I've just returned from an evening walk in the hills, cut short due to the latest in the relatively ongoing harassment I've received since arriving here; an unpleasant reminder that, with the departure of the cold weather, incidents like this are only going to increase.

On the surface, it's utterly ridiculous: I was followed, by three men ... in a caruța. The road that takes you up into the hills here is on the south side of the river; technically still Sighet, but the outer fringe. The beginning part of the road is populated with houses, schools, a small magazin, but as it continues further along and ascends the homes peter out and are replaced by fields, orchards, and grazing land. It was here that I was headed, to walk amongst the hills on a peaceful evening, enjoying the cool weather, the uphill hike, and the view of the landscape.
It wasn't to be, though, thanks to the jackassery of a few guys. After I'd been walking this road for a bit I noticed that there was a horse-drawn cart following me; not an instance of any significance around these parts, where you can spot one pretty much anywhere. They remained a pretty steady distance behind me, but I didn't think much about it, assuming that they were pulling a heavy load, or were busy chatting with each other or neighbours along the way. I did start to think about it when they stuck with me as the road became more sparsely populated and I passed the last house.
They hadn't said anything to me, so I hung on to the outside possibility that they were just going up to check on some livestock or somesuch, perhaps returning to one of the few lonely houses up on the hill. But their constant presence was becoming unnerving, so I stepped off the road and walked in the grass, hoping they would pass me. When they didn't, I paused and feigned tying my shoe ... they stopped dead, and stood about five metres behind me, and when I stood up and looked back they were all staring--nay, leering--at me. At this point, angry, frustrated, and a little creeped out, I gave up on my walk and headed back down the hill. They called a couple of things out to me as I reversed course, but I ignored them and kept walking, hoping that this would put an end to things.
Wish in one hand and shit in the other, some say, and my hopes that I'd be able to spend the rest of my walk in peace were shattered when I saw they'd looped around, and were continuing to follow me. There not being any cross-roads on this particular stretch, I didn't have much choice but to keep going, ignoring their calls and comments as best I could. They kept pace with me, occasionally pulling abreast and then falling back again, until we reached the more populated area, at which point they finally stopped.

This whole crazy situation just serves to remind me why I don't really like leaving my apartment without having a specific purpose. This was one of the more extreme situations I've had recently; creepy, and unnerving, but not without a dimension of absurdity--Mad Max meets Borat.* But every time I go out I get the stares, men yelling comments or making kissy sounds, knots of teenagers looking at me as though I'd just grown a second head. This is just a more absurd, as well as more disturbing, example of what happens nearly every day here. There was something of a respite during winter, but if my experiences last summer were any indication, tonight's events are going to set the tone for the next several months.

* Which, lest we not forget, was ostensibly about a Kazakhstani, but was filmed right here in Romania.