This past week was a vacation for the Americanskis and one of our directors, Diana. The five of us traveled to the historical city of Constanta, an ancient port on the Black Sea. We attended a Theater Forum on Discrimination where IMPACT clubs from all over the country came to perform skits against discrimination. The conference was interesting- to see Romanian youth and compare them with my experiences with American youth. It is surprising how similar they are. There was crazy energy at the conference and it made me realize how old I have become. It was also interesting to find out more about what kind of discrimination the youth think exists in Romania.

The conference included a trip into Constanta to see some of the sites. Constanta was where the epic poet Ovid was exiled and has many cultural and historical sites. We really only visited the port and the casino- surprisingly beautiful. Although these were amazing, I was pretty disappointed not to be able to visit any of the museums in the city. Of course everything is made more difficult with the language barrier. We did go to this amazing Turkish restaurant for coffee that I wish I could bring home with me.

After the conference ended we spent 3 days on the beach. The weather was beautiful and it was nice to relax. We swam in the black sea, played beach ball and I read three books. It was a really relaxing and bonding time for the Americans. I feel like the four of us really know each other now and are eager to embark on this adventure together. I cannot remember when I have laughed more in a matter of seven days for awhile. I became very antsy, though and I am so eager to really get work started on the benchmarks project. The 20 hours total on trains was something I surprisingly enjoyed. I have decided that this is my favorite form of transportation. You can watch the unbelievable European countryside fly by, and since we covered so many miles, it goes from plunging valleys and looming mountains near my village into endless plains in the east. It’s like going from the white mountains to the Midwest in a matter of hours. I love sanding by the window just taking it all in.

It was nice to be greeted at the train station by Ilie, a Romanian staff member. It was funny how comforting it was to hear him and Diana talk in Romanian the car ride back. Although I can still understand very little, a foreign language doesn’t sound foreign when spoken by a familiar voice. Now it’s back to the office and trying to make one of the hardest steps in this Benchmark development process- beginning. It is hard to know where to start, but I am eager.