We've got our flights booked for London! We leave Friday morning at 8:05am and arrive at 9:15am (it is about a 3 hour flight, there is a 2 hour time difference there). Laura is Jenna's friend from home who just moved to England about a month ago to live with her boyfriend Jack. Laura was down in San Diego for the week visiting Jenna, and Jack and his friends were on vacation (holiday) exploring the city. They were all out at a bar one night downtown and met each other. Jenna and Laura met up with them all next day to show them around. Laura and Jack hit it off, and Jenna kept in touch with some of the friends. So we are off to visit all of them and spend the weekend there! It will be a nice get away! How often do you have the chance to fly to London for 200$ with a free place to stay!?? We had to take advantage of this opportunity! We will fly back Monday morning and arrive in Brasov (bras-off as Allyson has named it) Monday afternoon. I'm looking forward to getting to experience a new place that I have never been!
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Last night after our afternoon shift we stopped by the girls place to grab Jen, and then all walked into Town Square to meet up with Hollie at a little bakery so we could all grab dinner together. When we got there, she had met two guys, one was from Florida and the other from Texas. We asked what they were doing here and they said that they were with a big group that was here with an organization called World Race. The World Race is a missions trip that travels to 11 different countries in 11 months. They go to different villages and live there for one month and help out doing different things. I went to The World Race website to see more in detail what they do.
"Every day on the World Race will look a little different. Some days will be packed full with construction, VBS, building relationships with orphans, or praying for the sick at a hospital. Some days could be slower where you shop for groceries at the market, cook for your team, and spend time praying for the community you walk through. Every day will be focused on being a part of God's Kingdom work, in every way that could look!"
I chatted with the two guys for a bit and they showed me a bunch of their pictures and told stories about their experiences in the different villages so far. They are 3 months into the trip right now. They said that the hardest part is being away from family and friends, but thankfully they have been able to find internet every once in a while to catch up with everyone. Their pictures were so awesome, and I admire them so much for being able to do that. I was stressing about being gone for 3 weeks!! I can't even imagine being gone for 11 months!!! Plus there is NO way i'd be able to pack for that!! We were here for 3 weeks and I brought 2 suitcases stuffed!!! They have nothing but a hiking backpack!! It is awesome that so many people feel pulled and called to do such different adventures, but all with the same positive and giving mind-set. They are all really nice, and I'm excited to get to follow along on some of their blogs and journeys while they are gone! It's crazy to think that we met them in a tiny bakery in a random city in Romania.
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So there is this guy that stands in the middle of the Town Square by the fountain that dances and plays a flute. And as much as I love Bradyn, I would like to compare their flute playing skills to one another. The guy is so funny. He dances around, smiles, makes noise with the flute, claps, and takes many bows. It brings me pure joy to watch him (don't worry, I got some video footage of him for you all to see).
Well, to my surprise, as we were all sitting in the bakery, HE CAME IN HERE! Hahaha. Everyone else was so confused and I was so excited. He walked in and smiled, took a bow, shook everyone's hand, took another bow, smiled, and started making noise with the flute. It sounded so bad hahaha. But you couldn't help but laugh and smile. Once he was done, he smiled big, took another bow, and started clapping (not sure if it was for himself or if he was cueing us to do it). So we clapped along. After that he decided to clear all of our plates and trash off of our table for us. He started gathering it all and then tried to pick up the paper on the table, but it was attached to the bag of tea that was in my cup!!! It pulled out the tea bag and spilled drink every where!! hahaha. But it was definitely worth it!! It was too funny!! He started to "play" the flute again, but then got escorted out by one of the workers here. It made for a good laugh for everyone!
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Everyone who has worked at the hospital seems to talk about their "favorite" baby. After our first few days they would all ask us, so do you have a favorite yet? And honestly, I didn't. There were some that I thought were cuter, or sweeter, or easier to handle; but, none that I would have gotten that feeling of I want to take you home with me. The other day I found the one that I truly would take home with me if I could. (I thought it was a boy for about 2 days, until it came time for a diaper change, surprise! It's a girl! haha). But either way, boy or girl, she is so so so so cute. She has giant dark brown eyes, brown hair, olive skin, and the cutest smile ever. I have a few pictures of her but we arn't supposed to post pictures with their faces online. So I will show you all when I get home!
.....Seriously though, I want to steal her haha....
There is this other little baby, who is in my profile picture right now on facebook, who is pretty darn cute too. We didn't know his name, but one day Raelene said that he had the eyes of a teen heart-throb, so naturally I just had to name him Zac.................Efron! He is very sweet!
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Mostly everyday of our trip has been filled with cold air and snow, but today the sun was shining!!!! It was so exciting!! I was actually HOT ..... because of how many layers I had on haha. But when standing in the sun and blocking the wind, I could actually feel the heat trying to break through! It felt good. It reminded me of being home. And it came at the perfect time. I was feeling tired all the time and I think it was due to the fact that because of the weather it feels like it is 4pm on a cloudy afternoon at ALL TIMES here. Which naturally, makes me want to lay down, put on a movie, and take a nap!
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Tonight we are heading over to the girls house for a going away dinner for Hollie. I am seriously so sad that she is leaving. She is so nice, kind, and caring. I am really glad that I got to meet her and get to know her while she is here. We have already decided that her and Jen (both from Pennsylvania) have to make a trip out to Cali to visit Jenna and I. I am going to miss her here a lot.
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I miss everyone at home so much.... but I honestly think that I miss mexican food more. I want a burrito so badly!!!! And not loving the food here and being hungry all the time doesn't help my craving!!!! I have already asked my most loving, caring, and kind mother to arrive at the airport with a Taco Lita burrito in hand for me to demolish. It is going to be glorious. I can't wait!!! Hahahaha. I'm being completely serious!! I have already told everyone here about how excited I am for it (so you better not forget Terbear!!!!!) :) PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...... maybe with a large glass of milk to go along with it?!?!!? Milk that preferably doesn't come in a bag like it does here!!!
Well, that is all I have for now! I will write again soon!! I love you all so much!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Monday, February 28, 2011
Noticing the little things...
Sunday morning we got to sleep in a little bit!
We went over to meet up with all of the girls at their place. They put on a small little song worship service. It was a really cool experience. Raelene played piano, Steffi played guitar, and Sarah played a little drum while we all sang. Then we just talked about what things that we like about being here and working in the hospital with the children. They are honestly some of nicest, most kind-hearted, and giving people that I have ever met. They have all given up so much to live out here and work with the children in the hospital full time. I truly admire their work here. I love being here and getting to spend time with all of them and work with the children, but it is not something that I could see myself doing long-term or full-time here. I am so glad that I was given the opportunity to get to come out here and meet all of them and see what it is exactly that they do, and who they are. They have taken what could be such a hard and depressing life, and turned it into something positive. They are always laughing and doing whatever they can to have a good time and make the best of every situation. But at the same time they are able to run an amazing organization and give so much of their time, energy, and money.
Before church we decided to head over to the Town Square and check out if we could find any shops that had some little souvenirs. It was a very interesting experience. Some of the shops did have little things that could work; but, the other stuff was so random. They had these really cute little hand-made photo albums. I got really excited and picked one up, and it said "THAILAND!"..... not really sure why it said that. I was expecting it to say Romania... but after seeing the way that everything is done here, it kind of made sense haha. Things are just, outdated and odd here.
The only way to describe it is that they looked at everything that was "cool" in America from 1980-2000. And they took all of those things, and try to implement them, but don't exactly know how, where, or when to use it. Some examples would be the way that they dress, they take different items of clothes that were once the "it" clothing and combine them together...wrongly. It is actually really funny.
Which leads me to my next story. Steffi, one of the leaders, has adopted 3 children here. (I think I have mentioned this in a beginning post). The kids are so cute! Roxy is 7 with dark hair, dark eyes, and a ton of personality. She reminded me a lot of Kiley. I told her about Ki and she started asking a bunch of questions about her, it was really sweet. Crystel is 6 and he is full of energy and on the go all the time! He is really funny though! And last is Beca. Sunday was Beca's 6th birthday! So they had decided to have her birthday party at this place called ZaoPark.
There is no possible way for me to fully describe exactly what ZaoPark is, but the closest I can think of is.... It's like Chuck-e-cheese, 15 years ago, on drugs. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I am being completely honest. It was one of the weirdest places I have ever been!!!! Hahahaha. I took video so that I can show everyone when I get back home, but even the video doesn't do it justice. When I first walked in, there was a bunch of toys for sale, not necessarily brand new. Then I passed by everyone's coats hung up on hangers with their boots underneath, and a boy about 10 years old blow-drying his hair. Yes, you read that right, blow-drying his hair. I couldn't believe my eyes. Where on earth did he get a blow-dryer?!? WHY is there a blow-dryer there?? He is a TEN YEAR OLD BOY what is he doing?! It was so odd.
Once I passed the blow-drying section of this place, to my left there was a little white picket fence about 7 feet long, not connected to any walls, so i'm not too sure what it's purpose was. But behind the fence there were about 3 little-tyke type houses for the kids to play in. Then passing that I walked through an archway with golden Pharaohs on each side and Hieroglyphics all around. When I entered into the next room, there was a little stage about 3 steps high in the center with a girl singing a song in Romanian (that I recognized from Camp Rock 2....). There were strobe lights, lasers, fog machines, bubble machines, streamers, and a wanna-be Shrek-type character dancing around. I'm pretty sure the head on Shrek was just a left over caterpillar head.
To the far left of all of this there was about 4 bounce houses smashed together. Then there was a trampoline a little in front of those. Next to that there was a bunch of hula-hoops. And constantly about to run over your toes were tricycles and those balls that you sit and bounce on. They finally led us over to our table and Sarah pulled out a large bag of food and snacks. Apparently you can bring your own food here, which makes sense after looking at the menu and seeing that they have pizza with things like corn, spinach, and tuna on them. They sat all the kids down at little tables in the area next to us and brought them little pizzas and Mountain Dew. What the heck?! Mountain Dew?? Kids??
There were multiple birthdays there that day, and so when it was Beca's turn she went up and stood on the stage. The lady with the microphone came over and made them all chant "cake, cake, cake, cake" before Tom & Jerry brought her the cake out for everyone to sing. They brought out the cake, which Mary had made and brought with us, and it had a little candle number 6 on it and two GIANT sparklers. These were not fun little kid sized ones, they were SHOOTING sparks everywhere!!!
I honestly felt like I was in a time warp!!!!!!! The only saving grace was that there were High School Musical posters all over!!!! But all in all, even though this place was one of the weirdest things to ever have existed, we all had a ton of fun and the kids had a blast! So I guess you can call it a success!
----
Today we worked the afternoon shift in the hospital. And Jenna and I dedicated today to getting pictures and videos of the kids. At first it was a very fun and exciting thing. The babies were laughing and smiling and the pictures were so cute. They made us all feel so good inside, etc. But then came the time to put those children down and move to the next room. And this is the hardest part of being here. All the babies want to do is be held and played with. The second that you put them back in their crib, or jail as I like to call it, they scream and cry. It is so heartbreaking to have to hear. And the pictures of them holding onto the bars of the "jail", crying out, can tug at just about anyone's heartstrings. This is where they say that the volunteering becomes so important. Because the more volunteers, the more babies get to be held and played with. I'm really thankful that I have gotten this opportunity. And it makes me especially thankful for the life that I, and so many of my friends, have gotten to grow-up and live in back home.
It was a hard day leaving the hospital with those images in my mind.
----
We got some dinner and ice cream and headed home. Where we have gotten quite accustomed and apparently addicted to Romanian TV. They play most things in English which is nice. And we have decided that the US must have sent over all the shows that they didn't think would make it there. Because there are some of the weirdest, yet most addicting shows here!! Hahaha. Jenna sat down to turn on the tv and got really excited when one of the shows that she likes was on. We laughed at the fact that we like Romanian tv.
We are trying to book flights to London this weekend so we can visit some of Jenna's friends there! So I will keep you posted with all of that!
I miss you all so much!!
And I just wanted to give a special shout out to my Laura because it is her birthday :) And I love her so much!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!
We went over to meet up with all of the girls at their place. They put on a small little song worship service. It was a really cool experience. Raelene played piano, Steffi played guitar, and Sarah played a little drum while we all sang. Then we just talked about what things that we like about being here and working in the hospital with the children. They are honestly some of nicest, most kind-hearted, and giving people that I have ever met. They have all given up so much to live out here and work with the children in the hospital full time. I truly admire their work here. I love being here and getting to spend time with all of them and work with the children, but it is not something that I could see myself doing long-term or full-time here. I am so glad that I was given the opportunity to get to come out here and meet all of them and see what it is exactly that they do, and who they are. They have taken what could be such a hard and depressing life, and turned it into something positive. They are always laughing and doing whatever they can to have a good time and make the best of every situation. But at the same time they are able to run an amazing organization and give so much of their time, energy, and money.
Before church we decided to head over to the Town Square and check out if we could find any shops that had some little souvenirs. It was a very interesting experience. Some of the shops did have little things that could work; but, the other stuff was so random. They had these really cute little hand-made photo albums. I got really excited and picked one up, and it said "THAILAND!"..... not really sure why it said that. I was expecting it to say Romania... but after seeing the way that everything is done here, it kind of made sense haha. Things are just, outdated and odd here.
The only way to describe it is that they looked at everything that was "cool" in America from 1980-2000. And they took all of those things, and try to implement them, but don't exactly know how, where, or when to use it. Some examples would be the way that they dress, they take different items of clothes that were once the "it" clothing and combine them together...wrongly. It is actually really funny.
Which leads me to my next story. Steffi, one of the leaders, has adopted 3 children here. (I think I have mentioned this in a beginning post). The kids are so cute! Roxy is 7 with dark hair, dark eyes, and a ton of personality. She reminded me a lot of Kiley. I told her about Ki and she started asking a bunch of questions about her, it was really sweet. Crystel is 6 and he is full of energy and on the go all the time! He is really funny though! And last is Beca. Sunday was Beca's 6th birthday! So they had decided to have her birthday party at this place called ZaoPark.
There is no possible way for me to fully describe exactly what ZaoPark is, but the closest I can think of is.... It's like Chuck-e-cheese, 15 years ago, on drugs. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I am being completely honest. It was one of the weirdest places I have ever been!!!! Hahahaha. I took video so that I can show everyone when I get back home, but even the video doesn't do it justice. When I first walked in, there was a bunch of toys for sale, not necessarily brand new. Then I passed by everyone's coats hung up on hangers with their boots underneath, and a boy about 10 years old blow-drying his hair. Yes, you read that right, blow-drying his hair. I couldn't believe my eyes. Where on earth did he get a blow-dryer?!? WHY is there a blow-dryer there?? He is a TEN YEAR OLD BOY what is he doing?! It was so odd.
Once I passed the blow-drying section of this place, to my left there was a little white picket fence about 7 feet long, not connected to any walls, so i'm not too sure what it's purpose was. But behind the fence there were about 3 little-tyke type houses for the kids to play in. Then passing that I walked through an archway with golden Pharaohs on each side and Hieroglyphics all around. When I entered into the next room, there was a little stage about 3 steps high in the center with a girl singing a song in Romanian (that I recognized from Camp Rock 2....). There were strobe lights, lasers, fog machines, bubble machines, streamers, and a wanna-be Shrek-type character dancing around. I'm pretty sure the head on Shrek was just a left over caterpillar head.
To the far left of all of this there was about 4 bounce houses smashed together. Then there was a trampoline a little in front of those. Next to that there was a bunch of hula-hoops. And constantly about to run over your toes were tricycles and those balls that you sit and bounce on. They finally led us over to our table and Sarah pulled out a large bag of food and snacks. Apparently you can bring your own food here, which makes sense after looking at the menu and seeing that they have pizza with things like corn, spinach, and tuna on them. They sat all the kids down at little tables in the area next to us and brought them little pizzas and Mountain Dew. What the heck?! Mountain Dew?? Kids??
There were multiple birthdays there that day, and so when it was Beca's turn she went up and stood on the stage. The lady with the microphone came over and made them all chant "cake, cake, cake, cake" before Tom & Jerry brought her the cake out for everyone to sing. They brought out the cake, which Mary had made and brought with us, and it had a little candle number 6 on it and two GIANT sparklers. These were not fun little kid sized ones, they were SHOOTING sparks everywhere!!!
I honestly felt like I was in a time warp!!!!!!! The only saving grace was that there were High School Musical posters all over!!!! But all in all, even though this place was one of the weirdest things to ever have existed, we all had a ton of fun and the kids had a blast! So I guess you can call it a success!
----
Today we worked the afternoon shift in the hospital. And Jenna and I dedicated today to getting pictures and videos of the kids. At first it was a very fun and exciting thing. The babies were laughing and smiling and the pictures were so cute. They made us all feel so good inside, etc. But then came the time to put those children down and move to the next room. And this is the hardest part of being here. All the babies want to do is be held and played with. The second that you put them back in their crib, or jail as I like to call it, they scream and cry. It is so heartbreaking to have to hear. And the pictures of them holding onto the bars of the "jail", crying out, can tug at just about anyone's heartstrings. This is where they say that the volunteering becomes so important. Because the more volunteers, the more babies get to be held and played with. I'm really thankful that I have gotten this opportunity. And it makes me especially thankful for the life that I, and so many of my friends, have gotten to grow-up and live in back home.
It was a hard day leaving the hospital with those images in my mind.
----
We got some dinner and ice cream and headed home. Where we have gotten quite accustomed and apparently addicted to Romanian TV. They play most things in English which is nice. And we have decided that the US must have sent over all the shows that they didn't think would make it there. Because there are some of the weirdest, yet most addicting shows here!! Hahaha. Jenna sat down to turn on the tv and got really excited when one of the shows that she likes was on. We laughed at the fact that we like Romanian tv.
We are trying to book flights to London this weekend so we can visit some of Jenna's friends there! So I will keep you posted with all of that!
I miss you all so much!!
And I just wanted to give a special shout out to my Laura because it is her birthday :) And I love her so much!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Exploring the town
Hey!!
Today we woke up and met up with Jen, Hollie, Alisha, and Raelene! They took us on a walk up to see the two watch towers that overlook the city. There is a large wall, about 8 feet high, that surrounds the entire city. There are two gated entrances into the city, and one is on the street that we live on. The Germans used to close off the city gates and only allow Romanians in once a week to get food and to shop. And they used the watch towers to overlook and protect the city. It had just snowed last night so the hills that we had to climb up were very slippery, and no one informed us to wear good climbing boots!! So needless to say.... there was a lot of falling. Thankfully, I have most of it on video that I am working on editing! My shoes had ZERO traction. I felt like a baby learning to walk for the first time. I was always having to hold someone's hand or a railing just to keep my balance. But I stayed on my feet!! Except when there was a big downhill, I decided to just sit and slide down instead of chancing to fall! But Raelene was a little more confident than I was. She decided to trek down the hill without any fear. BAD IDEA. I have about 4 separate falls on video, so funny.
After that we walked over to the other side of the wall and there they have a gondola that takes you up to the top of the mountain where the Brasov sign is. It is just like the Hollywood sign. It was a really cool experience to get to the top and be able to see the entire city.
Once we made it all the way back down, Jenna, Jen, and Hollie and I went to lunch together. We got to sit and talk and just hang out. It was very relaxing. I was a bit tired from all that walking and expending all my energy. I'm still feeling a bit weak from being sick. And not loving the food doesn't help in the recovery process. I ordered some spaghetti (of course) and I ate some of it, but I was almost too tired to eat it. I wished that I could somehow just get the food into my stomach without doing the work of eating it. Hahaha. I realize how weird that sounds, but it's the truth.
We went back to our room and laid down for a bit. I worked on editing and uploading the videos while Jenna worked on her photos. Then we headed over to the girls place and Alisha had made a giant pot of homemade chicken vegetable soup. It was really good! We got to sit around the table again and chat. It is really awesome to get to listen to all the stories that the girls tell and hear all that they have experienced. Then we all posted up on the couch and caught up on the episodes of the bachelor that we have missed!
Not sure what is in store for us tomorrow. We have a couple of different options that we can choose. We will probably sleep in a little and then decide!
I love getting to hear from everyone! So if you have some time please send me an update in what is going on in your life!!
Today we woke up and met up with Jen, Hollie, Alisha, and Raelene! They took us on a walk up to see the two watch towers that overlook the city. There is a large wall, about 8 feet high, that surrounds the entire city. There are two gated entrances into the city, and one is on the street that we live on. The Germans used to close off the city gates and only allow Romanians in once a week to get food and to shop. And they used the watch towers to overlook and protect the city. It had just snowed last night so the hills that we had to climb up were very slippery, and no one informed us to wear good climbing boots!! So needless to say.... there was a lot of falling. Thankfully, I have most of it on video that I am working on editing! My shoes had ZERO traction. I felt like a baby learning to walk for the first time. I was always having to hold someone's hand or a railing just to keep my balance. But I stayed on my feet!! Except when there was a big downhill, I decided to just sit and slide down instead of chancing to fall! But Raelene was a little more confident than I was. She decided to trek down the hill without any fear. BAD IDEA. I have about 4 separate falls on video, so funny.
After that we walked over to the other side of the wall and there they have a gondola that takes you up to the top of the mountain where the Brasov sign is. It is just like the Hollywood sign. It was a really cool experience to get to the top and be able to see the entire city.
Once we made it all the way back down, Jenna, Jen, and Hollie and I went to lunch together. We got to sit and talk and just hang out. It was very relaxing. I was a bit tired from all that walking and expending all my energy. I'm still feeling a bit weak from being sick. And not loving the food doesn't help in the recovery process. I ordered some spaghetti (of course) and I ate some of it, but I was almost too tired to eat it. I wished that I could somehow just get the food into my stomach without doing the work of eating it. Hahaha. I realize how weird that sounds, but it's the truth.
We went back to our room and laid down for a bit. I worked on editing and uploading the videos while Jenna worked on her photos. Then we headed over to the girls place and Alisha had made a giant pot of homemade chicken vegetable soup. It was really good! We got to sit around the table again and chat. It is really awesome to get to listen to all the stories that the girls tell and hear all that they have experienced. Then we all posted up on the couch and caught up on the episodes of the bachelor that we have missed!
Not sure what is in store for us tomorrow. We have a couple of different options that we can choose. We will probably sleep in a little and then decide!
I love getting to hear from everyone! So if you have some time please send me an update in what is going on in your life!!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Stories
Sorry it's been awhile since I wrote something, I got sick!!! :(
Thursday we worked the morning shift again, and I got to work with the same little boy!! The best part was: when I showed him the ducky, he started making the kissy noise! He remembered! That warmed my heart a lot. It is the little things like that, that can change your whole day around. We are not allowed to post pictures of the children on the internet, but we are allowed to take them. So Jenna has been taking some pictures, and I will be able to show everyone when I get home. Some of the pictures will break your heart just by looking at them, and some will instantly bring a smile to your face. The children are so sweet and so innocent, and yet when you learn some of their stories it is hard to hear.
Jenna has been working with this one little girl, Roxy. She is about two and a half and has dark hair and dark eyes. She is really cute. She has no parents, and was left to just wander around the village. Apparently some men got ahold of her. She was brought in and they said that she had been raped, burned (down there) and other places, and badly beaten. Even through all of those terrible things that have happened to her at such a young age, she still has a smile on her face and just wants to be held and played with. Jenna is with Roxy in the room right next to me and we share a giant glass window. Roxy likes to go up to the window and tap on it to get my attention. Then we make silly faces at each other back and forth. She is so sweet. When I think about what happened to her, and so many others that we must not even know about, it is painful. But thankfully, they do have child protective services here, and Sarah has asked Jenna to take photos of Roxy so that they can send them to her and hopefully she won't be sent back to that village.
Sarah was telling us about how her goal is to create some sort of half-way house/foster care home that they could run so that they could help find some of these children a home. The main problem right now is that adoption has been closed here due to abuse of the system. Many of the gypsy women (from the villages where most of these children come from), started to sell their children for the most random of things. Sarah told us that one time she heard that a women traded her child for a color tv, and others for money. And then the people that were getting the children were selling them into a sex trade. So the Romanian government now because of that has closed ALL adoptions. Which means that even the good families that were willing to give these children a happy and healthy life, have been cut off too. So Sarah and the girls at FFR are working to become accredited with the government, and have all the paperwork already filled out, so that when they decide to open it back up (which there has been talk about), they will be ready. I really hope that this works out, because that would be so amazing for these children to have a place where they can feel safe and have that "homey" feeling.
One of the biggest problems here is the fact that you can basically make money by having children and then sending them to this hospital. Maternity leave here is for 2 years. And if you do not make enough to support your child, the government will give you money to help you out. But it is not done in the sense of food stamps or anything, so there is no real way to track or manage what it is being spent on. So some of these women are almost making a living off of having babies and abandoning them. It is so sad. A lot of the girls start having children as young as 13 and 14. So Sarah and the team at FFR have started a teen outreach program where they bring some of the teen girls in from the gypsy villages and just hang out with them and do fun things like scrapbooking, play games, etc. They just try to provide them with a positive environment and then talk to them about the importance of staying in school and staying safe.
What they are doing really is making a difference. And I'm excited to have gotten the opportunity, thanks to so many of you, to get to be a part of it.
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Now for some stories-
So before I got here, I wasn't sure what type of environment I was really getting myself into. I knew nothing about the culture or what the living situations were like, all I knew was that it was going to be cold and I would be helping out orphans. Which, call me crazy, sounds like a not so fun place to go right? Well, I don't like being cold, and I was trying to do everything in my power to be fully prepared and bring with me anything that I wouldn't be able to have or get while here. So I started emailing with the lady of the place where we are staying asking her what seemed like very obvious questions in my mind, but apparently were very dumb.
I asked things like:
- If I'm cold at night, do you have an extra blanket?
Her response: umm.. there's a heater in the room and a heating blanket on each of the beds.
- Is there shampoo/conditioner and soap?
Her response: Yes... there is all of that in the room, or if you need some you can go buy some at pretty much any store on the corner...
- Do we have any way of heating water?
Her response: Cissy.. yes.. we have everything that you need, this isn't a third world country.
Boy did I feel pretty lame after that one! Haha. They have Mcdonalds, KFC, tons of restaurants, markets, grocery stores, malls, etc. And it all just came about within the past 5 years or so. Brasov, where we are staying, has become a bit of a tourist spot, so this part of the country is doing pretty well. The capital, where we flew into about 2 hours from here, is a populated city with high rise buildings and feels like you are in LA. After hearing that this wasn't a third world country, and only focusing on the two populated cities, I just assumed that this is how the whole country was.
All of that knowledge led to, yet again, another blonde moment:
Sitting outside the hospital one morning before going in to work. Jenna and I were talking about how they were saying that this wasn't considered a third world country. Which made us start wondering, what makes a place considered that? Because obviously this place isn't doing great, but it does have a lot.
Cissy: So then what is it here if it's not a third world country?
Jenna: I don't know what the qualifications for third world country means, because they do have some stuff.
Cissy: Yeah, maybe it's like...second world or something.
Jenna: Would that make the US first world?
We then realized that we needed to go home and figure out what this all means. SO for those of you who ALSO don't fully know. Here is a bit of a history lesson for you: (thanks to good old google)
"Third World' refers to the economically underdeveloped countries particularly in the Middle East, South Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Oceania, considered as an entity with common characteristics, such as poverty, high birthrates, and economic dependence on the advanced countries. French demographer, anthropologist and historian Alfred Sauvy, in an article published in the French magazine L'Observateur, August 14, 1952, coined the term Third World, referring to countries that were unaligned with either the Communist Soviet bloc or the Capitalist NATO bloc during the Cold War. His usage was a reference to the Third Estate, the commoners of France who, before and during the French Revolution, opposed priests and nobles, who composed the First Estate and Second Estate, respectively. Sauvy wrote, "Like the third estate, the Third World is nothing, and wants to be something," He conveyed the concept of political non-alignment with either the capitalist or communist bloc.
So there you are. Now you all can feel as smart as I do!
Anyways, after going to lunch with Sanzi the other day, who is from here, she informed us that most of the county can be considered and is a third world country. The places that most tourists go to, are not.
-------
Some other interesting information:
- When you go to Mcdonalds, you have to PAY for KETSUP, and they only give you one packet!!
- You are allowed to smoke anywhere and everywhere here= gross!!
- Jenna bet me 5 Lei (about 1.50$) that I couldn't catch a snowflake............... I am 5 Lei richer :)
- You can pretty much start drinking at any age.
- Our Romanian is getting better; I know how to say the important things-
... apa plata= flat water
... apa calda= hot water
...multumesc= thank you
... da= yes
Haha.. basically you don't really need to know how to speak Romanian because there is always someone somewhere who knows English!
- You can't start school until you are 7.
- My heating pad on my bed is the best thing ever invented
- Spaghetti & Pizza have become my go-to food, along with the granola bars I packed.
-----
I was pretty sick and was running a fever on Thursday night, and slept all day Friday. I didn't go in to the hospital. I was sad to miss out on spending time with the kids but I knew that I needed to get myself better first. So a day of rest was nice and needed. I watched some tv here. And they had Friends on!! In English!!! It was very exciting. Made me feel right at home! I'm feeling better, just still a little weak and tired.
Tomorrow we are going to try to go with some of the girls and ride the Gondola that goes up the mountain. At the top of the mountain there is a sign that lights up at night that says Brasov, just like the Hollywood sign. It's pretty cool. Then we might go and see a movie. I think they wanted to see 127 Hours, which has James Franco in it so I am all for that one!
I love you and I miss you all. I'm not sure what's going on with the commenting on here, some of them go through and post and some of them don't. But you can always send me a message on facebook if it is not working. Thank you for reading and caring about what is going on in my life.
-Cis
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Happy Tears
Last night I laid in bed updating my blog when I got a surprise Skype request from my most favorite boy in the world, Bradyn!!! It was very late here, about 2 am and he was just waking up from his nap. So I got to talk to both him and Shandley while Kiley and Allyson were off at SeaWorld (oh how I miss that place). It was so good to get to see them and talk to them. It brought about way too many emotions for me to handle. I was so glad to get to actually see Bray's face and hear his voice. But of course, doing that, caused a bit of an emotional break down. I miss everyone, but he is the one person that can actually get to me in that way because I don't think he fully understands. We talked about it a lot before I left. He knows I am in Romania, where it is on the map, that it is far away from home, that when it is day for him it is night for me, that I am here with Jenna to help kids with no Mommys, etc. But I don't think he gets why that meant I had to leave him in order to be here doing all of this. I put together a little baggy with a small gift, note, or piece of candy in it for him and Kiley for every day that I am gone, hoping that it gives them something to look forward to even though I am not there. Apparently I should have made some little baggies for myself too! I did bring along some pictures that Bradyn and I took together in a photobooth at SeaWorld before I left and have them up next to my bed. And last night when I was talking to him Shandley gave him a baggy to open and it happened to be the one that had the copies of the pictures in it for him to have. That was pretty cool to get to show him that mine are up on the wall and that he has some too.
After that I had trouble falling asleep. It made me realize how much I do miss everyone. (Yes, I realize it has been about 5-6 days since I have been gone). But, I do. Although at the same time I am having so much fun, getting to see many new things, meet a ton of new people, and experience a different culture.
Today we met up with Sanzi at 5pm in the middle of Town Square by the fountain. She walked us over to a little coffee shop that she likes and we sat there for about an hour and a half and just talked! She is SO nice. And really funny! We talked about everything. She was very sweet. We told her that we would try to meet up with her again soon! Thanks for that connection Dee!!
We worked the morning shift at the hospital from 9:15-12:30pm. We started out by going to the play therapist and she assigned us all to a child to work with for a different reason. I was told that the little boy I was going to work with- wouldn't eat, barely slept, and only threw the toys. Maybe I went to the wrong kid, or maybe she caught him on a bad day, because the little boy that I got to spend the morning with was so sweet. He was roughly about 9-10 months old. He had olive skin, dark hair, and dark eyes. He was a little hesitant at first, but then warmed up to me and he was so sweet. We played with a little rubber ducky for a bit, and I kept having the ducky give him kisses and making a kissy sound. After a little while of doing that I put the duck down and grabbed another toy. But then I noticed that he was starting to make the kissy sound and reaching for the duck! So I grabbed the duck again and brought it over and had it give him more kisses and he would kiss it back. Then I would have the duck give me some kisses. After a little while he grabbed the ducky and started giving different things kisses. He even turned and had the duck give me some! All while making the little kissy noise. It was so dang cute! Only a few times did he try and throw it. And when he did, I would just pick it up and put it on the bed and say that we needed to be gentle to the ducky and throwing him isn't nice. I'm not really sure if speaking English vs Romanian makes a difference, because they are so surrounded by both, but he seemed to get the point very quickly. After that we grabbed his bottle and he took a little of it at first, but not much. So I decided to take his bottle and feed the ducky and some of the other animals, and then bring it back to him. Each time he would take some, and then wanted to share with the animals, and then it would be his turn again. After doing this multiple times the bottle was almost empty! Then I noticed him getting a little antsy so I turned him toward me, gave him a hug, and could tell he looked a little sleepy after all the playing we had been doing. So I held him tight, rocked him side to side, and patted his back. Within about 5 minutes he was dead asleep in my arms.
Playing- Check, Eating- Check, Sleeping- Check ....... SUCCESS!!!!
It is one of my favorite things to get to hold a sleeping baby, and knowing that I was able to help this one child, even if only for that day, was very heart warming. He was so sweet and had so much potential, but just no one there to take the time to care and love for him. It was almost like the first time I really felt that what we were doing here can and does make a difference. Sometimes I get caught up in all of the other things to get to talk about and forget to mention in detail about the children. But what everyone is doing, even though it may be small, has a huge impact.
I have some more funny stories to tell everyone, but I will save them for tomorrow because Jenna needs the computer to do some homework for her photography class. I am off to do Insanity yet again, and then going to head to bed early tonight.
I love you all so much!!!!!
After that I had trouble falling asleep. It made me realize how much I do miss everyone. (Yes, I realize it has been about 5-6 days since I have been gone). But, I do. Although at the same time I am having so much fun, getting to see many new things, meet a ton of new people, and experience a different culture.
Today we met up with Sanzi at 5pm in the middle of Town Square by the fountain. She walked us over to a little coffee shop that she likes and we sat there for about an hour and a half and just talked! She is SO nice. And really funny! We talked about everything. She was very sweet. We told her that we would try to meet up with her again soon! Thanks for that connection Dee!!
We worked the morning shift at the hospital from 9:15-12:30pm. We started out by going to the play therapist and she assigned us all to a child to work with for a different reason. I was told that the little boy I was going to work with- wouldn't eat, barely slept, and only threw the toys. Maybe I went to the wrong kid, or maybe she caught him on a bad day, because the little boy that I got to spend the morning with was so sweet. He was roughly about 9-10 months old. He had olive skin, dark hair, and dark eyes. He was a little hesitant at first, but then warmed up to me and he was so sweet. We played with a little rubber ducky for a bit, and I kept having the ducky give him kisses and making a kissy sound. After a little while of doing that I put the duck down and grabbed another toy. But then I noticed that he was starting to make the kissy sound and reaching for the duck! So I grabbed the duck again and brought it over and had it give him more kisses and he would kiss it back. Then I would have the duck give me some kisses. After a little while he grabbed the ducky and started giving different things kisses. He even turned and had the duck give me some! All while making the little kissy noise. It was so dang cute! Only a few times did he try and throw it. And when he did, I would just pick it up and put it on the bed and say that we needed to be gentle to the ducky and throwing him isn't nice. I'm not really sure if speaking English vs Romanian makes a difference, because they are so surrounded by both, but he seemed to get the point very quickly. After that we grabbed his bottle and he took a little of it at first, but not much. So I decided to take his bottle and feed the ducky and some of the other animals, and then bring it back to him. Each time he would take some, and then wanted to share with the animals, and then it would be his turn again. After doing this multiple times the bottle was almost empty! Then I noticed him getting a little antsy so I turned him toward me, gave him a hug, and could tell he looked a little sleepy after all the playing we had been doing. So I held him tight, rocked him side to side, and patted his back. Within about 5 minutes he was dead asleep in my arms.
Playing- Check, Eating- Check, Sleeping- Check ....... SUCCESS!!!!
It is one of my favorite things to get to hold a sleeping baby, and knowing that I was able to help this one child, even if only for that day, was very heart warming. He was so sweet and had so much potential, but just no one there to take the time to care and love for him. It was almost like the first time I really felt that what we were doing here can and does make a difference. Sometimes I get caught up in all of the other things to get to talk about and forget to mention in detail about the children. But what everyone is doing, even though it may be small, has a huge impact.
I have some more funny stories to tell everyone, but I will save them for tomorrow because Jenna needs the computer to do some homework for her photography class. I am off to do Insanity yet again, and then going to head to bed early tonight.
I love you all so much!!!!!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Good Company
Today we went and worked the afternoon shift in the hospital (yay!). We met some of the other volunteers- Lisa is from England, but is leaving on Thursday. Jennifer and Hollie are from Pennsylvania, they live 30 minutes away from each other back home, BUT turns out they have never met and both just came out here randomly at the same time! Pretty cool how that worked out. They travelled to Venice this past weekend and said it was a lot of fun! There are two long term volunteers here right now- Joe, who is from Scotland, and Manuel (they call him Manu), who is from Germany. They are both really nice, hard to understand sometimes though.
After the hospital we all went over to Raelene's house for our Mexican meal!! She had chips and fresh guacamole :) = happy Cissy! They made everything from scratch and every one pitched in to help! It was a really cool experience to get to see so many people coming together for a common good and enjoying a night over a home cooked meal. We had chicken, rice, beans, salsa, guacamole, lettuce, onions, cheese, tortillas, etc. They made the works! Jenna and I contributed soda and wine (even though I don't like either of those haha.... or most of the food that was there... but I had some rice & beans! and a little chicken & cheese). We connected a bunch of tables together and all 12 of us sat around talking and eating and learning about where everyone comes from, what they do, and what brought them here. It was so much fun.
After dinner (and a few glasses of wine for most of the people), they started up some karaoke. They were all getting so into it, it was really funny. They kept trying to get me to do it, and I don't mind karaoke, the only problem was the song choices that I usually would sing during karaoke- their lyrical content did not seem appropriate. My go to karaoke songs are all Eminem!!!! Hahaha. So I politely declined. I told them that I would go home and practice a duet with Jenna and next time we would sing. I have already decided what it will be- A Whole New World, but I want to be Aladdin and Jenna gets (has) to be Jasmine. (Aladdin has much cooler parts in the song).
We stayed there until about 11pm and then took a taxi home so we didn't have to walk home in the dark. Then I had to do the dreaded Insanity work out!!! But I convinced Jenna to do half of it with me!! (I think those glasses of wine are what swayed her my way!!!- muahaha).
-----
Tomorrow (Wednesday) we work the morning shift at the Hospital. I'm interested to see how it all works since we haven't had the chance to work one yet. I was Lisa about it tonight at dinner and she said that the morning shift is just a bit more rushed, but still good. She will be working with us in the morning.
After that we will probably head into the Town Square and grab some lunch somewhere. Then at 2pm the girls from FFR are doing a project outreach thing with some teenage girls that they invited us to, so we will go to that.
Then at 5pm we are heading over to the fountain in the middle of Town Square to meet up with Sanzi. Sanzi is ... well it's a random connection that I will try and explain- My aunt, Dede (my mom's youngest sister) ... her boss' wife is from Romania, and I believe that Sanzi is her niece? or family friend? Something like that! Well anyways, I got her email from Dee before I got here and she said that we should meet up! So she emailed me yesterday and set a time and place and we will meet her there tomorrow! It should be interesting! She seems very nice so maybe we will go and grab ice cream or something!
After that I don't think we have anything planned! I'm sure that we will be tired because we stayed up late tonight at the dinner & karaoke + insanity & writing this!
[hiiiiiiiiiii ALLY :) i miss you so much!!!!!]
I just wanted to say thank you again to everyone that has been following along and reading the blogs. It's really comforting to know that you all care enough to do so. It means a lot to me. I love you and I miss you!!!
Ter.. stop trying to text me all the time I don't have a phone
Giig.. text ter all day now that you have an Iphone too in order to keep her texting habit under control.
Daddy.. i miss you and i love you so much!!!
Laura... I can't wait to snuggle you when I get home!!! Tell steven i say hiiiiii :)
Miguel.. i hope that frank gets beat up by squidward!!!!
Amy... I love that you are reading this! makes me so happy!!!
Dee.. I love you and i will let you know how meeting up with Sanzi goes so you can tell your boss!
Nick.. continue to watch bachelor for me and give me weekly updates please
Bestie Best... I love you and tell Bray that I miss him when you see him tomorrow!!!
Gram.. i hope you and pop are having fun on your cruise!
Wilma.. thank you for reading!! make sure you update your mom too!!
And anyone else who may be reading that i dont know about.. thank you!!!!
After the hospital we all went over to Raelene's house for our Mexican meal!! She had chips and fresh guacamole :) = happy Cissy! They made everything from scratch and every one pitched in to help! It was a really cool experience to get to see so many people coming together for a common good and enjoying a night over a home cooked meal. We had chicken, rice, beans, salsa, guacamole, lettuce, onions, cheese, tortillas, etc. They made the works! Jenna and I contributed soda and wine (even though I don't like either of those haha.... or most of the food that was there... but I had some rice & beans! and a little chicken & cheese). We connected a bunch of tables together and all 12 of us sat around talking and eating and learning about where everyone comes from, what they do, and what brought them here. It was so much fun.
After dinner (and a few glasses of wine for most of the people), they started up some karaoke. They were all getting so into it, it was really funny. They kept trying to get me to do it, and I don't mind karaoke, the only problem was the song choices that I usually would sing during karaoke- their lyrical content did not seem appropriate. My go to karaoke songs are all Eminem!!!! Hahaha. So I politely declined. I told them that I would go home and practice a duet with Jenna and next time we would sing. I have already decided what it will be- A Whole New World, but I want to be Aladdin and Jenna gets (has) to be Jasmine. (Aladdin has much cooler parts in the song).
We stayed there until about 11pm and then took a taxi home so we didn't have to walk home in the dark. Then I had to do the dreaded Insanity work out!!! But I convinced Jenna to do half of it with me!! (I think those glasses of wine are what swayed her my way!!!- muahaha).
-----
Tomorrow (Wednesday) we work the morning shift at the Hospital. I'm interested to see how it all works since we haven't had the chance to work one yet. I was Lisa about it tonight at dinner and she said that the morning shift is just a bit more rushed, but still good. She will be working with us in the morning.
After that we will probably head into the Town Square and grab some lunch somewhere. Then at 2pm the girls from FFR are doing a project outreach thing with some teenage girls that they invited us to, so we will go to that.
Then at 5pm we are heading over to the fountain in the middle of Town Square to meet up with Sanzi. Sanzi is ... well it's a random connection that I will try and explain- My aunt, Dede (my mom's youngest sister) ... her boss' wife is from Romania, and I believe that Sanzi is her niece? or family friend? Something like that! Well anyways, I got her email from Dee before I got here and she said that we should meet up! So she emailed me yesterday and set a time and place and we will meet her there tomorrow! It should be interesting! She seems very nice so maybe we will go and grab ice cream or something!
After that I don't think we have anything planned! I'm sure that we will be tired because we stayed up late tonight at the dinner & karaoke + insanity & writing this!
[hiiiiiiiiiii ALLY :) i miss you so much!!!!!]
I just wanted to say thank you again to everyone that has been following along and reading the blogs. It's really comforting to know that you all care enough to do so. It means a lot to me. I love you and I miss you!!!
Ter.. stop trying to text me all the time I don't have a phone
Giig.. text ter all day now that you have an Iphone too in order to keep her texting habit under control.
Daddy.. i miss you and i love you so much!!!
Laura... I can't wait to snuggle you when I get home!!! Tell steven i say hiiiiii :)
Miguel.. i hope that frank gets beat up by squidward!!!!
Amy... I love that you are reading this! makes me so happy!!!
Dee.. I love you and i will let you know how meeting up with Sanzi goes so you can tell your boss!
Nick.. continue to watch bachelor for me and give me weekly updates please
Bestie Best... I love you and tell Bray that I miss him when you see him tomorrow!!!
Gram.. i hope you and pop are having fun on your cruise!
Wilma.. thank you for reading!! make sure you update your mom too!!
And anyone else who may be reading that i dont know about.. thank you!!!!
Finally
I finally got a solid amount of sleep last night!!!! 9:30pm-9:30am. 12 hours! I was so tired. THANKFULLY- it was recovery day on Insanity or else I would have failed. (Calves are still killing me).
Jenna and I finally got to do what we came here for- work with the babies!
Yesterday (Monday) morning we met with the ladies of FFR at the Children's Hospital (spitalul de copii). Mary met us at the gate and walked us in where we met Sarah, Steffi, Mary, Alisha, and Raeleen. They were all so nice and so welcoming. Alisha showed us around the hospital and explained how everything worked.
She told us how it all started and came about:
Sarah met Steffi while over here working for an organization that was helping out in a children's orphanage. Then I forget the little details but basically when Romania joined the EU they disbanded the orphanages and that organization went somewhere else. Most people began to believe that the orphan problem in Romania had disappeared because there were no more orphanages. Wrong. Sarah and Steffi knew that this wasn't true and that those kids were just now floating around elsewhere. So they went on a mission to try and find the children that were once in that orphanage that they had worked with. They finally found them at the Children's Hospital. When they got there they found the children all wrapped up in dirty rags. The nurses at the time were doing the best that they could, but Sarah and Steffi knew that this wasn't okay. They took money from their own pockets and went to the stores and bought as many diapers as they could. They came back to the Children's Hospital and started changing all the babies out of the rags and into fresh diapers. This became the start of what their organization Firm Foundations Romania does. They now work in part with the nurses and doctors in the Children's Hospital raising money and collecting donations for diapers, clothes, toys, blankets, etc.
The hospital is 5 stories high and every room is filled with children. They have them separated by floor. I believe that the first floor is surgery, the second is surgery recovery, the third is infants, the fourth is toddlers, and the fifth is special needs. FFR works mostly with the 3rd and 4th floors. There are two different shifts that are worked. There is the morning shift from 9:30-12:30: where you go around assisting the nurses or the play therapist for a bit and then pass out diapers from floor to floor. The afternoon shift is from 3-6: which is much more relaxed because most of the nurses and doctors are gone and you just get to hold the babies for 3 hours (aka the best shift). Luckily we have the afternoon shift Mondays, Tuesdays, & Fridays. And we have the morning shift Wednesdays and Thursdays. I think it will be important to get to do both shifts, but I definitely think I will like the afternoon one more.
Alisha helped remind us that they work WITH the hospital in doing what they do. And this means that basically the nurses and doctors are going to do things their way, and we are expected to comply. She said that it is going to be hard because we are going to see them doing things that we think could be done better, but we have to remember that they are farther behind technology-wise than we are, and they are doing the best that they can with what they have. And I agree, it was hard to watch sometimes. The thing that I noticed most was just the way that they handle the babies. It was like they had emotionally removed themselves from the situations and treated them like just another numbered kid in a bed. They didn't seem gentle or caring, but rather than they had a job to accomplish. So that will take some getting used to, but then Alisha reminded us that that is what we are there for- to offer the nurturing love side of it all, and the nurses and doctors are there to offer the medicine and treatments. Hearing that made it all a lot easier to take in.
After showing us around the hospital, Alisha took Jenna and I around town and showed us where to grocery shop, what is and isn't okay to eat, good places to get certain items, and fun spots in town. It was very helpful information!! Then we met up with the rest of the girls at one of their favorite places for lunch. I got spaghetii!!!!! It was very yummy! (yayy i'm not going to starve!!). The girls were all so nice. They asked about us, our families, what we do, what we like, what we are excited for, etc. They invited us over to their place tonight for... that's right.... MEXICAN FOOD!!!! We are looking forward to this very much!! They asked if we had any plans to travel while we are here, and we said sort of, but they encouraged it very much. They said that there are two other volunteers that get back today from a weekend in Venice; they are from Pennsylvania. We are hoping they are nice and will maybe want to hang out with us! That would be cool! Overall getting to hang out with all the ladies that work there was exciting and fun. Having other people to talk to and laugh with was much needed!!!
After lunch we went back to the hospital with Alisha and Raeleen to work the afternoon shift. We put on our scrubs (I felt very official with them on PLUS getting a badge with my picture and name on it!!). We grabbed some toys and some books and went to one of the infant rooms on the 3rd floor. It is a mixed variety of emotions getting to sit there and just hold one of the babies. I felt happy and comfortable (as I always do) getting to just sit in a rocking chair with a little one laying against me. But at the same time, I felt sad knowing that for a combined total of about maybe an hour a day these babies get held. The rest of the time they are just stuck laying there in their cribs with no attention. Some of them have been fully abandoned by the mother, some the mother comes to visit because she can't take full care of him or her, and the others seem to go in and out of the hospital switching back and forth between there and at home.
After the third floor we moved up to the 4th floor, toddlers. I think that this was the most challenging thing to witness. I have been around so many blessed, loved, & cared for children in my life. Seeing the way that these toddlers were was heartbreaking. Some of them wouldn't even make eye contact with you, some just had a constant murmur of whining even while you were holding them, and others could barely walk because of how much time they spend in the cribs everyday. They was one little girl that they said had been there since she was an infant, and she seemed content. She laughed, smiled, played with you, etc... because she knew no other life outside of this (which in and of itself is sad). But the others, the ones that did have part-time families or moms, they were the ones that seemed to have it worst. At that age they are aware of what is going on, and who people are, and what they want. So they were the ones that it seemed to have the biggest emotional impact on. There was a little girl that came by from another room, about 5 years old, and she was crying and rambling on non-stop telling a story that all I could catch was the last word which was "momma". I asked Alisha what she was saying and she told me that she was telling about how her mom brought here there, but she knew that she would be coming back for her. It was very sad to hear.
We left the hospital at 6pm and started our walk back to our room. We decided that we needed a little pick me up ice cream on our way home. Once we got back we were both exhausted. It had been a very long day physically and emotionally. I was so tired. I took a shower, cleaned up a bit, and crawled into bed and fell asleep early.
All of the ladies at FFR seem to have a good attitude towards it all, which I think will help us get through. They said you learn to take the good with the bad, and use your time wisely with each child. It may not be the best, but it is the best that you can do. Hearing that helped. Yet again, being here and now witnessing everything, has made me appreciate everything and everyone that I have back home even more.
We are off to go do some grocery shopping and then heading over to the hospital for the afternoon shift (yay!).
I love you all. So much.
Jenna and I finally got to do what we came here for- work with the babies!
Yesterday (Monday) morning we met with the ladies of FFR at the Children's Hospital (spitalul de copii). Mary met us at the gate and walked us in where we met Sarah, Steffi, Mary, Alisha, and Raeleen. They were all so nice and so welcoming. Alisha showed us around the hospital and explained how everything worked.
She told us how it all started and came about:
Sarah met Steffi while over here working for an organization that was helping out in a children's orphanage. Then I forget the little details but basically when Romania joined the EU they disbanded the orphanages and that organization went somewhere else. Most people began to believe that the orphan problem in Romania had disappeared because there were no more orphanages. Wrong. Sarah and Steffi knew that this wasn't true and that those kids were just now floating around elsewhere. So they went on a mission to try and find the children that were once in that orphanage that they had worked with. They finally found them at the Children's Hospital. When they got there they found the children all wrapped up in dirty rags. The nurses at the time were doing the best that they could, but Sarah and Steffi knew that this wasn't okay. They took money from their own pockets and went to the stores and bought as many diapers as they could. They came back to the Children's Hospital and started changing all the babies out of the rags and into fresh diapers. This became the start of what their organization Firm Foundations Romania does. They now work in part with the nurses and doctors in the Children's Hospital raising money and collecting donations for diapers, clothes, toys, blankets, etc.
The hospital is 5 stories high and every room is filled with children. They have them separated by floor. I believe that the first floor is surgery, the second is surgery recovery, the third is infants, the fourth is toddlers, and the fifth is special needs. FFR works mostly with the 3rd and 4th floors. There are two different shifts that are worked. There is the morning shift from 9:30-12:30: where you go around assisting the nurses or the play therapist for a bit and then pass out diapers from floor to floor. The afternoon shift is from 3-6: which is much more relaxed because most of the nurses and doctors are gone and you just get to hold the babies for 3 hours (aka the best shift). Luckily we have the afternoon shift Mondays, Tuesdays, & Fridays. And we have the morning shift Wednesdays and Thursdays. I think it will be important to get to do both shifts, but I definitely think I will like the afternoon one more.
Alisha helped remind us that they work WITH the hospital in doing what they do. And this means that basically the nurses and doctors are going to do things their way, and we are expected to comply. She said that it is going to be hard because we are going to see them doing things that we think could be done better, but we have to remember that they are farther behind technology-wise than we are, and they are doing the best that they can with what they have. And I agree, it was hard to watch sometimes. The thing that I noticed most was just the way that they handle the babies. It was like they had emotionally removed themselves from the situations and treated them like just another numbered kid in a bed. They didn't seem gentle or caring, but rather than they had a job to accomplish. So that will take some getting used to, but then Alisha reminded us that that is what we are there for- to offer the nurturing love side of it all, and the nurses and doctors are there to offer the medicine and treatments. Hearing that made it all a lot easier to take in.
After showing us around the hospital, Alisha took Jenna and I around town and showed us where to grocery shop, what is and isn't okay to eat, good places to get certain items, and fun spots in town. It was very helpful information!! Then we met up with the rest of the girls at one of their favorite places for lunch. I got spaghetii!!!!! It was very yummy! (yayy i'm not going to starve!!). The girls were all so nice. They asked about us, our families, what we do, what we like, what we are excited for, etc. They invited us over to their place tonight for... that's right.... MEXICAN FOOD!!!! We are looking forward to this very much!! They asked if we had any plans to travel while we are here, and we said sort of, but they encouraged it very much. They said that there are two other volunteers that get back today from a weekend in Venice; they are from Pennsylvania. We are hoping they are nice and will maybe want to hang out with us! That would be cool! Overall getting to hang out with all the ladies that work there was exciting and fun. Having other people to talk to and laugh with was much needed!!!
After lunch we went back to the hospital with Alisha and Raeleen to work the afternoon shift. We put on our scrubs (I felt very official with them on PLUS getting a badge with my picture and name on it!!). We grabbed some toys and some books and went to one of the infant rooms on the 3rd floor. It is a mixed variety of emotions getting to sit there and just hold one of the babies. I felt happy and comfortable (as I always do) getting to just sit in a rocking chair with a little one laying against me. But at the same time, I felt sad knowing that for a combined total of about maybe an hour a day these babies get held. The rest of the time they are just stuck laying there in their cribs with no attention. Some of them have been fully abandoned by the mother, some the mother comes to visit because she can't take full care of him or her, and the others seem to go in and out of the hospital switching back and forth between there and at home.
After the third floor we moved up to the 4th floor, toddlers. I think that this was the most challenging thing to witness. I have been around so many blessed, loved, & cared for children in my life. Seeing the way that these toddlers were was heartbreaking. Some of them wouldn't even make eye contact with you, some just had a constant murmur of whining even while you were holding them, and others could barely walk because of how much time they spend in the cribs everyday. They was one little girl that they said had been there since she was an infant, and she seemed content. She laughed, smiled, played with you, etc... because she knew no other life outside of this (which in and of itself is sad). But the others, the ones that did have part-time families or moms, they were the ones that seemed to have it worst. At that age they are aware of what is going on, and who people are, and what they want. So they were the ones that it seemed to have the biggest emotional impact on. There was a little girl that came by from another room, about 5 years old, and she was crying and rambling on non-stop telling a story that all I could catch was the last word which was "momma". I asked Alisha what she was saying and she told me that she was telling about how her mom brought here there, but she knew that she would be coming back for her. It was very sad to hear.
We left the hospital at 6pm and started our walk back to our room. We decided that we needed a little pick me up ice cream on our way home. Once we got back we were both exhausted. It had been a very long day physically and emotionally. I was so tired. I took a shower, cleaned up a bit, and crawled into bed and fell asleep early.
All of the ladies at FFR seem to have a good attitude towards it all, which I think will help us get through. They said you learn to take the good with the bad, and use your time wisely with each child. It may not be the best, but it is the best that you can do. Hearing that helped. Yet again, being here and now witnessing everything, has made me appreciate everything and everyone that I have back home even more.
We are off to go do some grocery shopping and then heading over to the hospital for the afternoon shift (yay!).
I love you all. So much.
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