Best Travel Story 3, Mariana Oprea “A trip to Bobeica”

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I am writing this story as a sign of my deepest appreciation for the initiator of this contest and with the expectation of getting a piece of India in my life. But since the so-called “linguseala” will not help me get a prize, I’ll just be myself and use plain English in describing my story.

So, let’s see if you can guess where is Bobeica? One, two, three….ok, time’s up! I could have told you about my awesome trips to NYC, Washington DC, Miami, Key West or Marco Island, but I decided not to discriminate those who did not get the chance to travel abroad, so I stopped at village Bobeica. I was not born there, I do not have relatives, but I had a special mission to accomplish. One of my friends, who is currently living abroad, asked me to buy a bouquet of white roses and deliver it personally to her mother, with the occasion of her birthday. I have never done such a thing before, and even though I was having state exams that week and a new job, I felt an inner call for going to this “forgotten by God place”, as my friend says.

According to Wikipedia, Bobeica is a “commune in Hînceşti district, Moldova. It is composed of three villages: Bobeica, Dahnovici and Drăguşeni.” I have never been to this part of Moldova, and the idea of getting to a place about 50 km away from Chisinau by changing 4 means of transportation brought a breeze of adventure to my simple mission. As the heat was at its peak during that period, I went out of my place at 6:30 am, stopped by the flower shop for the roses and then headed to the Gara de Sud, where I took the soviet-style bus to Hancesti. There, I had to wait two hours for the microbus for Bobeica, which went through other 3 villages on its way. In the “routiera” stuffed with little chicks, ducks and other household products, my roses were fading due to lack of O2.

The scenery was not too different from Lozova, my native village, but the emptiness of the streets impressed me. When I arrived in Bobeica, I climbed the hill leading me to the local hospital and surprised both of my friend’s parents, who work as doctors there. Their amazement and happiness made wipe the whole 3-hour trip to the destination, and I was highly rewarded with a tour of their house and home-made food.

For the first time, I had the feeling I was a visitor in my own country. It felt a strange and nice simplicity…