The next two days were not exciting...I packed and got ready to leave for my 10 day trip around Europe. In conclusion to this blog I would like to end with my favorite quote:
"No individual has the right to go into this world or go out of it without leaving behind him distinct and legitimate reasons for having passed through it." - George Washington Carver
I hope I did in Romania.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The Final Goodbye!
August 11, 2008 (Tuesday)
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: Feelings of peace and comfort after I said goodbye to Andrei and my orphan kids.
This morning I woke up feeling sick. I knew I had to say goodbye to all my kids. I was not excited about it…not at all. I met Whitney S. at her apartment to print something off for Andrei and then we made our way to the orphanage for the last time. I was dreading going – because I knew it would mean goodbye forever.
When we walked into the orphanage I couldn’t help but think that it was the last time I would walk through those doors and smell that smell of mashed up food. We got our scrubs on and I grudgingly went up the stairs. The second we walked upstairs the first little person I was saw was Andrei sitting at a kid’s table. He signaled for me to come to him with his hand and did a big cheesy smile and laugh. I waved at him and signaled to him that I would come in a few minutes. I wanted to say goodbye to my kids in the other room first and Andrei last. Whitney S. and I went into the other room for about 15 minutes and quickly said goodbye to our kids and kissed them. Then we went to the other room.
I hate reality sometimes. I hate it even more when reality doesn’t feel real. That’s what it felt like when I walked into the second room. I kissed my kids goodbye, and then I turned on a cd that I had burned and danced with Andrei to a couple of songs. In between songs I gave Andrei his gifts. The second I gave him the stuffed monkey he kissed it – I was glad he liked it. It made me feel good. Then I opened the photo album and showed him the pictures of the girls and me that were in it, and he looked at it intently and smiled. I was really surprised because he is three. I didn’t think it would interest him in the slightest. It made me feel good that he recognized I was in the pictures, and he seemed quite pleased. In between songs Whitney S. and I also asked the workers if we could take a picture with them and Lumie said “Yes, and you with Andrei?” I was like “yes!” So I got a couple pictures of Andrei and I on my last day which is amazing because they normally don’t allow them. At least I have something to remember him by.
As we danced Andrei was his usual cute self. He kept giving me hugs, winks and smiles. He is the best dance partner ever – I’m going to miss him dearly. Then the last song I danced to with him was I Hope You Dance by LeeAnn Womack. I had remained strong (when I say that I mean I hadn’t cried) until the end of the song – that’s when I fell to pieces. I started bawling. One of the workers came in and said they were going outside so Whitney S. and I decided we would help the workers take the kids outside and then leave. I put Andrei in the swing for the last time and pushed him in it for a few minutes as I continued to cry. I looked across the playground and Whitney S. was bawling too. After a couple minutes Whitney S. signaled to me that we needed to go. I knew we needed to go…after all this was torture, but when I tried to get my feet to move it was like they couldn’t. I felt like my feet were in cement, like I couldn’t take the step because once I stepped it would be stepping away from him forever…Finally I forced my feet to move, kissed him one last time and walked away. It was the worst feeling ever. I would be gone, and he would have no idea why. When Whitney S. and I got into the dressing room to get changed out of our scrubs we both looked at each other, hugged one another and started bawling. In between sobs I was like “I just hope the Lord takes care of our kids.” Whitney S. replied “He will, he will.” I know He will…but it’s still hard to leave – really hard.
Before we left the orphanage I left my orphanage shoes for Maria (one of the workers). She had requested my shoes a couple weeks after I arrived at the orphanage. I have been given so much I figured what the heck she can have them. Then we left for the last time.
As Whitney S. and I walked back to our apartment and we were able to stop crying I felt feelings of peace. Heavenly Father answered my prayers. Even though it was horrible to say goodbye to him, I knew it was what was necessary for me to do at this time. The Lord is so aware of us. Thank goodness.
After I got home I worked on some homework the best I could. Then Kenz came home. Her and Mindy had gone to say goodbye to their kids after us. She came in and was like “I have to tell you something.” She said that she saw Andrei sitting at the little table in the lunch room eating and smiling and when he saw them walk in he looked up and gave them the nod that guys always do. I was cracking up! He is so cute. He is such a little charmer. It just breaks my heart that he has no idea what’s going on. Maybe it’s better he doesn’t know that I’m gone forever, but as of right now he thinks I’m coming back just like I always do.
I talked to Mario on the telephone. I wanted to make sure the workers kept the photo album for him in a safe place. Mario said she would personally make sure they keep it for him and that she would check on it from time to time. She said that she would make sure that he knew I was a part of his life – a part of his history. That made me happy.
A few hours later we made our way to the hospital for the last time. I said goodbye to all the regular kiddos Alexandra, Mihait, the twins and Marion. They are all so cute! I’m going to miss seeing every one of their faces. In Alexandra’s room there were a bunch of girls, and I put fake tattoos on their arms that I had brought. They loved it! They thought it was the neatest things ever. Then I walked away and said goodbye forever.
When we got home we had a group dinner because we hadn’t Sunday because Sora Genevias. Then we went straight to our final Family Home Evening. We had a lesson by Radu and played Musical Chairs and Do you love your neighbor? for the activity. It was a lot of fun, but musical chairs was getting pretty aggressive. Elyse will buck you out of your chair at all costs. Then Kenz was on one – she was so hyper. During the lesson I kept trying to listen and she would make some goofy comment. I was having a hard time concentrating. Then to make matters worse for the opening song they sang Love At Home. I have hated that song ever since my parents would always sing it to us when we were fighting in order to help create peace. The girls all know I dislike that song so they looked at me and smiled and sang it extra loud. Thank you girls – thank you!
My mom called soon after I got home from Family Home Evening to make sure I was feeling okay about saying goodbye to Andrei and my kids. She said she had been thinking about me all day and cried when she thought about me saying goodbye to him. It meant a lot to me that she was concerned enough to call me and see how I was doing. I told her that it was hard to say goodbye, but that I felt peaceful about things…She said she had been praying really hard for me. The prayers of my parents and mine were answered…
After I talked with my mom we decided to have roommate bonding time for the last time. We went outside and looked out over the city and chatted about family traditions and other random topics. As we were looking outside I looked up and saw the moon. I remember when I was real little and I had to go back and forth between my parents my dad told me that if I was missing him to look at the moon because the moon meant “Daddy loves you.” He always told me that when I looked at the moon he was looking at the same moon and he wasn’t far away…good memories.
Then I did my fifth and hopefully final scabies treatment and went to bed after an emotionally exhausting day.
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: Feelings of peace and comfort after I said goodbye to Andrei and my orphan kids.
This morning I woke up feeling sick. I knew I had to say goodbye to all my kids. I was not excited about it…not at all. I met Whitney S. at her apartment to print something off for Andrei and then we made our way to the orphanage for the last time. I was dreading going – because I knew it would mean goodbye forever.
When we walked into the orphanage I couldn’t help but think that it was the last time I would walk through those doors and smell that smell of mashed up food. We got our scrubs on and I grudgingly went up the stairs. The second we walked upstairs the first little person I was saw was Andrei sitting at a kid’s table. He signaled for me to come to him with his hand and did a big cheesy smile and laugh. I waved at him and signaled to him that I would come in a few minutes. I wanted to say goodbye to my kids in the other room first and Andrei last. Whitney S. and I went into the other room for about 15 minutes and quickly said goodbye to our kids and kissed them. Then we went to the other room.
I hate reality sometimes. I hate it even more when reality doesn’t feel real. That’s what it felt like when I walked into the second room. I kissed my kids goodbye, and then I turned on a cd that I had burned and danced with Andrei to a couple of songs. In between songs I gave Andrei his gifts. The second I gave him the stuffed monkey he kissed it – I was glad he liked it. It made me feel good. Then I opened the photo album and showed him the pictures of the girls and me that were in it, and he looked at it intently and smiled. I was really surprised because he is three. I didn’t think it would interest him in the slightest. It made me feel good that he recognized I was in the pictures, and he seemed quite pleased. In between songs Whitney S. and I also asked the workers if we could take a picture with them and Lumie said “Yes, and you with Andrei?” I was like “yes!” So I got a couple pictures of Andrei and I on my last day which is amazing because they normally don’t allow them. At least I have something to remember him by.
As we danced Andrei was his usual cute self. He kept giving me hugs, winks and smiles. He is the best dance partner ever – I’m going to miss him dearly. Then the last song I danced to with him was I Hope You Dance by LeeAnn Womack. I had remained strong (when I say that I mean I hadn’t cried) until the end of the song – that’s when I fell to pieces. I started bawling. One of the workers came in and said they were going outside so Whitney S. and I decided we would help the workers take the kids outside and then leave. I put Andrei in the swing for the last time and pushed him in it for a few minutes as I continued to cry. I looked across the playground and Whitney S. was bawling too. After a couple minutes Whitney S. signaled to me that we needed to go. I knew we needed to go…after all this was torture, but when I tried to get my feet to move it was like they couldn’t. I felt like my feet were in cement, like I couldn’t take the step because once I stepped it would be stepping away from him forever…Finally I forced my feet to move, kissed him one last time and walked away. It was the worst feeling ever. I would be gone, and he would have no idea why. When Whitney S. and I got into the dressing room to get changed out of our scrubs we both looked at each other, hugged one another and started bawling. In between sobs I was like “I just hope the Lord takes care of our kids.” Whitney S. replied “He will, he will.” I know He will…but it’s still hard to leave – really hard.
Before we left the orphanage I left my orphanage shoes for Maria (one of the workers). She had requested my shoes a couple weeks after I arrived at the orphanage. I have been given so much I figured what the heck she can have them. Then we left for the last time.
As Whitney S. and I walked back to our apartment and we were able to stop crying I felt feelings of peace. Heavenly Father answered my prayers. Even though it was horrible to say goodbye to him, I knew it was what was necessary for me to do at this time. The Lord is so aware of us. Thank goodness.
After I got home I worked on some homework the best I could. Then Kenz came home. Her and Mindy had gone to say goodbye to their kids after us. She came in and was like “I have to tell you something.” She said that she saw Andrei sitting at the little table in the lunch room eating and smiling and when he saw them walk in he looked up and gave them the nod that guys always do. I was cracking up! He is so cute. He is such a little charmer. It just breaks my heart that he has no idea what’s going on. Maybe it’s better he doesn’t know that I’m gone forever, but as of right now he thinks I’m coming back just like I always do.
I talked to Mario on the telephone. I wanted to make sure the workers kept the photo album for him in a safe place. Mario said she would personally make sure they keep it for him and that she would check on it from time to time. She said that she would make sure that he knew I was a part of his life – a part of his history. That made me happy.
A few hours later we made our way to the hospital for the last time. I said goodbye to all the regular kiddos Alexandra, Mihait, the twins and Marion. They are all so cute! I’m going to miss seeing every one of their faces. In Alexandra’s room there were a bunch of girls, and I put fake tattoos on their arms that I had brought. They loved it! They thought it was the neatest things ever. Then I walked away and said goodbye forever.
When we got home we had a group dinner because we hadn’t Sunday because Sora Genevias. Then we went straight to our final Family Home Evening. We had a lesson by Radu and played Musical Chairs and Do you love your neighbor? for the activity. It was a lot of fun, but musical chairs was getting pretty aggressive. Elyse will buck you out of your chair at all costs. Then Kenz was on one – she was so hyper. During the lesson I kept trying to listen and she would make some goofy comment. I was having a hard time concentrating. Then to make matters worse for the opening song they sang Love At Home. I have hated that song ever since my parents would always sing it to us when we were fighting in order to help create peace. The girls all know I dislike that song so they looked at me and smiled and sang it extra loud. Thank you girls – thank you!
My mom called soon after I got home from Family Home Evening to make sure I was feeling okay about saying goodbye to Andrei and my kids. She said she had been thinking about me all day and cried when she thought about me saying goodbye to him. It meant a lot to me that she was concerned enough to call me and see how I was doing. I told her that it was hard to say goodbye, but that I felt peaceful about things…She said she had been praying really hard for me. The prayers of my parents and mine were answered…
After I talked with my mom we decided to have roommate bonding time for the last time. We went outside and looked out over the city and chatted about family traditions and other random topics. As we were looking outside I looked up and saw the moon. I remember when I was real little and I had to go back and forth between my parents my dad told me that if I was missing him to look at the moon because the moon meant “Daddy loves you.” He always told me that when I looked at the moon he was looking at the same moon and he wasn’t far away…good memories.
Then I did my fifth and hopefully final scabies treatment and went to bed after an emotionally exhausting day.
August 10, 2008 (Sunday)
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: Writing a goodbye letter to Andrei (my little three-year-old monkey) expressing how much I love him and how much he is loved by the Lord.
I was exhausted when I woke up this morning. We all got to bed really really late, and I felt the effects. I literally had to pull myself out of bed.
During sacrament I should have been listening more intently, but I was tired and I couldn’t focus because I was worried about saying goodbye to my kids the next day – especially Andrei. So I wrote a letter to Andrei during sacrament meeting. I decided to put the letter in an envelope in the photo album I bought him so someday he will be able to read it. Then I gave it to the Elders and had them translate it in Romanian. This is what it said:
Dear Andrei:
I wanted to write you a letter to express how much I have grown to love and care about you over the short time I have been here. The first day I walked into the orphanage you instantly ran to me, and you have been by my side ever since. You have been the light of my life everyday and for that I thank you. Your three year old brown eyes, smile and flirtatious wink instantly stole my heart, and I will always remember you and the impact you’ve had on my life.
Andrei, I want you to know that you are loved dearly by a loving Father in Heaven and that He is aware of any trial, pain or heartache you will experience in your life. Andrei, you are an intelligent, loving, serving and carling little boy – never forget that! You have so much potential to accomplish great things! Take advantage of the opportunity to do good, and the Lord will bless you.
Saying goodbye to you Andrei is one of the hardest things I’ll ever have to do, but I’m trusting the Lord will take care of you in my absence. You will always be in my prayers and reside in my heart. I love you like you were my own son! Someday I will be able to tell you again face-to-face!
With Love, Whitney Alexander
P.S. I know that Jesus Christ lives and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true.
I felt peaceful after I wrote the letter. I think I needed to write it in order to feel closure about the entire situation – even if he won’t know what it says until later. Later in life when Andrei wonders if anyone ever cared about him I want him to know that someone did very very much. He will always know that someone loved him.
During sacrament I made a bit of a fool of myself and Sora Stoica started laughing so hard she was practically crying. There was a young girl sitting next to her that I had never seen before and even though she was blonde I just assumed she was Romanian, so I looked over and to be nice asked “Cum te cheama?” (What’s your name?) I soon found out she was American and she had come to Romania five years ago and worked in the same program. Sora Stoica thought it was the funniest thing that I talked to her in Romanian and she was an English speaker. Leave it to me to do something like that.
Because it was the last Sunday we said our goodbyes. I hate goodbyes so much. We printed out a group picture we had taken with the Branch and gave them each a cd full of pictures that we had taken from the last couple of months. I think they enjoyed them. Then we ate banana cake.
After church I went to the girls’ apartment and did the video because I had time. We decided to put together a video for each girl where we each say our favorite characteristic and memory about them. That way we will each have a video – it will be a great keepsake. I had a lot of fun doing mine. I can’t wait for them to watch the recording I did on each of them. Especially Elyse – she is in for a treat!
On the way to Sora Geneviva’s in the evening we ran into this English guy who had stopped us on the street earlier on the way home from church. He was probably in his early 30s and very buff. He was from Great Britain and heard us speaking English and decided to find out why we were in Romania. We told him we were doing volunteer work here, and he thought that was neat. Then we told him we were going to London in about a week and he gave us all kinds of suggestions of things to do. He gave us his phone number and card and told us we should meet up with him and he’d show us around. He was really nice, but I don’t know why he’d care to help us out around the town. Hmmmm…
After a quick chat we made our way to Sora Geneviva’s house. She had asked us at church to come to dinner at her house, but we told her we already had plans. So we said we would come to say goodbye, but that we didn’t need dinner. She said she would only fix us a “little something to eat.” We should have known that wouldn’t be true. Luckily we decided not to eat before we went over just in case…because we have discovered several times over that Romanians feel it is essential to feed you if you’re a guest. Boy was I glad we didn’t eat when we arrived! She made us a “little something” which consisted of a bowl of soup, eggs, bread, French fries, deep fried salami, cheese, herbal tea and crepes. Haha…love Romanians.
In between courses we all had fun playing with Ionut (Sora Geneviva’s 23 year old son who has disabilities). He is such a character! I played the card game War with him for a while, but then switched with Mindy after I got bored. She took one for the team.
After dinner some of us girls tried to sneak in and do the dishes while the other girls distracted her. We only got two dishes done when she came charging into the kitchen knocking us all out of the way. The girls who had been trying to distract her were following behind her trying to keep her out of the kitchen – it didn’t work. She was so set on us not doing the dishes she grabbed the dish Kenz was washing out of her hands and it broke in the process. Then she quickly shooed us all out. We were all laughing pretty hard. Then she made us dance in a circle for a while. We had to wedge ourselves out the door – she didn’t want us to leave. We had so much fun though! It was a blast! I’m just grateful we didn’t eat before we went.
At home I put Andrei’s gift together and the missionaries dropped off the translated version of the letter. I’m really nervous about tomorrow, but I’m really excited to give him his gifts. I talked to my mom for a bit and that was nice. She helped calm me down about saying goodbye to Andrei. She said she would keep me in her prayers. I just hope that my last moments with him will be good, and that I will feel comfort when I leave him, because I’ve been freaking out tonight about saying goodbye.
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: Writing a goodbye letter to Andrei (my little three-year-old monkey) expressing how much I love him and how much he is loved by the Lord.
I was exhausted when I woke up this morning. We all got to bed really really late, and I felt the effects. I literally had to pull myself out of bed.
During sacrament I should have been listening more intently, but I was tired and I couldn’t focus because I was worried about saying goodbye to my kids the next day – especially Andrei. So I wrote a letter to Andrei during sacrament meeting. I decided to put the letter in an envelope in the photo album I bought him so someday he will be able to read it. Then I gave it to the Elders and had them translate it in Romanian. This is what it said:
Dear Andrei:
I wanted to write you a letter to express how much I have grown to love and care about you over the short time I have been here. The first day I walked into the orphanage you instantly ran to me, and you have been by my side ever since. You have been the light of my life everyday and for that I thank you. Your three year old brown eyes, smile and flirtatious wink instantly stole my heart, and I will always remember you and the impact you’ve had on my life.
Andrei, I want you to know that you are loved dearly by a loving Father in Heaven and that He is aware of any trial, pain or heartache you will experience in your life. Andrei, you are an intelligent, loving, serving and carling little boy – never forget that! You have so much potential to accomplish great things! Take advantage of the opportunity to do good, and the Lord will bless you.
Saying goodbye to you Andrei is one of the hardest things I’ll ever have to do, but I’m trusting the Lord will take care of you in my absence. You will always be in my prayers and reside in my heart. I love you like you were my own son! Someday I will be able to tell you again face-to-face!
With Love, Whitney Alexander
P.S. I know that Jesus Christ lives and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true.
I felt peaceful after I wrote the letter. I think I needed to write it in order to feel closure about the entire situation – even if he won’t know what it says until later. Later in life when Andrei wonders if anyone ever cared about him I want him to know that someone did very very much. He will always know that someone loved him.
During sacrament I made a bit of a fool of myself and Sora Stoica started laughing so hard she was practically crying. There was a young girl sitting next to her that I had never seen before and even though she was blonde I just assumed she was Romanian, so I looked over and to be nice asked “Cum te cheama?” (What’s your name?) I soon found out she was American and she had come to Romania five years ago and worked in the same program. Sora Stoica thought it was the funniest thing that I talked to her in Romanian and she was an English speaker. Leave it to me to do something like that.
Because it was the last Sunday we said our goodbyes. I hate goodbyes so much. We printed out a group picture we had taken with the Branch and gave them each a cd full of pictures that we had taken from the last couple of months. I think they enjoyed them. Then we ate banana cake.
After church I went to the girls’ apartment and did the video because I had time. We decided to put together a video for each girl where we each say our favorite characteristic and memory about them. That way we will each have a video – it will be a great keepsake. I had a lot of fun doing mine. I can’t wait for them to watch the recording I did on each of them. Especially Elyse – she is in for a treat!
On the way to Sora Geneviva’s in the evening we ran into this English guy who had stopped us on the street earlier on the way home from church. He was probably in his early 30s and very buff. He was from Great Britain and heard us speaking English and decided to find out why we were in Romania. We told him we were doing volunteer work here, and he thought that was neat. Then we told him we were going to London in about a week and he gave us all kinds of suggestions of things to do. He gave us his phone number and card and told us we should meet up with him and he’d show us around. He was really nice, but I don’t know why he’d care to help us out around the town. Hmmmm…
After a quick chat we made our way to Sora Geneviva’s house. She had asked us at church to come to dinner at her house, but we told her we already had plans. So we said we would come to say goodbye, but that we didn’t need dinner. She said she would only fix us a “little something to eat.” We should have known that wouldn’t be true. Luckily we decided not to eat before we went over just in case…because we have discovered several times over that Romanians feel it is essential to feed you if you’re a guest. Boy was I glad we didn’t eat when we arrived! She made us a “little something” which consisted of a bowl of soup, eggs, bread, French fries, deep fried salami, cheese, herbal tea and crepes. Haha…love Romanians.
In between courses we all had fun playing with Ionut (Sora Geneviva’s 23 year old son who has disabilities). He is such a character! I played the card game War with him for a while, but then switched with Mindy after I got bored. She took one for the team.
After dinner some of us girls tried to sneak in and do the dishes while the other girls distracted her. We only got two dishes done when she came charging into the kitchen knocking us all out of the way. The girls who had been trying to distract her were following behind her trying to keep her out of the kitchen – it didn’t work. She was so set on us not doing the dishes she grabbed the dish Kenz was washing out of her hands and it broke in the process. Then she quickly shooed us all out. We were all laughing pretty hard. Then she made us dance in a circle for a while. We had to wedge ourselves out the door – she didn’t want us to leave. We had so much fun though! It was a blast! I’m just grateful we didn’t eat before we went.
At home I put Andrei’s gift together and the missionaries dropped off the translated version of the letter. I’m really nervous about tomorrow, but I’m really excited to give him his gifts. I talked to my mom for a bit and that was nice. She helped calm me down about saying goodbye to Andrei. She said she would keep me in her prayers. I just hope that my last moments with him will be good, and that I will feel comfort when I leave him, because I’ve been freaking out tonight about saying goodbye.
August 9, 2008 (Saturday)
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: We didn’t get sick from eating mici at the branch barbeque.
I woke up this morning with Whitney’s feet in my face. Haha…we had a sleep over last night, and I guess she didn’t feel like she had enough room so she decided to turn the opposite way Annie and I were laying. Good times…
After a few of us woke up Whitney S. and Elyse decided to play a little joke on Mindy, and I decided to film it. A couple weeks ago the girls asked me for a fake tattoo that came with one of the books I was reading in The Twilight Series. It was a tattoo with the name Jacob (he is one of the main characters in the book). They wanted to tattoo it on Mindy’s forehead while she was sleeping, but they decided to do it on her upper back to be nice. So Elyse and Whitney S. carefully crept around and put it on her. She woke up immediately, but she didn’t really know what was going on. She was a bit disoriented and confused. To make a long story short we were successful in getting the tattoo on her, and I was successful in capturing it all. The footage is amazing. Mindy is so grouchy in the morning…haha…it made it even more fun to mess with her.
For the next couple of hours we did homework and then Kenz, Annie and I ran to the mall to get some last minute gifts. I got a gift for Andrei! I got him a little stuffed monkey (because I call him my little monkey since he is always climbing and running around everywhere). I also got him a little album and put some pics of me and the girls in it. Then I got a card, and I’m going to write a letter to him so he can read it later on in his life. I want him to know and understand how much I love him and how much the Lord loves him. I’m glad I’m leaving him with something from me. It gives me peace of mind and makes it easier to say goodbye for some reason.
At the mall Kenz had a little misunderstanding. I walked into a souvenir shop and noticed she was buying decorated eggs that cost 180 lei – which was pretty expensive, but I figured “heck if she wants them.” Then right after the transaction she came up to me and was like “I thought it was 18 lei for all of them, not 18 lei per egg. I’m not spending about 80 bucks on eggs!” After she told me that I immediately thought that stinks because she probably can’t get her money back. Romania doesn’t really do returns – I’ve learned that first hand. So she went back and talked to the lady and explained the misunderstanding. They said they didn’t know how to do a return (surprise, surprise) but that she could get something else for 180 lei. Kenz wasn’t happy about it, but she accepted their offer. She ended up getting 180 lei of random souvenirs…She just laughed about how much it sucked…Oh Romania…
After the mall we immediately got ready to leave for the Branch barbeque at the lake. Don’t ask me how or why, but we ended up fitting eight girls in one taxi. Whitney S. and I were in the front seat and there were six girls in the back. We were laughing the entire time. It was really awkward, and probably dangerous considering they are Romanian drivers, but it made for a humorous story?
Once we were dropped off at the cemetery, which was where we were meeting everyone to then walk down to the lake, we ended up sitting there for an hour. We were so confused about where everyone was. While we waited we got bored so the girls had me teach them a dance. I put Elyse front and center of the triangle formation and taught them some moves to a dance I made up a long time ago. They were adorable. I was laughing so hard…Oh I love those girls dearly!
After we waited continued to wait forever we called some of the Elders and discovered we were in the wrong place to meet them. We were kind of sad about it because for once we thought we were on time and even better early. We shouldn’t even try anymore. So the Elders and President Popavich had to come find us. Once they finally found us we were so far away from where the barbeque was taking place that it probably took another good half an hour to an hour to reach the barbeque at the lake…we were just laughing about how everything is so difficult – Romania.
The barbeque was fun, but for some reason I didn’t feel like running around. I did have fun talking to Mary and Alexandra #1 though. They are really cute girls. They asked me about whether or not I had a boyfriend and random things like that. Then I asked them about boys in Romania. I mentioned to them that most boys seem disrespectful towards women. They both whole heartedly agreed that it was almost impossible to find a good Romanian boy. They said they wanted to meet a nice American boy. I told them to come to America, and I’d set them up with one of my friends. They just laughed.
The rest of the barbeque was fun. I chatted with some of the sisters for a while and watched people get in water fights. I didn’t feel like being in the middle of that so I just observed everything that was going on around me. We ate mici (it’s some type of meat). It was okay …just not what I’m used to. After we ate Annie and I left pretty soon after because we were getting eaten alive by bugs. On the way home we were both craving a chocolate croissant and decided to split one…we figured heck we only have a few more days here. Then we walked inside our apartment and it started raining really hard a few minutes after…perfect timing. Normally it starts pouring every time I walk out the door. I finally beat the rain!
After we got home we waited for the other girls to arrive and then Mary, Kenz and I went over to meet with Elyse to plan our Europe trip. We were only supposed to be over there for a little bit, and we ended up being up until about 2:30 in the morning planning and booking tickets for various activities. It was kind of fun though because everyone else in the apartment was up baking banana bread for church the next day. Plus we were all slap happy because it was so late and we were all sooo exhausted and tired. We were all laughing at the dumbest things.
As we were planning we found out that the two days we are in Rome are the only two days out of the month that Vatican City is closed. Just our luck. We were all so sad when we found out. We aren’t going to be able to see the Sistine Chapel or St. Peters Cathedral which are both two major sites people go to in Rome. Oh well…I guess that’s life. I started telling the girls to be optimistic and that maybe if we go walk around the city there will randomly be a guy outside of the Sistine Chapel with keys who will feel bad for us and let us in. MacKenzie made fun of me for about an hour for saying that…then she kept teasing me all night about it. Oh Kenz I love you!
After looking at our budget and how much everything is going to cost we realized that we probably aren’t going to be able to afford to eat in any of the countries we’re visiting. Haha…after we budgeted for the hostels we’re staying in, transportation and money to do the activities in each city there was pretty much nothing left. This is going to be an interesting trip.
When we got home we felt really bad because we were supposed to eat cake Annie made and have a final apartment night sitting and chatting outside. We ended up getting home way later than we thought. Annie was asleep when we got home, and there was cake waiting on the counter for us. The cake was amazing. Thanks Annie!
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: We didn’t get sick from eating mici at the branch barbeque.
I woke up this morning with Whitney’s feet in my face. Haha…we had a sleep over last night, and I guess she didn’t feel like she had enough room so she decided to turn the opposite way Annie and I were laying. Good times…
After a few of us woke up Whitney S. and Elyse decided to play a little joke on Mindy, and I decided to film it. A couple weeks ago the girls asked me for a fake tattoo that came with one of the books I was reading in The Twilight Series. It was a tattoo with the name Jacob (he is one of the main characters in the book). They wanted to tattoo it on Mindy’s forehead while she was sleeping, but they decided to do it on her upper back to be nice. So Elyse and Whitney S. carefully crept around and put it on her. She woke up immediately, but she didn’t really know what was going on. She was a bit disoriented and confused. To make a long story short we were successful in getting the tattoo on her, and I was successful in capturing it all. The footage is amazing. Mindy is so grouchy in the morning…haha…it made it even more fun to mess with her.
For the next couple of hours we did homework and then Kenz, Annie and I ran to the mall to get some last minute gifts. I got a gift for Andrei! I got him a little stuffed monkey (because I call him my little monkey since he is always climbing and running around everywhere). I also got him a little album and put some pics of me and the girls in it. Then I got a card, and I’m going to write a letter to him so he can read it later on in his life. I want him to know and understand how much I love him and how much the Lord loves him. I’m glad I’m leaving him with something from me. It gives me peace of mind and makes it easier to say goodbye for some reason.
At the mall Kenz had a little misunderstanding. I walked into a souvenir shop and noticed she was buying decorated eggs that cost 180 lei – which was pretty expensive, but I figured “heck if she wants them.” Then right after the transaction she came up to me and was like “I thought it was 18 lei for all of them, not 18 lei per egg. I’m not spending about 80 bucks on eggs!” After she told me that I immediately thought that stinks because she probably can’t get her money back. Romania doesn’t really do returns – I’ve learned that first hand. So she went back and talked to the lady and explained the misunderstanding. They said they didn’t know how to do a return (surprise, surprise) but that she could get something else for 180 lei. Kenz wasn’t happy about it, but she accepted their offer. She ended up getting 180 lei of random souvenirs…She just laughed about how much it sucked…Oh Romania…
After the mall we immediately got ready to leave for the Branch barbeque at the lake. Don’t ask me how or why, but we ended up fitting eight girls in one taxi. Whitney S. and I were in the front seat and there were six girls in the back. We were laughing the entire time. It was really awkward, and probably dangerous considering they are Romanian drivers, but it made for a humorous story?
Once we were dropped off at the cemetery, which was where we were meeting everyone to then walk down to the lake, we ended up sitting there for an hour. We were so confused about where everyone was. While we waited we got bored so the girls had me teach them a dance. I put Elyse front and center of the triangle formation and taught them some moves to a dance I made up a long time ago. They were adorable. I was laughing so hard…Oh I love those girls dearly!
After we waited continued to wait forever we called some of the Elders and discovered we were in the wrong place to meet them. We were kind of sad about it because for once we thought we were on time and even better early. We shouldn’t even try anymore. So the Elders and President Popavich had to come find us. Once they finally found us we were so far away from where the barbeque was taking place that it probably took another good half an hour to an hour to reach the barbeque at the lake…we were just laughing about how everything is so difficult – Romania.
The barbeque was fun, but for some reason I didn’t feel like running around. I did have fun talking to Mary and Alexandra #1 though. They are really cute girls. They asked me about whether or not I had a boyfriend and random things like that. Then I asked them about boys in Romania. I mentioned to them that most boys seem disrespectful towards women. They both whole heartedly agreed that it was almost impossible to find a good Romanian boy. They said they wanted to meet a nice American boy. I told them to come to America, and I’d set them up with one of my friends. They just laughed.
The rest of the barbeque was fun. I chatted with some of the sisters for a while and watched people get in water fights. I didn’t feel like being in the middle of that so I just observed everything that was going on around me. We ate mici (it’s some type of meat). It was okay …just not what I’m used to. After we ate Annie and I left pretty soon after because we were getting eaten alive by bugs. On the way home we were both craving a chocolate croissant and decided to split one…we figured heck we only have a few more days here. Then we walked inside our apartment and it started raining really hard a few minutes after…perfect timing. Normally it starts pouring every time I walk out the door. I finally beat the rain!
After we got home we waited for the other girls to arrive and then Mary, Kenz and I went over to meet with Elyse to plan our Europe trip. We were only supposed to be over there for a little bit, and we ended up being up until about 2:30 in the morning planning and booking tickets for various activities. It was kind of fun though because everyone else in the apartment was up baking banana bread for church the next day. Plus we were all slap happy because it was so late and we were all sooo exhausted and tired. We were all laughing at the dumbest things.
As we were planning we found out that the two days we are in Rome are the only two days out of the month that Vatican City is closed. Just our luck. We were all so sad when we found out. We aren’t going to be able to see the Sistine Chapel or St. Peters Cathedral which are both two major sites people go to in Rome. Oh well…I guess that’s life. I started telling the girls to be optimistic and that maybe if we go walk around the city there will randomly be a guy outside of the Sistine Chapel with keys who will feel bad for us and let us in. MacKenzie made fun of me for about an hour for saying that…then she kept teasing me all night about it. Oh Kenz I love you!
After looking at our budget and how much everything is going to cost we realized that we probably aren’t going to be able to afford to eat in any of the countries we’re visiting. Haha…after we budgeted for the hostels we’re staying in, transportation and money to do the activities in each city there was pretty much nothing left. This is going to be an interesting trip.
When we got home we felt really bad because we were supposed to eat cake Annie made and have a final apartment night sitting and chatting outside. We ended up getting home way later than we thought. Annie was asleep when we got home, and there was cake waiting on the counter for us. The cake was amazing. Thanks Annie!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Part 1 of GOODBYES...
August 8, 2008 (Friday)
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: A good, last full day with my orphans…
My stomach felt nauseous today because I woke up knowing it was my last full day with my kids. I had been feeling okay until today. I prayed that I would have a peaceful last day, and that I would be able to spend quality time with all my kids. That would have been horrible if Andrei or one of the other kids were stuck in their crib all morning. Thankfully the Lord answered my prayers.
When I got to the orphanage Whitney S. and Elyse were blowing up big workout balls. We bought them with money that was donated and gave a couple to each room as gifts. They ended up liking them. Ana tried using the kids as bowling pins with the ball so we quickly had to put it away in the other room. Oh Ana our little angel. Then Whitney S. and I gave gifts to our workers. We bought them each a scarf. They seemed like they appreciated them. They gave us a couple of chocolate bars in return…the chocolate here is so great. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I have to go back to waxy chocolate in America…hmm…
For the first hour and a half Whitney S. and I went and played with our kids in Mickey Mouse Room #1. Costy was sooo happy. I danced, held him, and swung him around. He just laughed and laughed. Then he did his usual cooing at me. For some reason as I was holding him I started feeling really emotional. I didn’t cry, but my eyes did tear up for a second. I looked over at Whitney S. and started laughing and fanning myself – I didn’t want to cry – after all I was coming back Monday to say my final goodbye. I’m just glad I’ll have Whitney S. to talk to if I’m missing my kids when I go home because she will understand. What’s even better is that she lives about a 10 second walk away from me.
After Costy I held and tickled Irina. She had that wide eyed look that I love. She was also really happy and giggly. I loved it! Sadly she did have a lot of gas though. Every time I tickled her she shot some bunnies. Whitney S. and I were cracking up.
After I held them I went outside, and Andrei was outside sitting on a bench eating a banana. He instantly smiled at me and reached his arms out for me to hold him. I’m going to miss him excruciatingly, and I think he will miss me too …Please pray for both of us…we are going to need it. Thankfully the day with him was pretty perfect. We just did the things that we normally do. I pushed him in his swing and chased him around the playground. Ana was mean to him though. When I took two steps away from the swing he was sitting in Ana jumped off the swing she was on, stopped Andrei’s swing and pinched his cheek as hard as she could. That girl…I wish they would put her with the older kids so they can at least defend themselves. I don’t really understand why they stuck them in the Mickey Mouse Room. Oh well…I guess they have a good reason. As I pushed him in the swing I kept thinking to myself how he has no idea or understanding that this was the last time I’d ever swing or play with him. I was going to be gone – and probably forever. It’s interesting how when you know you don’t have much time with someone you value every second and minute you have with them. My question is why don’t we always value every second and minute we have with our loved ones around us? We should love even the bad days, because at least we are spending them with people we care about…I guess we’re just human…dang…
Outside I also played with Valentina. I pushed her in the swing next to Andrei’s for a while. Then I let her get down and walk around. She’s so funny…she walks with her upper body ahead of her lower body and after a few steps she almost always falls. It’s hilarious. Then she just laughs. I also played with Iulia as I sat and pushed Andrei in his swing. Iulia started crying so I just grabbed a piece of plastic for her to play with, and she was perfectly content. I love that she loves the feel and sound of random plastic bags, wrappers, etc. So random, but it is what makes Iulia unique!
I also cuddled Vali. While we were outside Vali started freaking out and crying uncontrollably. He had his arms reached up, and he was pulling on my shirt so I held and calmed him down. He just wanted to be held…Sometimes I wonder if he randomly thinks back to a bad experience. He will be fine one minute and then start sobbing all of a sudden.
After we played outside for a while we went inside and I played with Maria. Maria scooted around the floor wherever I went as usual. Then I cuddled her and she kicked and flailed her legs uncontrollably like she always does. I love that girl!
As we left I kept thanking the Lord for a good, last full day. I needed that in order to feel closure. Even Ana and Daniela didn’t bother us too much…just a little. I got to play with all my kids and do the normal things I do with them ever day. Some how there is just comfort in being able to spend my last full day with them doing the normal simple things. I also made sure I told every single one of them that I loved them. On Monday Whitney S. and I are going to go and stay for about half an hour to an hour and simply say goodbye…I have a feeling I will be balling. Thinking about saying goodbye for the last time makes me tear up as I write this. What am I going to do when it’s the real thing?
In between the orphanage and apartments Kenz ran with me to a little shop that sells painted eggs, and I bought some. Painted eggs are classic Romania. They take so much talent, precision, detail and patience to make. I’m excited to bring them home. They are beautiful.
In the afternoon Kenz, Mary, Elyse and I headed to the apartments. We planned to have a dance party with 3rd and 7th floor for our last visit. It ended up being a blast – I couldn’t think of any better way to say goodbye! We put together a play list before we went and danced our hearts out with our kids. We were all drenched in sweat. At the third floor we danced our last song to I Hope You Dance By Lee Ann Womack and each picked a partner. My partner was Cosmina. She is such a cutie….Then we said goodbye…forever.
At 7th floor apartments the kids are all older and knew how to dance so it was even more fun. The second I walked in Mirel instantly ran to me and did his arm flapping thing. Then when we turned the music on Laura and Catalina went crazy. It was hilarious. They were shimmying and doing all kinds of crazy dance moves. So adorable. We didn’t end up getting to dance to our slow song because the worker decided to have dinner early, but at least we got to dance for a little while. Then we said goodbye…forever. I really hate goodbyes – I need to go with Whitney’s motto. She always says “It’s not goodbye it’s a see you later.”
As we left I thanked Heavenly Father for a good ending day with the kids at the apartments. The workers even let us take pictures with them which made me happy. At least I will have something to remember them by. We aren’t really supposed to take pics, but they said we could so we didn’t question it.
Immediately after we got home we had to get ready to meet Mario for dinner – we wanted to take her out to eat and giver her a gift we got her in order to let her know how much we appreciate her for everything she has done. As we were getting ready Mindy informed me that the kids at the hospital asked where I was – apparently they missed my dance moves. She told them I would be ready to dance Monday for them (our last day at the hospital). Then since I wasn’t there today because I went to the apartments she said she had all the children gather around and watch the video of me dancing the other day. According to Mindy they were still quite amused…thanks Mindy – thanks!
As we got on the tram to go to the restaurant somehow Mary and Annie didn’t get on the tram with the rest of us. Luckily they ended up finding us – they were about 45 minutes late though. I guess they got lost. They both arrived at dinner and were like “Well we’ve memorized all of Iasi.” That’s awesome considering we are leaving in four days. Haha…we just laughed at them.
Dinner was nice and relaxing – we went to the restaurant that Nicu (member of the bishopric at church) sings at. We just sat outside and enjoyed sitting down and breathing. All of us girls were exhausted from the day. There was a lot of physical, emotional and mental stress we had been through today.
During dinner I asked Mario if one girl out of the group were to marry a Romanian who she thought it would be. (I was hoping that she would pick anyone besides me because I’m paranoid since Ionut said that he cursed me to marry a Romanian. I don’t really believe him, but I was looking for some type of alternative opinion.) Of course Mario ended up picking me. In my mind I was like “dang!” When I asked her why she said “There is something about you – you are sticky.” I looked at her with a confused look, and she said that people are drawn to me – especially boys - and that I have a big smile. I guess that was a compliment…I don’t know if I agreed with it, but I just laughed and said “oh..”
During dinner I was chosen to present Mario’s gift – we bought her a beautiful, silver, cross necklace for her (she is Greek Orthodox). She loved it! She just kept saying “Guys you weren’t supposed to do that! I know that you are broke!” Then we continued with “We don’t care. We appreciate everything you have done for us!” She also gave me a good suggestion for a gift for Andrei which I appreciated. She said that if I buy a photo album and put pictures in it of me that she will personally make sure the workers keep it for him. That way she said when other girls come that fall in love with him they too can put a picture of themselves so he knows that he was loved and cared about by so many. Along with the pictures I’m going to write a note to him about how much he has meant to me. Hopefully someday he’ll get it…
Before Mario left she gave us the cutest little speech. In her most sincere voice she told us how we had been eight angels for three and a half months to the children we worked with and how she didn’t think we needed to go on a mission for our church because this mission we had been on was enough. Then she kept saying “You guys are so good and natural with the kids. I just don’t know where it comes from.” I laughed because she wouldn’t state that the reason we are so good with the kids is because of the Lord’s help and guidance, but she did look up in the sky as she kept saying that over and over. She mentioned to us that she has seen the medical students in the hospital and noticed the contrast in how we deal with the kids and how they do. She said they barely touch the kids and treat them like a subject. She said we touch, love, cuddle and care for them no matter what disabilities they have or whether or not they have scabies (we laughed about that one). She said we had done good work and that we should be proud of ourselves. She’s right. We have done good, and we have improved the quality of life for the kids we’ve worked with. That was what we came here to do, and we’ve done it! It feels so good!
By the time we got back home from dinner it was late, and we were all exhausted. However we had planned for the other apartment to come over for a sleepover so they did. We didn’t really do much except write in our journals, but we always enjoy each other’s company. No complaints here.
August 7, 2008 (Thursday)
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: We received the proper approval necessary in order to stay in Romania without technically having a Visa…
This morning we had to go to the Visa office with Mario. We stayed longer than we were allowed to stay in Romania without having a Visa – so we had to ask for an extension and get it approved. We brought some chocolates to thank them for being so nice and not charging us an outrageous fee. Mario said that in Romania when someone does something nice for you that they don’t have to do you always get them something. In essence, bribery works well here…. I’m glad in this case! Everything went smoothly. We were not kicked out of Romania early, and it was a fairly quick and painless process – even humorous. While we were there they had to take our picture for their files and apparently we aren’t supposed to smile. The first time I smiled he told me not to smile so big – just a little smile - so I did. Then he said my smile was still too big so he tried several more times – I thought I was smiling small! The guys working with us thought it was hilarious that I couldn’t smile small. Finally he told me to keep my mouth shut when I smiled – so I did, but I was not satisfied with the picture. I asked him why we couldn’t smile and he replied “because you’re not in America.” I was like “okay…” After seven pictures they finally settled on a “half smile.” The girls were cracking up when the guy told them how many tries it took for me not to smile…oh well…Romania is so strange.
By the time we got to the orphanage from the Visa office we only had about an hour and a half left to play with our kiddos. Andrei was inside sleeping when I arrived, but lucky for me our “two little angels” were outside running around. Ana was on one today. She still wasn’t as bad as earlier this week, but she kept biting me. Every time she did I would push her away, ignore her, and say “nu frumos nu fetele.” I probably said that phrase a thousand times this morning.
Vlad’s mom came to visit him today, and she was standing there as Ana came up from behind and bit my back and said, “She doesn’t do it maliciously – I’ve watched her, and she really likes you…she will walk around but she always comes back to you.” I wanted to tell her that she hasn’t seen half of the “non-malicious”stuff she has done to us. Then in my mind I kept thinking “Great…she likes me that’s wonderful!” Whitney S. agreed with Vlad’s mother’s comment and she said “She didn’t bother me today at all. I think she does like you.” Apparently the more she likes you the more she comes around, and the more she hurts you. Oh I’m so lucky to be her favorite! Haha…at least I only have one more full day. Today I noticed whatever child I was giving attention to she would hurt. My poor kids. She pinched Maria really hard when I was holding her, and then she pinched Alex really hard when I was walking around with him outside. I told the workers, and she was put in timeout. What’s sad is that Ana will never be able to form a relationship with anyone. Whitney S. and I read a book that talked about street kids and sociopaths. She seems to have the characteristics of one.
Outside Maria was hilarious – she does not like Ana, and I don’t blame her. I took Maria out of her chair to hold her, and Ana came and sat in Maria’s chair next to me. The entire time Maria kept grabbing at her chair and trying to push Ana out of it. She did not want her in her chair. It was pretty funny…haha…
Andrei was the most adorable little angel today. Once he got up from his nap he just cuddled with me in my arms. He rarely lays in my arms still (normally he’s the biggest wiggler), but he did for a while today. He just laid in my arms like how you would hold a baby and looked up at me and smiled and played with his toys – which happened to be dolls…haha... It was precious. I am going to miss that boy so much! He is my little angel. I just hope Heavenly Father takes good care of him for me – especially with the two girls around.
In between the orphanage and hospital a bunch of us girls went to Carrefour to shop. Carrefour is probably the largest grocery store in Romania – it reminded me of a Wal-Mart but not quite as big. Kenz kept saying how she felt like she was home. I agreed with her to a certain extent. We decided to go look around and buy our final groceries there. I bought a ton of chocolate bars to take home with me so everyone can taste them. I’m pretty excited about them. Then Kenz and I looked around for decorated eggs and other souvenirs, but we didn’t find anything good. I also looked for a necklace for Andrei. I can’t seem to find a plain silver necklace anywhere – I think I might end up getting him a stuffed horse. His favorite toy in the orphanage is his little toy horse he rides on.
We ended up taking some time at Carrefour so we all got back a little late for the hospital. Once we got to the hospital we only had an hour and a half left – just enough to have a birthday party for Marion. While we were waiting for the rest of the girls to arrive for the birthday party we were all in the room Marius used to stay in before he left for the United States…(I’m not sure if I mentioned that, but he left Monday. We are all so excited for him). Because we chatted with Marius so much we became friends with the kids in that room. Then all of a sudden the girls started telling all the kids how I was such a good dancer and they all started exclaiming that I had to dance – they even turned music on. I figured what the heck and got my groove on. The girls and kids were cracking up, and when I stopped dancing I realized that half the people down the hall were stopped in their tracks watching me (there are windows in between every room which allow you to see anything and everything that was going on). Some were smiling and some just looked confused – but I didn’t care, I just laughed and kept going…the kids loved it and that’s why I’m here. Luckily Mindy got it on tape…thank you Mindy thank you.
Once I finished dancing Whitney S. and Elyse arrived for Marion’s birthday party. They had planned the entire thing. They bought Marion a Mickey Mouse birthday cake, juice, and all the utensils needed to complete the party. Because we all got to the hospital before Whitney S. and Elyse did we found out before them that one of the nurses had taken Marion home for his birthday. We tried calling Elyse and Whitney S. to tell them but it was too late…When Whitney S. came in we told her the bad news. Then we asked where Elyse was and Whitney S. sadly replied “She is outside setting up for the birthday party.” As you can imagine Elyse and Whitney S. were very distraught. They bought and brought all the stuff needed to make Marion’s 2nd birthday amazing, and he wasn’t there to share in it with them. They were both sad and disappointed which is completely understandable. We all felt so bad that they had put so much effort into it…but there was nothing we could do. Then because they were distraught and they had already set up for the party, they decided we would still have a birthday party without him. When we walked outside Elyse and Whitney S. were sitting on the ramp where they had the cake sat up with the saddest looks on their face. We ended up singing Happy Birthday in Romanian to Marion while Elyse held a picture up of Marion. After the song we cut cake and started eating it. That’s when one of the glasses of juice spilled and Elyse exclaimed “This party sucks!” and started crying. It was the straw that broke the camels back. Then Whitney S. started crying…it was so sad…Then they tried to make me dance for them – Mindy said it would make them feel better, but I refused…sorry girls sorry…I had already made a fool out of myself enough for the day.
After Marion’s Birthday party Annie and I went and played with Mihait. He was his adorable self. We played with stickers for a while. We ended up putting them all over his shirt and face. Then all of a sudden about seven or eight people walked into the room. It’s funny, but we automatically attract moms and kids in the other rooms. They just sat and watched us play for a while. Then I gave some of the other kids stickers. I think they had a good time!
On the way home from the hospital we all suddenly felt something wet on our arm and realized that someone had spit on us as they were driving by. SO RUDE! Then we had multiple men yell and hollar at us…Romanian men are pigs…they should oink instead of speak…
The rest of the night was uneventful. I had to finish my write ups about all my kids. They took a lot of time, but it was good to get them all done. I love my kids! I’m going to miss them a ton!
Friday, August 8, 2008
ENLIGHTENMENT!
August 6, 2008 (Wednesday)
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: The Lord helped me figure out how to handle our two new girls! He is aware…
This morning I was dreading going to the orphanage. I have been praying the last couple of days that I will know how to handle the two girls with love – even though they are abusive towards everyone around them. I prayed the entire walk there that everything would be okay…the last two days have been miserable.
As we got changed into our scrubs at the orphanage I started laughing and was like “I feel like I should go into the room with the girls with dark paint on my face and army gear.” I felt like I was gearing up to go battle – except I wasn’t going to fight just get beat up on.
We made our way upstairs and everyone was inside because it rained yesterday. Whitney S. and I decided to go to the first Mickey Mouse room because we didn’t get to spend a lot of time with them the last couple of days. Luckily the two girls were in the other room so it was nice and peaceful. I just played with Irina, Constantine and Valentina. I swung Constantine in the air and boy did he love it! He was giggling and smiling so big. Then I practiced jumping with Vali again…she is getting better at pushing off the ground, but she still doesn’t exactly understand the concept of jumping…I sure wish she would jump on her own for me at least once before I leave…grrr…
While we were in the first room Ana kept peeking her head around and giving me an evil smile as if to say “I’m ready for you – just wait until you get in here.” However, somehow I immediately knew how to handle the situation – with Heavenly Father’s enlightenment. When she stuck her head around the corner and looked at me I waved and smiled at her as big and cheesy as I could (she hadn’t done anything mean yet so I wanted to give her positive attention). She persisted in peaking her head around the corner, and each time I did the same thing. I made my hello as big and extravagant as possible so that when she was bad I could turn and ignore her and make an extremely stark contrast. I wanted her to understand that if she is nice we will play with her, but the second she is mean we will ignore her and pay no attention to her. It ended up working! I realized I needed to be more black and white in my actions than yesterday. Everything she did that was nice or good I overemphasized it and made it a huge deal…then everything she did that was mean received no response. Although she still did a few pinches she was much much much better than yesterday. I even got her dancing and playing ball with me. Then she sat by me for a while, and I cuddled her and scratched her back. Her behavior was a huge improvement from yesterday. At least I wasn’t punched, kicked, bit, stomped on, and hit with blunt objects – only pinched…Whitney S. and I were pretty proud of ourselves today.
The rest of the kids in the room were really well behaved today. Maria was so cute today – she really wanted to be cuddled. She can’t walk, but she can scoot…whenever I got up to walk she would follow me around the room and scoot to wherever I was and pull at my legs. At one point I was dancing with Ana and she pulled on my pants so hard that they almost came off. I was like “excuse me!” Haha…Then Andrei was his cute usual self. I got him to dance for a little bit. It’s so adorable. He’s doing really well on his signs. I feel pretty good about the fact that he didn’t know any sign language when I got here and now he knows several signs…some things I have taught him have stuck! Yes!
At the hospital the sister missionaries joined us today. Sora Betham came with Annie and I. We went and played with Mihait. He is a four year old orphan boy and dang is he cute. He is just a petite little guy with big brown eyes, pale skin and purple fingers and toes. Annie gets to visit him everyday and she adores him, and he adores her. I have to go to the apartments a couple times a week, but I like to see him when I can. Today we had Sora Betham ask the nurse why Mihait is in the hospital and apparently it’s because he needs plasma and if he doesn’t get it he’s going to die. Annie asked if Americans were able to donate plasma – apparently not. Annie and I were talking about how frustrating it is that Romania is the way it is. In America plasma is so easy to get it’s ridiculous. In Provo alone half the student body sells their plasma because they get money. We think the reason people don’t donate it as much in Romania is because they probably don’t get paid for it – if they did half the country would be standing in line every day all day to donate. It’s just frustrating that a little boy could die over something that is so easily treated in America…ahhh! He is seriously the cutest little boy! When Sora Betham was translating for us what he said it was so cute…he just has the cutest personality. At one point she went to ask him a question and he was like “what do you want?” (As if to say I’m busy playing with my little cars why are you bugging me.) We were all laughing pretty hard.
Later we visited Florine and Alexandra and took them outside. I promised Florine I would get him a treat for his birthday because it is coming up – so I did. That little stinker was such a pill though. I told him he could get a small treat, and he was going for things that cost 10 and 15 lei in the store. That boy will try and take advantage if you let him. After saying “no” to several things he finally settled on a chocolate cake from the bakery section and a soda. I was like “Florine be grateful!” One thing I’ve learned about Romanians is that if you are nice they usually take advantage so you have to be careful…really careful…
Tonight was my last time to cook for group dinner. I made lasagna from scratch, corn on the cob and franzela with butter. It was pretty good except the corn was hard for some reason – I think I got bad corn from the piata…oh well I tried…
For the rest of the evening I spent my time doing write ups on my kids. At the end of every semester we are required to write a page or two on each kid about their likes, dislikes, development, things you have been working with and other useful bits of information for the next group. That way the girls don’t have to start at square one when we’ve already built up to square 10. We have a binder that has all the write ups and pictures of each kid. They are very helpful. I had a lot of fun writing my write ups tonight. They took a while, but thinking about some of the silly quirks, experiences or random things they like to do made me laugh. Even though I’m going to miss them a great deal I’ve felt more calm and okay with leaving this week than I have the entire semester which is strange considering it’s my last week. The blessing the elders gave me has helped.
To end the night I had an unwanted visitor in my bed. As I was doing my write ups I looked over and all of a sudden I saw a baby roach sitting in the place Annie usually sleeps. I was like – not okay! So I hollered for Annie and she lifted our sheets so it would get out of the crack. Then I scooped it up with my flip flop and flung it out the window! We both cheered and laughed once it was gone…SICK SICK SICK! MacKenzie found one in her bed the other day. We are going to have to spray for roaches again – they must be making babies.
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: The Lord helped me figure out how to handle our two new girls! He is aware…
This morning I was dreading going to the orphanage. I have been praying the last couple of days that I will know how to handle the two girls with love – even though they are abusive towards everyone around them. I prayed the entire walk there that everything would be okay…the last two days have been miserable.
As we got changed into our scrubs at the orphanage I started laughing and was like “I feel like I should go into the room with the girls with dark paint on my face and army gear.” I felt like I was gearing up to go battle – except I wasn’t going to fight just get beat up on.
We made our way upstairs and everyone was inside because it rained yesterday. Whitney S. and I decided to go to the first Mickey Mouse room because we didn’t get to spend a lot of time with them the last couple of days. Luckily the two girls were in the other room so it was nice and peaceful. I just played with Irina, Constantine and Valentina. I swung Constantine in the air and boy did he love it! He was giggling and smiling so big. Then I practiced jumping with Vali again…she is getting better at pushing off the ground, but she still doesn’t exactly understand the concept of jumping…I sure wish she would jump on her own for me at least once before I leave…grrr…
While we were in the first room Ana kept peeking her head around and giving me an evil smile as if to say “I’m ready for you – just wait until you get in here.” However, somehow I immediately knew how to handle the situation – with Heavenly Father’s enlightenment. When she stuck her head around the corner and looked at me I waved and smiled at her as big and cheesy as I could (she hadn’t done anything mean yet so I wanted to give her positive attention). She persisted in peaking her head around the corner, and each time I did the same thing. I made my hello as big and extravagant as possible so that when she was bad I could turn and ignore her and make an extremely stark contrast. I wanted her to understand that if she is nice we will play with her, but the second she is mean we will ignore her and pay no attention to her. It ended up working! I realized I needed to be more black and white in my actions than yesterday. Everything she did that was nice or good I overemphasized it and made it a huge deal…then everything she did that was mean received no response. Although she still did a few pinches she was much much much better than yesterday. I even got her dancing and playing ball with me. Then she sat by me for a while, and I cuddled her and scratched her back. Her behavior was a huge improvement from yesterday. At least I wasn’t punched, kicked, bit, stomped on, and hit with blunt objects – only pinched…Whitney S. and I were pretty proud of ourselves today.
The rest of the kids in the room were really well behaved today. Maria was so cute today – she really wanted to be cuddled. She can’t walk, but she can scoot…whenever I got up to walk she would follow me around the room and scoot to wherever I was and pull at my legs. At one point I was dancing with Ana and she pulled on my pants so hard that they almost came off. I was like “excuse me!” Haha…Then Andrei was his cute usual self. I got him to dance for a little bit. It’s so adorable. He’s doing really well on his signs. I feel pretty good about the fact that he didn’t know any sign language when I got here and now he knows several signs…some things I have taught him have stuck! Yes!
At the hospital the sister missionaries joined us today. Sora Betham came with Annie and I. We went and played with Mihait. He is a four year old orphan boy and dang is he cute. He is just a petite little guy with big brown eyes, pale skin and purple fingers and toes. Annie gets to visit him everyday and she adores him, and he adores her. I have to go to the apartments a couple times a week, but I like to see him when I can. Today we had Sora Betham ask the nurse why Mihait is in the hospital and apparently it’s because he needs plasma and if he doesn’t get it he’s going to die. Annie asked if Americans were able to donate plasma – apparently not. Annie and I were talking about how frustrating it is that Romania is the way it is. In America plasma is so easy to get it’s ridiculous. In Provo alone half the student body sells their plasma because they get money. We think the reason people don’t donate it as much in Romania is because they probably don’t get paid for it – if they did half the country would be standing in line every day all day to donate. It’s just frustrating that a little boy could die over something that is so easily treated in America…ahhh! He is seriously the cutest little boy! When Sora Betham was translating for us what he said it was so cute…he just has the cutest personality. At one point she went to ask him a question and he was like “what do you want?” (As if to say I’m busy playing with my little cars why are you bugging me.) We were all laughing pretty hard.
Later we visited Florine and Alexandra and took them outside. I promised Florine I would get him a treat for his birthday because it is coming up – so I did. That little stinker was such a pill though. I told him he could get a small treat, and he was going for things that cost 10 and 15 lei in the store. That boy will try and take advantage if you let him. After saying “no” to several things he finally settled on a chocolate cake from the bakery section and a soda. I was like “Florine be grateful!” One thing I’ve learned about Romanians is that if you are nice they usually take advantage so you have to be careful…really careful…
Tonight was my last time to cook for group dinner. I made lasagna from scratch, corn on the cob and franzela with butter. It was pretty good except the corn was hard for some reason – I think I got bad corn from the piata…oh well I tried…
For the rest of the evening I spent my time doing write ups on my kids. At the end of every semester we are required to write a page or two on each kid about their likes, dislikes, development, things you have been working with and other useful bits of information for the next group. That way the girls don’t have to start at square one when we’ve already built up to square 10. We have a binder that has all the write ups and pictures of each kid. They are very helpful. I had a lot of fun writing my write ups tonight. They took a while, but thinking about some of the silly quirks, experiences or random things they like to do made me laugh. Even though I’m going to miss them a great deal I’ve felt more calm and okay with leaving this week than I have the entire semester which is strange considering it’s my last week. The blessing the elders gave me has helped.
To end the night I had an unwanted visitor in my bed. As I was doing my write ups I looked over and all of a sudden I saw a baby roach sitting in the place Annie usually sleeps. I was like – not okay! So I hollered for Annie and she lifted our sheets so it would get out of the crack. Then I scooped it up with my flip flop and flung it out the window! We both cheered and laughed once it was gone…SICK SICK SICK! MacKenzie found one in her bed the other day. We are going to have to spray for roaches again – they must be making babies.
August 5, 2008 (Tuesday)
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: Coming to understand how amazing Christ was for loving those who despitefully used and persecuted him…
Oh life was a joy today – not…We tried not responding to our two terrors, but it wasn’t without a lot of pain. Daniela was really good today (she’s usually only bad if Ana comes around), but Ana was her usual horrible self. Ana managed to stomp on my hand three times in a row, bite, kick, hit, grab, throw objects, and hit me with a foot long plastic rattle with beads in it as hard as she could in the middle of my back. I kept trying to tell myself I love her over and over again. She did stuff to Whitney S. as well…it was just a fun day. What was frustrating was that she’d do it every time the worker turned their back so they wouldn’t know…evil…After she didn’t get a reaction she would eventually stop, but then she’d come up with something else to try. Elyse came into the room for a while and the same thing happened to her – she was terrorized. For some reason I guess Ana has learned that we won’t beat the crap out of her so she thinks she can get away with it. She listens obediently to the workers… When Ana was nice today we gave her attention, but then the second she started with her bad behavior we ignored her. She hit some of the kids a couple of times and when she did that we would tell a worker, but they didn’t really do anything. She does her attacks constantly – yet there is no reason for them…Today made me appreciate how amazing Christ was for what he went through. He prayed for those who cruelly used and persecuted him…It’s hard, but I’m trying really hard to exemplify charity like Christ did…
Andrei was whiny again today. I’ve been praying that I would have an easy time leaving my kids – I think Heavenly Father is answering my prayers. My final week has been miserable to the point I don’t get upset when I think about leaving. Because of the two girls I have dreaded going to the orphanage… getting beat up isn’t fun…the only comforting feeling is that at least they are taking the majority of their aggression out on us and not our kids.
The moments I wasn’t terrorized – which were far and in between - I held me kids. I pushed Andrei in the swing for a while, and I held Irina outside on the ground. She loved it. Maria was in her bed most of the day. I guess she didn’t sleep well last night, and I’m not sure why…?
In the afternoon I went to the apartments. Everything was pretty regular. Costica was hilarious. He will imitate any face you make. We are so amused by just sitting there and making faces at him, and he loves it! We get a kick out of it. As for poor Mirel, he is always getting pushed around, and he never does anything to retaliate. I’ve decided that if you want to survive in an orphanage you have to fight back…no wonder most of the kids are so brutal…they don’t really have any other choice…
For the rest of the evening we ate dinner and went to the internet café to research our Europe trip. This is taking a lot of time. I just hope we can get everything planned out decently well. There are so many things to do in Paris…it’s crazy! I’m feeling a little stressed about our trip, but I’m sure it will end up being fun.
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: Coming to understand how amazing Christ was for loving those who despitefully used and persecuted him…
Oh life was a joy today – not…We tried not responding to our two terrors, but it wasn’t without a lot of pain. Daniela was really good today (she’s usually only bad if Ana comes around), but Ana was her usual horrible self. Ana managed to stomp on my hand three times in a row, bite, kick, hit, grab, throw objects, and hit me with a foot long plastic rattle with beads in it as hard as she could in the middle of my back. I kept trying to tell myself I love her over and over again. She did stuff to Whitney S. as well…it was just a fun day. What was frustrating was that she’d do it every time the worker turned their back so they wouldn’t know…evil…After she didn’t get a reaction she would eventually stop, but then she’d come up with something else to try. Elyse came into the room for a while and the same thing happened to her – she was terrorized. For some reason I guess Ana has learned that we won’t beat the crap out of her so she thinks she can get away with it. She listens obediently to the workers… When Ana was nice today we gave her attention, but then the second she started with her bad behavior we ignored her. She hit some of the kids a couple of times and when she did that we would tell a worker, but they didn’t really do anything. She does her attacks constantly – yet there is no reason for them…Today made me appreciate how amazing Christ was for what he went through. He prayed for those who cruelly used and persecuted him…It’s hard, but I’m trying really hard to exemplify charity like Christ did…
Andrei was whiny again today. I’ve been praying that I would have an easy time leaving my kids – I think Heavenly Father is answering my prayers. My final week has been miserable to the point I don’t get upset when I think about leaving. Because of the two girls I have dreaded going to the orphanage… getting beat up isn’t fun…the only comforting feeling is that at least they are taking the majority of their aggression out on us and not our kids.
The moments I wasn’t terrorized – which were far and in between - I held me kids. I pushed Andrei in the swing for a while, and I held Irina outside on the ground. She loved it. Maria was in her bed most of the day. I guess she didn’t sleep well last night, and I’m not sure why…?
In the afternoon I went to the apartments. Everything was pretty regular. Costica was hilarious. He will imitate any face you make. We are so amused by just sitting there and making faces at him, and he loves it! We get a kick out of it. As for poor Mirel, he is always getting pushed around, and he never does anything to retaliate. I’ve decided that if you want to survive in an orphanage you have to fight back…no wonder most of the kids are so brutal…they don’t really have any other choice…
For the rest of the evening we ate dinner and went to the internet café to research our Europe trip. This is taking a lot of time. I just hope we can get everything planned out decently well. There are so many things to do in Paris…it’s crazy! I’m feeling a little stressed about our trip, but I’m sure it will end up being fun.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
August 4, 2008 (Monday)
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: Blessing of comfort on returning home…
Wow the heat isn’t dying down…I haven’t felt like I’ve been able to get cool for a few days now. Waking up early and working out didn’t help the situation any. It has definitely been a very warm couple of days. Quite miserable actually.
Today was pretty much a bad day all around. Andrei was really really whiney, Maria was crying and our two new girls were horrid – I do not use that term loosely. When we walked in today several of our kids had bruises and scratches on their faces – especially Vlad and Maria - which we can pretty much assume came from the “two girls.” They are malicious. Ana is seven and Daniela is eight. Thank goodness they will be going back to the apartments they were staying at soon – apparently they are remodeling the apartments and that is why they are at the orphanage.
The second we arrived the girls – especially Ana would come up and pinch our arm randomly and run away, or stomp on Whitney’s foot or blatantly kick one of the kids. I ended up holding Ana in timeout three times where she persistently tried to bite, head butt, kick, etc. After three times in time out Ana behaved for me (or that’s what I thought). After she calmed down I tried to show her that I still cared about her by playing with the toys and scratching her back. However because Ana was calm Daniela decided to make some commotion. Daniela hit Ana in the nose and gave her a nose bleed. Then I had to hold Daniela in time out while we tried to stop Ana’s nose bleed. Soon after the nose bleed Ana decided to be naughty again. I wish the two were separated because they play off one another. At one point the most disturbing thing happened – repulsive enough it’s not appropriate to write about it on my blog...All I can is that these girls have definitely been abused in every way. Then as we were about to go upstairs Ana kicked Vlad and Whitney S. so I put her in time out again.
As we went in the elevator to go upstairs I had Irina in her wheel chair, and the two girls in the elevator with me – by myself. The second the doors closed the girls started jumping up and down and banging on the mirrors. Then when we stepped out of the elevator I went to push Irina to the room and Ana pushed me as hard as she could. Then immediately after she pushed Daniela as hard as she could into the glass door and dashed off. I ran after her, and I was pretty mad. I grabbed her arm as firmly as I could and made her come to the room and held her in time out once again. Of course the workers never saw anything she did because they don’t misbehave if they are looking…so I think they were confused as to why she was in time out again. By the time I left I was exhausted, worn out, angry and scared for my kids. They could easily hurt my kids, and they wouldn’t even be able to put up a fight. What’s worse is that I wonder if they would ever try to sexually abuse some of the smaller kids…it makes me sick to think about.
In between the orphanage and apartments I was really agitated about the entire day. I was angry, and I didn’t feel like I was able to feel promptings of the spirit because I was so upset with them. I said a prayer that I will be able to know how to handle them with love – I don’t enjoy holding them down in time out – but what else do you do when they’re hitting, kicking, biting, tearing and molesting?
Whitney S. and I decided to ask Elyse about how to handle them. She has had a sister with autism her entire life and knows how to deal with kids like the two girls. Elyse said that we can’t give them a reaction – even if they hurt us. She said that special needs kids don’t understand “right” and “wrong,” but “reaction” or “no reaction.” She said if they start hitting one of our kids we need to move our kids away from them, but not give them a reaction. If they follow us as we move one of our kids away from them then we need to put ourselves in between them and the child they’re hitting so we get the beating. So tomorrow Whitney S. and I are going to try not reacting to see if that works any better than our tactics today…Supposedly they are supposed to eventually stop – I just hope it’s sooner than later. However we may come back with lots of bruises. Hopefully not too much damage will be done though…to be honest these girls are making me dread going to the orphanage. I’m just glad they didn’t show up until our last week.
At the hospital we visited Alexandra and Florine and took them outside. It was a little bit crazy…but we managed. Florine’s wheel chair kept breaking. Every time we went over a crack the wheel would fall off. Luckily Radu (teenage boy from the branch) came, and he was able to help us put the wheel back on again. After Alexandra and Florine we visited some of the other floors and there were a couple babies. He held one of the babies and it was one of the cutest/funniest things I’ve seen. Guys are sooo awkward when they hold babies. It’s like they are too afraid to hold them close or afraid to move them out of fear they will break. I love watching guys with babies…funny funny funny…awkward awkward awkward.
After the hospital Whitney S. and I got out gifts ready for our workers that we are going to give them on Friday. We bought them each a scarf to match their personality. Hopefully they like them. Whit and I debated for a while on which scarf should go with which person. We’re such girls…
At FHE I had to give the spiritual thought – so I decided to base the topic off of a talk by James E. Faust called The Power to Change. I think making ourselves better each day is the entire point of this life – so I thought that would be a good lesson. For the lesson I had each person list a quality they most admire in people they know. Then after we were done writing them on the board I had them pick out the quality that they needed the most improvement on, and I asked them to write down how they were going to accomplish improving that particular characteristic about themselves in the near future. I gave them a few minutes to write with church music playing and concluded with quotes from his talk.
When Annie and I got home from Family Home Evening we had a little surprise. In the kitchen a ton of food and random objects were thrown on the floor. and there were blobs of what looked like a mixture of chocolate and vanilla ice cream. On the counter we noticed a pile of dark syrup that had been spilt – it was our vanilla flavoring that had been knocked over on the shelf above and drizzled down onto our counter. Coming from the puddle were little bird tracks that stood out in perfect contrast from the white counter. After we examined the kitchen a little more we found three bird feathers. One was on our table, one was in a pan of leftover food and one was on our window seal. It made a mess for us to clean up…but we thought that was pretty funny.
Soon after we got home the Elders came over and translated some notes we had and gave us a blessing of comfort as we returned home. They gave the other apartment full of girls a blessing Sunday night and our apartment them tonight. Elder Armstrong gave me my blessing, and I was surprised about some of the things that were emphasized. The majority of my blessing strongly emphasized following the promptings of the spirit when I get home…so I can be led down the right path. Annie wrote down our blessings for us as they said them so we could keep them – they are going to be really nice to have.
Armstrong also said that every once in a while when he places his hands on people’s heads it is as if for a glimpse the Lord allows him to see a glimpse of how much he loves and cares about them. Then he continued with “it’s really cool to be able to see that.”
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: Blessing of comfort on returning home…
Wow the heat isn’t dying down…I haven’t felt like I’ve been able to get cool for a few days now. Waking up early and working out didn’t help the situation any. It has definitely been a very warm couple of days. Quite miserable actually.
Today was pretty much a bad day all around. Andrei was really really whiney, Maria was crying and our two new girls were horrid – I do not use that term loosely. When we walked in today several of our kids had bruises and scratches on their faces – especially Vlad and Maria - which we can pretty much assume came from the “two girls.” They are malicious. Ana is seven and Daniela is eight. Thank goodness they will be going back to the apartments they were staying at soon – apparently they are remodeling the apartments and that is why they are at the orphanage.
The second we arrived the girls – especially Ana would come up and pinch our arm randomly and run away, or stomp on Whitney’s foot or blatantly kick one of the kids. I ended up holding Ana in timeout three times where she persistently tried to bite, head butt, kick, etc. After three times in time out Ana behaved for me (or that’s what I thought). After she calmed down I tried to show her that I still cared about her by playing with the toys and scratching her back. However because Ana was calm Daniela decided to make some commotion. Daniela hit Ana in the nose and gave her a nose bleed. Then I had to hold Daniela in time out while we tried to stop Ana’s nose bleed. Soon after the nose bleed Ana decided to be naughty again. I wish the two were separated because they play off one another. At one point the most disturbing thing happened – repulsive enough it’s not appropriate to write about it on my blog...All I can is that these girls have definitely been abused in every way. Then as we were about to go upstairs Ana kicked Vlad and Whitney S. so I put her in time out again.
As we went in the elevator to go upstairs I had Irina in her wheel chair, and the two girls in the elevator with me – by myself. The second the doors closed the girls started jumping up and down and banging on the mirrors. Then when we stepped out of the elevator I went to push Irina to the room and Ana pushed me as hard as she could. Then immediately after she pushed Daniela as hard as she could into the glass door and dashed off. I ran after her, and I was pretty mad. I grabbed her arm as firmly as I could and made her come to the room and held her in time out once again. Of course the workers never saw anything she did because they don’t misbehave if they are looking…so I think they were confused as to why she was in time out again. By the time I left I was exhausted, worn out, angry and scared for my kids. They could easily hurt my kids, and they wouldn’t even be able to put up a fight. What’s worse is that I wonder if they would ever try to sexually abuse some of the smaller kids…it makes me sick to think about.
In between the orphanage and apartments I was really agitated about the entire day. I was angry, and I didn’t feel like I was able to feel promptings of the spirit because I was so upset with them. I said a prayer that I will be able to know how to handle them with love – I don’t enjoy holding them down in time out – but what else do you do when they’re hitting, kicking, biting, tearing and molesting?
Whitney S. and I decided to ask Elyse about how to handle them. She has had a sister with autism her entire life and knows how to deal with kids like the two girls. Elyse said that we can’t give them a reaction – even if they hurt us. She said that special needs kids don’t understand “right” and “wrong,” but “reaction” or “no reaction.” She said if they start hitting one of our kids we need to move our kids away from them, but not give them a reaction. If they follow us as we move one of our kids away from them then we need to put ourselves in between them and the child they’re hitting so we get the beating. So tomorrow Whitney S. and I are going to try not reacting to see if that works any better than our tactics today…Supposedly they are supposed to eventually stop – I just hope it’s sooner than later. However we may come back with lots of bruises. Hopefully not too much damage will be done though…to be honest these girls are making me dread going to the orphanage. I’m just glad they didn’t show up until our last week.
At the hospital we visited Alexandra and Florine and took them outside. It was a little bit crazy…but we managed. Florine’s wheel chair kept breaking. Every time we went over a crack the wheel would fall off. Luckily Radu (teenage boy from the branch) came, and he was able to help us put the wheel back on again. After Alexandra and Florine we visited some of the other floors and there were a couple babies. He held one of the babies and it was one of the cutest/funniest things I’ve seen. Guys are sooo awkward when they hold babies. It’s like they are too afraid to hold them close or afraid to move them out of fear they will break. I love watching guys with babies…funny funny funny…awkward awkward awkward.
After the hospital Whitney S. and I got out gifts ready for our workers that we are going to give them on Friday. We bought them each a scarf to match their personality. Hopefully they like them. Whit and I debated for a while on which scarf should go with which person. We’re such girls…
At FHE I had to give the spiritual thought – so I decided to base the topic off of a talk by James E. Faust called The Power to Change. I think making ourselves better each day is the entire point of this life – so I thought that would be a good lesson. For the lesson I had each person list a quality they most admire in people they know. Then after we were done writing them on the board I had them pick out the quality that they needed the most improvement on, and I asked them to write down how they were going to accomplish improving that particular characteristic about themselves in the near future. I gave them a few minutes to write with church music playing and concluded with quotes from his talk.
When Annie and I got home from Family Home Evening we had a little surprise. In the kitchen a ton of food and random objects were thrown on the floor. and there were blobs of what looked like a mixture of chocolate and vanilla ice cream. On the counter we noticed a pile of dark syrup that had been spilt – it was our vanilla flavoring that had been knocked over on the shelf above and drizzled down onto our counter. Coming from the puddle were little bird tracks that stood out in perfect contrast from the white counter. After we examined the kitchen a little more we found three bird feathers. One was on our table, one was in a pan of leftover food and one was on our window seal. It made a mess for us to clean up…but we thought that was pretty funny.
Soon after we got home the Elders came over and translated some notes we had and gave us a blessing of comfort as we returned home. They gave the other apartment full of girls a blessing Sunday night and our apartment them tonight. Elder Armstrong gave me my blessing, and I was surprised about some of the things that were emphasized. The majority of my blessing strongly emphasized following the promptings of the spirit when I get home…so I can be led down the right path. Annie wrote down our blessings for us as they said them so we could keep them – they are going to be really nice to have.
Armstrong also said that every once in a while when he places his hands on people’s heads it is as if for a glimpse the Lord allows him to see a glimpse of how much he loves and cares about them. Then he continued with “it’s really cool to be able to see that.”
August 3, 2008 (Sunday)
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: Having fun and being silly…even if it is immature…
It was Fast Sunday today, and I knew exactly what I was going to fast for. I fasted that Andrei and my kids would be taken care of when I leave, and that I would have feelings of peace and comfort when I leave Andrei. I’m really going to need help with being able to leave him. I’ve been praying for peace so much that I bet the Lord is getting sick of hearing me ask him.
I think leaving is getting to me because today I felt irritated and antsy even at church. I had a hard time focusing on the lesson and noticed I was being more short than normal. I was a little short with Kenz, and I apologized to her. I don’t know how to handle leaving. I’m really excited to go on our 10 day Europe trip, and I’m excited to go home and see my friends and family, but I’m really sad to leave Andrei and my kids. I’m torn…
At church Sora Padoru bore her testimony and she did part of it in English so we could understand. It was so cute. I was very impressed that she cared enough about us to try and speak in our language. Melissa bore her testimony in perfect Romanian – none of the rest of us are very good at the language…so we kept our mouths shut. As the sisters were bearing their testimony I kept thinking how strong they are in their faith. Many of them are the only ones in their family practicing the LDS religion. That has to be hard to live a religion all by your self. I’ve always had good strong family members who I can look to as examples and gain support from…I take it for granted.
After church Annie and I went to make peach cobbler for joint dinner tonight with a yellow cake mix I had. My mom sent me three cake mixes from home, and they are very prized. You can’t buy them in Romania. Apparently I had chocolate flavored not yellow cake mix like I thought – so sadly I couldn’t make peach cobbler. It is one of my favorite desserts…oh well I’ll have to wait until I get home. We made cupcakes instead. They ended up tasting good anyways. I’m really missing home and simple things like being able to buy cake mix and normal ice cream at the store! I’m ready to come home to America!
Before dinner we had a meeting to discuss and plan our 10 day Europe trip that we leave for in 10 days. I’m really really excited about everything, and talking about all the things we want to do made me even more excited. We are going to be running everywhere we go to try and see everything, but I’m sure it will be a blast. We are going to Rome, Venice, Paris, London and then staying one night in Vienna before we fly home. We are only going to be in each city for about 2 days, but at least we’ll get a taste of each. The list of things we want to do in each city is probably more than we can handle and do, but we’ll try our best. We all have very limited funds, but we will budget. It’s going to be so fun! I’m stoked!
For dinner we had hoagie sandwiches and potato salad. Very good – perfect for the weather. It has been really really really hot today – so something light was wonderful. It was so hot I felt like I couldn’t get cool at all today. As we ate we were so hot we were eating dinner in as little clothing as possible without making one another uncomfortable – tank tops and shorts…oh I miss air conditioning…AHHH!
After dinner I found out a secret – the girls played another prank on me. I could have killed them. Apparently the girls and Radu (a teenage boy from the branch) made the entire thing up about the guy calling and saying he watched me workout. I’m sooooo glad it’s not true, but I couldn’t even sleep last night because I was so paranoid. Plus the really loud dog fight for 20 minutes didn’t help. The girls or culprits (specifically Mindy, Elyse and MacKenzie - the rest of the girls didn’t really know) were laughing so hard when they told me they made it up. They are gonna get it. They were like “we didn’t think you’d believe it!” Then I told them that normally I wouldn’t have, but I had a similar situation happen last semester that was real. Guys in my ward found a guy trying to look in my apartment window while I was getting dressed, and when they tried to confront him he ran away. Those girls…they will get what is coming to them…I will have to brain storm some ideas.
When we got back to our apartment Kenz and Mary got the bright idea to sprinkle water on people walking below – so I joined them. We were laughing hysterically. It wasn’t a lot of water – just enough for them to notice. They would look up and we would all duck. We were sooo obvious. We would be the worst spies ever. I love how mature we are…
Later we watched the movie The Ringer. It was so cute. I had never seen it before, but I loved it! Good times…
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: Having fun and being silly…even if it is immature…
It was Fast Sunday today, and I knew exactly what I was going to fast for. I fasted that Andrei and my kids would be taken care of when I leave, and that I would have feelings of peace and comfort when I leave Andrei. I’m really going to need help with being able to leave him. I’ve been praying for peace so much that I bet the Lord is getting sick of hearing me ask him.
I think leaving is getting to me because today I felt irritated and antsy even at church. I had a hard time focusing on the lesson and noticed I was being more short than normal. I was a little short with Kenz, and I apologized to her. I don’t know how to handle leaving. I’m really excited to go on our 10 day Europe trip, and I’m excited to go home and see my friends and family, but I’m really sad to leave Andrei and my kids. I’m torn…
At church Sora Padoru bore her testimony and she did part of it in English so we could understand. It was so cute. I was very impressed that she cared enough about us to try and speak in our language. Melissa bore her testimony in perfect Romanian – none of the rest of us are very good at the language…so we kept our mouths shut. As the sisters were bearing their testimony I kept thinking how strong they are in their faith. Many of them are the only ones in their family practicing the LDS religion. That has to be hard to live a religion all by your self. I’ve always had good strong family members who I can look to as examples and gain support from…I take it for granted.
After church Annie and I went to make peach cobbler for joint dinner tonight with a yellow cake mix I had. My mom sent me three cake mixes from home, and they are very prized. You can’t buy them in Romania. Apparently I had chocolate flavored not yellow cake mix like I thought – so sadly I couldn’t make peach cobbler. It is one of my favorite desserts…oh well I’ll have to wait until I get home. We made cupcakes instead. They ended up tasting good anyways. I’m really missing home and simple things like being able to buy cake mix and normal ice cream at the store! I’m ready to come home to America!
Before dinner we had a meeting to discuss and plan our 10 day Europe trip that we leave for in 10 days. I’m really really excited about everything, and talking about all the things we want to do made me even more excited. We are going to be running everywhere we go to try and see everything, but I’m sure it will be a blast. We are going to Rome, Venice, Paris, London and then staying one night in Vienna before we fly home. We are only going to be in each city for about 2 days, but at least we’ll get a taste of each. The list of things we want to do in each city is probably more than we can handle and do, but we’ll try our best. We all have very limited funds, but we will budget. It’s going to be so fun! I’m stoked!
For dinner we had hoagie sandwiches and potato salad. Very good – perfect for the weather. It has been really really really hot today – so something light was wonderful. It was so hot I felt like I couldn’t get cool at all today. As we ate we were so hot we were eating dinner in as little clothing as possible without making one another uncomfortable – tank tops and shorts…oh I miss air conditioning…AHHH!
After dinner I found out a secret – the girls played another prank on me. I could have killed them. Apparently the girls and Radu (a teenage boy from the branch) made the entire thing up about the guy calling and saying he watched me workout. I’m sooooo glad it’s not true, but I couldn’t even sleep last night because I was so paranoid. Plus the really loud dog fight for 20 minutes didn’t help. The girls or culprits (specifically Mindy, Elyse and MacKenzie - the rest of the girls didn’t really know) were laughing so hard when they told me they made it up. They are gonna get it. They were like “we didn’t think you’d believe it!” Then I told them that normally I wouldn’t have, but I had a similar situation happen last semester that was real. Guys in my ward found a guy trying to look in my apartment window while I was getting dressed, and when they tried to confront him he ran away. Those girls…they will get what is coming to them…I will have to brain storm some ideas.
When we got back to our apartment Kenz and Mary got the bright idea to sprinkle water on people walking below – so I joined them. We were laughing hysterically. It wasn’t a lot of water – just enough for them to notice. They would look up and we would all duck. We were sooo obvious. We would be the worst spies ever. I love how mature we are…
Later we watched the movie The Ringer. It was so cute. I had never seen it before, but I loved it! Good times…
August 2, 2008 (Saturday)
The Lord’s Hand In My Life: Understanding roommates…
I leisurely woke up this morning at 8:00…it felt amazing. It’s interesting how essential sleep is to how good you feel. I wish I got more of it more often, but I just don’t have much time for it – too busy.
Today was really boring it consisted of homework. I finished my last cultural proof and my summaries for my 1000 pages of reading. There is a lot of coursework – I’m glad I’ve stayed on top of it. It definitely hasn’t been easy, but I’ve done it! I should have everything done before I leave. That way I can enjoy my 10 day trip around Europe. When I get home all I’ll have to do is physically put my portfolio together and drop it off. Gata! (Finished)
I still didn’t feel well today, and I started feeling really bad in the afternoon. Every time I stood up I felt really dizzy and nauseous. Annie and I had to go to the store to get groceries for dinner because we invited Sister Padoru over, and I thought I was going to faint to the ground while we were walking. I think I realized why I’ve had prolonged headaches, dizziness and felt sick to my stomach for a few days – scabies cream. I’ve been putting the cream on my face consistently because I had a few scabies on my face. Probably not the smartest idea considering the cream is toxic, and since it has been on my face I have been inhaling it regularly. It all made sense today. No more scabies cream for a while. I felt really really bad today.
I laid down for a few hours because I felt so bad. I could barely stand. The girls were nice enough to let me lay down while they made dinner for Sister Padoru. I felt a little better after I rested for a while, besides the fact that I was paranoid that someone was watching my every move because of the phone call last night. Then Sister Padoru came over and ate with us. It was fun to chat with her. We all showed her pictures of our family and chatted about our lives as much as we could in Romanian. I don’t think she enjoyed our dinner very much, but I could tell she enjoyed our company. She is so cute. She came over all dressed up in a Sunday outfit with her little hat on. I loved it. She is such a sweet lady…
The rest of the night I did more homework and then Annie and I watched A Beautiful Mind. Nothing too exciting…
The Lord’s Hand In My Life: Understanding roommates…
I leisurely woke up this morning at 8:00…it felt amazing. It’s interesting how essential sleep is to how good you feel. I wish I got more of it more often, but I just don’t have much time for it – too busy.
Today was really boring it consisted of homework. I finished my last cultural proof and my summaries for my 1000 pages of reading. There is a lot of coursework – I’m glad I’ve stayed on top of it. It definitely hasn’t been easy, but I’ve done it! I should have everything done before I leave. That way I can enjoy my 10 day trip around Europe. When I get home all I’ll have to do is physically put my portfolio together and drop it off. Gata! (Finished)
I still didn’t feel well today, and I started feeling really bad in the afternoon. Every time I stood up I felt really dizzy and nauseous. Annie and I had to go to the store to get groceries for dinner because we invited Sister Padoru over, and I thought I was going to faint to the ground while we were walking. I think I realized why I’ve had prolonged headaches, dizziness and felt sick to my stomach for a few days – scabies cream. I’ve been putting the cream on my face consistently because I had a few scabies on my face. Probably not the smartest idea considering the cream is toxic, and since it has been on my face I have been inhaling it regularly. It all made sense today. No more scabies cream for a while. I felt really really bad today.
I laid down for a few hours because I felt so bad. I could barely stand. The girls were nice enough to let me lay down while they made dinner for Sister Padoru. I felt a little better after I rested for a while, besides the fact that I was paranoid that someone was watching my every move because of the phone call last night. Then Sister Padoru came over and ate with us. It was fun to chat with her. We all showed her pictures of our family and chatted about our lives as much as we could in Romanian. I don’t think she enjoyed our dinner very much, but I could tell she enjoyed our company. She is so cute. She came over all dressed up in a Sunday outfit with her little hat on. I loved it. She is such a sweet lady…
The rest of the night I did more homework and then Annie and I watched A Beautiful Mind. Nothing too exciting…
August 1, 2008 (Friday)
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: A roommate that made Brownie Sundays!
This morning I woke up and my mouth felt really hot – random I know, but I felt like I had a temperature. My head felt a little better since yesterday, but it still ached. That’s normal though – whenever I get a migraine my head aches for days after. They are the worst. I’m just glad I wasn’t throwing up all day. For a minute I debated about staying home, but I only have a few days left with my kids. Not gonna happen.
I was supposed to make chocolate gogosi with Whitney S. last night, but I didn’t because I didn’t feel well so she made them on her own. When we went to give them to our workers today to our dismay we found out they couldn’t eat them. Apparently because it was Friday they weren’t allowed to eat any animal products because of the Greek Orthodox faith. There were eggs in the ingredients of the gogosi. It’s okay though because they are going to eat them tomorrow…Whit S. and I laughed at the irony of the situation. Of course the one day we bring them treats they can’t eat them. Just our luck.
On the way to the orphanage we were walking down the sidewalk, and there was a man hole without a lid in the middle of the sidewalk. If you weren’t paying attention a person could easily plummet 30 feet, and boy would it hurt when you got to the bottom. I couldn’t believe they didn’t have signs, tape or any type of warning around the hole. That is a classic example of the character of Romania…
At the orphanage we got two new older girls. They are crazy…and a little scary at times. They are both about seven or eight, and they are mean. The workers were telling us how they will hit and beat up the little kids. Whit and I experienced it first hand today. One of the little girls named Ana would hit, pinch or kick Whitney S. and I then run off. I was starting to get quite irritated with them. I guess they are in our room now. That makes me nervous, because they will do mean things to the younger kids so fast that it’s impossible for the workers to catch them all. Not cool…I will get very cranky if they hurt my kiddos. What’s even creepier is that Ana will hit you, and then give you this creepy look and laugh. Today she threw a ball that hit me smack dab in the face…patience…I’m trying to learn patience… I’m also trying to keep in mind that these little girls are mean for a reason. Kids don’t just automatically exhibit cruel behavior – someone else must have treated them very badly in order for them to act the way they do.
Andrei was sick today. When I got to the orphanage the workers said that Andrei had thrown up. There was evidence of that just under the swing he was swinging in all over the ground. They put him in his bed after that, and he slept for a while. Then we got him up and he seemed like he wanted to play, but the poor kid still had a fever. He’s so funny. Even though he wasn’t feeling well he was still pretty much as active as he normally is. Lately I’ve noticed that Andrei will scream and cry if I leave him for more than a few seconds…I don’t know what he’s going to do when I leave him for good. I just hope he doesn’t think I simply abandoned him.
At the hospital Annie and I went and saw the two sister babies. When we walked into their room they were in the same crib crawling on top of each other. It was adorable. I guess they were twin sisters, and we didn’t know it. Annie took one and I took the other. Sadly Ilena wasn’t her usual smiley self today – poor thing – I think she felt really bad. As we were playing with the kids there was a room full of Gypsy moms that were talking to us. They seemed nice enough so right before I was about to leave I pulled out a package of stickers so their child could each have one. (I was trying to be nice.) As all Gypsy women they took advantage of the situation. I was furious. I handed one of the moms the package of stickers so she could pick one for her baby, and I told her she could have only one. Then she ended up taking an entire sheet of Spider Man stickers and placing them around her openly exposed nipple. Then another mom took the entire set of stickers and wouldn’t give them back. Then another mom tried taking the stickers as well, but I ended up ripping them out of her hands before she could get them all. They were complete jerks. I sat and stood over one mom for five minutes and asked her to give them back as sternly and meanly as I could muster. Even Annie was like “Whitney be strong don’t give in!” We couldn’t believe the way they were acting. She ended up giving me back a couple more sheets of stickers, but she still kept several of them. I told them “shame on you” and “not nice” and that “they were for the kids without moms,” etc. – but they didn’t care. They only cared about themselves. By the time I left I was so mad I was shaking, and their laughter had quickly turned to solemn faces. The room was silent at our exit.
Later I had to go back down the hall to find Annie and one of the moms was out in the hall and was talking to the nurse. When she saw me she looked like a dog with its tail in between its legs. I looked at her and gave her the dirtiest look and in front of the nurse I bluntly pointed at the mom, looked her in the eye and said “nu frumos” and kept walking. The nurse who was white instantly looked at her and asked her what she did. I’m sure she ended up lying about what had happened, but I didn’t care…that’s what Gypsies do - lie. I’m sure she knew that. No wonder Romanians detest them so much. I don’t blame them.
By the time we got home from the hospital I was exhausted – plus I hadn’t felt well all day. I felt like I had a fever, but when I took my temperature it contradicted what I felt. Regardless I went to take a nap when Annie came in and said that the girls were leaving their apartment so if we wanted to use the internet we needed to go right away. So we were immediately off once again. I swear getting a break is impossible.
Kenz and I used the internet for a while in order to get caught up on everything we needed to do. It’s so frustrating that we don’t have internet access easily available to us in our apartment. Oh well, we only have a week and a half left in Romania – I can handle it for that much longer.
When we got back to our apartment Annie made Brownie Sundays for all of us. A few days ago when I found out that I should have a job in the fall that I will love she told me that in order to celebrate she would make my favorite treat over the weekend. My request was Brownie Sundays. They were absolutely amazing. Whit S., Annie, Mary and I ate each bite with gratitude. I love chocolate – oh yes I do!
After that we did face masks and turned on the movie Center Stage. Some of the girls hadn’t ever seen that movie. I couldn’t believe it! It’s one of my all time favorite movies because it is about dance, and I love dancing! At the end they said they really enjoyed it.
A couple minutes after the movie started my Aunt Ariane called. It was great to hear from her! I gave her a quick synopsis of what had been going on in my life. So many things happen each day so it’s hard to summarize everything, but I told her the most important things. I’m really getting excited to see my family when I get home. I miss them so much! Ironically Ariane ran into Mike’s (her husband) cousin Scott, and he is friends with Whitney S. and the guy she is dating. She told him I was in Romania, and he said he knew someone in Romania. She informed him that we are living in Romania together. It’s such a small world.
After I finally got to sit down and watch a couple minutes of the movie I got another phone call. Kenz was on the phone. She had a panicked voice and exclaimed “Whitney the creepiest thing just happened I need to talk to you!” Apparently some young guy called the apartment and said to her “you look really beautiful when you work out in the morning” then hung up. She said it took her a second to figure out what he was talking about, but then she realized he was talking about me. (Don't worry parents I found out later the girls were playing a prank on me...)
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: A roommate that made Brownie Sundays!
This morning I woke up and my mouth felt really hot – random I know, but I felt like I had a temperature. My head felt a little better since yesterday, but it still ached. That’s normal though – whenever I get a migraine my head aches for days after. They are the worst. I’m just glad I wasn’t throwing up all day. For a minute I debated about staying home, but I only have a few days left with my kids. Not gonna happen.
I was supposed to make chocolate gogosi with Whitney S. last night, but I didn’t because I didn’t feel well so she made them on her own. When we went to give them to our workers today to our dismay we found out they couldn’t eat them. Apparently because it was Friday they weren’t allowed to eat any animal products because of the Greek Orthodox faith. There were eggs in the ingredients of the gogosi. It’s okay though because they are going to eat them tomorrow…Whit S. and I laughed at the irony of the situation. Of course the one day we bring them treats they can’t eat them. Just our luck.
On the way to the orphanage we were walking down the sidewalk, and there was a man hole without a lid in the middle of the sidewalk. If you weren’t paying attention a person could easily plummet 30 feet, and boy would it hurt when you got to the bottom. I couldn’t believe they didn’t have signs, tape or any type of warning around the hole. That is a classic example of the character of Romania…
At the orphanage we got two new older girls. They are crazy…and a little scary at times. They are both about seven or eight, and they are mean. The workers were telling us how they will hit and beat up the little kids. Whit and I experienced it first hand today. One of the little girls named Ana would hit, pinch or kick Whitney S. and I then run off. I was starting to get quite irritated with them. I guess they are in our room now. That makes me nervous, because they will do mean things to the younger kids so fast that it’s impossible for the workers to catch them all. Not cool…I will get very cranky if they hurt my kiddos. What’s even creepier is that Ana will hit you, and then give you this creepy look and laugh. Today she threw a ball that hit me smack dab in the face…patience…I’m trying to learn patience… I’m also trying to keep in mind that these little girls are mean for a reason. Kids don’t just automatically exhibit cruel behavior – someone else must have treated them very badly in order for them to act the way they do.
Andrei was sick today. When I got to the orphanage the workers said that Andrei had thrown up. There was evidence of that just under the swing he was swinging in all over the ground. They put him in his bed after that, and he slept for a while. Then we got him up and he seemed like he wanted to play, but the poor kid still had a fever. He’s so funny. Even though he wasn’t feeling well he was still pretty much as active as he normally is. Lately I’ve noticed that Andrei will scream and cry if I leave him for more than a few seconds…I don’t know what he’s going to do when I leave him for good. I just hope he doesn’t think I simply abandoned him.
At the hospital Annie and I went and saw the two sister babies. When we walked into their room they were in the same crib crawling on top of each other. It was adorable. I guess they were twin sisters, and we didn’t know it. Annie took one and I took the other. Sadly Ilena wasn’t her usual smiley self today – poor thing – I think she felt really bad. As we were playing with the kids there was a room full of Gypsy moms that were talking to us. They seemed nice enough so right before I was about to leave I pulled out a package of stickers so their child could each have one. (I was trying to be nice.) As all Gypsy women they took advantage of the situation. I was furious. I handed one of the moms the package of stickers so she could pick one for her baby, and I told her she could have only one. Then she ended up taking an entire sheet of Spider Man stickers and placing them around her openly exposed nipple. Then another mom took the entire set of stickers and wouldn’t give them back. Then another mom tried taking the stickers as well, but I ended up ripping them out of her hands before she could get them all. They were complete jerks. I sat and stood over one mom for five minutes and asked her to give them back as sternly and meanly as I could muster. Even Annie was like “Whitney be strong don’t give in!” We couldn’t believe the way they were acting. She ended up giving me back a couple more sheets of stickers, but she still kept several of them. I told them “shame on you” and “not nice” and that “they were for the kids without moms,” etc. – but they didn’t care. They only cared about themselves. By the time I left I was so mad I was shaking, and their laughter had quickly turned to solemn faces. The room was silent at our exit.
Later I had to go back down the hall to find Annie and one of the moms was out in the hall and was talking to the nurse. When she saw me she looked like a dog with its tail in between its legs. I looked at her and gave her the dirtiest look and in front of the nurse I bluntly pointed at the mom, looked her in the eye and said “nu frumos” and kept walking. The nurse who was white instantly looked at her and asked her what she did. I’m sure she ended up lying about what had happened, but I didn’t care…that’s what Gypsies do - lie. I’m sure she knew that. No wonder Romanians detest them so much. I don’t blame them.
By the time we got home from the hospital I was exhausted – plus I hadn’t felt well all day. I felt like I had a fever, but when I took my temperature it contradicted what I felt. Regardless I went to take a nap when Annie came in and said that the girls were leaving their apartment so if we wanted to use the internet we needed to go right away. So we were immediately off once again. I swear getting a break is impossible.
Kenz and I used the internet for a while in order to get caught up on everything we needed to do. It’s so frustrating that we don’t have internet access easily available to us in our apartment. Oh well, we only have a week and a half left in Romania – I can handle it for that much longer.
When we got back to our apartment Annie made Brownie Sundays for all of us. A few days ago when I found out that I should have a job in the fall that I will love she told me that in order to celebrate she would make my favorite treat over the weekend. My request was Brownie Sundays. They were absolutely amazing. Whit S., Annie, Mary and I ate each bite with gratitude. I love chocolate – oh yes I do!
After that we did face masks and turned on the movie Center Stage. Some of the girls hadn’t ever seen that movie. I couldn’t believe it! It’s one of my all time favorite movies because it is about dance, and I love dancing! At the end they said they really enjoyed it.
A couple minutes after the movie started my Aunt Ariane called. It was great to hear from her! I gave her a quick synopsis of what had been going on in my life. So many things happen each day so it’s hard to summarize everything, but I told her the most important things. I’m really getting excited to see my family when I get home. I miss them so much! Ironically Ariane ran into Mike’s (her husband) cousin Scott, and he is friends with Whitney S. and the guy she is dating. She told him I was in Romania, and he said he knew someone in Romania. She informed him that we are living in Romania together. It’s such a small world.
After I finally got to sit down and watch a couple minutes of the movie I got another phone call. Kenz was on the phone. She had a panicked voice and exclaimed “Whitney the creepiest thing just happened I need to talk to you!” Apparently some young guy called the apartment and said to her “you look really beautiful when you work out in the morning” then hung up. She said it took her a second to figure out what he was talking about, but then she realized he was talking about me. (Don't worry parents I found out later the girls were playing a prank on me...)
Friday, August 1, 2008
July 31, 2008 (Thursday)
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: Slowing down for a few hours…
We were outside most of the day at the orphanage again today. Andrei was his energetic self, but today he kept going to time out. Time out #1: Andrei kept trying to jump out of the swing. Time out #2: Andrei was climbing on these high metal bars, but he kept trying to go over the top and I told him “no” in sign, and he deliberately didn’t listen. Time out #3: Andrei kept taking his hearing aids out and biting them. We were sitting on the bench for quite a while today to say the least, but I still love that little monkey. Every time we sat in time out he would scream, then when he was done I’d make him sign “im pare rau” (I’m sorry), then he’d get down and do something else to get in trouble.
I walked around outside with Alex again today. He loved it. Alex is great, but he can be a little stinker. Today he pulled Whit’s hair and wouldn’t let go, and then he was laughing about it. We told him that wasn’t allowed and that we couldn’t play with him if he acted like that…
Today was Florine’s last day at the orphanage because he gets to go on vacation for a month. He came outside and asked me for my email address again – he said he lost it somehow…so I gave it to him. It’s frustrating to talk to him sometimes, because neither of us speak each other’s language very well. I think he could tell I was a little annoyed, because he promised me that within 10 months he would learn English. I don’t know if I believe him…but okay…it’s going to be funny when he tries to instant message me online. I can see that conversation lasting about a minute with only simple phrases like “hello” and “how are you” and “good.”
Vali had an interesting episode today. He started freaking out so they put him in his crib. Then later on they discovered his pants off and his diaper torn to shreds and thrown all over the room. Thank goodness it wasn’t a messy diaper – just a wet one. Otherwise that would have been one huge and gross mess to clean up.
After that I held him in my lap for a while. He sat there very content, and he seemed fine. I just wish I knew what was going through his mind. He just stares off into space and avoids all eye contact. I really wish his parents were put in jail for the way they have treated him…It makes me so sad.
I fed Constantine today…they made me feed him with a spoon. Thank goodness the experience was better than last time. He didn’t choke on his food as much. I kept saying really nice things to him in a high pitched voice and he would smile. But then the second I put food in his mouth he got the most disgusted look on his face. It was kind of funny, and it took FOREVER for him to eat – but he did it!
Towards the end of our time at the orphanage I started getting a really bad headache. It felt like a migraine, but it wasn’t to the maximum intensity it could have been for which I am grateful. I’ve gotten migraines since I was 12 years old that are really bad. I know I’m getting one when objects in my vision start to disappear, my hands go numb, my head kills and I throw up over and over. I get them bad. However, I haven’t gotten them to their full extreme since I’ve been taking this herb called Fever Few. So I went home and slept a few hours. When I woke up my head still hurt, but it was a manageable amount of pain. Whenever I get migraines it’s my body telling me I need to slow down…I guess it decides that if I won’t slow down on my own it will make me. I ended up skipping apartments because I was sleeping. I hate missing time with my kids.
Mary and Kenz were sick last night and today running to the bathroom. Hopefully it wasn’t the hamburgers I made, but I don’t think it was because Annie and I felt fine today and we all ate the same thing. Maybe their stomachs are more sensitive? I don’t know.
For the rest of the evening I laid in bed, relaxed and chatted with Kenz and Mary. We all looked pathetic – it was pretty funny. We had messed up hair, comfy clothes and looks of pain and agony on our face. When Annie got home from the hospital she gave each of us a popsicle and made us all grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for dinner. It was so cute. She was like our little mom. She brought it into our rooms and everything. So sweet and considerate.
When Annie walked in she looked at me and was like “Whitney I’m not very happy with you. I’ll have to deal with you later.” We all started cracking up. I did some dishes from dinner that were in the sink, and she left me a note telling me not to because I wasn’t feeling well. However, I could still stand so I did them. They were dishes from the dinner I made last night. I didn’t want her to clean them – that’s not fair!
Later we watched The Devil Wears Prada, and the girls made me promise not to do homework or think about doing homework. I agreed reluctantly, but I did agree. What’s even better is that I sat and watched the entire movie without doing anything. I was so proud of myself. It’s really hard for me to sit and relax when I have a ton to do even if I don’t feel well.
I didn’t get to use the internet today or make gogosi with Whitney S. because I didn’t feel well – I hate it when health issues get in the way of plans.
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: Slowing down for a few hours…
We were outside most of the day at the orphanage again today. Andrei was his energetic self, but today he kept going to time out. Time out #1: Andrei kept trying to jump out of the swing. Time out #2: Andrei was climbing on these high metal bars, but he kept trying to go over the top and I told him “no” in sign, and he deliberately didn’t listen. Time out #3: Andrei kept taking his hearing aids out and biting them. We were sitting on the bench for quite a while today to say the least, but I still love that little monkey. Every time we sat in time out he would scream, then when he was done I’d make him sign “im pare rau” (I’m sorry), then he’d get down and do something else to get in trouble.
I walked around outside with Alex again today. He loved it. Alex is great, but he can be a little stinker. Today he pulled Whit’s hair and wouldn’t let go, and then he was laughing about it. We told him that wasn’t allowed and that we couldn’t play with him if he acted like that…
Today was Florine’s last day at the orphanage because he gets to go on vacation for a month. He came outside and asked me for my email address again – he said he lost it somehow…so I gave it to him. It’s frustrating to talk to him sometimes, because neither of us speak each other’s language very well. I think he could tell I was a little annoyed, because he promised me that within 10 months he would learn English. I don’t know if I believe him…but okay…it’s going to be funny when he tries to instant message me online. I can see that conversation lasting about a minute with only simple phrases like “hello” and “how are you” and “good.”
Vali had an interesting episode today. He started freaking out so they put him in his crib. Then later on they discovered his pants off and his diaper torn to shreds and thrown all over the room. Thank goodness it wasn’t a messy diaper – just a wet one. Otherwise that would have been one huge and gross mess to clean up.
After that I held him in my lap for a while. He sat there very content, and he seemed fine. I just wish I knew what was going through his mind. He just stares off into space and avoids all eye contact. I really wish his parents were put in jail for the way they have treated him…It makes me so sad.
I fed Constantine today…they made me feed him with a spoon. Thank goodness the experience was better than last time. He didn’t choke on his food as much. I kept saying really nice things to him in a high pitched voice and he would smile. But then the second I put food in his mouth he got the most disgusted look on his face. It was kind of funny, and it took FOREVER for him to eat – but he did it!
Towards the end of our time at the orphanage I started getting a really bad headache. It felt like a migraine, but it wasn’t to the maximum intensity it could have been for which I am grateful. I’ve gotten migraines since I was 12 years old that are really bad. I know I’m getting one when objects in my vision start to disappear, my hands go numb, my head kills and I throw up over and over. I get them bad. However, I haven’t gotten them to their full extreme since I’ve been taking this herb called Fever Few. So I went home and slept a few hours. When I woke up my head still hurt, but it was a manageable amount of pain. Whenever I get migraines it’s my body telling me I need to slow down…I guess it decides that if I won’t slow down on my own it will make me. I ended up skipping apartments because I was sleeping. I hate missing time with my kids.
Mary and Kenz were sick last night and today running to the bathroom. Hopefully it wasn’t the hamburgers I made, but I don’t think it was because Annie and I felt fine today and we all ate the same thing. Maybe their stomachs are more sensitive? I don’t know.
For the rest of the evening I laid in bed, relaxed and chatted with Kenz and Mary. We all looked pathetic – it was pretty funny. We had messed up hair, comfy clothes and looks of pain and agony on our face. When Annie got home from the hospital she gave each of us a popsicle and made us all grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for dinner. It was so cute. She was like our little mom. She brought it into our rooms and everything. So sweet and considerate.
When Annie walked in she looked at me and was like “Whitney I’m not very happy with you. I’ll have to deal with you later.” We all started cracking up. I did some dishes from dinner that were in the sink, and she left me a note telling me not to because I wasn’t feeling well. However, I could still stand so I did them. They were dishes from the dinner I made last night. I didn’t want her to clean them – that’s not fair!
Later we watched The Devil Wears Prada, and the girls made me promise not to do homework or think about doing homework. I agreed reluctantly, but I did agree. What’s even better is that I sat and watched the entire movie without doing anything. I was so proud of myself. It’s really hard for me to sit and relax when I have a ton to do even if I don’t feel well.
I didn’t get to use the internet today or make gogosi with Whitney S. because I didn’t feel well – I hate it when health issues get in the way of plans.
July 30, 2008 (Wednesday)
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: A job that I will love!
On Sunday I made a new goal for myself – to read my scriptures and say my prayers every morning before I do anything else – no matter what. I’ve done that the last couple days, and I’ve noticed my life has run so much smoother, and I feel like I’ve been more happy. It makes me wonder why I’m not always as valiant as I should be…we get all kinds of blessings when we are!
On the way to the orphanage Whitney S. had a funny dream about me. In the dream I was upset with the girls, because they hadn’t been responsible and taken care of something they were supposed to. Then someone had gotten mad at me because they hadn’t taken care of it. She said in the dream I told them something like “I don’t like it when things don’t get taken care of because people think I’m not reliable and that makes me look bad.” In her dream my character was right on when it comes to me caring about people being dependable and reliable. If you say you are going to do something then do it – otherwise don’t say it. Simple as that…We were both laughing because that would be something I would get upset about in real life…
At the orphanage we were outside most of the day. I walked around with Alex for a while. He’s a cutie. I would count to three and then say “rapid” (fast), and he would go as fast as his little legs would allow him. He LOVED it! He was laughing and smiling so big…which made me laugh and smile so big…My kids are great!
Andrei signed “gata” (finished) for the first time on his own today! I was sooooo proud of him! Normally he jumps out of the swing without telling me he is finished - which can be quite dangerous. Today he did the sign and I promptly got him out of the swing. I’ve been trying to teach him that sign for months! I was so proud of him…my Andrei. My little Andrei. I love him so much!
Today when I went to play with some of the other kids Andrei freaked out. It’s so hard, because I can’t spend all my time with him – otherwise some of the other kids don’t get attention. However, if I walk away and one of the other girls pushes him on the swing or try and play with him he will cry. Then if he cries the workers put him in his bed early – which is what they did today. I detest it when they do that! Absolutely detest! It breaks my heart.
I decided that I want to get a little necklace with my name and Andrei’s name engraved on it. I want him to have something to remember me by. I just hope no one steals it from him – that would be really really low if they did, but I wouldn’t put it past Romania. The other day a Romanian friend the girls have came to their apartment to drop by and say hi, and they had 100 lei in a jar for group funds. After he left they noticed it was missing…then the next day they saw him with a brand new bike. They thought he was a friend. Rude.
Florine came outside again today, and he hung out with us almost the entire time we were playing with the kids. He kept looking over and smiling at me while I played with the kids…tomorrow is his last day at the orphanage, because he is going on his month long vacation. As we were talking I asked him if he knew there were any places that I could get a necklace engraved for Andrei, and he said he didn’t know. A few minutes later Florine came back outside and told me his coworker Mihai knew a place to get that done. So I went and talked to him. Mihai was very helpful. He even drew me a map of how to get there. I’m just hoping it’s not that expensive…It was really nice of him to go and find out that information for me. Really nice.
At one point outside I was sitting on the bench playing with Vali outside. Then Florine was sitting next to Vali and Dr. Pantezescu next to Florine. Vali was intrigued by the rings on my fingers so I was letting him take them off my finger, look at them, and then put them back on my finger. Then all of a sudden Vali was about to put the ring on my finger when Florine took the ring, took my hand and was like “will you marry me?” I was really embarrassed because Dr. Pantezescu was sitting right there. I wanted to die. Dr. Pantezescu jokingly looked at Florine and shook her head. Then I just awkwardly laughed, and Florine smiled…AWKWARD!
Then Vali was sitting there, and we gave him a pen to draw with. He was doing so good staying on the paper, then I turned my head for two seconds and when I looked back he had drawn all over his arms. I was like “crud!” It was too late though – Dr. Pantezescu saw. I’m sure all the workers are really loving me this week.
Maria was crying once again because they tied her too tight in her chair. They insist that’s not why she cries, but she stops whenever I loosen it. You’d think that would be a clue. Oh no…GRR! They need to stop tying her in so hard. Ridiculous.
Maris (the worker) wasn’t feeling very well today, and when the workers don’t feel well it stinks for the kids because they don’t put up with anything. Andrei was quickly taken upstairs to go to bed after persistent whining. I wish he would understand that whining will only make his circumstances worse, but he’s three – what three year old would understand that.
I actually like Maria (the worker) when she isn’t giving us sex talks, but if she’s in a bad mood you have to watch out. The other day she was trying to tell me that Maria (my child) was going through puberty and she pointed to her chest and then poked mine. So awkward. Romanians are very touchy people…I don’t think they believe in personal space…
When we got home from the orphanage Kenz called the taxi driver to get her purse from him. Apparently when he called he said to Kenz “and Whitney will be there too.” She was like “Whit he made sure YOU were coming to pick it up with me.” I tried to get out of it – she wouldn’t let me…oh well. He was nice enough to just meet us down at the bottom of our apartment building. No big deal. As we walked down I quickly reminded her that “we both had boyfriends” if he asked again…
The hospital was a ton of fun today. Annie and I played with Marion for the first half of the time we were there. He’s so cute – such a little guy. We got him an ice cream and walked around outside. He insisted on holding each of our hands as we walked. As we walked we would say “un, doi, trei” and then swing him in the air. He loved it. He would copy our counting, but every time he would skip “un” and just say “doi.” I think he just wanted to get to the swing part faster – smart. It was the cutest thing ever!
Outside there were a bunch of kids sitting on the benches. Mindy ended up coming outside with Gabby (one of the other burn victims in Marius’s room), and we all played soccer with this little pink ball I have. We would run around holding Marion and kick the ball. Then the older kids would kick it to us. Marius would freak out every time we got the ball. He kept yelling “Hai! Hai! (Come! Come!). It was a blast! It’s so funny, but wherever we go the kids are drawn to us immediately.
Later I went to look for Alexandra and I couldn’t find her anywhere. She was on the 5th floor. Then the nurses said she was moved to the third floor, but I couldn’t find her anywhere. The girls said she wasn’t feeling well yesterday again – we think she may have been in surgery today? I don’t know, but I was extremely sad when I couldn’t find her. I’m going to make sure the girls look for her tomorrow since I go to the apartments in the afternoon.
Annie and I saw Florine today! We couldn’t believe it…he is back at the hospital. Annie saw him through one of the windows, and we went and gave him big hug. We didn’t know he was back. Florine is still as much of a stinker as he was when he left last time. The first thing he did was ask us if we had gum or balloons. At least he’s not selling the pampers we give to him?
After we got home it was my turn to make dinner. I was quite proud of myself. I made some dang good hamburgers and homemade French fries. The hamburgers ended up being a little harder to make then I thought because our stove gets so hot. I had to put it on and then take it off so it cooked it all the way through, but they were pretty good.
After dinner we went to the Internet Café to research our trip around Europe for 10 days. We each took a different city to split up the work load. I’m doing Paris, France. I’m so excited to go there. I’ve wanted to go to Paris my entire life. We’re only there for 2 ½ days, but I’m still excited. I didn’t know there were so many things to do in Paris. It’s crazy! They have all kinds of passes to get into the museum, but I’m not sure which one will be cheapest. All of us are going to get together and have a meeting and talk about things. So fun!
While I was at the internet I also checked my email. I received an email back from Shannon Farmer regarding a position at Nu Skin on the Special Events staff for Americas and Europe. She said that their department needed help and that my experience would be valuable. I’m so excited! So unless there are any major glitches I will have a job when I get home doing something I love – planning. YES! I was jumping up and down…the Lord is watching out for me. Finding a job immediately when I get home has been the biggest stress…Annie said that we have to celebrate so we are going to have Brownie Sundays sometime this weekend. I’m okay with that…
Because I was so excited I called my Mom Mia to tell her, but she wasn’t feeling well. I felt bad…I guess her head is feeling really really dizzy. She was excited for me about the job because she knows I have a ton of expenses when I get home, and I was worried about it. Then right before I got off the phone with her she made the comment “every time I think about you leaving Andrei I get teary eyed” – I just thought so do I – so do I. I really don’t know how I’m going to handle leaving him. I don’t know.
Before I went to bed I put my favorite picture of Andrei and I on my desktop of my computer. It’s so cute. I love that little boy!
July 29, 2008 (Tuesday)
The Lord’s Hand in my Life: A nice taxi driver who spoke English and helped me get my camera fixed. The Lord is aware of even the smallest concerns we have in our life.
Last night I had another dream…Normally I don’t remember them, but I have the past couple of days for some reason. In my dream I was getting married in a couple of days, but I didn’t know who to and I was feeling panicked. Then the scene in my dream switched, and I was sitting at a decorated table like you would see at the reception. At the table I was introduced to my husband – he was black…I’m not racist, but I’m not attracted to black men so I was upset about who I was marrying. Then all of a sudden he told me that he was not only marrying me, but he was getting married to another woman as well. I was really upset about the entire situation to say the least, but I was panicked because the wedding was the next day and I knew I needed to break things off soon if I was going to. In my head I thought “I need to talk to my Dad about it – he’ll help me figure this out.” So I went to him and my Dad was like “Whitney – do what you feel is right, but remember eternity is a long time.” Then he told me that if I didn’t feel good about it I needed to get out of it right away. Then I broke off the wedding, and I felt much more peaceful…
At the orphanage we were outside for most of the day again. While we were out there we started our Brigance Tests on the kids. We did them when we first arrived, and we have to do them right before we leave. They are used to measure where the kids are developmentally. Andrei wasn’t real cooperative with the test, but that’s my little Andrei.
While we were outside Lumie (a worker) came up to me with a distressed look on her face and told me in Romanian that Andrei cries when he is not with me and that it’s not good for me to hold him. I don’t know what she wants me to do, but I’m not going to stop loving and holding him. No way. That’s why I’m here. Not an option. Plus I have less than two weeks to spend with him…there is no way I’m backing off.
Outside I pushed Andrei on the swing and walked around with Alex. Alex was looking so sad again today (probably because he missed Elisa), so I took him out and walked around with him. That instantly made him happy. However, I can’t walk around with him for too long because he’s a big boy, and he was not happy that I put him back in his seat. I tried though…
On the way inside the workers weren’t too happy with me. I pushed some of the kid’s wheelchairs on the grass so they could sit close to us and some mud got on them. First Maria (the child) got mud on her wheels so Maria (the worker) and I wiped them off. Then Alex got mud on his wheels, and I helped her wipe them off. Then I ended up tracking mud inside from my shoes. I felt like all I was doing was saying “I’m sorry” today. They weren’t really mad, but Maria (the worker) was a bit irritated. It was kind of funny though. She made me wash off my shoes and my feet in the bath tub. I felt like I was one of the kids…
In between the orphanage and apartments I went to get my camera fixed for the third time in two months. I never should have bought a camera here, but at the same time I wouldn’t have all the fun pictures I’ve had. The only problem is that it’s a pain because it breaks every two seconds. Anyways, Kenz went with me and the situation ended up turning out okay thanks to the Lord watching out for me. Kenz and I got in a taxi and asked the driver to take us to the place I bought the camera. As we were in the taxi I took the camera out of the bag and the driver asked me what I was going to do with it. I explained the story of how it had broken twice and last time I exchanged it it was really difficult, and he asked if we needed him to come inside the store with us to translate. I couldn’t believe it – a taxi driver, who spoke English and offered to translate for us. He was so nice. So I graciously accepted his help.
The taxi driver went with me inside the mall area where we bought the camera, and he talked to the guy in Romanian. After about 10 minutes of bickering the guy said that he wouldn’t exchange my camera, but that we could take it to the repair shop to get it fixed. I chimed in the conversation a few times speaking half Romanian and half English and Kenz was cracking up at the butchered sentences – so were the people standing in line. Even the people in line were yelling at the guy to return it, but he wouldn’t budge. The Romanians are really stubborn.
Before we left the mall to go to the repair shop Kenz had to buy diapers so we ran into the store and bought them. As we were standing in line Kenz gave her debit card to the lady, but she blanked out on what her pin was – so after several tries I ran and got my wallet out of my backpack at the station. It’s annoying but some of the larger grocery stores make you check your bags. Kenz was like “I’ve used this card a thousand times how could I forget the pin.” She was so embarrassed, but it’s okay …I know she will pay me back.
The taxi driver was so nice. He just waited on the bench outside the store as we got the pampers. Then he promptly took us to the place I needed to go in order to get my camera fixed. He was an angel – I don’t know how I would have been able to communicate with any of the staff if he hadn’t been there. It would have been extremely frustrating. Plus he was a big guy so that helped the situation. He explained the situation again to the guy at the main desk of the place to get it fixed. A few seconds later the guy who actually fixes the cameras came out and talked to me. He spoke a little bit of English which was nice. I told him that I wanted to get my money back because I was afraid of what would happen when I take it to America and it breaks again. There’s nothing I can do about it over there – my guarantee is only applicable to European countries. So basically he’s either going to fix my camera, exchange it, or try and get my money back. He told me he had to email his superior and explain the situation, but that he would do his best to see if he could get my money back. He was very helpful. I’m going to cross my fingers that they will do a return! If not – it is supposed to be ready in a week…
On the way home the taxi driver started talking about how frustrated he was because he wanted to visit America, but it is really hard to get a Visa. Then he asked us if it was a problem to get a Visa to come here, and we told him ‘no.’ It’s hard for people from other countries to visit America, because everyone wants to go there. In contrast, it’s easy for American citizens to visit wherever we want…That must have been what Florine was talking about when he said that in order to get a Visa to visit the States he needed an invitation from someone who lives there. He was joking around about me writing one.
Although the driver was nice he started getting a little too friendly. He asked Kenz and I if we had husbands – we said “no,” but then he asked us if we had “boyfriends” and I quickly gave MacKenzie the eye and told him that we did. I didn’t want him to think we were available…even though we are. Luckily she understood my eye language and she agreed with me. Boys here seem nice – but they get a little creepy sometimes. I’ve found the best way to get them to lay off is to tell them that I have a boyfriend. What is weird is that the driver was probably in his mid 30s, and he was hitting on us.
At the 3rd floor apartments Alina was a little pill. She pretty much spent the entire time we were there in time out. She would hit one of the other kids, punch the window screen or try and throw the tables around. Then we would sit and hold her hands while she sat in time out. We had to make sure we also held down her legs and stayed away from her head because she would kick and head butt us while we held her there. Oh the joys. Then the second we were about to let her out of time out we would make her sign “I’m sorry,” because she can’t speak. Then she’d get out and look at us and do something else naughty. It was a vicious cycle. I guess she just wanted attention really bad today.
At 7th floor we colored and played bubbles the entire time. Costica cracked me up. I’d strum my fingers over my lips and make a noise and then he would do it. It was hilarious. He is such a cutie…I love the kids so much.
After I got home we ate dinner. Then our entire apartment planned to go souvenir shopping. Right before we were about to leave Kenz couldn’t find her purse anywhere, and she started freaking out. We looked the house through and through and decided she must have left it in the taxi. Luckily I had the driver’s phone number on a receipt he gave to me so we called him and Kenz left a message. She was really distraught so I told her to say a prayer and to be calm until we knew for sure he didn’t have it. Right before we were about to leave the taxi driver called us back and said he had it. The Lord is so aware of our needs. She was so relieved. I was like “see the Lord is aware of us.” She just smiled and agreed….
We went to the Moldova Mall and found some interesting Romanian gifts for our family members. I got my Dad, Stepdad and three of my older brothers some pretty crazy – but fashionable ties. They are going to have to wear them to church and send me a picture J I’m excited to give them to them…then I also found a gift for my Grandma and Grandpa Alexander. It’s a Romanian wind chime. They love stuff like that…I love buying gifts for people! I’m not sure if I have the money to do it…but oh well…I’m already going to have to take out a loan when I get home.
The rest of the night Annie and I watched What Lies Beneath. She’s never seen it and all of the girls said it was good movie one night when we were chatting so we decided to watch it together. In the middle of the movie Kenz and Mary went around outside our window and started blowing a whistle that makes bird noises…However, I didn’t know what it was at the time. I ended up jumping a good foot…It was an intense part of the movie, then all of a sudden I heard a loud bird noise, then I saw something out of the corner of my eye coming through my window and boy did I jump. I had my computer on my lap, and I jumped so high I almost broke my computer. They thought they were pretty ding dang dong funny. Oh I will get them back – just wait….
P.S. The bug bites are getting ridiculous here. I counted six mosquito bites on my upper left thigh. How they get in my clothes I don’t know…but we can’t close the windows at night because it will get too hot without air conditioning…AHHH!
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