New Developments

So we heard back from the American Hospitality Academy. They said that they wouldn’t be able to work through the mire of the Romanian bureaucracy and be able to legally employ us. This was somewhat disappointing but we can hardly say that it’s surprising. Time is kind of running out on our 90-day tourism stamp and we are investigating fully into other options. We suggested to AHA that they take us on as interns. We will keep you all posted of course.

Our gas got cut off the other day because we didn’t pay our bill. We didn’t exactly receive a bill, but because we didn’t pay it they cut it off on us. They don’t do it like they do in the US where they’ll give you a little while and notify you again, warning about the repercussions. They just stop it. Luckily we still had electricity and it wasn’t that cold out. Amanda went and paid the bill and they blamed the situation on the post office for not properly delivering us our mail.

We have both been getting over some nasty stomach bug for the past few days. I will spare you the details but I can say that we are recovering. And there was one more item of news… I can’t quite put my finger on it… hold on...

Oh yeah, we’re gonna get hitched.



So to all my relatives who had their money on me and not my little brother David, I’m sorry that I let you all down. But did you really all think that any of my brothers would ever do something before I did it first?

To my brothers and other male friends who may be reading, I’m sorry for selling out. You must understand that this move has a more practical application as well. Especially when it comes to visas and taxes. After almost 5 years of “dating” (living in sin/shacking up or whatever else people with better morals wish to call it) I figure that it was about time to make an honest woman out of my girlfriend.

To my female relatives and friends, it was a beautiful, beautiful thing and I will treasure it forever. Rest assured that this has absolutely no practical value whatsoever. I had to go where my heart told me to. Anything else that I missed, please let me know so that I can add it to my automated female-responding system. I’m not single anymore.

So probably what will happen is we’ll sign some papers behind locked doors somewhere far, far away from prying eyes (and jeering relatives) and will opt to have a few giant-sized parties instead of some nightmare-inducing ceremony (I’ve literally had nightmares on more than one occasion). We have brainstormed a very tentative plan but we need your feedback on this stuff:

As it looks right now we will probably have a party here in Transylvania (visa willing) late this summer before school starts since half the people I know are working around a school schedule. We’ll set up some sort of sponsorship program for our broke friends and family to come and see us without going further into debt. This sponsorship program will be funded by folks who aren’t able to come due to a career or babies but want to help out. If you don’t have a career or a baby then you have no excuse not to come (pets and your “counseling career” don’t count).

The second party will probably take place in Moldova in a village. This will be awesome because the wine (the best wine in the world) will be fresh and the weather should be just right and the girls will have graduated high school and will be looking for MRS degrees, as my Aunt Dana says. We will set up those who can come with places to stay with people we know. This party will take place right after the Brasov party so you won’t have to buy two tickets for yourself or some post-GenX slacker.

We will hammer out all of the details (we need your feedback for this) but if you can, plan to take 2 weeks for both parties or 1 week for one of them. The parties won’t last for a week of course but there is so much to see out here and who wants to get over jet lag just in time for more jet lag? You can even come to both of them in 1 week. Don’t worry we have plenty of fluent English-speaking Romanian friends that will help facilitate transport once you get into the country.

The last party will be in the States at some point. This will be for those who weren’t able to come out or who just love parties and can come to all three of them. Heck, we might have even more than one party in the States.

For those who were really looking forward to something more traditional I apologize but we decided that we would sacrifice expensive dresses, flowers, churches etc in favor of spending quality time with loved ones in a place that we talk way too much about (I know you guys love our “one time, in Moldova” stories). Besides, let’s be real, parties are the only good part of weddings anyway.

Here’s an extremely tentative sample itinerary for two weeks in Romania/Moldova:
Day 1: Jet-lag day! Depending on how you do on planes you will spend this day sleeping or staying up very late. We will go to a bar if you are in the latter group. We will try and get everyone in the same hotel/house. We’re looking into renting out a pension so we can have everyone in the same place together.
Day 2: Orientation of Brasov. See the city on a walking tour and get your bearings so that you can go out and see it for yourself when you want.
Day 3: Castle day. See some of the infamous Transylvanian castles.
Day 4: Nature day. Go hiking, get out of the city or just do what you want in the city.
Day 5: Party day. Romanians know how to party and since they will be helping to set most of this up, you can expect a good one.
Day 6: Recovery day. This explains itself.
Day 7: Travel day. We will get on the bus or train and head for Chisinau, Moldova
Day 8: Winery day/Transdnistria day. We’ll go to one or two of Moldova’s world-famous wineries (one of which has the largest underground collection in the world). OR we will set you up with someone to show you around a country that doesn’t exist!
Day 9: Village day. Travel to my old host village and get to know your host family (you also have the option to stay in Cahul, the regional center, if you are uncomfortable with this. But we wouldn’t do you wrong).
Day 10: Party day. You thought the Romanian parties rocked? Wait until you have a Moldovan party. They don’t stop.
Day 11: Recovery day. Also self-explanatory. And very necessary.
Day 12: Sports & games day. Go play soccer with the kids or basketball or something. Relax.
Day 13: Bucharest day. Since most of you will be leaving out of Bucharest we will see a little bit of the city before you leave. We’ll probably spend the night there.
Day 14: Go home. Thanks for coming.

AND NOW FOR AMANDA’S CONTRIBUTION:
I figured I should be sure to contribute to this post since it’s kind of a big deal. :) For those of you who want details, I’ll see how much I can get in here without being censured by Robert.

I have to admit, I went along with the Ice Hotel idea without whining or complaining mostly because Robert was so excited about it. Although I was pretty convinced it would be my own personal version of hell – cold outside and inside, beds made of ice, darknesss… - I was pleasantly surprised at how good of a job they did keeping it cozy. Another pleasant surprise (and definitely something that will improve my memory of the Ice Hotel) was Robert’s proposal – no, there was no getting down on one knee or public announcement, but he did manage to carry (and not lose!) the engagement ring all the way from America and throughout our two months away.

The ring actually was handed down to me from my grandmother on my dad’s side. It had belonged to my great-grandmother who immigrated from Lithuania during the pogroms in the early 1900s. Where or when or how she acquired it (they were not rich people), we don’t know. So Robert had to ask my mom for it before we left for Romania and then had to keep it secret from me for the following two months.

Unlike a lot of little girls, I never planned out my wedding or had a particular image of what it should be like. I believe a big party will do. :) As Robert mentioned above, we’re still brainstorming how exactly we want to celebrate, so if you have any thoughts or ideas, we’d love to hear them.