My job has taken me to Austria for the last few years. So I was mostly only for short time periods in the home country, that having a direct effect on the level of my interactions with other people. This past weekend I went to a friend's wedding. And boy... was it an interesting weekend. I can't believe what variety of people I met along the way.
My friend from college held his wedding in "Gura Humorului", in the northern part of the country. I went together with other friends from my native Brasov on the trip, which was a bit over 5 hours drive. I met the bride, the family, other guests, old acquaintances... interesting people.
As soon as I arrived, I was greeted by the usual hospitality that is floating around such special events. I was invited to a table and a delicious stew and a large plate of meat was placed in front of me. A wine carafe made its way to the table also, and somehow it got refilled no matter how much the people were drinking. I had a blast. And it wasn't just the wine. I got to remember what I really liked about being "back home": that with the right crowd, I can turn basically any normal sentence and make it somewhat funny. I don't have that kind of knowledge of German. It was easier to make jokes, connect with other people. I missed that. I got to discuss politics also, which is a hot topic in the country nowadays. I was intrigued by the fact that some young people believe that the only way the country can leave the crysis is through a dictatorship. And their background wasn't typical for such oppinions. But seeing as how we came for a wedding, politics were put aside, and drinking became the primary activity.
The night went on with me going to bed around 3 AM along with two guys that could not brag enough about how much they were banging, after a bit too much of that good wine. Second day: a hangover. I thought it would be much, much worse. But the most important effect was simply the lack of an apetite at the wedding.
And as for the wedding itself, it was carried out in the usual 3 acts:
- Act 1: Mayor's office. This time, it was around 18:00, which is rather late.
- Act 2: Church. I think the families must have been really important, seeing as the wedding ceremony was handled by 6 priests and 4 pairs of godfathers (and godmothers :-)). And no, that's not usual. One of each should suffice. This took an entire hour.
ACT 3: Party. Started around 19:30, went on to around 05:00, with plenty of food and drinking going on for the 200+ guests. The dance floor was a bit overcrowded, the music was mostly traditional, but overall, nice. I met more people there. Quite a few came from outside the country.
The morning after, I had to leave already for my home in Brasov, as a car was expecting me on Monday morning, 05:00 to carry me to Vienna. Since I was the only one that had to go, I went by train. Got into a train for the city of Suceava at 09:44, reached the destination at 11:03. In the same compartment, there were several people. They really contrasted with the middle/upper class from the party. A woman was working for the state for a minimum wage, expecting cuts. She seemed to accept the 25% cuts announced by the government with contempt. Her daughter seemed like a typical 12yr old kid: dressed a bit slutty, well actually that is how 12 yr olds dress nowadays, to the displeasure of the father. I'm not sure whether he was still employed or not. But he was regretting the old days when you were becoming something after 12 years of school. This means he was a working man that finished a specialized school, so after the 12th grade he was skilled at a factory job. I didn't figure out whether he was employed or not. But he seemed very dissatisfied. Another woman was also working for the state. The CFR conductor asked for our tickets. Everyone had one; he saw I had a long ride in front of me and wished a good trip.
In Suceava I got onto another train. It left the station at 11:15. Another CFR conductor asked for the tickets, rushing impatiently through the papers of everyone in the compartment with an angry look. It looked like she just wanted to go home and if these fucking passengers would have hurried, maybe the train would have also reached the fucking destination faster. My first interaction was with an old man, living in the town of Roman. He was dissatisfied with the announced 15% cuts for pensions. He was receiving 1200 RON, which is about twice the minimum wage. He was also one of the people that thinks that it was better with Ceausescu, because "at least he built something". I think that communism build something obscene in the country: a non-functional society. But you can't convince a retired old man to change his mind about something... about anything... it's too late. The company of the old man ended when we arrived in Roman at 12:34. I noticed that I wasn't sleepy, although I had slept only 2 hours prior to the trip.
After that, a family composed of a middle aged couple and 3 kids joined the compartment up to Adjud. I noticed some things about them. One: they smelled. I mean, if the smell of sweat would be the force, these guys would be Jedi Masters. And it was a hot day. Two: they had 4 kids actually, 3 girls and one boy and the eldest daughter was on the hallway, taking care of the bags. The younger girls were 5 and 6 years old. They played constantly, singing, nagging, hitting each other... kids. They seemed not to care about the crisis, well... the kids at least. I'm sure any parents with 4 kids must feel some pressure when the economy takes a downturn. The same CFR employee comes again to check for the tickets, just as friendly as the first time. They were expecting someone who was driving from Brasov to meet them in Adjud.
Adjud, a long stop from 14:02 to 14:36. The Stinkies got off, a single mother with 2 kids, one of which was autistic joined the compartment. Their grandparents (the kids') were also there until the train departed to try to make the little girl stop crying. She was crying because she didn't want to leave and would miss her granny. I realized I forgot that there was a time when I also was happy staying with my grandparents in a worry free life. I felt old trying to remember those times. The train departed, the grandparents left... not in that exact order.
Despite the autistic kid that couldn't stand still, I managed to doze off for maybe 30 minutes. When I woke up, there was another young woman in the compartment. She was looking at the boy playing with his sister with a smile on her face. I thought she simply liked kids at first, but later on, she said she also has a brother who's autistic. It seems that there is a special center in Sfantu Gheorghe, and that seems to change peoples' lives. The people in my compartment changed their lives because of it. They had to come live closer to it. I wondered what would happen if I would have such a child. How would I handle it? Not a happy trail of thoughts... I quickly focused on other topics. It wasn't hard, as our favourite train conductor came again to check for the tickets. Same face, same attitude. Yup, that's not going to change for her... ever.
Back to the passengers, the young woman was working as a pharmacist. She didn't seem to affected about the 25% paycuts. Sure, she wasn't happy about them, but she wasn't going to fight it. And she told me this with a smile on her face that I did not expect. Contempt again. She got off at Miercurea Ciuc. The small girl seemed to have forgotten all about granny and started showing me all the books her mother bought her for kindergarten. The mother with the 2 kids got off at Sfantu Gheorghe. We made smalltalk but I didn't ask her how she handled the money. It was obviously not easy.
I reached Brasov at 19:50. The train was right on time. Right on time... which is ... acceptable maybe? After a whole day's ride, the only consolation I got was that ... it was a day in a weekend I wouldn't forget very soon.
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