July 17, 2008 (Thursday)
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: Laying on the beach and looking up at the clouds.

The train that we had tickets for was definitely not a sleeper train. That means there was no place to lay down for the train ride that lasted the entire night. We were forced to sleep upright in a chair that did not lean back in the slightest. The train left at 10:00 p.m. last night and arrived at 8:30 a.m. this morning at the Black Sea. Needless to say none of us got any sleep. They didn’t even turn the lights off in the train. Then at about 2:00 in the morning a group of high school kids got on and they were SOOOO LOUD the rest of the night. They were talking none stop at the top of their lungs – not to mention I’m positive they were a bit drunk. If I knew how to say something rude to them in Romanian I think I would have. They were so inconsiderate of every other person on the train it was ridiculous.

When we arrived we had someone pick us up and take us to our hostel/hotel. There are two people to a room where we are staying. Whitney S. is my partner in crime for the next couple of days. I’m glad though, because we have a lot of fun together.

Once we got situated we all decided we desperately needed a nap. Plus it was a bit chilly outside to go to the beach immediately. We were only going to sleep for about an hour, but before we knew it the time was 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon. I woke up and turned over to find Whitney with a great big grin on her face. Then she exclaimed “good morning!” I guess she had already been up for a little bit….I couldn’t believe what time it was.

Because we wanted to leave and go to the beach Whitney S. and I took upon ourselves the duty of waking everyone up. I ran and jumped on each of the girl’s beds whether or not they were happy about it. Then we all headed to the beach.

The beach wasn’t the most gorgeous in the world, but it was still pretty. The beach was really crowded, but we still managed to find a spot. Most of the women didn’t have tops or wore thongs. Then almost all the men wore speedos, and children ran naked. Welcome to beaches in Europe. I don’t think I’ve ever seen more nudity in my entire life. It wasn’t the most pleasant experience, but I wasn’t as shocked as I thought I would be in a situation like that. I don’t know how half of those people felt so comfortable with being so exposed. Not only did they not have the body to be exposing themselves, but it is purely gross for everyone else around. P.S. I will never ever find a speedo attractive on a guy. DISGUSTING.

At the beach we all laid around and Whitney S. and I read a book we have to read for one of our classes. We just took turns reading. We’re reading a book called Bury Me Standing that is about the gypsy way of life. It’s quite interesting. It makes me understand why they do the things they do a little better.

In between reading we took sporadic breaks. At one point we all decided to get into the water, and I am proud to say I was the first one to get everyone wet. I started profusely splashing everyone, and the water was oh so cold. There were a bunch of shrieks and shrills with each splash. It was great. Then I dunked MacKenzie pretty good, and Elyse and I had a tumble out as well. I don’t know why but I love pushing people in or splashing them. I get great satisfaction out of it…weird I know. Last summer I would ask people if I could push them in the pool. They usually said “no,” but then I’d get them when they least expected it. Oh summer fun.

On the way back from the beach Whitney S. and I chatted about life. We talked about how crazy it’s going to be when we get home. We are all going to be so busy, and I hope we will still find time to play with each other. We also came to the consensus that I was definitely supposed to be in Romania for a reason. To be honest I think I haven’t met anyone special because I was supposed to come here, serve and change my perspective about certain things…