Rainbow Child

Don’t have them, don’t understand the concept. I’ve spent this weekend with his little sister and it was great. We went out drinking, eating, we ended up at a klezmer music concert (great music, btw!) and, all in all, we had a great time together, just as it happened with his twin sister in Paris.

But the more I think about this brother-sister relationship, the more I don’t understand it. I know it’s some sort of parent-child thing, only cooler, but it still puzzles me. I am an only child and I was raised like one: I got to eat the whole bar of chocolate, I got to play with all the toys, I was grounded for every stupid thing I did. I have no idea what it means to share a room with someone, to take someone’s side out of brotherly care etc. I don’t know what it means to worry about someone who is travelling by plane and I have no idea how it feels to spend time with your siblings after months of being apart.

Yes, I have a family and, yes, I care about *almost* all of its members but except for my parents I don’t feel like there is any special bond connecting me to them. I have learned to accept them the way they are but I still judge them from time to time (not out loud, though) and we see each other for Christmas, Easter and a couple of times during the summer holiday. No big love between us, no real bonds.

I don’t regret not having siblings – hell, I’m glad I’m alone, spoiled and egotistic but sometimes I would like to know how it feels to care for someone not because you are great friends or because they are your parents but because you’ve shared so many things together, so many memories, because they were grounded because of you or because they wanted to save you, because you were fighting over the same bar of chocolate.

Siblings – strange creatures

“After years of waiting” (as the song goes) my blog has a new theme. A personalised one. One that I won’t find on other blogs and start crying of anger (it has happened). One that Eddie designed while I was looking over his shoulder saying “I don’t like that” or “oh, oh, oh, I want that as well”.

It’s simpler, cleaner and still in progress Most probably I will change the pictures in the header from time to time and I still have some stuff to put in the sidebar (about me, my profiles on other sites, maybe a widget with my pictures from Lomo etc.) but this is it. This is my new blog theme and I love it even though there is just one small rainbow here, in the favicon

So, what do you say? Suggestions and comments are more than welcome

That’s what they kept telling me: “Oh, Ioana, we’re not your typical German family.” I don’t know many German families but I know that Martha’s family is special. I’ve stayed at Maria and Walter‘s place (Martha‘s parents) for about 10 days and I’m not exaggerating when I’m saying that those have been wonderful days! They must have the concept of “hospitality” running through their veins cause I haven’t felt more welcome anywhere! They did everything possible so I could have a great time: they took me out to dinner, they took me on trips (we got as far as Denmark but I’ll write about it in a different post), they bought me white beer even if it’s Bavarian and they encouraged me to believe in a better future for this country (although I don’t think that is possible, it was still nice to see someone actually believing in it).

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The days I spent with vio were full of good food, white beer, long walks and even longer talks. We are alike in so many ways and sometimes I felt like I was talking with an older version of myself. And again, I am so amazed that people I’ve met on the Internet are now some of my closest and dearest friends. vio also took me one day to Frankfurt but our main goal was to get to the flea market and go shopping, so, sorry, the only things I remember about the city are the skyscrapers, the sea of people going from one shop to another and the delicious Asian soup I ate

The main goal of those first days in Germany had been reached: I spent some quality time with a dear friend and I was prepared for the touristic part of the trip: Berlin.

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I was telling you about me being paranoid and having to plan everything and then sticking to the plans no matter what. Well, it seems that the Universe wanted to teach me a valuable lesson about plans and paranoia and it worked.

First of all, the morning I woke up to go to Cluj and catch my plane was gray, cold and rainy. I had packed only summer clothes from Bucharest and just tossed in a pair of jeans and some cardigans because Martha always told me how chilly it can get in the north of Germany. But what Martha didn´t tell me was that sometimes it´s cold everywhere in bloody Germany! I´ve exchanged temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius for autumn weather with temperatures that I don´t believe go higher than 18 degrees. So all my skirts and dresses and thin T-shirts are useless here, unless I put them all on me, at the same time.

Getting back to my plane trip, when we arrived at the airport the plane had a delay of 2h. Anyways, I sent my parents back home and waited patiently for them to announce that we were boarding. And I waited, and waited and waited and in the end they told us that we wouldn´t be flying that day but early next morning. I was a bit panicky by then because I don´t know anyone in Cluj but the airline company sent the non-Cluj people to a four star hotel. I can´t say that I was thrilled or anything like that but I wasn´t yelling like a retard demanding that the company should give me a refund or fly in a special plane just for us. On the other hand, I had all the time in the world, I could wait until next morning. Which morning turned into early afternoon. I still have no idea why our plane got cancelled – I´ve heard lots of rumours but nothing official – but, in the end, I made to Dortmund safe and sound.

From there I went to Schwelm, where I stayed at a friend´s of my Mum. That couple was amazing! I´ve never seen a couple their age (mid-forties) being that in love! I was totally impressed Not to mention what nice people they are and how they looked after me. At least I´ve started my trip meeting incredible people. So, while the people part is OK, the traveling one still needs more adjustments. On my first train ride within Germany, I got on the wrong train. I was at the right line, the time was right, a regional train came, I got on and everything seemed to be perfect until it was time to arrive in Köln and we weren´t there yet. Using my very poor German I asked a man if the train was going to Köln. Of course it wasn´t! I almost had a panic attack but the nice man told me to get off at the first station and simply wait there for the right train. And so I did. Thank God, Martha had bought for me some really cool tickets and I can take any train to get my destination. Yes, any train I want, I can change how many I want as long as I get to where I have to in less than 24h. And it costs only 30 euros/trip. Now that´s what I call a bargain!

There I was, in the middle of nowhere, having to wait another hour for my train. What did I do? I started talking with a girl next to me who turned out to not speak a word English! Damn, it was so difficult for me to speak German but I did it. I mumbled and mixed the articles and mispronounced almost everything but in the end she still got the right information: that I´m 23, traveling through Germany, staying at friends, that Romania is still regarded as a poor country but there are lots of rich people etc, etc.  We both got off in Köln and wished each other a nice holiday.

Now I am in Bad Homburg, staying at Vio´s place. I love it here! Yesterday we rode the bicycles along that wonderful wheat filed and into this really quaint city. I´m sure I will take tons of pictures here and have a wonderful time. Vio and I can´t stop talking – there are so many things we want to share with each other. In the end, this trip seems to be about discovering a better way of living (I´m seriously thinking of moving here one day) and having the greatest time with some of the greatest people I know