So I have gone the entire series of posts without formally introducing you to Christi, our "Glumesc". (Glumesc means 'joke') Christi fit in so terribly well with our group, it wasn't even funny. (actually, it was very funny.) He's about 30 so we all decided to adopt him as the that-much-older-brother none of us have, and he lives on in that capacity since our departure. We now have a Romanian brother. Or Captain Romania, if you'd rather. ;)
I think we're all on the same page when we say that one of the things we liked best about Christi was his ability to effortlessly slide from wild jokester into passionate preacher in the space of thirty seconds. He's learning to master the art of being just serious enough when it's needed, and just crazy enough when seriousness can go out the window. :D
It was not long before we had established a catchphrase that is used to this day among our group:
"Adventura"...it's RomEnglish for "Adventure". See, it started way back during the first couple of nights when we were giving our testimonies, and I was speaking on the adventures God has planned for us. Somehow the team started teasing me every time something interesting or difficult came up:
"It's because Rachel is praying or adventures!" or "Yeah, Rach, it's your fault!" :D
One night on the way home from a village, we loaded into the two cars. Sarah, Matthew, Amy, Christi, and I took his car and started off sedately enough. Then, perhaps because of his double dose of energy-drink, or because his crazy side came out, Glumesc started driving wildly. Before you freak out, I didn't say dangerously. Per se. ;) Swerving side to side on the roads, driving straight where signs informed us the road was turning, driving with one foot out the window, driving with his knees....you know. In Christi's defense, the road was *entirely* empty and it was a dirt road full of pot-holes so he wasn't going but so fast. We were joking, singing, shouting, laughing our heads off. It's one of those ideal moments in life that I'll keep forever in my memory, but you kinda had to be there.
Then we hit an especially large pothole that no one but Amy saw, and soon the "fwap-fwap-fwap" of a flat tire could be heard. Christi pulled over and we girls fell silent. Great. A flat. In the middle of nowhere. We wondered how Christi would take it, and what he'd do. Matthew got out to help Christi and the girls and I just kind of looked at each other. Then Christi trotted around to our open window, stuck his head through and bawled:
"GIRLS! WHY ARE YOU HAVING SAD FACES?" And since he thought the flat tire was the best joke of the night, Amy, Sarah, and I busted out laughing and the craziness went on. The tire was pumped, we piled back in, and immediately Christi started swerving back and forth and blaring his horn to the empty skies. It was amazing. :D All windows down, hair whipping in the stiff, chilly breeze, shouting and laughing as Christi tried accents and faces and all sorts of craziness.
But the tire went flat again.
He pumped it up and we went on....for a bit. It flattened again, and even Christi agreed it would have to be changed entirely. Thankfully we were near some factory that was just switching shifts and we were able to borrow a jack and a hammer.
"Oooooh m'goodness," Christi said, still laughing, and he and Matthew set to work changing the tire. We girls stood nearby playing with a Great Pyranees that seemed friendly enough, and listening to the boys work.
Christi's fervent "Haaaaal-lelujah's" were frequently heard toward the end when the tire-job was wrapping up. ;) As Christi and Matthew crouched near the tire and Sarah held her iPod up to the tire so they could have a little light, I asked Christi, "How do you say Adventure in Romanian?"
"Aventura" he grunted, pushi
ng on the tire.
So I wrote the RomEnglish version in the dust on the side of the car, and forever sealed the moment in our group-history.
That car of people count the night Adventura was born as one of the finest moments in the entire trip, and I can guarantee it would never have happened if Christi hadn't been our driver. :D
We laughed way too hard with Christi, and learned so much from him. I recall especially the day we were sitting in the house of some church-members eating gogosi and laughing at Christi one moment, and the next I was holding back tears as he told us his personal testimony of how he came to Christ. :)
He bestowed nicknames on several of the team:
Amy = Blondie (or Sister)
Sarah = Shortie
Justin = Beauty (he was always the last person to come down when we were getting read to go)
Daniel = Daniel-son the Curly One
Alaina = Seniorita
Mrs. E = Miss Daphne, The Boss
Matthew = Justin Bieber
And in return, of course, we named him Captain Romania and Glumesc. He taught Beauty how to shop for an Italian-style outfit. He bought us shaorma from a hole-in-the-wall at midnight. He stayed up all night long the last night in Romania, and didn't go to bed even though he'd been up till 5 studying the night before. Long live Glumesc, and may he ever have plenty of shnitzel and french-fries and gogosi! May God bless and keep him, and especially bless his upcoming marriage! :)
Goodness gracious, he sounds amazing. :) The entire trip does. I've been on trips where I've met amazing people, and coming back is always so hard. It's like a part of you that lived during that trip has sort of died, but at the same time you've grown into a different person. It must be hard settling back into 'normal life' again. :) Keep up the writing! You're style is such fun to read. :)
ReplyDelete~Gillian
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