THE FERRARI STORE

One block from the apartment here in Bucharest is the Ferrari Store -want
to purchase a pair of Ferrari gloves for $300? No problem! I think every town should have one. (personally, I don't know how they make a living) Here in Bucharest there is also a Ferrari dealership - I've never seen one before.

BUCHAREST

Bucharest is a city of many surprises - never have I seen so many new cars before. And the architecture - the new is starkly contrasted with the old. Yesterday the friends that I taught with in Cairo took me to the mountains. Many beautiful chalets and castles. The traffic everywhere is extremely congested.

ARRIVED!

Just arrived in Bucharest - my friend was waiting - the flight from Frankfurt was 30 min. late -de-icin.g and we were 8th in line for take off - it''s sunny and about -5C. We are at a VW dealer- he is picking up a new car - old one died

NO TURNING BACK

I am at the Halifax airport waiting for my flight to Toronto. A nervous wreck - I really hate flying - the more I fly, worse it gets - thank God for pills! - ha! It is 2pm - I arrive in Bucharest same time - but tomorrow. - after TO and Frankfurt.

MINI COMPUTER

This is the computer I am taking on my trip. It is an ASUS Eee PC, and it was given to me by the Royal Bank 2 years ago. The screen is 6" X 3.75"- very tiny - I have had to upgrade my reading glasses from 2.00 to 2.50. It does everything a regular wireless laptop can do except it doesn't have a huge memory and does not have a CD drive.

I am not looking forward to the 3 flights overseas to Bucharest. I hate flying in large planes, so I take pills to make me sleep. Although experts are saying everyone on board a plane today must be vigilant, always looking around for suspicious activity. Well, I am not large enough to jump on a would-be terrorist anyway, so I might as well sleep.

HOT TO COLD AND BACK AGAIN

Having spent the last 2 winters in Mexico on the Mayan Riviera, this winter I spent just 2 in Mexico. I wanted to be home with my family for Christmas. I drove down and back - total of 19,400 km - quite a road trip. The drive back was "hell" - 3 days of beautiful sunshine - top down- 4 days of horrendous rain through N. MX , Texas, Louisiana, Georgia , and then 3 days of snow the rest of the way to Nova Scotia.

I am leaving on January 28 for Romania. My visa points only allow me a return trip to Europe. I will be staying with friends I taught with in Cairo. On Feb. 2 , I fly to Cairo where I will be staying with my old lab assistant from Pakistan . I helped him get a position at the school I was teaching at - Hayah International Academy. From Egypt I will be going to Kuwait, Qatar, and then India. I would love to go to Thailand and look up the girl I sponser. We'll see how the money holds out.