My sad expectation for our future

[PJMcK]

15. Romania is a fantastic country with a wonderful history

It has a remarkable diversity from the Romanian Alps to the Black Sea resorts to the cosmopolitan cities of Bucharest and Cluj.

One night, we stayed in a peasant village and it was one of the most fascinating experiences of my life. These were people who had very little but they generously opened their village and homes to us. One fellow gave us a tour of the town and its particular highlights. He didn't speak English and we didn't speak Romanian but we were able to combine French, Spanish, Latin(!) and hand signs to communicate. It was fun as hell! Needless to say, we gave gifts to the families we stayed with. I stayed in touch with my host-family for about a dozen years following the trip.

I've always been a foodie so I really enjoyed learning a new cuisine. Unfortunately, my classmates weren't quite as open minded as some of us were and the tour guide had to arrange some changes to our diets, much to some of our regrets!