Freedom

Copy of blog post from Beloit blog:

Well, I have escaped the communication black zone, finally, and I'm free for the summer. Just so you know what I'm escaping: the internet in Myanmar has been down countrywide for the last week and a half (right when we needed to check to see if our pay was wired--conspiracy perhaps?). It really sucked! Get a picture of why I disappear without any trace for so long--that is seriously how bad it is.

Now I'm in Bangkok, hallelujiah, but then the visa bad luck begins. Apparently I have to proove to the Romanian embassy that I have $6000, and that I have 6 months of medical insurance. Both of these I have, but the proof! Ah, he threw it back at me saying, "This is just a piece of paper, why should I believe this when anyone could create it!" So I've spent the last two days stressing about being refused admittance. This is the only time I regret my kiwi passport. Went to Aruthaya today to get away from it all... got some nice temple pics which perhaps one day in this lifetime I'll get online.

But crossed fingers, tomorrow I head to Vienna (Yes, Matt and Liz I will be thinking of you the whole time!) for two days of transit and fun. The problem with this one is because of some festival, every single hostel in the city seems to be booked out. Ugh! What a crisis.

So, if everything goes my way, I will arrive in Romania on Saturday to start my archaeological dig on Sunday (and hopefully I won't have spent the night on some seedy Vienna street). Dirt awaits--what fun!