Did you know that on average women cry once a week? I heard or read that once and thought- ahhhh so I'm normal! Who cares if it is true; it makes sense to me. As for this week, the week of my departure back to Romania, my crying quota has been exceeded by far. There is just too much love and happiness coupled with too much hurt at the thought of missing the days and weeks that will make up 1 year of my familys' lives. I crack. I totally and completely can't hold it together...I cry. It hurts to stretch my heart across continents but perhaps these are just growing pains. In any case I'm all the richer for it.

Tomorrow I'll board a plane back to Europe, back to Cata, to friends and family. The adventure continues. For now, here are a few slices of American life:

Careful, Roland Jr. is a heartbreaker.

Before journeying to the USA to visit family I squeezed in a weekend trip to Vama Veche. This is the hippie place everyone has been telling me about all winter. So did it live up to the hype? Hmm, yes and no. I definitely liked the vibe, there are no snobby vacationistas here, just young people looking to relax. It is a clothing optional, drinking mandatory kind of town. As long as you're not bothering anyone, you can pretty much do whatever you want- including camp out by the sea. So what did we do? Well we ate, drank, swam, danced and slept (repeat!). It was a good time but I also found myself wondering "what are we going to do today?". The answer was simple; nothing. The point of Vama, I eventually came to understand, is to enjoy the simplicity of food, friends, and sea. Don't try to clutter your agenda with activities (an American tendency of mine). Vama is a great weekend getaway from Bucharest but I'd say the shine wears off if you stay longer. For me, two days was just right.
p.s. next time we are totally going to camp out

 

↕ Photo above and below by Catalin Abagiu