Romania: The Lost Journal entires 1

If you've been keeping tabs on my Facebook status then you should know that I've left Romania behind. I'm surprised to find myself slightly depressed , I actually started to get used to the eastern European style of life........oh well. So far Rome itself surpasses everything the entire country had to offer. I didn't have time to blog about my adventures in Cluj because of the course's required journal entries. So, in order to give everyone an idea of what crazy daily activities occurred in Romania I present the best portions of journal entries for the submitted for the class, uncensored. Enjoy!

1.8.10
"The first impression I had of Cluj-Napoca when we exited the airport was “wow, what a dump.” Guess this is what they call culture shock. Like the majority of the members of this trip I have never traveled to an eastern European country. On our drive to the hostel I found the buildings conveying a “communist” feeling with their cement construction and depressing generic coloring."

1.11.10

"For the first time this entire trip I saw a police officer. I was wondering where they were hiding the past few days, but I guess they actually do exist. Since they don’t carry gun, they’re not so intimating. Apparently the most they can do is write an individual a ticket, seems odd for a country that haves a lot of riff raft.

I’ve noticed that everywhere restaurant we go to eat at, there are always music videos playing on multiple television screens. I haven’t found a single place that isn’t blaring pop music dominated by Lady Gaga. Why does Europe love her so much?"

1.13.10

"After dinner we all ventured across the street to Pipes. Some of the group members have started calling the place "today's," quite fitting actually since all nights begin and end there. Me being 3 or 4 Long Island Ice Teas deep from dinner decided to continue down the same path and ordered a 1000ml LIIT. Even though I split it with someone else it defiantly got the best of me.

Our Prof truly made the night. Every time i looked over he was doing some crazy bar trick. At one moment him and a student were pounding entire lit cigarettes into their palms, next he was consuming the notorious flaming sambuka, then flipping 20 stacked coasters up in the air and catching them with one hand, and part taking in chugging competitions. Not bad for a 60 year old man on crutches.

I felt compelled to part take in one of these activities so I introduced to him a legal version of the "beerfest" strike out. Cigarette inhale, shot of tequila, chug a beer, exhale smoke. Upon completion I proceeded to the girls bathroom to vomit."

1.14.10

"Our second day trip was today, with its destination being Sighisoara. One word: beautiful. The city is built into a hill complete with a giant church at the peak. From a distance it’s quite a sight for the eyes. The distinct pastel colors of the various houses are evenly spread amongst the hill creating a rainbow like picture that artists dream to paint.

After a difficult climb to see the church, we made our way back down to the city’s clock tower. Once there we took a tour of the inside. At the top we were able to venture outside on the patio where you can observe an impressive 360 degree view of the city. They also had a collection of plaques with the world’s major cities engraved complete with its direction and distance from that very point.

To finish our trip we ventured to yet another church on a hill that was unfortunately closed at the time of our arrival (go figure). So we hopped on the bus and watched Taken on our bumpy four hour trip home."

1.15.10

"......At the end of his lecture we were escorted from the conference room to the main lobby were a buffet of sandwiches and refreshments were laid out for us. Even wine and plum brandy were present. Before diving in our presenter showed us how flammable the brandy is by sticking his finger into the liquid and lit his digit on fire."

1.16.10

"Today we were given the option of either a free day or a trip to the hot springs. About 90 percent of the group took a bus to the hot springs. Unfortunately the trip took and extra hour and a half for numerous reasons.

Number one; all of us literally rolled out of bed and got on the bus so we were starving. Radu had the driver stop at a gas station that served a wide variety of food and beverages. But when you have 25 starving American college students trying to buy a meal, chaos commences. We were delayed at the gas station for a good 45 minutes.

Second, a lot of us decided to buy large quantities of alcoholic beverages to be consumed on ride. What we forgot and quickly realized is when you drink four to five cans of becks, it runs through your system quickly… and our bus did not have a bathroom. So we stopped, yet again.

Third, the coach bus rented for us was considerable smaller than the ones we’ve been riding on our day trips. So we were all required to double up creating an uncomfortable cramped environment.

Finally, the bus driver got pulled over for speeding and was ticketed. I'm not kidding.

But when all was said and done, it was worth it.

The hot springs were fun, relaxing, and in a way invigorating. At first glance looks it like a normal oversize pool, but the water is as hotter than a hot tub. We spent a good 4 hours relaxing with beers, enhancing the euphoric affect. The group felt so relaxed that we all passed out on the ride home. This time it was only 2 1/2 hours"