Turning 21

MANY years ago, in a galaxy far, far away. . .no, not really, but it was 36 years ago, in a 'Communist' country, steeped in vampire legends and mist, that I turned 21 years old.
It was a college-sponsored choir trip to Romania in 1976.  It was the year of the Olympic games in which Nadia Comaneci was about to wow the world, and it was my first time out of the country, besides Canada.  We were scheduled for many performances in odd venues, that included churches, schools, parks and public squares.  
I remember Romanian people mobbing us wherever we went, eager to talk to someone from the United States, and I also learned that the politics of the government of a country do not always echo the politics of average everyday citizens.  The Romanian people we met were warm, friendly and sociable.  They were proud of the beauties of their land, which many westerners had not visited at that point in time.  
The young gentlemen in the photo were NOT Romanians, however.  They were Palestinian college students going to school in Romania, who spoke not only Romanian and Arabic, but English as well.  My friend Beth and I met them at a museum and discovered that one of them shared MY birthday, May 20, but was one year older on that exact day!  We shared a glass of champagne and some English conversation in a small Romanian cafe, and followed all our curfew rules of the trip, as well!
Now, my sweet son will be turning 21 in a few days (check back later for a blog post), and I cannot believe how time can fly!