Welcome to Romania (Week 1)
My, the last week has been a whirlwind! I spent nearly three full days traveling; I left Harrisburg Monday morning and finally arrived in Târgu Mureș Wednesday evening. The jetlag is strong, but I am still able to enjoy my time here.
There's not much to share from the traveling, other than that it was super smooth. The airline I flew is my new favorite international airline! It was as pleasant as an overnight flight could be! I was also able to successfully find my way to my hotel in Bucharest on Tuesday and ride the bus to Târgu Mureș on Wednesday. The combination of exhaustion and language barrier had me a little on edge, but I was able to figure it all out with a little help from a few kind individuals. I'm so thankful this is not my first international trip; I would not feel nearly this competent and self-confident without learning these skills while studying abroad in Lithuania.
Thursday was a rainy day, so we drove to the mall and got lunch and groceries. The rest of the day was laid-back, thankfully. I met one girl on staff, Marianna. Alex is another guy, but he's currently on a trip to Norway. Marianna is a super sweet Ukranian with a heart full of joy at the Lord's work. The directors of the base, Florin and Florina, are very sweet and have great plans to use my art in the coming weeks. They have an adorable daughter named Nadia.
Yesterday, the sun decided to show up, and it was beautiful! Marianna showed me around town. Of course, stop #1 was the local art store. I just might end up with a few new pens ;)
We walked through the courtyard of an old castle, which led to a yellow brick road. I felt like I was in Oz, but apparently many Romanians are unfamiliar with the story. Those stones led us to this alley. Marianna says this is her favorite street in town, and I can see why! (Click on photos to read caption)
Once we arrived in the town center, we climbed a tower next to the mayor's house for quite the view! We also got to see some old photos of Targu-Mures throughout the last century.
Aside from that, Marianna showed me some second-hand stores I could visit if I need clothing, the best coffee shops and bakeries, and a fabulous new donut shop.
After Marianna's tour, Florin and Nadia took me to the plateau. This is one of the biggest and best parks in Romania, so people come from all over ... and I can see why! There is this great little outdoor gym space, a zoo, an amazing playground, food stands, mountain biking/cross country skiing/jogging trails, carnival rides, mini golf, go carts, and a trolley to transport you around (though walking is perfectly reasonable). I loved it so much that I went back again today to test out the jogging loop. I imagine it will be within reason to begin training this summer for a marathon.
This morning we spent time cleaning the base, and then Nadia and I played together. They're all off at a wedding now, so I ventured to the grocery store and bought chicken and veggies to roast for our big meal tomorrow. I'll spend the rest of tonight relaxing so I can hopefully sleep at a normal hour.
Coming up next week: I head to another YWAM base in Cluj-Napoca. I will travel by bus on Monday and stay there for two weeks. I was informed that they have a Discipleship Training School (DTS) beginning soon, so I will help prepare for that. Most likely, that will involve my art skills in some way. Cluj is a much larger city, so I'm excited to explore on Tuesday!