I’m finished with my time at Romania’s English Cool Camp, and it’s a tearful farewell.
As I write this, I am on a 50-year-old Soviet train going from Chisinau, Moldova to Bucharest, Romania. Yesterday afternoon, I flew from Bucharest to Chisinau. This might seem weird, but it’s all part of the plan. Flights to Dubai from Bucharest are cheap, and I’m flying to Dubai with my new travel buddy, Billy.
This is precisely what makes the farewell from Predeal, Romania so bittersweet.
Connections
I made some great new friends working at that summer camp! Everyone from world travelers and nomads to first-time travelers who recently finished school.
Among them is Billy, my new friend from China who has traveled all over the place. We went to Moldova together, and are sharing a room on this train.
I also made several new friends from across the US, and a couple Canadians. Between us, we’re making some plans to meet up again, visiting them in Edmonton around Christmas.
Now, it’s worth saying that while I didn’t forge a close bond with everyone at the camp, all it takes is a few people to make it worthwhile.
I have a new friend from Portugal that I’ll be playing games with online (and hopefully visiting one day). He also wants to join a D&D game with me.
Among those that I forged a bond with is someone from Ireland, who has told me I can visit him “anytime”. I will certainly take him up on that, as I’d love to return to Ireland again!
New Adventures In and Out of Romania
When I went to Romania, I had planned to head straight home after spending a bit of time in Bucharest.
While at the camp, Billy told me about his plans to go to Moldova and Dubai, and that others were welcome to join. Another trainer at the camp had already taken him up on that offer.
I, however, wanted some time to decide.
The main reason for my hesitation is that in Belize last year, I felt like I was ready to go home by the end of the 3 weeks I spent there. But I also wondered if that was simply because I had nothing else to look forward to at the end.
After talking with my parents and others, I decided to just do it. When would the opportunity arise again? Dubai hadn’t been very high on my bucket list before, but why not seize the chance to go there?
Moldova
I’m leaving Moldova right now, and I can safely say that I’m happy I went. I didn’t know much about it before going, but after a night of exploring the city, visiting a park and trying to find an open restaurant to get food, I found myself really enjoying the vibe of Chisinau! (We settled for a McDonalds since it was the only thing still open.)
Before Moldova, I spent a day and a half in Bucharest. I shared a room with another one of the people I met at the camp, and we stayed in the same hotel as Billy to make things easier!
Bucharest
We spent the first day exploring the city and visited the Megamall, where we ate at a sushi buffet and enjoyed the air-conditioned building. It was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit at the time!
From there, we went to the Museum of Communism, then returned to the hotel for a bit before heading out to grab dinner.
Dinner was great! We met back up with one of the Romanian trainers from the camp and had some good conversation! If we had been inside of the restaurant, we would’ve gotten a show of some kind, but the place was packed, and there was only space outside.
The next day, we visited a history museum and went by the Parliament building, which is the heaviest building in the world and the second largest behind the Pentagon!
Then we headed to the airport to fly to Moldova!
Spontaneity
My choice to go on this trip was by no means spontaneous, since I waited a full week to make the decision, but it was definitely not pre-planned.
I had to reschedule flights to make it work and, thankfully, I was able to fully refund the flight!
To a certain extent, I’m just along for the ride. We don’t have any set plans for the places we’ll visit, but Billy has a friend in Dubai who will show us around!
None of this would happen without some spontaneity and throwing a bit of caution to the wind!
Obviously, I trust Billy by this point since we’ve shared a room for 5 weeks, but there’s no telling what we might encounter along the way.
Other than the oppressive heat (which will follow us to Dubai), I’ve been having a great time!
Conclusion
If you’re on a trip like mine and make some new friends or discover a new opportunity, don’t be afraid to take it.
Sure, you might ask “What if everything goes wrong?”
But let me offer you an alternative question: “What if everything goes right?” You’ll have an amazing time and create some new stories to tell!
I’d love to go back to Romania again, for the summer camp or otherwise!
