"All I can think about, is gettin' you home..."

I touched down in Grand Rapids on December 16th 2010 around 6:30 in the evening and was greeted by my Parents, my mother nearly breaching the security checkpoint to give me a hug, my brother, and my good friends Kevin and Joey. It was good to see them again, but much like the last time I made the trip I was unable to sleep on any of my flights and was therefore, very tired. We went to the Beltline Bar and had the most exquisite Wet Burritos... That's how the trip began. My time at home was short but good. I caught up with many of my friends and for a while it was good to just be home for a while. Still, something about it made me uneasy. It wasn't the life I was accustomed to anymore. I've grown to be accepting of my lifestyle in Romania. I enjoy the way my days progress and how my routine hardly ever varies. I am a creature of habit, even if they aren't always productive ones. I couldn't help shake the feeling that in 7 short months I would be back in the states for good. With no school waiting for me an ocean away, no apartment bills waiting in my shabby mail box and no more Romanian to speak... it was an incredibly sobering feeling. Like the last twenty months of my life had just flown by, and I was sure the next seven would be an equally rapid blur... but before that, there was the trip back, and New Year's.

"Let old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to light..."

New Year's in Brasov was something special. I had been sweating bullets at home trying to find a place to stay that was both cheap and could accommodate me and four of my friends. It wasn't easy to find, and even harder to find once we were actually in the city. My friend Brent and I arrived in Brasov around 9p.m. after two lengthy flights and a seemingly unending train ride. It had been nearly 24 hours since we had left the states and neither of us were what we would call "rested." Nevertheless, Brent and I decided to try and take the bus, rather than just paying the taxi to take us directly to our hostel door. We got off at the wrong stop, then, we walked up the wrong street, took a few wrong turns and before you know it had been walking around haphazardly for 2 hours in the freezing cold with gigantic backpacks on. We finally found the place and were able to settle in... Our other friend's arrived the next day and we greeted each of them in turn at the train or bus station. New Year's night was spectacular. We stood in the giant square in Brasov's old town, in the shadow of the Black Cathedral and watched as they counted down the waining seconds of 2010. With the echoes of "Una" still ringing in the square people popped off their champaign corks and ushered in 2011 by stealing a kiss from a loved one.

"I don't care where we go, long as I'm there with you..."

After New Year's I had a visitor come and stay with me for a few days. This visit directly resulted in the two of us beginning a relationship, which I am happy to say has been the highlight of my 2011 so far. She's an amazing woman, but also very private so I will keep the details to a minimum. She makes me happy, which isn't the easiest of tasks.

"I Don't like, I don't like, I don't like Mondays too much..."

Inevitably I had to crawl back to school and finish out the first semester. Grades, Tests and a flurry of questions about why someone's grade was what it was. I am grateful that my director and counterpart are beyond school politics. They don't care whose son or daughter you are, you get the grade you earned. It helps that it is hard for any of our students to put up a fight on their grades. Those who learn, learn, those who don't... well... they don't, ever. January was a relatively uneventful month compared to the hectic pace of December. It was cold, it snowed. It felt like winter. I made a couple of visits to my friend Ted in Piatra, relished the American food I had brought back with me, and mostly just waited around for the semester break so I could take another little adventure.

"Said I'm turnin' off my phone, Tell the world to leave to alone, Gonna stay right here in bed, All day long "

I went on a trip to see my new partner's site, it was not easy to find but I lucked into spying a bus headed to a city near hers on my to Targu Mures. I was able to switch buses and make to her site about 6 hours earlier than I would have had I made the trip all the way to Targu Mures. Again, I won't go into much detail to respect her privacy but it was a very relaxing and enjoyable time together. We made a trip to Sighisoara and saw the fortress, made pizza, pasta, curry chicken and ate hummus with home made tortillas. The majority of our time was spent in sweatpants playing scrabble and listening to podcasts. It was the perfect lazy vacation. At the end of the week we made our way to visit another one of our friend's and hang out in Cluj for a couple of days. It was at this point that something happened that will forever define my Peace Corps service.