November 10, 2008: The Return

Dear Friend,

I tried not to think too much about it during the week, succeeded in doing so most of the time, but when this day finally arrived my mind was on saying goodbye. The morning was spent, unfortunately, watching a movie about abortion in Romania. The study abroad students have to watch films each week pertaining to some aspect of life in Romania. It was actually a movie, not a documentary or filmed interviews. Halfway through the film I ended up leaving the room and going somewhere else in Janelle and Daniel’s apartment, where the film was being shown. I felt bad for the others, especially the girls, as they were required to view the entire film. As I was visiting, I didn’t have to and, quite frankly, didn’t want to.

Goodbye was a little easier than it had been last time. Everyone assured me that we’d be seeing each other in three weeks. They also told me the usual: stay safe and out of trouble. I managed to see Jelena, Iuliana, and Ilie before leaving, which was nice. Hollyann waited with me for the maxi taxi, which I greatly appreciated. You really begin to truly appreciate people you love when the alternative is a loneliness you’re all too familiar with.

I managed to get to the train station and purchase my ticket without any dilemma. On the way back to Bucureşti, I finished reading Aesthetics of the Oppressed. My compartment company was silent, as usual. My body was definitely feeling the exhaustion of long travel, so much so that I was running on autopilot all the way back to Diana’s flat. While on autopilot, though, I was thinking about how this was going to work for traveling to Kosice in a couple weeks. The Bucureşti-Budapest train Daniel showed me online is a thirteen-plus hour trip. I was considering first class for that trip on my way back to Diana’s, thinking that maybe that would help to alleviate some of the less appreciated aspects of long distance travel, i.e. the physical exhaustion of traveling in second class. We'll have to see.

Blessings.
Kailen