Only Two Weeks Left?

Kenny and I have just realized that we have two more weeks left working with the kids before we leave Romania. It will be sad to leave them because we have grown quite fond of their little faces and funny quirks (on most days). It is incredible how quickly the time has passed and we are looking forward to enjoying every moment with the kids before we leave. I think it will be a jam packed two weeks. We are taking the girls house on a picnic in the woods, making cookies, Kenny and the boys are planning a "Mom's day off" and we will celebrate a few of the kid's birthdays before we leave too. The most striking thing we have noticed about the kids is how well behaved they are and that they really never "want" anything but love and attention. They never ask for toys, electronics or games. They simply want you to pay attention to them and play with them.

It has been surprising how quickly we have come become accustomed to the shower every three days and now often don't even feel that we "need" a shower on that third day. Of course we usually take it anyway. We have also easily reverted back to our college days of roommates. We now have water jugs and other food items with our names on them in the refrigerator and ask if anyone needs the bathroom before we go to use it, and take turns doing chores.

The area around the village where we live and most of the country we have seen is a strange mix of poverty and wealth. In our small village there are huge beautiful homes with nice cars in the driveway, right next door to a mud hut with a horse and wagon in the yard. There is beautiful farmland as far as the eye can see when you get outside the cities, mostly corn and sunflowers that are now brown and dried. However, the cities are some of the ugliest I have ever laid eyes on. Tall, concrete blocks of apartments sprout from the side of roads and it is quite obvious that no maintenance has been done since the building was built. We really did not know what to expect when we came here but we really have enjoyed what we have experienced this far and are planning to enjoy the next two weeks to the fullest!!

Having Fun in the Sun on Sports Day

One of the most exciting days the kids look forward to, is their annual Sports Day. It is a time when all the children and volunteers can get together and participate in games and contests. With 30 children between the three homes it is a big affair. This year is seems Sports Day was scheduled for the hottest day of the year. The temperature was in the upper 90's F or according to our Aussie and Kiwi volunteers in the 30's C.

This years event included games such as the ever popular wheel barrel race. This I found was was very interesting selection, when some of the kids are in wheel chairs or have a difficult time walking on their own. I found this required me to carry or act as the wheel barrel for few of the contestants. I figure a little sweat and pain is worth the laughs I received for my efforts.

Some of the other games we participated in included an obstacle race, water relay and an European favorite called " Toss the Boot"! Let me put your mind to rest before you think we involved the children in some sort of drinking game. This game actually involves tossing a rubber boot as far as possible. The individual with the longest distance wins.

We concluded this fun and exhausting day with a picnic lunch and a surprise water fight that provided a much needed cool down.

Captian Armpit Shaver

Up until this week I have been working at Casa Hannah, the home for seven of the most severely disabled kids at the Tanner Mission. However, this week I have been able to work at Casa Hannah in the morning and then head over to Casa Elizabeth in the afternoons. At Casa Elizabeth there are nine girls who range in age from 24 to 14 and they continually crack me up and keep me highly entertained all afternoon. We have been doing some coloring, swinging, and playing balls. Also, they all love to sing and I have had to dig deep into the recesses of my memory for songs to teach them. The girls are on a rotating shower schedule and yesterday I got to be the official armpit shaver. It was a job that I have never considered but with my educational and employment background I felt that I really had the right skill set. I seemed to excel and am hoping to hone my skills even more in the coming weeks. I also got to help some of the girls with weeding. This may seem like an innocent enough job until the weeds turn out to be wacky weed. Yes, it seems to grow everywhere here. Of course, after stopping to stare for a few minutes and asking myself if that really was what I thought it was, I pulled them too and put them the pile with all the other nondescript weeds. There are a ton more plants on the roadside if needed. Tomorrow is sports day and the kids are all really excited. We are also planning some picnic lunches that I think they will enjoy.

Week #1 in Nicorest- Tanner Mission style

After our first full week of volunteer work in Nicoresti, I found that I learned more from the children of Tanner Mission than I was able to teach them. It is amazing how children with so little are so proud and have such a positive outlook on life. Every morning I am reminded of this by the excited little faces that meet me at the door when I arrive at the group home. They take great pleasure in the littlest of tasks. Happiness is really not a factor of wealth, as these children prove on a daily basis.

This week my main task at Casa Rachel (boys group home), was to cut and stack the fire wood that the house would require for heat during the very cold winters in Romania. This sounds like a small task but we have already filled two sheds full of wood that a normal American family would not go through in three years. This is there only source of heat and every room has a ceramic fire place. The fires have to keep burning 24/7 from Nov. to March. With 11 boys living in this house and 14 rooms you can image the amount of wood required. Next week will be a little of the same but the wood will be for Casa Hannah which is the group home where Katie is working.

When I am not working on the wood, I spent time with the boys helping them with school work. Many have not had formal education but they are all eager to learn. A few of the boys attend school and range from 4th to 6th grade. It brings back memories of my teaching days helping them with their work. The kids are more than happy to help me learn Romanian while I help them with English. Often times I am wondering what they are really saying about me in their Romanian tongue. I have figured out that my baldness is a source of great entertainment. So far this has been a great experience and I am looking forward to learning more about the Romanian cultures and hopefully offering something positive in return.

Arrival in Romania

We have made it to Romania. I think at this point we are most excited about laundry facilities, unpacking our bags, and staying in one place for more than a few days. Our plane arrived in Bucharest at 11:30 pm and we were tired and eager to get to our hotel. First, none of the ATM machines in the airport would give us cash and second, we could not for the life of us find a taxi driver who was not trying to rip us off. Apparently, the "correct" price from the airport to the city center is about 20 lei. Almost everyone was trying to get us to pay 70 lei and when we finally negotiated down to 50 lei we decided to just go for it. We didn't have many other choices at 12:30 in the morning, and we couldn't find another way to get to the city center. It is just so irritating when you know that you are getting ripped off and can't do anything about it.

Thankfully we were able to sleep in the next day and then headed out to the train station for another travel adventure. We needed to use our credit card to buy a train ticket, since we only had a small amount of cash and that is a rather complicated procedure here in Romania. You must wait in one line to find out the price of the ticket, go to another line to have the credit card charged, then go to a third line to show them you have paid the correct amount and get you ticket. The only problem for us was that once we went through this process the train we wanted to take was long gone and the price of the next train was completely different. Talk about complicated!!!! When we did eventually get on the train we met a very nice Romania girl who has been going to school in Provo, Utah and she gave us some good insights. Also, Bruce and Sandie, the couple who run the group homes, were at the train station to meet us and take us to our village, Nicoresti.

I think it is going to me an interesting, exciting and challenging six weeks. Tomorrow Sandi will take us around to meet the kids and see the different homes. There is Casa Elisabeth, where 9 girls live, Casa Rachael where 11 boys live and Casa Hannah where 3 girls and 4 boys live. The kids at Casa Hannah have the most severe disabilities and are primarily confined to wheelchairs. This is the home that I will be working at, while Kenny will be at Casa Rachael. We will live in a volunteer apartment with 4 other volunteers. Fortunately we are going to be able to have our own room, but the shower will still only be every three days. We will keep you posted now that we have more regular internet access.