All of us might wish at times that we lived in a more tranquil world, but we don't. And if our times are difficult and perplexing, so are they challenging and filled with opportunity.

Robert Kennedy

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Wednesday in the Park...I think it was the 4th of July...

My second year here in Moldova celebrating America's independence. This year was a tad different. I spend a lot of my time here with two Moldovans, Viktor and Alex. They are University students who make films and I can't get enough of them. They both speak ridiculously good English and like to help me with my Russian. (The good stuff, the bad words!) I spend a LOT of time with these two as they just make me smile. Viktor had been away for a week so last night he called at around 10, he was back in Cahul. He asked me and Alex to meet him downtown at our favorite restaurant, Mamma Mia. We sat and chatted for a bit but the restaurant closed at midnight. So we bought some ice cream and walked over to the park in Cahul. The full moon lit up the park through the trees and the three of us sat on a bench and talked for hours. It was now officially the 4th of July and I was sitting in Eastern Europe eating ice cream with two Moldovans. A year ago at this time, I didn't know these two existed and yet here I was.
Today I woke up and it was HOT! Man, it gets hot here. I met up with Jesse for lunch and then came back home just to try and not move and stay cool. A day of cold showers, ice water, lazy naps and a whole lot of nothing. 
Viktor called again and Alex and I met him again at Mamma Mia for dinner. In a near déjà vu, we ate dinner, got ice cream and walked to the park to talk for a while. It sounds so boring but there was nowhere I would rather be than talking with these two in the middle of the night. A day that began and ended the same way. It may be my favorite 4th of July of my life. I certainly will never forget it.
Viktor, me and Alex on my birthday.