Czeching out of Europe

Lot’s to do. Lot’s to tell. Lot’s to be sad/ excited/ nervous/ happy/ reminiscent/ anxious about. I’ll start by attempting to replicate my amazing past weekend in Prague, Czech Republic! One of my best friends, Phil Kiselick, is studying there at Charles University for four months, and I have wanted to go to Prague since I started working in Europe; a straight-shot flight from Sofia to Prague was therefore the perfect opportunity to Czech out the desirable destination that many travelers are now putting on the top of their list. Prague is “the new Amsterdam”, the “gem of Central Europe”, where young and eager students can explore an unfamiliar post-communist country, take in the breath-taking sites that cover literally every square inch of the city, and party until dawn at beer halls and five-story clubs. In the two short days that I was in Prague, Phil and I managed to see and do it all! Friday and Saturday nights consisted of dinners with new friends, Pilsner beers at various bars throughout old town, clubbing and dancing the night away, trying infamous absinthe shots, czeching out “street meat” (my favorite of which was a fried cheese sandwich called Smazny), and having a ridiculous time that made me really miss my party-oriented study abroad days! Saturday was utterly beautiful – clear blue skies and relatively warm temperatures allowed us to explore the enchanting city for hours. We walked through Old Town, and looking up and around me sometimes gave me chills as pretty much every building had an exquisite exterior detail. Walking on Charles bridge and listening to street performers work their magic left me smiling ear to ear. We made our way to the side of Prague castle, stopping to Let it Be at the Lennon Wall, a graffiti-enveloped partition that is covered in Beatle’s lyrics and drawings. Snapping pictures the whole way, Phil and I trudged up to Prague Castle and went inside the St. Vitus cathedral, admiring the gothic décor that eerily resonates throughout the entire city. A Pilsner at a café overlooking all of Prague was the perfect way to reward ourselves for all the walking we had done! To finish off the sight-seeing day we climbed the astronomical clock in Old Town city center that provided (if possible) an even more stunning view of the city! Everything I was able to see and do in Prague left me so incredibly happy to have the opportunity to visit Phil, who shares my zeal for the unfamiliar. Needless to say, Prague lived up to its standards as (what I can imagine) is one of the most majestic places on the planet!

View of Prague Castle from Charles Bridge

Old Town Square from the Astronomical Clock

Phil and I at the Lennon Wall

A short couple of days in Sofia following my weekend trip led up to big news for the Bulgaria team. Wednesday we got word that I would be traveling to Moldova again for some meetings, and Abbie would be moving on to another project in Kosovo the next day. The news was unexpected and shocking, and we had no time to even process it. I hugged Abs goodbye thinking I would see her in a few days, when in reality we have realized it might be a little longer than that…

I spent the entire day Wednesday traveling (Chisinau, Moldova is extremely difficult to get to!) but was lucky enough to have landed first class again! I spent seven hours in the business lounge of the Bucharest, Romania airport; let me tell you, the free snacks, coffee, alcohol, desserts made the wait actually quite delightful. That evening, I had the shocking/amazing call from my coach, who explained that I would be moving to COLOMBIA, SOUTH AMERICA the following week! I will be joining the pre-existing project with Karla, a colleague whom I really love. Adam explained I will be finishing the project there and then possibly moving on to Peru, where my ex-partner Pedro is currently opening another project. The emotions I felt and still feel are indescribable; not until now do I realize just how much I have wanted to get to South America. I cannot stop smiling, dancing, thinking of how to say certain things in Spanish, and imagining my new life in a completely new world.

With this ecstatic joy also comes sadness, at the realization of leaving Europe and all of the friends and memories I have made here. It has been my home for the past nine months and I haven’t had time to truly understand I am leaving the European culture and lifestyle in a matter of days.

I am currently in a café in Chisinau, Moldova, and the past four days in this city have been so eventful that I am taking this Sunday to rest, write, practice some espanol, and prep for my last few meetings in Bulgaria. There are five of us here, so we have had a good time at the meetings, eating Moldavian fare, and going out together. Yesterday we took advantage of the cheap luxury that Eastern Europe has to offer and had a spa day – I got a quite interesting one-hour full body massage for 15 euro (I didn’t expect amazingness but come on, did the masseuse really have to answer her phone during my foot massage?!) We are staying at a hotel named the “Maxim Pasha”, the only five-star hotel in Moldova, and it is also quite interesting. They put me in a room the first night complete with a red-sequined bread spread, an enormous chandelier, complimentary champagne…only to knock on my door five minutes later apologizing that they had accidentally put me in the “sexual room” and that I needed to move. At breakfast Michael and I ordered muesli (granola), and the waiter brought us noodles in a milky cheese sauce - gross! I also had to go to the eye doctor here, which was a whole other adventure; the doctor prescribed me about seven medicines that I didn’t need, which I luckily figured out before making it to the pharmacy. Moral of the anecdotes: Moldova is a small, bizarre little country, but amusing nonetheless, and I will always remember my time here!

Tomorrow I fly out for Bulgaria for my final couple of days with Slavy, and then leave early Wednesday morning for Belgium. I will probably spend one or two days in the office, get vaccinated and organized for COLOMBIA, then fly over to the part of the world I am meant to take on next! Ciao Europa, Hola Sudamérica!

I “Moldove” into another country last week…

Country: Moldova

Capital: Chisinau

Language: Romanian and Russian

Location: Landlocked between Ukraine and Romania

Currency: Moldovan leu

Last Wednesday, one of the coaches visiting us in Bulgaria, Josee, sprung the news that I would be traveling to Moldova that following day to help the team there with some high-potential meetings. Outsiders think of the country as “the least-developed in Europe” and “the drunkest per capita”; one friend maturely noted, “I hear they have the most prostitutes in the former Soviet Union”. Regardless of all these charming preconceptions, I was ecstatic to be given the opportunity to travel more for work. I also loved the fact that the company had actually seen potential in my ability to contribute to a completely new project, and that they had faith in me to do well. The situation only grew more peachy when I realized my ticket on the second leg of my trip from Istanbul to Chisinau was first class on Turkish Airlines! I felt more in heaven than in a plane that high up – endless service, Turkish wine and mezze, cheese platters, hot wet towels, and leg space. I felt like I didn’t belong, and found myself worried about my etiquette – on an airplane!

Marielle, a Belgian colleague who is wonderfully energetic, picked me up from the airport and gave me the low-down on the joys of sharing an apartment with two boys (it is her, my good friend Michael, and a new colleague, Fabian, all sharing a 2-bedroom apartment). Michael had salmon ready for us at home, and we spent the evening prepping for the meetings ahead!

Work ended up going very well, and we had a good sale on Friday, my final meeting in Moldova. Literally no one speaks English in Moldova – even worse than here in Bulgaria! All the meetings were translated from either Romanian or Russian. I could always tell if they were speaking Romanian because it is a lot like Italian, which is a lot like Spanish! It was neat to be able to single out a few words here and there. The meetings also proved that the country is the drunkest per capita as a few CEO’s brought out the Moldovan cognac (one even opened a bottle for us that was 20 years old, and our translator said it was the nicest he has ever tasted). Can you just picture us all – me, Michael, Fabian, Marielle, our translator, the marketing director, the CEO’s son, and the CEO - standing, toasting one another (translating those toasts), eating boxed chocolates, laughing (translating why we were laughing)…all the while trying to close a deal (translating me trying to close a deal)? Business is business, but in Moldova it’s just a little more entertaining…

The city of Chisinau replicates the environment of what I imagine most Russian cities to be like. All the women are walking around in large fur coats and hats as snow jails any opportunity for them to otherwise look fashionable. The streets are simple and the buildings, although just as ragged, are smaller than those in Sofia. Unfortunately most of my time was spent in meetings during the day so there was not much sight-seeing to be done, but I did have the opportunity to try some local fare as well – on Friday night we went to a traditional Moldavian restaurant where I tried Chisinau beer, a red soup appetizer called Borsh, and stewed pork.

Although my time in the little country was short, I gained more insight into what Michael kept referring to as “the real Eastern Europe”, as if I haven’t truly experienced it in my 7 months in Croatia and Bulgaria. Maybe he’s right, but that is certainly up for debate…