I guess I will begin by saying how CRAZY it is that our halfway mark is this Friday. I feel like it should have been a while ago. But then again, I feel like I barely got here. And when I look at July... I realize how little time I really have here. Honestly, I'm not sure what emotion I predominantly feel about this whole time issue haha.
This week had many little moments that are worth remembering. Each one is pretty insignificant, I guess, especially to anyone reading this back home. But I think my goal with them all is to paint a picture for when I return. Each seemingly insignificant detail is a single dot in one of those pointillism masterpieces that can only be appreciated when you take a few steps back and view every dot working together in its designated place. That's what I hope to create for myself with these blogs I guess. Something that I can look at when I go home, to remind me that (although I only have pictures indicating otherwise) my time here was more than just a vacation.
A picture of some of the graffiti that colors our path to the orphanage in the morning.
The orphanage is the same and yet different everyday. I never get tired of making this one girl, "Lana" laugh. She looks so frail and unhappy usually. But when you sit down and tease her with a soft toy touching her face (she's blind), or shake a noisy toy in circles around her she just laughs so hard, I worry about her already limited ability to breathe.
I've noticed last week that one particularly whine-y girl in a wheelchair is rarely picked up. She is older and a bit more aware, but she just often seemed unhappy. I decided to pick her up and carry her around for a bit, despite the fact that she is pretty big ha. Oh man, did she get excited the second I loosened the scarf that acts as a harness to keep her in her chair. We just walked around the room a bit, played with the curtains, played "Ridey horsey," and then practiced Rollin over on a mattress. I didn't think it was a big deal until one day a few days after I started doing that, I walked into the room, she saw me and instantly started rocking in her chair and just SQUEALING with excitement. I didn't even know she could recognize the difference between me and the other volunteers. But I know better now, and we get to play more often now.
Xavier is getting pretty good at kicking. Granted, we switched over to using a big balloon now, but he sometimes hits it with his head, his knees, and his feet before it bounces away from his chair. It's pretty impressive. He knows how to head the balloon and use any part of his body to hit it. He is actually obsessed with our game, haha. Sometimes it makes me feel bad, because he gets so upset when I have to tell him "later!" But I have to play with the other kids too! Sigh.
But we've been having a lot of fun. I push him out into the hallway, so we have more space and we just have a ball (pun intended). Some days, the little boy, Andrew, from the neighboring room comes out and plays with us. He is THE sweetest child, oh my word. I think he is 4 or 5, and he doesn't have a noticeable disability. He can walk and talk fine, but I don't know much about his situation. Regardless, he is a little angel. He has been in a room with many children who are confined to their beds for most of the day due to their disabilities, and he comes in and smiles, says hello, helps out the worker. When playing with Xavier and me, he just laughs and laughs. When Xavier does something exciting, Andrew runs to him and pats his hand and says "Bravo, Xavier!" It's heartwarming.
Another thing that's heartwarming? When I see Andrew from the hallway between our rooms and he stops what he's doing to yell "'Annaaaa!'" It's the thought that counts, right? And when we leave and he pulls us down to "pup" (pronounced "poop") us on each cheek. He's cutie for sure.
We had a few fun adventures at the orphanage! The daycare at the orphanage out on their end of the semester show for the parents. All in Romanian, super cute with songs and little poems being recited by the kids. The best part of the show, though? Definitely the finale, when the kids all danced to "Barbie Girl." I thought it was great that the final display to their parents was of the kids dancing to a song in English that is somewhat inappropriate haha.
And then there was the chocolate. The workers sometimes offer us little snacks while we are playing with the orphans in our room. This week, Maddy and I were offered some chocolate from this fancy looking box. Who am I to refuse chocolate? The first bite was cautious, since I knew they like to flavor their chocolate with rum. But, to my delight, it tasted fine and was obviously hollow, so I got excited for the next bite when I would see what the filling was. The next bite came along with liquid suddenly pouring into my hand and burning my throat. Between the burning and the smell, I figured it out; I had my first taste of alcohol! Haha Maddy and I froze and stared at each other with terror in our eyes as we figured out what it was. I awkwardly balanced a child in one arm and a hand full of chocolate and alcohol with the other until our worker left and Maddy threw out the rest of our pieces for us.
The hospital has been pretty rewarding since we've spent so much time with the same children. We've come to love Ana, the teenage girl who isn't an orphan but has been at the hospital in the same room as the boy from another orphanage who will be there all summer. We'll call him Luigi. Thursday we were pretty bummed to find out after a while that it would be our last day to see Ana before she went home. We are glad, of course, that she's well enough to go home. But we'll miss her. So far we haven't been able to find her on Facebook, despite her giving us her full name.
Anywho, we had a fun time talking with her, playing with Luigi, and talking to a nurse doing her residency at the hospital. We discovered that the two girls have been bribing Luigi to do funny things like playing a game or saying he loves them. He showed us his drawer of money at one point, grabbed a handful, and walked out the door saying "I'm going to get coffee" in Romanian. We all laughed and kept talking. We said goodbye to Ana and we're just about to leave when Luigi came in carrying three cups of hot chocolate (with the help of another patient down the hall) from the automatic coffee/cocoa machines in the hall. He told Ana they were for us!! It made our day, because he is pretty tricky to read sometimes, so we don't know if he really likes us. It was such a sweet thing for him to do, especially since he doesn't have much for himself to begin with.
The rest of this post is going to be pretty sporadic but here it goes.
Radu, a 24(?) year old man in the branch here in Iași, is leaving for the rest of the summer for an internship. We got together to have a farewell meal with him at this little, hidden "hipster" cafe, as people described it. It was pretty cute! Hot chocolate, board games, so much cigarette smoke that I could feel years of my life slipping away. Haha it really was fun though. I'm going to miss Radu. He is a spiritual giant. I've heard so much about him from Renee and other people, and he lived up to every wonderful thing they've said about him.
Remember how I mentioned that there are stray dogs everywhere over here? Well we befriended one on our way home from the hospital this week. He followed us for a good 20 minutes, and after the first 3 minutes I was emotionally attached to him. So much so that I screamed in fear at least twice when I thought he was about to be hit by a car, and I ran, yelling "nu!!!" at a large dog that started to charge our own dog. Luckily the other dog ran off and I didn't have time to discover if he did in fact have rabies.
Honestly I've exercised my self-control in so many ways on this trip. The amount of self-mastery it takes on a daily basis for me to not pet/cuddle these dogs is truly a testament of how much I'm growing.
Oh and some ladies brought a dog into church last week. That was interesting.
Another interesting thing I've seen? Aside from men just stepping off the path to pee in public? Twice now I've seen mothers hold their children by their arms and legs, hold them above the ground with their pants down, trying to get them to poop on the ground. So strange.
Also, I spent about ten minutes trying to be a cat whisperer the other morning. There are these four tiny kittens outside our apartment, and my roommate and I were late to the orphanage because we spent so long trying to beckon one over to us. I got pretty close, and probably could have pet the one, but I knew it'd just run off if I did. Of course, at least ten people walked by while I squatted in the middle of the path and called to the cat with a leaf in my hand. I got some weird looks. But here's the glorious part: I didn't even care. I really hope that the "it doesn't matter what other people think of me" thing sticks when I get back to the U.S.
We went to Little Texas (an American restaurant) and boy was it good. The whole restaurant was adorable, from the swinging saloon doors to the country music playing in the background. It felt like we were back home for a little bit. Until we saw our waiter's face as we ordered an outrageous amount of food. Then we were reminded of where we were again. But it didn't bother us to be in Romania when the check came! I got a mint lemonade, the Gene Hackman cheeseburger, a side of fries, and this divine chocolate cheese cream pie for the equivalent of $13.50. I'm a big fan of Little Texas.
Oh and did I mention, that I am going to see my best friend this week?? Renee has been serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for the last 9 months in the Romania/Moldova mission. She's been in Moldova, the small neighboring country, for the whole time I've been in Romania. But my group is traveling to Moldova this weekend for a mini vacation! I wanted to surprise Renee, so I emailed her companion to talk sneaky run-in plans with her haha. Well, her companion ratted me out, BUT it's for the best. They weren't sure if she'd be allowed to meet up, so Renee called her mission president... And I get to spend Saturday with my best friend! We can meet up for lunch and chill for a bit, and I get to go teaching with her and her companion. And then I will see her on Sunday when I go to church. Basically, I'm ridiculously excited for this weekend. How often do you get to see your best friend at the half way point of their mission when they are half a world away from home??
Blessings.
So that's my update. Nothing crazy, just the little details and experiences that make up the life that's worth living. There's a quote by Neal A. Maxwell that says "Moments are the molecules that make up eternity!" It's so important to remember that sometimes. It's so important to remember than life is more than just the big adventures and landmarks in our lives. What about everything in between? I need to remember to be here, be in the moment. Not just now, when I AM on an adventure, but everyday. Because those little moments make up a beautiful canvas that I will someday look back on in awe.
Despite the fact that I'm being eaten alive by Mosquitos every night and that my Achilles are both causing me oodles of pain, this is where I'm meant to be right now.
(Also, everything above this line was written several days ago and took forever for me to actually post... So don't be surprised when I post again soon).
Another thing that's heartwarming? When I see Andrew from the hallway between our rooms and he stops what he's doing to yell "'Annaaaa!'" It's the thought that counts, right? And when we leave and he pulls us down to "pup" (pronounced "poop") us on each cheek. He's cutie for sure.
We had a few fun adventures at the orphanage! The daycare at the orphanage out on their end of the semester show for the parents. All in Romanian, super cute with songs and little poems being recited by the kids. The best part of the show, though? Definitely the finale, when the kids all danced to "Barbie Girl." I thought it was great that the final display to their parents was of the kids dancing to a song in English that is somewhat inappropriate haha.
And then there was the chocolate. The workers sometimes offer us little snacks while we are playing with the orphans in our room. This week, Maddy and I were offered some chocolate from this fancy looking box. Who am I to refuse chocolate? The first bite was cautious, since I knew they like to flavor their chocolate with rum. But, to my delight, it tasted fine and was obviously hollow, so I got excited for the next bite when I would see what the filling was. The next bite came along with liquid suddenly pouring into my hand and burning my throat. Between the burning and the smell, I figured it out; I had my first taste of alcohol! Haha Maddy and I froze and stared at each other with terror in our eyes as we figured out what it was. I awkwardly balanced a child in one arm and a hand full of chocolate and alcohol with the other until our worker left and Maddy threw out the rest of our pieces for us.
Oh Romania.
The hospital has been pretty rewarding since we've spent so much time with the same children. We've come to love Ana, the teenage girl who isn't an orphan but has been at the hospital in the same room as the boy from another orphanage who will be there all summer. We'll call him Luigi. Thursday we were pretty bummed to find out after a while that it would be our last day to see Ana before she went home. We are glad, of course, that she's well enough to go home. But we'll miss her. So far we haven't been able to find her on Facebook, despite her giving us her full name.
Anywho, we had a fun time talking with her, playing with Luigi, and talking to a nurse doing her residency at the hospital. We discovered that the two girls have been bribing Luigi to do funny things like playing a game or saying he loves them. He showed us his drawer of money at one point, grabbed a handful, and walked out the door saying "I'm going to get coffee" in Romanian. We all laughed and kept talking. We said goodbye to Ana and we're just about to leave when Luigi came in carrying three cups of hot chocolate (with the help of another patient down the hall) from the automatic coffee/cocoa machines in the hall. He told Ana they were for us!! It made our day, because he is pretty tricky to read sometimes, so we don't know if he really likes us. It was such a sweet thing for him to do, especially since he doesn't have much for himself to begin with.
The rest of this post is going to be pretty sporadic but here it goes.
Radu, a 24(?) year old man in the branch here in Iași, is leaving for the rest of the summer for an internship. We got together to have a farewell meal with him at this little, hidden "hipster" cafe, as people described it. It was pretty cute! Hot chocolate, board games, so much cigarette smoke that I could feel years of my life slipping away. Haha it really was fun though. I'm going to miss Radu. He is a spiritual giant. I've heard so much about him from Renee and other people, and he lived up to every wonderful thing they've said about him.
I told you it was hidden. I love ivy-covered buildings.
Remember how I mentioned that there are stray dogs everywhere over here? Well we befriended one on our way home from the hospital this week. He followed us for a good 20 minutes, and after the first 3 minutes I was emotionally attached to him. So much so that I screamed in fear at least twice when I thought he was about to be hit by a car, and I ran, yelling "nu!!!" at a large dog that started to charge our own dog. Luckily the other dog ran off and I didn't have time to discover if he did in fact have rabies.
Honestly I've exercised my self-control in so many ways on this trip. The amount of self-mastery it takes on a daily basis for me to not pet/cuddle these dogs is truly a testament of how much I'm growing.
Hard to see, but I have a very upset face and 6 dogs behind me. The one in front is our hospital pal.
Oh and some ladies brought a dog into church last week. That was interesting.
Another interesting thing I've seen? Aside from men just stepping off the path to pee in public? Twice now I've seen mothers hold their children by their arms and legs, hold them above the ground with their pants down, trying to get them to poop on the ground. So strange.
Also, I spent about ten minutes trying to be a cat whisperer the other morning. There are these four tiny kittens outside our apartment, and my roommate and I were late to the orphanage because we spent so long trying to beckon one over to us. I got pretty close, and probably could have pet the one, but I knew it'd just run off if I did. Of course, at least ten people walked by while I squatted in the middle of the path and called to the cat with a leaf in my hand. I got some weird looks. But here's the glorious part: I didn't even care. I really hope that the "it doesn't matter what other people think of me" thing sticks when I get back to the U.S.
We went to Little Texas (an American restaurant) and boy was it good. The whole restaurant was adorable, from the swinging saloon doors to the country music playing in the background. It felt like we were back home for a little bit. Until we saw our waiter's face as we ordered an outrageous amount of food. Then we were reminded of where we were again. But it didn't bother us to be in Romania when the check came! I got a mint lemonade, the Gene Hackman cheeseburger, a side of fries, and this divine chocolate cheese cream pie for the equivalent of $13.50. I'm a big fan of Little Texas.
What a babe.
Oh and did I mention, that I am going to see my best friend this week?? Renee has been serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for the last 9 months in the Romania/Moldova mission. She's been in Moldova, the small neighboring country, for the whole time I've been in Romania. But my group is traveling to Moldova this weekend for a mini vacation! I wanted to surprise Renee, so I emailed her companion to talk sneaky run-in plans with her haha. Well, her companion ratted me out, BUT it's for the best. They weren't sure if she'd be allowed to meet up, so Renee called her mission president... And I get to spend Saturday with my best friend! We can meet up for lunch and chill for a bit, and I get to go teaching with her and her companion. And then I will see her on Sunday when I go to church. Basically, I'm ridiculously excited for this weekend. How often do you get to see your best friend at the half way point of their mission when they are half a world away from home??
Blessings.
This was taken on our last day together!
So that's my update. Nothing crazy, just the little details and experiences that make up the life that's worth living. There's a quote by Neal A. Maxwell that says "Moments are the molecules that make up eternity!" It's so important to remember that sometimes. It's so important to remember than life is more than just the big adventures and landmarks in our lives. What about everything in between? I need to remember to be here, be in the moment. Not just now, when I AM on an adventure, but everyday. Because those little moments make up a beautiful canvas that I will someday look back on in awe.
Despite the fact that I'm being eaten alive by Mosquitos every night and that my Achilles are both causing me oodles of pain, this is where I'm meant to be right now.
(Also, everything above this line was written several days ago and took forever for me to actually post... So don't be surprised when I post again soon).
Stay classy, America.
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