Hello! I had my last lecture in Bucharest, today. And then I visited the main court here. And then the mall -- whew. Imagine several malls in Atlanta, with all the crowds, merged into one. Anyway, I'm here tonight at the Rembrandt hotel, glad to have a little free time.

Hey. Sorry I haven't added to the website or posted in a few days. It's been pretty busy. The past two days I participated in a joint Romanian-Spanish anti-corruption seminar with Romanian and Spanish prosecutors as well as local faculty. Made a short presentation. Since I don't speak Romanian worth a darn, I sat next to the woman who was translating the Romanian speakers for the folks from Spain. That was an interesting experience.

Tomorrow headed to Bucharest.

Well, it's been a very busy 2.5 days. I left Iasi Wednesday evening on the intercity (express) train to Bucharest. All the guidebooks will tell you that Romanian train bathrooms are foul and horrible and you shouldn't use them. Well, that was the case with my first train from Bucharest here. This train, however, was absolutely brand new and clean as a whistle. It was a pleasure to ride.
I got to Bucharest about 10:40 and took a cab to the Suter Inn, which I hereafter recommend to anyone who's interested. It was only $60 euros a night -- dirt cheap for Bucharest -- but had excellent facilities, nice rooms, wireless internet, etc. and was in-town.
My first lecture at the U. Bucharest went well. I spoke to about 60 students, and they all asked very good questions and seemed very interested. Later went out to dinner with Madeleine from ABA/CEELI, then took the overnight train back. I really enjoyed the overnight train -- had a nice sleeping compartment with a comfortable bed.

Another lecture this afternoon is behind me, and the weekend's ahead. I won't be going anywhere, though, since I've got meetings tomorrow. I could use the rest, anyway.

More later

Hi. I just finished my first lecture at the University of Bucharest. Great students! Hope to post photos when I get back to Iasi tomorrow morning.

Good morning! Sorry to be in a rush, but I've got to give a lecture in 45 minutes. After that, I'll be headed to Bucharest via train. Lecturing there tomorrow, taking an overnight train back here, and lecturing here again Friday. If I've got internet access in Bucharest, I'll try to post some new photos and give you a little more flavor of the place. Until then, pa pa!

Well, it was heck getting here, but now that I'm here all is well. Seven hours flying to Paris; a four-hour layover; a three-hour flight to Bucharest; and when I got to Bucharest, I found the flights to Iasi had been cancelled on account of fog. So instead I took a six and a half hour train ride. Finally got in around 11 p.m. after traveling in excess of 24 straight hours. This young woman on the train was trying to be conversational. She finally said, "You don't like being here, do you?" I responded that I really like being here, but I don't like being worn out by travel!

At any rate, today I met with Emanoil and the Dean, got my lecturing schedule, got my Romanian cellphone "recharged" with batteries. Ready to go!

Here I am in Paris. Well, I'm at the Paris airport, anyway. I arrived at 6:00 Paris time, which is Midnight eastern. So, to say the least, I'm tired as can be. Despite the fact that I'm several thousand miles from home (what, 2,500 or so?), I'm able to access the Internet for a mere 10 euros an hour! O.K., that's fairly expensive, but when one is dog-tired and having to sit in an airport for almost four hours, what else can one do? I guess I could read, but I'm too tired to do it. On the plane over, I sat next to a fellow from Ohio who is going to Mumbai (Bombay) to his son's wedding. Apparently, it's an arranged marriage. But, as he says, he got married in 1968 the same way. He met his wife five minutes before the wedding, and they've been married 30 years. It makes Kay's and my engagement look like a lifetime!
Getting around this airport is a nightmare. It even makes Hartsfield look efficient. We parked the plane right in front of a terminal, but we had to ride a bus to the actual terminal and then take another bus to this terminal.
I brought my recording equipment and will, with a little luck, record a piece for GPB while I'm here. I wrote it on the plane over, and it's about the Christmas I got spanked. I'll post it on the website when it's finished.

Headed to Bucharest at 10 a.m. Paris time.

Here I am in Paris. Well, I'm at the Paris airport, anyway. I arrived at 6:00 Paris time, which is Midnight eastern. So, to say the least, I'm tired as can be. Despite the fact that I'm several thousand miles from home (what, 2,500 or so?), I'm able to access the Internet for a mere 10 euros an hour! O.K., that's fairly expensive, but when one is dog-tired and having to sit in an airport for almost four hours, what else can one do? I guess I could read, but I'm too tired to do it. On the plane over, I sat next to a fellow from Ohio who is going to Mumbai (Bombay) to his son's wedding. Apparently, it's an arranged marriage. But, as he says, he got married in 1968 the same way. He met his wife five minutes before the wedding, and they've been married 30 years. It makes Kay's and my engagement look like a lifetime!
Getting around this airport is a nightmare. It even makes Hartsfield look efficient. We parked the plane right in front of a terminal, but we had to ride a bus to the actual terminal and then take another bus to this terminal.
I brought my recording equipment and will, with a little luck, record a piece for GPB while I'm here. I wrote it on the plane over, and it's about the Christmas I got spanked. I'll post it on the website when it's finished.

Headed to Bucharest at 10 a.m. Paris time.