What is it about someone braiding your hair that is so comforting and relaxing? Perhaps it takes me back to when my mom would french braid my hair for me, two cute long braids on either side of my head which made me feel like Pippy Longstockings-without the freckles. I remember also sitting with groups of my girl friends in a circle, all braiding each other's hair in unison and then looking to see who had the best one. And if you didn't know how to braid-forget about it! You learned quickly. Well last week I was hanging out with two amazing Romanian girls from the East side of the country and when one asked to braid my hair, I gladly accepted. Here in Romania the times when someone is doing my hair are few and far between (yeah, that means cutting, washing, anything. haha) Here is the work in progress..
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| ALL around my head braid. |
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| Pre-Braid. New friends Veronica and Theodora! |
After a fun day of making cookies, working on English, eating honey dew and finally, hair braiding, I headed home to pack for my next trip-Transylvania Fest in Blaj. The festival was a celebration of Transylvanian Culture and there were vendors selling crafts, cheeses, wines, jewelry-you name it. There was music and traditional dance as well as a kids corner for arts and crafts.
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| Heading to Blaj...from my train window. |
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| On the road, er...track again! |
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| This little lady-goat greeted us when we arrived in Blaj. |
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| Awesome cross near the Old Center of Blaj |
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| Blaj is pretty gorgeous. |
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| We found some pretty awesome gym equipment in the Blaj park. |
My job for the weekend was to work in the kitchen with Evelyn, helping two chefs from London (Paul and Beverly!) prepare dinners for the VIP visitors at the fair. The hours were long, (16!) but from morning until night we cooked, sang, learned new British words and recipes, and then served until the wee hours of the morning. While we were exhausted and pretty much delirious at 1am, I had a great time.
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| Our 2nd dish out, an amazing goat cheese/onion tort. |
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| 3rd dish=amazing salad with a spicy cornbread mixed in. |
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| Paul and I taking a break. Yes, we are plating food in a classroom and yes, he has a broken leg. And finally yes, we're drinking wine in between courses at his insistence. ("The doctor told me I MUST!") |
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| This is what happens to curly haired girls after 4 days without a shower (there was no hot water!). MEGA curls. |
We had a visit from two other PCVs, Chelsea and Jocelyn! After our work we spent some time at the festival eating great cheese and having a photo shoot. I never get to see these girls as they live across the country, so it was good to reconnect with them!
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| Jocelyn, Chelsea, Evelyn |
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| Love these ladies. |
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| Told you we had a photo shoot. |
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| Sunset in Blaj. |
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| The cooks from the Kitchen! Evelyn, Paul, Me, and Bev |
After 4 days in Blaj, Evelyn, Chelsea, Jocelyn and I headed home. But first, we stopped at the Medieval Festival in Sighisoara, a gorgeous little town nestled in the mountains. We watched sword fights, listened to live music, ate amazing food, and simply enjoyed a low-key day after Trans Fest.
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| Sighisoara! |
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| Medieval Fest in full swing... |
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| Making paper. |
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| Love the colors of the houses. |
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| I want that chain link suit of armor. |
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| Oh yes, visited to house where DRACULAAA was born. Muahaha |
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| Dancing and singing |
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| Ahh, Sighisoara I love you. |
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| Picture does NOT do it justice. |
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| Proof I was there. |
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| Amazing. |
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| This little house is my dream home. Beautiful flowers and plants grew everywhere, and it overlooks that view from the pic above. |
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| Wicked fence. |
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| I really love cemeteries. Does that make me more Dracula-like? |
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| Basically reads "Everyone should think to themselves that the place you are entering is a cemetery!" Basically be respectful. |
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| Really I was just trying to jump down without hurting myself. It was farther than it looks here. |
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| This is not me trying to be artsy, this was actually just me still trying to jump down, Asking Evelyn for help. |
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| Evelyn and I with Vlad Tepes himself. |
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The festival was great but we were EXHAUSTED and left on night trains back to our respective sites. I arrived at 8:30am and proceeded to sleep the entire day to catch up on the last week's craziness. However no rest for the weary, and I'm planning a "Summer Fun" day for the kids here in Recas tomorrow (think capture the flag, egg toss, 3 legged race, dodgeball) and then leave Friday morning with my HS students for a 7 day camping/hiking adventure. Here is where I'm going, in case you forgot.
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| Fagaras Mountains! |
So off to finish planning today, then buying food for 7 days in the wilderness. There will be lots of canned Pate people. And sorry for a blog post longer than a novel.
