The Orphanage

Today was my second day working in the orphanage and I am just not even sure what to say; there are so many thoughts running through my head right now. The first being how exhausted I was after only three hours of working and playing with these kids. I do not know how the workers make it through the whole day! I gained a new respect for them and what they do, especially considering that they do not make very much money from this job.

So, in the orphanage there are three sections and there are 9 of us students who are working there so they put us into groups and we spent an hour in each section; by Friday we will all have our own section that will continue to work in for the rest of the semester. Today was kind of like a Costco sample of everything that is going on and of what all the kids are like. I found that every section has its pros and cons and would be fine working in any of them.

As for the experiences over the last two days it was just crazy. There were so many sweet moments when a child would just see you walk in the room and their eyes would just light up as they run up to you and hug your leg like they never want to let go. Those are the moments that I know when I leave I will miss greatly. Then there are the kids who are more difficult to deal with and I have had to try to tell myself to be stern and not let them take advantage of me but we all know how big of a sucker I am and that was pretty difficult. Oh, and what, to me, is the hardest of all things to deal with is when you are playing a child and you need to leave and they start physically hurting themselves so that you won't leave them and all you can do is walk away. And the next day you see the bruises from them hitting their head on the wall or scratch marks on their face. There has got to be a better way to leave and let them know that you will be back and to have them trust you, but then again why should they trust us when they do very well know in three months we will be gone.

Sorry that was a sad moment but it is just a taste of what I have seen in only two days and what I am going to be working with for three months. On a happier note we had dance time today with the kids which were so much fun!! I had a couple of kids just attach on to me and did not want to leave my side the whole time. It was so adorable to see them dance and just get so excited...oh and these are the two kids that I will be bringing back with me:) Their names are Andre and Andrea (I know so similar and original but hey it will make it easier to not forget their names right). Anyways, they were just the sweetest kids and I can hardly wait to see them tomorrow.

We work in the hospital from 9-12 an then from 2-5 we go volunteer at the hospital. My sister was asking what exactly we do and at first I was not sure but today I went for the first time so now I know. We go to every floor in the hospital, and there are 8, and ask the nurses "Aveti copii fara Mama?" Which means are there any children without a mom, and if there are then we go and change their diapers, that we provide, and leave a couple of extras for the nurses to use, and then we bring toys so we can play with the kids, hold them, or jus talk to them. It was a really sweet experience to see these children in pretty poor conditions but know that you were bringing some light and love into their day. At first I was kind of depressed thinking about these children without Mama's but then I noticed something as I went from room to room....Every room has at least 3-4 children in it and when I would go into a room the other Mama's in the room would tell me the child’s name and would even help me. What I discovered was that women really do have a motherly and sweet nurturing spirit and so even though those children are not their responsibility the mothers in that room do care and help out with the motherless kids. It was so sweet and comforting to know that when I am not there someone else is.

Well, that is a mini novel for you! I hope you enjoy it and if you did not finish it then I am so ok with that too.

Last of the pictures...at least for now!

We were going to hike to the Brasnov sign but because of time constraints, like not wanting to miss our train, we took the tram up and hiked down. But this is us at the top of the mountain!
Hiking back down, so purty!
Just contemplating life, or how hungry I was?! You pick.

Rasnov Castle

I was hoping to stretch out a lil and gain some height but no such luck!

So cool...Rasnov was like a fortress and a lot of fun to play in!

King Carol's castle, his family was the first Royal family of Romania, and this picture does not do justice to how big this palace is...this is just the entrance.

The whole group at King Carol's palace!!! Left to right: Rachel, Alicia, Rhett, Me, Katie, Robby, Michelle N., Chelsea, Michelle M.
Dracula's Castle!!! Spooky!
We are going in...I hope we come out alive!


Brasov is a really beautiful city and there is a lot to see, so we had a great time traveling and playing the role of tourists for a few days. We start work in the Orphanage tomorrow so I will let you know how that goes. Noapte Buna!

Trip To Brasov

So, our trip to Brasov was very successful, except for at the beginning when we left Robby at the Bucuresti train station, but after that everything went perfect and we had a great time!! Here are the pictures to prove it...oh and I have had some questions about how they can have a fake Dracula's castle, and it is not that it is fake necessarily but it is not the castle that Vlad lived in...it is the castle that the Dracula book was based off of. Anyways, enjoy!

The first two are of the train ride to Brasov....which is like 8-9 Hours because there is no straight route to Brasov so we have to go all the way down to Bucuresti first which is not on the way. I know it sounds confusing but just look at a map and you will understand.
We are all so tired because our train left at 5;30 am...see the sun rising, and some of us just pulled an all night, not a good idea:)
Welcome to the beautiful city of Brasov!!!! I love the sign...now the question is who had it first, Hollywood or Brasov?
Cheers!! We went to a rad restaurant the first night that gave complimentary vodka, it was great!! I mean after a long day of traveling it was just what we needed.
The Festival of Gold...for all of you who grew up in the 80's I got to see the band Simply Red in concert in Brasov, Romania, how sick is that?!!!

Just a Quick Update

Just so everyone knows I am in Brasov right now doing a little traveling before we start work in the orphanage on Wednesday. And for those of you who do not know Brasov is in the Transylvania region so that means we get to go to Dracula's castle...unfortunately it is not the real Dracula's castle, like Vlad, it is one they made for us tourist to make money. But no worries we have already made plans to spend Halloween weekend at Vlad's castle:)

Brasov is a very beautiful city. It is in the Mountains of Romania and is made for tourists so of course downtown is very cute and put together well. There was a festival last night in the downtown area so we sat down on the sidewalk and listened/watched the Romanian pop stars. It was pretty cool. Well, we have a lot going on over the next couple of days but I will keep you posted and put up some more pics later. Love you all so much!!

Just a few of many pictures to come

The view from our kitchen

Sad day when you have to learn this lesson..
One of the gypsy villages near us

This is the view from the balcony outside of my room..so awesome!!!

This is my bed/bookshelve behind it/couch
My window/balcony...the balcony is way rad, I feel like romeo should be climbing up to me or something, haha
Today was so awesome...we walked around A LOT, I bought a sweet purse for 6 bucks, we met some gypsies (and saw their village) and just cool people, I talked in Romanian as much as I could, I went to the piata and talked all in Romanian to buy fresh fruits and veggies (which are all way cheap), I rode the tram twice today and now I am getting ready to go to Outreach, which is like a type of mutual out here but for all ages just to get investigators around and such. Anyway, enjoy the pics I will put more up of our ghetto apartment later.

Second Day

I arrived yesterday afternoon in Iasi and got to walk around the town a lil, unpack and have my first experience at the grocery store. So far, so good. The weather is actually really nice here, and there are trees everywhere, which is not usually too common for a city. My apartment is completely ghetto and I absolutely love it!! I will post pictures up as soon as I get some. The weather has been great too...it has been in the 70's and is just humid enough that I don't need to use any lotion. I don't have much to say now and I need to go do some more shopping and exploring but I wanted everyone to know that I am here safe and sound and very happy!!!