May 20, 2008 (Tuesday)

This morning we took the kids outside early and were there most of the day. My little Andrei was playing on the playground when I got there. Boy oh boy was he a little pill today. He was definitely on one. While we were on the playground one of the therapists came and put hearing aids in his ear. I couldn’t really tell if they worked though because he didn’t seem to act much different than the way he normally does. He didn’t act like he could hear anything. He kept doing a hundred yard dashes to all the areas that were off limits to children. Then I would have to grab him.

Today the physical therapist Sera picked me as a target to flirt with – Mindy was cracking up. Us girls agreed that they are good looking guys, but they are little players. Plus we aren’t allowed to date, and we don’t want to date Romanian men. Anyways, he was playing with some of the kids on the playground talking to his friend about his age who was sitting next to him, and he was like “Hey Whitney come over here.” I said “yes” and he continued to say that him and his friend were talking and that I was “very, very beautiful.” I told him “thanks and that I was flattered” then tried to leave it at that. He kept talking to me though, and in somewhat broken English he said that instead of flirting he was being direct. I just laughed and said okay. He’s harmless, but he is a charmer – we’ve already been warned that Sera tries to “woo” the BYU girls when we come…so funny. Then he said that my eyes were pretty and quote “when I look into your eyes I am astonished.” Mindy was listening and I saw her cracking up a few feet away from me. She kept repeating that to me today…it was a pretty cheesy line. Then he asked me what I thought, and asked me if I was single. I told him that I had just gotten out of a relationship and was single, but that he was a little smooth talker…and that I know many men like him. I told him that he was a charmer and asked him if he knew what that meant. He was like “is that a man who talks to all the women and says stuff?” I replied “yes.” Then he said that he wasn’t bad – that he no longer drank or slept with girls…I told him that was good. After talking to him I found out that apparently he used to be a bad boy – then he was paralyzed while doing something stupid when he was drunk and he had to learn how to re-walk and everything. He showed me the scars he had and told me how he was Pentecostal and how he had “found God” through the incident. Then he said that he wanted to talk with me about “life, love and God” sometime when I was off work. He said I could bring some friends to make sure I didn’t feel uncomfortable. I kind of just shrugged and laughed without answering him. He’s 27 and he is still very much of a little player. We all thought that maybe he was gay because he was good looking and he hangs out with other good looking guys that are his friends, but apparently Elisa asked someone who knows him really well and they said he wasn’t. Oh well, I’m sure he’ll be on to flirting with someone else tomorrow. Haha…I wonder who his next target is….

After my little adventure outside we went inside and turned on some music. All the kids were dancing – even those who are stuck in a chair. Maria grabbed my arm when I walked by her wheel chair which was quite a surprise. Most of the time she seems like she is in her own little world. Then Andrei started dancing with me and it was the cutest thing ever. He would wiggle his little hips and giggle. I don’t think he could really hear the music, but that little boy has some smooth moves. My goal is to get him adopted into a good family this semester. We shall see if that is possible...The caretaker that was in there today was kind of harsh with the kids. It bothered me. Today Vlad – one of the kids Whitney Scott works with – was thirsty so the caretaker got him a bottle. He is about 5 years old and he can easily drink on his own – not to mention hold the bottle on his own. Well she went to feed him the bottle, and he wanted to do it himself. She wouldn’t let him for some reason…at least it didn’t make sense to me or Whitney. He was screaming bloody murder and closing his mouth. Then instead of letting him settle down she went and got a cup and forced water down his throat. He kept choking. Whitney Scott turned her head…that’s hard to see when you feel like your kids are being treated badly….really hard.

The hospital was tons of fun today. MacKenzie and I went and saw Alex – the ten year old who was left by his mom. I brought him his favorite kind of candy. It’s so cute his eyes will get huge and he will say “wow.” He was so grateful for the candy. He’s ten years old and the poor boy is stuck in that horrible hospital on his own…he can’t even walk around. They yell at him if he goes in the hall. Anyways, right after I gave him the candy he pulled out a note that he had written for me while I was gone. So adorable. The note talked about things he liked to do and then it said thanks for visiting him and for playing “go fish” with him the other day. Then he signed it “with much love, Alex.” Seriously cute. Then we threw a ball around the room and threw it between the three of us as fast as possible. We were all laughing hysterically…I have a blast with that little kids. He’s so cute. Then MacKenzie and I were trying to talk to him and we think he said that his mom was visiting him tomorrow…but that his dad has never visit him. I’m really confused because the boy who translated for us the other day said that his mom had left him and that his dad rarely visited him…I guess I will see if his mom comes when I go to visit him tomorrow. I wonder if he was making it up or if I just didn’t understand very well…who knows…Regardless, MacKenzie and I promised him that we would bring our laptop on Thursday so he could watch a movie and we could have a dance party. He was really excited about that. It makes my day to see him smile and laugh…I doubt he gets much of that in the hospital. I’m so grateful that I can bring a little light into his life.

After Alex we went and visited two babies without moms who were on floors higher than we normally visit – we didn’t know they were there until yesterday. They were both a few months old and cute as can be. MacKenzie and I chatted as we held them...good times. Then we started talking about how we couldn’t believe a parent would be able to leave their baby after looking at them and seeing their sweet spirits. We don’t get it…we just don’t get it…and I’m afraid I won’t ever understand the mind of someone who leaves their baby alone in the world. Sad.

After the hospital Mindy and I decided to do one of our Cultural Proof assignments for school – we had to make “a traditional Romanian craft.” At the Relief Society activity the other night they showed us how to make skirts so we decided to make one. It was quite funny considering Mindy and I are the least sewing oriented out of everyone. We were good troopers though and Elisa was nice enough to help us out. Mindy was hilarious. She said that in school when she took a sewing class her teacher would always do it for her because she couldn’t. Luckily by the end of the night neither of our skirts looked too bad. Mindy’s was a little shorter than what it was supposed to be, but still modest and wearable. When she tried it on we were all laughing. Neither of us have completely finished our skirt, but I’m pretty proud of myself this far. I don’t sew and I’m not the best cook in the world, but I am quickly learning how to do both in Romania…ha…and I’m not quite as bad as I thought I would be when I try…it feels good…

When we got home MacKenzie and Mary were on one…they were hilarious. I heard laughing and a lot of noise coming from their bedroom and when I entered Mary was holding MacKenzie out the window. They were both cracking up…then they got in a water fight…those crazy girls…!