October 12, 2008: Cluj, Day Five – The Botanical Garden

Dear Friend,

We checked out of the hostel at noon, after which we went and had pizza for lunch. Everyone had slept in this morning, so for many of us our pizza was our first meal of the day. I’ve become pretty good at not only ordering my own pizzas but also knowing what kind of pizzas I’m ordering. I don’t want anything with “masline” (olives) so that cancels out about two-thirds of the pizzas on the menu. I usually order a “rustica” pizza, which typically includes the usual cheese and tomato sauce, but also an assortment of meat, onions, and mushrooms. It all turns out well.

Our train wasn’t leaving until ten o’clock in the evening, so we had the afternoon to walk around. The group decided on visiting the botanical garden. It looked the way a botanical garden would look, I assume, at the beginning of autumn. The flowers that remained were beginning to wilt and the trees were changing color. I was still rather groggy, so I walked around while the others played “mafia,” a game that is really complicated for me to explain and one I don’t particular enjoy playing. I joined for a game near the end of our stay, but was glad when we had to leave for supper.

During the festival I didn’t really get the chance to meet everyone who was involved, but I got the chance to speak with some of them anyway. I met Carmen’s husband, the lead singer of the band I enjoyed so much last night, during lunch. I told him how much I enjoyed his concert, which he really appreciated, and asked if his band had done any recordings. This turned into an invitation for me to come and see their recording studio. They didn’t have a CD but had recorded some things. He also mentioned how he heard I had once played the saxophone and even offered to ask his friend if I could have a go on his saxophone. (To clarify, his friend with the saxophone is not, to my knowledge, the saxophonist from the other band last night.) I mentioned I hadn’t played in years, but that didn’t bother him at all. This all sounded really exciting to me. Hopefully we can pull it off.

The other new acquaintance I met was Andreea’s boyfriend (again, I don’t know his name.) We discussed college and each of our majors. He’s going to college for architecture and emphasized how one has to have a love of drawing in order be an architect. This reminded me of my design classes, which is what an architect is really, a designer. He told me he really wants to design hospitals and schools, not just houses, which apparently every architect designs at one point in their career.

I’m glad the festival is over, but I’m not really happy to be returning to Bucureşti. Cluj seems so much more relaxing and friendly, and there’s so much more I want to see. However, playtime is over and it’s time to go back to work. Diana expressed her wish that I take tomorrow off to rest up. I’ll need it, because our festival in Cluj was only the beginning of a string of things we have to accomplish before the end. Here we go again.

Blessings.
Kailen