Sibiu Sorrows
So, my travels and time in Sibiu, the 2007 EU Cultural capital, was quite interesting. I first came from Cluj and looked at bus times and saw it would take about 4 hours to travel 150 km, which I saw as a ridiculous experience. I really have grown to hate the minibuses in this country and plan to avoid them at all costs. So, I talked to the hostel guy and asked if it'd be easier hitchhiking, and he said yea, probably. So, he helped me prepare for it, told me where I should go and wait and thus, I did. I went there and was a bit confused with it all. I had my sign and I was waiting, and cars were stopping and taking everyone else but me, and I started getting discouraged.
But finally, after about 45 minutes or an hour wait, I got a ride from a pretty nice car from a pretty young guy. I thought that it was great because of course he'll be able to speak English. Most young people in this country can speak English pretty well and since this guy has a nice car, I imagined that he'd be able. I crawled in the car and said, "Vorbit engleza?" And he said "Nu", so I then asked him if he spoke any other language that I know anything in, (German, Spanish, Russian, Czech) and he said he spoke Czech! So we talked for 2 hours all the way to Sibiu... Ok, not true... he said that he only spoke Romanian and no other language. But no problem, I was determined to have fun with this, so I pulled out the papers I had printed out before my travels on Romanian phrases and I asked him things like What's your name, Where are you from, How old are you, he helped me count to 20. We had ourselves a real ball. And by the time we got to Sibiu, we were discussing the effects of Global Warming in connection to the recent migration of the humpback whales :D Well... almost, that is.
Yea, the car ride was fairly bland, but it went by and we were finally there. Once we got there, I took a taxi to the train station where I was to meet the guy I'd be staying with. Now... I kinda had a bad vibe about this guy from the start. Not like a serial killer vibe, but just a "this guy is strange and weird" kind of vibe. First off he started saying in his messages that he was really happy and blah blah and it was just really strange. And then he said how he refused to respond to my by SMS because of the international roaming. Seriously though, it's like five cents more. We met in front of the train station, and he was very adamant that I be THERE at THIS time. So i was, but he was 10 minutes late, and then I thought he'd be free, but no, he was just on a break and we went back to his office and then he said that I should meet him in 3 hours at this theater. Everyone knows where it is, ok? I'll see you there... Thanks very much sir, but I don't know where it is, so can you show me please? He showed me and said he was going to some classical music concert alone. And I said ok, I'll be there. And he lived 30 or more minutes from the center. As I was walking around the center, I just didn't feel right about it. Not that it would be dangerous, but just that I didn't really think it would be a very good time. The guy was a really nice guy, but I just felt strange. (Hey guy, if you're reading this, sorry).
So... I in the end, I wanted to just stay in the center, it was really fun and I wanted to be in the center, so I wrote him and said i randomly ran into an old friend i hadn't seen in 8 years and I'd be with him and stay where he's staying. And also I didn't want to walk around with all my stuff with me. I like to drop it off and then walk around like a local. I didn't get an answer and I went on my way. I found a hostel in the center and dropped my stuff off and started walking around. It was really awesome and I don't worry about anything. I came back early and used the net for a while and then I asked the receptionist about a place to get a drink about midnight. She said the pub just below. It plays good music and is open late. No problem, that's easy enough and I went. I got a drink and walked around to see the people. Let alone, I saw someone that looked familiar. Who was this familiar face? Was this a guy I had met at a previous hostel? If so, where was he staying. We exchanged greetings, and I kinda looked at him curiously for a bit, and then it hit me who he MUST be!! He's the guy whose place I was to stay at!! :D Gosh, I went back into the other room, finished my drink at a faster than average pace and then went back up and went to bed. It was a classic moment that will live in infamy. :D
But finally, after about 45 minutes or an hour wait, I got a ride from a pretty nice car from a pretty young guy. I thought that it was great because of course he'll be able to speak English. Most young people in this country can speak English pretty well and since this guy has a nice car, I imagined that he'd be able. I crawled in the car and said, "Vorbit engleza?" And he said "Nu", so I then asked him if he spoke any other language that I know anything in, (German, Spanish, Russian, Czech) and he said he spoke Czech! So we talked for 2 hours all the way to Sibiu... Ok, not true... he said that he only spoke Romanian and no other language. But no problem, I was determined to have fun with this, so I pulled out the papers I had printed out before my travels on Romanian phrases and I asked him things like What's your name, Where are you from, How old are you, he helped me count to 20. We had ourselves a real ball. And by the time we got to Sibiu, we were discussing the effects of Global Warming in connection to the recent migration of the humpback whales :D Well... almost, that is.
Yea, the car ride was fairly bland, but it went by and we were finally there. Once we got there, I took a taxi to the train station where I was to meet the guy I'd be staying with. Now... I kinda had a bad vibe about this guy from the start. Not like a serial killer vibe, but just a "this guy is strange and weird" kind of vibe. First off he started saying in his messages that he was really happy and blah blah and it was just really strange. And then he said how he refused to respond to my by SMS because of the international roaming. Seriously though, it's like five cents more. We met in front of the train station, and he was very adamant that I be THERE at THIS time. So i was, but he was 10 minutes late, and then I thought he'd be free, but no, he was just on a break and we went back to his office and then he said that I should meet him in 3 hours at this theater. Everyone knows where it is, ok? I'll see you there... Thanks very much sir, but I don't know where it is, so can you show me please? He showed me and said he was going to some classical music concert alone. And I said ok, I'll be there. And he lived 30 or more minutes from the center. As I was walking around the center, I just didn't feel right about it. Not that it would be dangerous, but just that I didn't really think it would be a very good time. The guy was a really nice guy, but I just felt strange. (Hey guy, if you're reading this, sorry).
So... I in the end, I wanted to just stay in the center, it was really fun and I wanted to be in the center, so I wrote him and said i randomly ran into an old friend i hadn't seen in 8 years and I'd be with him and stay where he's staying. And also I didn't want to walk around with all my stuff with me. I like to drop it off and then walk around like a local. I didn't get an answer and I went on my way. I found a hostel in the center and dropped my stuff off and started walking around. It was really awesome and I don't worry about anything. I came back early and used the net for a while and then I asked the receptionist about a place to get a drink about midnight. She said the pub just below. It plays good music and is open late. No problem, that's easy enough and I went. I got a drink and walked around to see the people. Let alone, I saw someone that looked familiar. Who was this familiar face? Was this a guy I had met at a previous hostel? If so, where was he staying. We exchanged greetings, and I kinda looked at him curiously for a bit, and then it hit me who he MUST be!! He's the guy whose place I was to stay at!! :D Gosh, I went back into the other room, finished my drink at a faster than average pace and then went back up and went to bed. It was a classic moment that will live in infamy. :D
posted by Zach Barnes at 11:40 PM
1 Comments:
I love the irony! Glad he was such a nice guy who wanted to meet foreigners and hang out with them, eh?
But sounds like your trip is full of situational awkwardness -- and that you wouldn't have it any other way! Keep the stories coming and rock out in Turkey, the land of hospitality, hookah, and KEBAP!
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