Cows.

Guess what I did tonight?

I drank milk straight from a cow's udder.

Yup.

(I had also chased the three cows down from one pasture to another, eaten cheese made from their milk, and watched them poop, so by this evening I was feeling pretty tight with them.) Now, I have to say, as someone who doesn't even really like milk, I was pretty proud of myself for drinking it. All I really wanted to do was watch Grandma milk the cows. (Oh yeah--I forgot to mention that Florien's parents live in the barn. Well, not quite, but basically. Their teeny little house is attached to it.) Anyway, instead of just milking them with me watching, she pulled out a mug and started to squirt right into it, and then handed to me with a look of sincere expectation. I had already probably offended her by only eating a few bites of her cheese (ugh... that was a struggle), so I couldn't say no... so down it went, frothy and warm, kinda reminiscent of a vanilla steamer at Magpie. I actually sorta liked it. And I think it was a rite of passage of sorts, because as my host sister sat next to me and watched me drink it, I think I saw a new sort of respect in her eyes. Or maybe that was my imagination. Regardless, she held my hand on the way back to the house and taught me the names of different fruits in Romanian, so I think we're well on our way to becoming good friends. :)