The Return to My Second Home: Romania

June 27. 2008 by Keegan Hall.

Finally- after three flights and two car rides we finally arrived in the microscopic town of Bistra, Romania. The 20+ hours of traveling have definitely taken its toll on me. Add the fact that my 6-month old daughter accompanied us on this trip and I’m sure you can see how I achieved a new PR in personal exhaustion. Needless to say it’s difficult to keep a baby occupied for 20 minutes let alone 20+ hours. I certainly don’t think we made any new friends on the plane. I never knew my daughter could cry so loud…

The entire family greeted us when we arrived at the house- after all it has been three years since our last visit. Although I was extremely tired I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to enjoy the most common Romanian tradition: drinking alcohol (even if I wanted to pass on the drinking my wife’s father wouldn’t allow it- he is the personification of peer pressure on steroids). After a few shots of an unknown type of alcohol (the majority of their alcohol is homemade) we feasted on a delicious dinner of stuffed red peppers.

The time was nearly midnight before we retired to our bedroom. The long and excruciating journey was finally over. We made it. It’s great to be back and I look forward to two months of taking in an amazing culture. Stay tuned…

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