I know we have cars marked for student drivers in the US, this is a really common sight here. Like it's as common as seeing...a Honda..no more like seeing a Volkswagon bug.


Some homes have washers here, but I don't think any have driers. I've seen that most familys hang dry their clothes outside their windows regardless of what floor they live on. Those clothes pins look just like the ones from home. My mom used to hang dry our clothes. It's okay, but consistancy of hung dry clothing when the weather is cold though is of cardboard. Eww.

Here is a hole in a block and I promise that there are kittens in the hole. I see them pop their little heads out once in a while. Lots of wild dogs and wild cats here, but people feed them. To the left of this hole is a bowl of food for them. On the menu: bread and meat.
Here's a Romanian snail...ewewew. Nu Imi place =p (I don't like) [Nooo uuoom pl-ah-chey] snails. There are snail fans in our group, but I don't get it, because snails have slime and I don't like slimey things: worms, leeches, all slugs, newts...they're okay but still gross, etc...

Here is a game for Korin, my buddy from my university days: Guess the picture: rock, dirt, poop, or other.

Here's the Fernette dog from the piata [pee-atz-za] (a farmers market) ((there's a FM located across the street from my scoala))
It's the cutest fat thing ever! It waddles and it's soooo well fed. I rarely see it away from the fernette shop. Fernettes are like mini struddles. They're fried pastries with a fruit or something, chocolate, cheese, in the middle.
Anyway, I took a picture of him away from his post.