Let the Romanian Adventure Begin!

In Iasi (sounds like yash… for anyone trying to pronounce it) we were greeted by an adorable giggling Romanian baby, what better greeting party could there have been? We got a stamp in our passport and then it was on to baggage claim…sort of. The Iasi airport is tiny. They brought the bags about 200 m from the plane to a small room where we grabbed them. We sat around for a while waiting for the in country coordinator to come get us. At one point, a man came and stood right beside me and put a phone in my face. K, it’s 11 at night, I’m tired, I don’t speak the language and I was just a little freaked out! Ha, I think he meant to do that though because after a few seconds he smiled and said ‘Mario’ (our coordinator) pointing to the phone. Apparently he was our taxi man and she’d sent him to grab us. Gotta love how easy it was for him to spot our group…all hopes of people thinking I was in anyway Romanian…dashed.

There are 10 of us girls and 3 apartments. I am in love with the view from mine. Sunset time is my favorite from my balcony, look how pretty! It really is a great apartment, it just has no internet. So although I was planning on updating my blog daily…it’ll be more like biweekly. I have to go over to another apartment to get on.

BEAUTIFUL! Thus the view from my window!

 Romania is so different than I thought it would be. I didn’t think that the city would be so big! Thing is, apparently Iasi is the 3^rd largest city in the country and we’re in the heart of it. So although it’s not quite New York, it’s still pretty big and really pretty! This is the palace, yes, Romanian royalty lived here. Cool huh? We do lots and lots of walking here, which is good, because we’ve also found lots and lots of good Romanian food :)

Shwarma! It's like a gyro...with cabbage, pickles and fries added in! Weird, but delicious!

Doesn't this look like Disney?

I can't get enough of this palace! 

 The LDS branch that we go to is about 20 minutes away but it’s great! There are three sets of missionaries and maybe 20-30 other members. In Relief Society, our group of 10 made up half of the women there. Church is so awesome though! Sacrament Meeting is all in Romanian. Singing the songs is great and the people are very patient with us unintentionally butchering their beautiful language…but we’re learning. I loved singing I’ll Go Where You Want Me To go that first Sunday because it’s one of my favorites and I could actually figure out what I was saying.  Thus singing how I felt was easier (Kaia, it made me think of you always telling us in choir to sing our testimonies J ). Sunday School is in English because it’s mainly just our intern group. Relief Society was a mixture. A sister missionary translated the lesson into English and translated our comments into Romanian. When we read a passage of scripture, we read it in both languages. This branch is so great, they are really supportive of us and I love it! To make things even better, I met an awesome woman named Claudia after Sacrament Meeting and she told me she was getting baptized on Saturday! After church, she came up to us with the sister missionaries and asked us to do a musical number at her baptism :)

And now….the orphanage! We’ve been there 3 times so far and it’s wonderful. Just like Romania wasn’t what I’d expected, the orphanage was totally different than what I’d pictured. The wall leading to the front door is lined with paintings of the story of Thumbelina and that story tale theme is all over the orphanage. It’s a really awesome place with amazing kids. Our first time there we went through each room and got to play with the kids for a little bit. My favorite part is finding out what makes them giggle. A lot of these kids are dealing with a lot, mentally and physically, but they’re still so sweet. In the three of the rooms we went in, a lot of the kids have breathing tubes in. I’d never even thought of that, it’s a great blessing just to be able to breathe without trouble. With those kids we had to be careful, but we could still hold the little ones. I’d been really worried before coming because I haven’t worked with children with disabilities for a long period of time before. That first day I learned that that worry was kinda stupid. These are kids, they love to be held, talked to, smiled at and played with. I can’t use their real names on this blog or post pictures of them, but I’ll still tell stories. In room one, there’s a little boy who has the chubbiest cheeks and he laughs all the time. Another little boy just wants to be held, so as soon as you pick him up, he just clings to you. I could visit with the other children in the room with him in my arms. In room two, I loved sitting with a boy who is a little older. He has always been in a bed when I’ve seen him, but he has such a big smile when you tickle his belly. The boy in the neighboring bed will try to talk to you when you sit with him. In room 3, one little boy loves to play doctor. He ‘fixed’ my arm the other day, who knew massaging antibiotic cream and rubbing alcohol (*cough cough* lotion and water) on someone’s arm does the trick! There’s also a little girl who’s ticklish spot is her ear, it was so fun just sitting with her. Room 4 is a fun room. There are a few kids in wheelchairs and then a few kids who are energizer bunnies. Yesterday I was talking to a few of them and they could say my name J Something I just have to say about these kids is that they’re so loving! The first time we’d seen them so many smiled as soon as we walked in the room. On day two, when I was in Room 4, I had so many kids just give me huge hugs around my neck. I only have a few phrases I can say to them, but my favorite is vino in brate la mine, come into my arms, when a say it, there are a few boys especially who will just get this cute smile on their face run over to me. They’re so sweet! Goodness gracious, they’re adorable too. Room 5 was where I was today. Those kids are younger than Room 4 kids, but they’re just as sweet. I got to play outside with two of them today and it was really fun. At one point, we were using the see saw and one of my Room 4 boys came and sat on the beam connecting the two seats. I couldn’t help but think of my physics lessons from this past year as I had to readjust where I was putting pressure to keep the kids going up and down. Who knew, physics is useful! :) There are two in that room who are learning to walk. Britta and I were working with them on it today and we’re hoping we can see progress before we leave. One little boy, the one who loves to try to escape, is another one with an easy laugh. All you have to do is tickle his belly. The first day, I tickled him and then if I held my hands out, he’d walk back to me, putting his belly right up against my hands so I could tickle him again. It made me smile :)Tomorrow will be the first day at the hospital so I’ll soon have more stories to tell!! I love you guys!