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.”
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
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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