We spent our first night in Romania in Torocko (Rimetea). Throughout the trip we stayed with host families, which meant that every day we had homemade food for dinner and breakfast. Thankfully my request to not be served meat did not result in angry hosts or monotonous eating. Everyone raved about the food and a popular conversation topic on the bus was, "What did YOU eat for dinner last night?"
view from my room
9:00 AM rush hour in downtown Torocko
The significance of the chairs...
Wednesday morning we visited the history museum in town, which had many artifacts and lots of information about the local culture. These chairs carried important information for any visitor based on how they were arranged. The two chairs are almost identical except for the orientation of the top detail: there is a rounded end and a pointed end (the right one is broken) and each points in a different direction.
If the rounded ends were facing each other, this meant that the house was at peace and guests were welcome to stay and socialize. If the pointed ends were facing each other, a quarrel was taking place between the husband and wife and visitors should be advised that a short visit is in order.Lottery Shot
I invented a little game on the bus called "Lottery Shot." I would point my camera out the window, take a series of pictures and see if I caught anything worth keeping. Riding in a big van over very bumpy roads meant it was truly a surprise to see what I captured. This is the winner for the series taken while leaving Torocko.
