Those of you who know me know I love snow so it won't surprise you that I was delighted to step off of our 14 hour flight into a winter wonderland of fresh snow dancing on my eyelashes, freckling my face, and quickly covering my shoulders. As soon as i rescued my backpack from the carousel, I ran out into the falling snow with all the excitement of a child on Christmas morning. I felt like the Jamaican bobsled team on their first visit to Canada. Frozen, and unprepared. I had ended a three month stint in the sun, heat, and sweat of Africa by landing in the snow-covered, frozen Romania. After a few pirouettes in the airport parking lot I shuffled back inside to rummage through my bag for more layers. Like the men of "Cool Runnings" I did not let the cold deter me. I went back out there wearing nearly every item in my bag and topped it off by wrapping the airplane blanket around my neck as a scarf.
We spent the next 14 hours huddled together for warmth in the Bucharest train station. I was never so thankful to see a McDonalds. Cheeseburger and fries – Check. Heat – Check. Free Wifi – Check Check! I was so excited to see the snow that it took me a while to realize that even inside the restaurant, I was bundled up like Ralphy's little brother on "A Christmas Story" – but not nearly as warm. The train station was buzzing with excitement and commotion as travelers came and went round the clock. Each train brought a new set of customers in search of hot coffee which meant the door to my refuge was ever-revolving and bringing in fresh drafts of cold air systematically. I took occasional breaks to walk around the station, enjoy the snow, and look for gloves – unfortunately none were to be found.
Finally, at nearly 2:00 am our train to Arad chugged into the station and we boarded. Halfway through our 11 month venture, we've all been on some pretty crazy trains (The worst being in China) so we had no idea what to expect. Thankfully the trains were roomy, private (only 6 per room), and WARM. So warm, in fact, that I kept shedding layers until I was in my original jeans and tank top. So warm that we tried to open the window to let some fresh air in. Unfortunately once the cabin was cooled down we couldn't put the window back up because the still falling snow had frozen itself into the corners jamming the gears with ice.
After 12 hours on the train, I layered every article of clothing I had back onto my body, loaded my pack onto my back, and bumbled once again out into the snow. This has been one of the coldest, snowiest winters on record in Romania – at least in this part of Romania, so there weren't many people out and about. They were all at home snuggled in front of their warm, crackling fires. Those who were out were busy getting their cars stuck in the snow and making our adventure a bit more difficult. By the time our taxi dropped us off I was so cold I thought my toes would break right off if I tried to walk. All I wanted was to thaw out in front of a fire, put on some wool socks and snuggly jammies, and take a nap – I had none of those things of course, but that didn't keep me from wanting them. Unfortunately, our drivers were afraid of getting stuck in the snow so they dropped us off quite a ways away from our destination. "OK feet, we're almost there. We can do it." I gave my poor frozen feet a pep talk and trudged through the snow to our final destination, the 7th Spring Summer Camp. The furnace hadn't yet been lit so 14 of us huddled together on a sectional sofa under as many blankets as we could find until we could finally feel our fingers and toes again.
Two days later I bundled up once again. This time I was on a mission to find some warm clothing. I stopped in a number of second hand stores and came away with a wool scarf (no more airport blanket around my neck), 2 pairs of jeans (mine are full of holes from the acid rain in China), 2 warm sweaters, a pair of boots, and the prize – red plaid flannel pajamas. I went right home, snuggled up in them and took a nap.
I love the snow, and now that I have some warmer clothes, it's time to have some fun! Cool Runnings!
