The Peace Corps staff has said that trains are a good place to experience Romanian culture, and that we are likely to have some of our most memorable experiences while aboard them. They hinted that it was likely that not all these “memorable experiences” will be good ones, but thankfully those I have had so far, have all been positive. My first such experience was in a sleeper car on my way back from my site visit. The people who were in my compartment shared their amazing food with me, told me one of the most personal life stories I have heard, exchanged e-mail addresses with me, and gave me both a poem and a four leaf clover. This experience is a good vignette of Romanian culture. These are people who know how to share in every sense of the word. My trip this time, while still filled with warm Romanians, was a horse of a different color. One factor was likely the fact that this time I was carrying two years worth of stuff on my back, in my hands, and was all around a stress case. My travel companion, Ryan, who will also be my closest peace corps neighbor (about 30 km away), on the other hand, had even more stuff than I did, yet didn’t appear to have a care in the world, a personality trait that I for one have not been blessed with.

We had about three hours to kill between our Personal train and the Acceelerat train that we would be taking overnight, so we got some food, and tried not to look at the dog that had been split in half and lay on the tracks in front of us.

At some point a homeless man sat down next to Ryan and struck up a conversation. Ryan later confessed that homeless people befriend him everywhere he goes. I’m not sure if it is his laid back hippy disposition (he is the splitting image of “Sunshine” from Remember the Titans), or the fact that he usually can be found smoking freshly rolled cigarettes, but I do know that in this case, it was his accepting and giving nature that kept this man with us the entire time.

About two hours of conversation and ten lei later it was about time for Ryan and I to catch our train so we made the dreaded journey across a set of tracks to the platform. Ryan unknowingly had not only bought this mans dinner, but also his loyalty. He helped Ryan carry one of his many bags and tailed loyally behind us as we made our way. We had only been at the correct platform for about 5 minutes when a train pulled up. “Is this our train?” Ryan and his friend were sure it was so we looked for our car. Only a few minutes passed and the train began to move. It became apparent that if we were going to catch this train we were going to have to hurry. We began to run.

I can’t help but chuckle when I think about how the three of us must have looked to passers by. I was running as fast as I could with my giant backpack, dragging my rolling suitcase, which had fallen onto its side and refused to turn upright, and casting off unnecessary extras that were holding me back, such as my two water bottles, my attention focused on the outstretched hand of the man on the train. Ryan was doing the same only he had an additional smaller back pack on his front and was being tailed by his friend who was still nobly carrying one of his suitcases. Finally, I realized that I had two options, either drop my “rolling” suitcase and hop the train, or give up. I seriously considered the first option, which in retrospect would have been insane, considering it had my computer in it, among other objects of value. Ryan also decided to stay with his luggage. When the train was out of sight we stood next to each other, out of breath and disillusioned. I looked at my watch and realized that it wasn’t time for our train to be there yet. The homeless man still insisted it was our train, but I decided to get a second opinion. The people next to us informed us that our train still had ten minutes, at which point we couldn’t help but laugh at ourselves.

When the train finally got there we boarded successfully. There were some complications in fitting our bags in our compartment, but it all worked out and 15 hours later I found myself saying goodbye to Ryan, the last shred of my American support system, and heading off with my new Romanian colleague to my new Romanian life.