Worlds Apart

For an hour or so this evening, I forgot that I live here:

Because I was here:

(Here is one of the two new malls in Cluj, a two-hour drive from Targu Mures.)

I was an "Americanca" through and through tonight! I walked to the mall without a coat (oh no, you might die of a chill!). I wore jeans and tennis shoes, and I ate at Pizza Hut.

And I had a tall hot chocolate from Starbuck's for dessert. Just because I could. This Starbucks just opened on Monday, and it's the first one in the country outside of Bucharest.

I never went to Starbucks in the States. Never. Not a single time. And I never went to Pizza Hut by myself; it was strictly a group activity. So, why do I feel the need to go here? Because it's a taste of home. It's a little world unto itself, a little bit of sanity, civility, predictability, a little piece of America.