Romania, Day 2

I'm currently sitting on my bed, looking at the fabulous view from the room and listening to church bells ringing. I am already having an incredible experience, and it's only my first full day in the country. It feels so old here, it's not like the US, a very young country with only a few centuries of history. I am surprised by how quickly I seem to have acclimated, although it has certainly helped that I've spent the time here with my peers. It also helps that I have an amazing roommate, Mallory.

A group of us, about 6, walked down Strada Piopilor and down Strada Primaverti and up Strada Budium. It was in the opposite direction from the city centre, and seemed more suburban. It was more spacious with lots of little shops and stands selling various products. One thing I did notice while walking is that a lot of the locals have very serious facial expressions all of the time, and they seem quite worn and tired. I suppose after experiencing oppression for so many years, that would do that to you. It was a little sad, and I still have yet to hear any laughing from the locals.

We stumbled upon Cora, which is a Romanian version of a Costco or Sam's club. It was almost exactly the same, except in Romanian. It was such a relief to be able to get all the things needed in one spot. Mallory and I purchased some things for our kitchen, like 2 cups, 2 mugs, 2 plates, a tea kettle, napkins, and a plastic jug to store water. I bought some cheddar cheese and some produce that looked much less tired than the ones purchased in the city centre. I even found red delicious apples! I was just really shocked to find such a store in Romania.

 

That was certainly not something I expected. It's not quite as I expected - I imagined it to be quite a third world country, like what I experienced when I was in Tibet. Cluj-Napoca is certainly not third world, but is much more like second world. Upon discussion during our walk today, it was stated that Cluj-Napoca is the fourth largest city in Romania, the official capital of Transylvania, but also the most expensive city to live in the country.

 I discovered, to my horror, that the can of tuna fish I bought was 16,99 lei ($5.66)! Holy crap! It better be the best damn tuna fish I've ever tasted.

It's very strange walking down a street and noticing that most of the natives are staring at you. We walked down to Strada Floresti, a very main street with lots of shops and a couple of outdoor bars. We were very excited to buy a kilo of cherries for 30 lei, about $9. We made our way towards a cemetery that we had seen walking down Strada Primaveril earlier, Cimitirul Manastur.

Today, I definitely thought about the fact that I take for granted easy access to grocery stores and shopping areas. The people continue to look really sad to me. I was relieved to hear some young guys laughing later in day, the first laugh I've heard on the trip.