Monique Z: Non-Stop

Non-Stop. It's truly the motto of Bucharest. Whatever you want (bus tickets, medication, kebabs, groceries, internet access, or porn) it's available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The boulevards of the city are lined with countless red neon signs proclaiming their commitment to "Non-Stop" service.

I'm leaving the city tomorrow for Sofia in Bulgaria. It's a good thing I am leaving, because I think I may starve to death. Western style grocery stores are rarer than diamonds in this city. All food products are kept behind a glass counter, and you must ask the clerk for whatever you need. This is not good when you only speak the English. Although it's inefficient, it seems to facilitate social interaction between the sales staff and the customers, making the city seem a bit more familial.

I'm finding out you can learn a lot about people from their shoes. I guess I should have already known this, as it is how my dad decided to marry my mother. Now that I've been traveling, I've learned that shoes speak volumes about a person's nationality. Scandinavians, Europeans, and North Americans all choose distinctly different styles of shoes. (Aussies and Kiwis are a bit harder to tell.)

There are so many beggars in Romania, it would break your heart. When I was strolling to the old town city center, I ran into a little old lady selling fresh herbs on the street corner. She held out a bunch as I passed by, and I shook my head to decline her offering. Then I happened to look down at her shoes. They were patched and stitched together. Once again, footwear can reveal so much about a person. My pace slowed, and I turned around to look at her herbs, which she excitedly thrust in my face. (I guess to check for freshness??) Suffice to say, I am now carting around a profusive amount of green grassy stuff. I don't really know what to do with it all, but at least it smells good.

Of course I've been keeping up with the news back home. New Orleans is in really bad shape. You can donate to the American Red Cross here.