Memories of my traineeship

Meet the employers. Wow!


My Messy Room

TV in the dormitory? Me likey.


I'll never forget this view. Beautiful!

See what I mean? It's vaaaaaaassssttt, son!

Of course the other side of the room is also important.

What happened in the bus

I woke up and looked around.

I was in a bus to Pitesti.

I looked out the window.

We were going through a road along a river, and there were steep mountains at the other side, covered deeply in thick green trees. Some mountains were pretty misty, forming a vignette I have never seen before.

I had a chance to think about why I am going to Romania, what was waiting for me there. I had watched a lot of clips on Youtube, and they were extremely, well, extreme.

The driver looked at me. He saw a tired guy, trying to write something on a bumpy ride.

There was another man looking at me. He introduced himself as Nikko. Like me, he was going to Pitesti from Czech Republic.

A bit drunk, yet friendly, he kept me informed about the journey -- and his life story. We understood each other in a mixture of Romanian, Czech and English.

After Nikko talked to the driver for awhile, we got off the bus at the gas station. Uhh... It's not the bus stop. It's a gas station. Why are we stopping here? Nikko keeps guiding me to go somewher, helping me with my luggage. Wait a minute! I have a feeling that this guy is going to mug me after taking me somewhere.

So I wrote a text message to the AIESECer who was supposed to pick me up. He must have been waiting for me at the bus station. Then I fared well with Nikko, after exchanging our numbers.

I am a paranoid but paranoia is competing salesman over naivety. So here I am, waiting for the hosts to pick me up. It's already a nightfall, and the streets are dark; I search for a lighted place and find an ATM of Societe Generale Bank. After having texted the AIESECer that I was here, I wondered about what they look like, how many of them were waiting for me. Most of all, I wondered about what was ahead of me that summer -- in Romania.

First Impression of Romania

Sibiu city. Romania. 02:00 pm. 09.06.2008

As soon as the bus stopped, I got off immediately and deployed myself in the public loo of the bus station. Coming back, I found out that I had to stay adn wait for another bus.



And there I was, sitting on the bench in front of a bus station...

*Yawn*

hmm... Romania...

It's time to make my first impression about the country. OK, afraid of being mugged, I tried to look rough (you should have seen my travel mates), and avoided eye contact/ smile.
I didn't give the beggar kids anything. But now, I feel guilty. They are just people like us. You can feel their hospitality from their curious stare. Actually some of them tried to approach me, but were hesitant.

Ahh, such a nice people! *Cough* -- Except for the smokers.

Almost everyone on this bench is smoking, and I feel sick -- very sick.

I've gotta find somewhere else to sit... That's better...

OK, I have synchronised my watch. Damn, I've gotta wait 4 hours...

*Fast Forward*

Really? two more hours?

*Fast Forward*

Ahh! The bus (a small one with a trailer behind it) is finally here. I am sitting in it, right now. I am inclining... ZZZZZZZZZ....

Wow! that's 7 hours in total, and not a bit of food on my tongue...

Goodbye, Zlin! Hello, Prague!

"I got lost in Prague the moment I got off the bus."

But mind you! Imagine living in a monotonous life for two years in a small town, and starting a new day in a freaking metropolitan city. But I got hang of it in the afternoon, though. And thanks to Milan from AIESEC CZU Prague, I was guided and accommodated in a dorm with incredibly cheap fee, and boy was the dorm diverse!

Yay!

My roommate was a British guy called Dave, and we shared a bathroom with two Hungarian girls, Melinda and Andrea. I thought I was lucky -- to make friends with people so friendly and charismatic like them. I got invited to Andrea's farewell party, enjoyed spending the evening with them. I had interesting conversations with all of them, but the girls guided me through the city, and Dave helped me until I went to the Florence station -- second time.

One of the most memorable experience was that I was asked to choose between either the Prague castle and a small museum. Well, I chose the second one. It was "Sex machines" museum.
What did you think it was?

My departure was delayed when I missed my bus to Romania, and

• a) I couldn't believe it.
  
• b) I was mad at myself.

The next day I made my decision and sold my laptop in pawn shop for 3,500 czech crown, in order to buy a bus ticket. I hated my laptop anyway!

Going to Prague

I was not asleep when it was 2:30 am, obviously because I was nervous. Breaking my habitual cycle, I went to the bathroom, and looked at the mirror. The dark circle had already appeared…

2:55 am. I am walking down the hill, where my dormitory is. My suitcase is making a rattling noise on the cut stone textured cobble road. When I arrived at the bus station, there was a bus already waiting for me. This is how I went to Prague by “Student Agency” bus on 03.06.2008.