(no subject)
There's no way that I could possibly put every picture I took over there online. well, there is a way, but it would take time and energy, and... well, frankly, i just don't have it in me. i do, however, think a greatest hits reel will do the trip justice.
This is The People's Palace. the dictator Ceauşescu lived there for awhile. it's as big underground as it is above. boooooring!
On the way from the airport to the village, we passed an old couple begging in the streets. my driver, raphael, stopped in the middle of a very busy road and told me to run back to the couple and give them some bread and jam. when i told him i had neither bread nor jam, he proffered some from his glove compartment. every car in romania has bread and jam in the glove compartment. note the angry people in the background. note moreso the canadian shirt.
me in front of a big palace. the king of romania lived there at some point.
ironically, it's much more ornate than dracula's castle. this place was meant to be impressive, whereas vlad's place...
was a fortress. not meant to impress, but meant to hold strong against his enemies. according to the locals, he's considered something of a hero for protecting them from invading armies. granted, if you committed a small crime, you'd have a spear shoved up your ass, but whatever. back then, you could leave a bag of gold on the ground for days, and no one would touch it... for fear of ass spears.
this is where vlad sat.
these are the crazy irish folk. i can't think of a better way to spend my summer than getting drunk with irish people after a hard day of manual labor.
as proof of the hard-drinkin', hard-livin' lifestyle of the irish, i offer you pat. pat is twelve years old.
these were some dutch musicians who came a-strummin' and a-pickin' their way through our town. at night, some of us would just sit around while they took requests. the violinist, the one on the right, the one holding the violin, is supposedly quite famous in his native holland. his name is xander, and he is sex personified.
this is my balcony, a nice little getaway spot for the weary american volunteer. in romania, the sky glows at night, hotter than a million exploding suns!
drinking!
these bottles of beer cost sixty cents american, or, if you had one, a goat.
these are two of the kids i worked with. after the day was over, sitting on the side of this particular hill was a nice way to unwind. also, these kids were some of the sweetest human beings i've ever met.
this is where they live. along with their mother and four other siblings. in that room. i want you all to think about that the next time you compain about anything, ever.
the local swimming pit. really, it's a river, but there isn't enough money in the world that would get me to go in it. phwuhh.
i almost adopted these dogs. they were cute, and they always tried to get in my lap, and i was like their father. i miss them.
this is them being cute.
these are just some of the dogs that lived on our porch. pictured are: ollie, dante, taco, kenya (one of mine), paulie, scruffy, and, ruining a great candid shot with his look into the lens, the camera-whore gunther.
some great scenery. this was an hour's hike form my place.
this is vasileca. he always wanted to hold my hand when i was around. on the day i left, he started to cry, which made me start to cry.
this is, barnone, my favorite picture from the whole trip. i'm so tired, and he's so carefree and happy. this picture makes me happy to have gone over there.
a picnic with the kids.
me and vasileca playing horsey. the women who worked with him everyday said that he never laughed as hard as he did when i was around. the theory is that with no male parental figures around, the novelty of one robert wicks was slow to wear off.
adrienne. i miss him, too. i miss all of these kids. they deserve more than what was handed to them in this life, and i really wish that they could have it.
sunset. looking back, i think that this is one of the best things i've ever done. i hope this was a good enough picture post for anyone who was curious. thanks for looking.
all in all, i believe i did something good with my summer.
This is The People's Palace. the dictator Ceauşescu lived there for awhile. it's as big underground as it is above. boooooring!
On the way from the airport to the village, we passed an old couple begging in the streets. my driver, raphael, stopped in the middle of a very busy road and told me to run back to the couple and give them some bread and jam. when i told him i had neither bread nor jam, he proffered some from his glove compartment. every car in romania has bread and jam in the glove compartment. note the angry people in the background. note moreso the canadian shirt.
me in front of a big palace. the king of romania lived there at some point.
ironically, it's much more ornate than dracula's castle. this place was meant to be impressive, whereas vlad's place...
was a fortress. not meant to impress, but meant to hold strong against his enemies. according to the locals, he's considered something of a hero for protecting them from invading armies. granted, if you committed a small crime, you'd have a spear shoved up your ass, but whatever. back then, you could leave a bag of gold on the ground for days, and no one would touch it... for fear of ass spears.
this is where vlad sat.
these are the crazy irish folk. i can't think of a better way to spend my summer than getting drunk with irish people after a hard day of manual labor.
as proof of the hard-drinkin', hard-livin' lifestyle of the irish, i offer you pat. pat is twelve years old.
these were some dutch musicians who came a-strummin' and a-pickin' their way through our town. at night, some of us would just sit around while they took requests. the violinist, the one on the right, the one holding the violin, is supposedly quite famous in his native holland. his name is xander, and he is sex personified.
this is my balcony, a nice little getaway spot for the weary american volunteer. in romania, the sky glows at night, hotter than a million exploding suns!
drinking!
these bottles of beer cost sixty cents american, or, if you had one, a goat.
these are two of the kids i worked with. after the day was over, sitting on the side of this particular hill was a nice way to unwind. also, these kids were some of the sweetest human beings i've ever met.
this is where they live. along with their mother and four other siblings. in that room. i want you all to think about that the next time you compain about anything, ever.
the local swimming pit. really, it's a river, but there isn't enough money in the world that would get me to go in it. phwuhh.
i almost adopted these dogs. they were cute, and they always tried to get in my lap, and i was like their father. i miss them.
this is them being cute.
these are just some of the dogs that lived on our porch. pictured are: ollie, dante, taco, kenya (one of mine), paulie, scruffy, and, ruining a great candid shot with his look into the lens, the camera-whore gunther.
some great scenery. this was an hour's hike form my place.
this is vasileca. he always wanted to hold my hand when i was around. on the day i left, he started to cry, which made me start to cry.
this is, barnone, my favorite picture from the whole trip. i'm so tired, and he's so carefree and happy. this picture makes me happy to have gone over there.
a picnic with the kids.
me and vasileca playing horsey. the women who worked with him everyday said that he never laughed as hard as he did when i was around. the theory is that with no male parental figures around, the novelty of one robert wicks was slow to wear off.
adrienne. i miss him, too. i miss all of these kids. they deserve more than what was handed to them in this life, and i really wish that they could have it.
sunset. looking back, i think that this is one of the best things i've ever done. i hope this was a good enough picture post for anyone who was curious. thanks for looking.
all in all, i believe i did something good with my summer.