I went to Bucharest on the 5th of December. I was told the bus left at 6am. I set my alarm for 4:40am and fumbled around my apartment trying to get ready. Since the hot water does not come on until 7:00am, I took an eye-popping cold shower. Nothing like some icy water to clear the old brain. I left my apartment around 5:15 only to find that the local Sibiu hookers had beaten me to all the cabs. The last one was taken by a street stroller with wispy bleached hair down to her knees. From so much bleaching she had about a hundred strands left and they were permed. At the crown of her head were black roots, ratted and teased into a giant puff ball. She was wearing high-heeled, witchypoo-style boots and a brick-colored pleather suit. Since there were no more cabs, I had to haul ass down the street to the station. When I got to the station at 5:30, I discovered it actually left at 5am. In the dark, I dashed from sign to sign looking for the 6am bus to Bucharest, but there was none. The next bus to Bucharest was not until 11:00am. So I sprinted to the train station, which is next door, hoping to hop on a train. It would take an extra hour to get there, but who cares!!! I do find it strange that the bus is always faster (4 – 4 1/2 hrs.) than taking the train (5 1/2 – 6 hrs.) Unfortunately, I just missed the 5:43am train…ugh!!!!!!! After a good round of the filthiest curses you can imagine, I traipsed back up the hill to my apartment. It was about 6:15am and I decided to go back to sleep and wake up as if the last two hours had been a terrible dream. But once awakened, I cannot fall back to sleep, so I decided to read instead. I had a few old News Weeks and a Romania Business Weekly from previous Peace Corps mailings and decided to polish them off. In the restaurant review section of the Business Weekly, there was a review of a new Indian restaurant in Bucharest named Tandoor. They described it as authentic Indian. My mouth started salivating as I read that they actually import the ghee to cook the food. Other paragraphs described how the chef imports the spices and makes his own masala mixture. The article described the lamb (LAMB!!!!!!) as being extremely tender. Tender meat in Romania???? I had to go and sample the food at this place. After reading that article, my stomach started rumbling. I crept into the kitchen and scrambled myself a couple eggs and prepared a bowl of frosted flakes (thanks mom!). The wooden chairs in my kitchen are a little hard on the bum, especially since mine had been up since 4:30. I settled into the couch in the living room. Since I don’t have a TV, I popped a DVD into my laptop and started watching Funny Girl. Watching Barbara sing how nobody’s gonna rain on her parade as she travels by train from Baltimore to New York, then gets on a tugboat that chugs its way to the cruise ship headed for Europe where Nicky Arnstein is playing cards to win enough money to make her a Sadie Sadie married lady, renewed my energy to take a stinky 4 hour bus to Bucharest to go to Tandoor and eat an Indian or two or three. At about 9am I took a hot shower and redressed myself for the trip. I also made sure to rip out the article on the restaurant and put it in my suitcase. Come hell or high water, I was not going to miss out on an authentic Indian feast. I also had plans to eat at the only KFC in Romania and see a movie. Oh yeah, I was going to Bucharest for a meeting with the ABA office there. They are trying to restructure the court system here, without much luck. The PC volunteers who are attorneys will work with the ABA office to assist with forwarding their message to the local courts. Enough about that! Halfway to Bucharest, the winds started blowing and it began pouring. Still, I was bound and determined to brave the storms and eat Indian. I arrived at 5pm, an hour late. I hopped in a cab and raced to the Carpati Hotel. This is the roach motel that Peace Corps warehouses the volunteers when they come into Bucharest. The place is a true sty. The bathrooms and showers are in the hall, which reek of the many battles for dominance between disinfectant and urine. The rooms contain an extra-slim twin bed, a sink, and a TV. It’s like living in an old dorm, except instead of the mega bathrooms, there is only one toilette and one shower on each floor. During the winter, the rooms that face the street get heat and feel like Dante’s Inferno, while the rooms in the back make great refrigerators. In the summer, the place is just one hotbed for mosquito breeding. When it rains in Romania, there are no cabs to be found. My plans to eat an Indian fell through. I walked and walked in the wind, rain and cold, but I could not find a cab to take me. I ended up joining three other volunteers for dinner at a local restaurant. The food was the usual bland, fried, fatty food. The next day, Friday, it started raining, which later turned to golf ball sized hale, which beat my frosty face. The ABA meeting was somewhat boring and rather unproductive because none of the courts are interested in anything they have to say or suggest. Also, the Ministry of Justice was offended by their ranking system and basically ignored their suggestions for improvement. They were successful in persuading two courts (one in Bucharest and one in Timisoara) to implement some of their ideas. But the catch is the ABA, with USAID money, is bankrolling most of the changes. I guess if they spread more dollars around the other courts will sign. But we all had to smile and act enthusiastic. They decided to take us to lunch and on the way there in the wind and the hale, a dog bit my friend Odi on the leg. The cheeky mongrel took a chunk out of the old Cuban grandpa and ran off. We followed it to its home — a nearby gas station. After lunch, I went with Odi to the PC medical office. We went on a search for the dog to see if it had all its shots. As Odi’s memory often fails him, I went on the chase to make sure he pointed out the right mongrel. When we finally figured out where the gas station was, we found the rotten pooch fast asleep in the doorway of the station’s store. The owner of the gas station informed us that the dogs were vaccinated and that they bite three to four customers a week. He showed us their papers. When I asked him why he doesn’t put a muzzle on the dogs, he just chuckled and shrugged and said, “bine ati venit la Romania.” (Welcome to Romania). To which I shrug and chuckle and say, “more like casa de nebuni” (looney bin). At least Odi was spared getting rabies shots. Back at PC, I decided to make an appointment with the dentist to get my teeth cleaned, which bought me another night in Bucharest on the Peace Corps dime. He was able to see me that same day. I planned to try again for Indian later that evening, but the hale trampled those plans and I was forced to eat more Romanian food…yuck!!!! So I went back to my humble cubbyhole and checked the weather to see what Saturday would bring. It promised clear skies and extreme cold. Jackpot!!! I decided to stay another night, on my dime. At least, I was able to get my gossip fix from the tube. I saw Winona Ryder’s sentencing for shoplifting and saw clips from Diane Sawyer’s interview of Whitney Houston. I loved the bits of Whitney smiling like an acerbic monkey and giggling about her many vices. I especially liked when Diane asked her for her drug of choice and the foxy minx coyly smiled and said, “I’m addicted to makin’ luuv.” On Saturday, my friend Rebecca and I walked all around the city. I found some Clinique body exfoliating wash and a new interesting book. We were just like frozen popsicles. Even my hair, which was wet when we left the hotel, had turned to icicles. We managed to thaw out over a cup of hot chocolate, before trudging to the local KFC for some finger lickin good chicken. Although, I must admit the Colonel’s secret spices recipe has not been replicated exactly here. After chowing down on some breasts and wings and slaw, we went back out into the cold for more shopping and aimless walking. I found a grocery store that had Heinz ketchup (the Romanian stuff is nasty), real Parmesan cheese, and Tabasco sauce (even though it was about $5 a bottle, I dipped into the old savings and bought some). Ala Barbara, no one was gonna rain on my parade! I made plans to get to the Indian restaurant. Some PC volunteers and some of the teachers expressed reservations about going because it was too expensive. I suggested that we meet up later because, although their company would be entertaining, they could not provide the same intoxicating blend of spices and explosions of tastes (some sweet, some tart, some just bum-burning good) that authentic Indian could. I told them I’d meet them later, but I was headed to Bollywood!!!!. My friend Rebecca was all for the spice and so was my old friend Odi. In the end more people went and two stiffed on the bill. Even though Rebecca, Odi and I had to put in a lot more than what we owed, we all agreed that we did not care because the food was just that good. I’d tell you all what I had, but I think I’d start crying. I am used to eating Indian at least 2-3 times a week…boooohoooooo booooohooooo!!!!!! Let me just say I was in curry heaven. Ok we had lamb vindaloo, chicken tikka masala, chicken jalfraze, lamb curry, chicken korma, seekh kebabs, samosas, chicken curry rolls, naan bread, raita, papadam and all the glorious sauces you can imagine. I can’t remember what the others ordered (just kidding)! When I heard some of the Romanians complain about the spice, I offered to finish their meals…of course after offering them some raita to cool it down!!!! I had a bit of everything and ate without shame. Sunday, was a sad day. I had to return to Sibiu. Stupidly, I went to the PC office to check my emails and was stopped by one of the guards and who asked for my ID and entered my name in the computer. Hopefully, this extended visit won’t cause me any problems as I did not inform PC officially in writing that I was extending. Blah blah blah. Anyway, all chances for exotic food had run out. I boarded the bus with a bag of chips and a Fanta orange soda. Thank god this was a modern bus. I was entertained with bad movies from the US for the 4 hours. It was particularly interesting to see one of the Naked Gun movies with OJ Simpson. I believe those movies are now barred in the States or they at least pull out the old Reagan blue dot to cover his face (for those of you who remember the blue dot on Channel J). The driver was speeding and the cops pulled us over. Even with the pig stop, we made it to Sibiu 40 minutes early. I got home about 9pm. Oana came over to pick up some of the materials I received from the ABA meeting and we chatted a bit about the Indian food before she left. I unpacked and went to bed to dream of my future trips to Bucharest for more Indian food. Dec. 9th, Monday — I played hooky. It took me three hours to pick up a package from the pos office. After that ordeal, I decided to stay home and relax. Thanks Veta for the package!!! I was sooooo happy to open it and find more sweaters and all the shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and tampons!!!!! I kept the stuff in a pile in the middle of the room for a while admiring my stash. At the post office, with the help of an old man who was also waiting for a package, I policed the signup sheet. We made sure everyone who entered for a package signed the numbered sign in sheet. When they finally opened the vault, we made sure everyone followed the order of the sheet. When someone tried to push through, we would holler, “Pe lista!” (by the list). Finally, I found a new way to entertain myself while waiting hours for a package. There are a lot of travel warnings coming out of the State Department. Most are for New Year’s Eve. The PC has barred all volunteers from going to Turkey until the 2nd of January. Four friends of mine bought tickets to Turkey and now cannot go. They are uncertain whether they can get their money back or go at another date. I am sooooo glad I did not book a flight to go there. Turkey was my original choice for New Year’s Eve. As a matter of fact, I got my four friends interested, but I was slow booking b/c I didn’t know when my sister was coming over here. Veta, thank god you took a while to book your flight over here or we’d be SOL right now! Thank you to all who have sent or are about to send packages. I truly appreciate it and look forward to receiving them. When I return, I will bring you a little something back from Romania. You can pick a handmade craft or a loin-made orphan child. It’s your choice Sophie, so let me know! Hurry while supplies last. Saturday I go to the pig slaughtering! Vicki