Again, I find myself with so much to update and not enough time to share everything that is going on. I will post a daily update in the next coupe of days.
I decided yesterday to travel into Timisoara to meet with some Greater Europe Mission Missionaries, Dwight and Melissa. I was glad to travel alongside of Dave who was going to Budapest, Hungary for the night. We were supposed to leave the house at 6:20am to begin our journey. At 6:25 Dave knocked on my door and realized my alarm never woke me up. I jumped out of bed, dressed, threw things in my backpack and ran out the door to get to the train station in Otelu. We got to the train station just in time to get tickets and get on board a train that would take us to Caransebes. When we got to Caransebes Dave checked the track number for the train headed into Timisoara. The track number was listed wrong so we ended up on the wrong train. We had to be in Timisoara by 11:30 so Dave coud catch another train to Budapest, so we were left to find another way.
Of course, at this point, the girl always has to find a restroom. I finally found what was seriously equivolent to a hole in the ground (Eastern European Toilets). At least there was paper available. But in the end, I was even charged to use this “bathroom”.
Dave knew of a van that traveled between Caransebes and Timisoara, but it appeared as though the van had already left. That’s when he mentioned “hitch hiking”. Dave turned to me and asked, “Are you praying?” and I can say that I most certainly had been! I had just taken my backpack off to take my jacket off and a coachline bus headed to Timisaoara drove by, and then began to stop down the road. Dave looked back at me and started running. I picked up my bag and began to run - this is the moment I felt like it was the Amazing Race :).
We got on the packed bus and were standing with at least a half dozen others in the walkway of the bus. The time between Carasebes and Timisoara was about 90-120 minutes, and we were standing in the isle of the bus. About half way through the ride, we stopped in Lugoj where the bus emptied in half and we were finally able to take a seat. Thankfully, it only seemed like I had been standing for 10 minutes. After some sleeping on the bus and some verb conjucation practice, we arrived in Timisoara only blocks from the apartment Dave lived in during his language studies.
Timisoara is a beautiful city, with history and a true Eastern European feel (very similar to Prague). We found our way to the train station and met up with Dwight and Melissa and Dave left for a long train ride to Budapest. Little did I know what I was in for…
I arrived at Dwight and Melissa’s to enjoy many more American luxaries than I would ever find in Marga. I am thankful that my experiences in Romania have been from the village, to the small town, to the big city. With each increase, luxaries of America are ever increasing. But today I enjoyed washing AND DRYING my clothes (there is no dryer in Marga or Otelu), wireless internet access, and the awareness that many things I believed unavailable in Romania are actually available here at the big stores in the city. I am looking forward to my tour tomorrow of downtown Timisoara and the rich history from the Revolution.
November 6nd, 2006 © allthis
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