La Revedere Romania

This is how my day started on Friday...can't get any better than the two cutest dogs greeting me on the porch!!!  They are just too adorable and have really made this trip so special.  After a major playfest with the pups and a yummy breakfast, it was back to the clinic for my last day.  I went in expecting the usual, planning on going to the baby room, but I did a little walk around first as the babies were still asleep and quiet.  As I walked by one of the playrooms, I saw Alina, Roxana and Andrea, with Cristi, Ionutz, and Daria.  There was a whole lot of crying going on in there and poor little Ionutz was getting his hair pulled by one of the twins, while getting a few slaps in the face from Alina.  He was fine after a little consoling but I decided to stay awhile and I am so glad I did!!  It turned out to be a wonderful time.  I feel like my experience was complete as I finally had yogurt and milk all over my scrubs, as Steve often did and I just would not feel right leaving the clinic without that being done:)  Alina also gave me a huge surprise when I saw her soup that was in the bottle spilled all over the floor and on the door!!  As I was cleaning that up, Daria decides it is her time to get some lovin', but that's exactly when the twins came over and it was all over...Dan later told me he saw me in there and just saw a whole lot of cryin :(  I'm sure that was quite a scene to watch...I really wish I had an extra pair of hands and another lap for them to all sit on then.  

i should have known when she was not taking her bottle like the others...darn! :)

After the initial excitement, things did quiet down quite a bit, especially as one of the aides took out the twins to join the older toddlers.  Alina and I had our little ponytail time, where she played with my ponytail from each side.   We also had our little gangsta rap/hip hop session and our language classes.  She can say so many words now!! I'm so proud of her.  Cristi and I shared some quiet time.  He really liked just draping himself over each of my shoulders and just hanging.  My kind of guy.  Ionutz and I had some sweet moments together, which was the best going away gift ever because he has been so hard to read all these weeks.  It was so nice to finally be able to hang out with him without stressing him out and to actually be able to make him happy.  He likes massages but not the up and down way but side to side across his body from back  <-> to tummy and really likes his head massaged while being held too.  Since he was doing so well, we worked on sitting and standing as well:)

This girl is non-stop fun!!

Ionutz reaching out and grabbing my hand...I was so touched!

Finally made it to the baby room later in the morning only to find that they shaved Cleo's head!!  I was so shocked...poor baby, it's a good thing she's so pretty...I don't think I mentioned it before but they tend to give the kids short hair, both boys and girls, because it's easier to maintain and keep clean, or if they need to find veins for I.V.s.  They started with the haircuts Thursday.  Even little Raul got one!!  I love how he's keeping his hands together in this next pic-but maybe it's because he's scared of the "bzz, bzz" of the clippers?!

After lunch, the staff had a little going away party for us.  It was so nice of them and we all loved it, especially the toddlers.  The afternoon was spent as usual for me, spending some quiet quality time with the babies.  Nico was feeling a whole lot better and talkin' up a storm as usual, which has been great for little Maria, who is now talking just as loud and started with some cute little screams.  Cleo has started with the talking too, and I was so surprised to hear her say a "RaRarar" kind of thing.  Nico.  Best teacher ever.  As the afternoon progressed, it really started to hit me that I won't be seeing these kids everyday anymore.  I did my best to just try and take in every minute of it, and Cleo must have known something was up because she kept crying until she finally fell asleep on my chest again.  The twins, Andrea and Roxana, Daria, Alina, and I played our little game of saying good-bye while they hung out in their cribs and then I went in for one last dance session with the older toddlers.  They made it a good one!!  As we were dancing, they noticed a car pull up and we saw that little Andrada was back!!!  She looked great, felt like she lost some weight, but apparently that's common with hospital visits according to Mihaela.  Either way, it was wonderful to be able to hold her and hang out with her just like I did the first week.  Still the happiest baby ever :)  Couldn't help the tears as I said good-bye to everyone, and sweet Andrea, aka Best Little Snuggler ever, the first one who greeted us as we entered the clinic 3 weeks ago, gave me the best hug ever on my way out.  Too sweet. 

yummy yummy!!  i love their chipmunk cheeks:)

even alex was partying!!

Celine givin' me a little break ;P

Andrada!!!



Best Little Snuggler piggy back ride!!

 It has been an emotional roller coaster of a trip, starting with talks of clinic closures and animal traumas, and ending with goodbyes to the amazing children that I've grown to love and care so deeply for.  I am so glad that I made it out here and would do it again in a heartbeat! I am so grateful to Global Volunteers for the scholarship for making it all possible and for giving me the opportunity to learn so much more about the program. This invaluable experience of serving in a foreign country has been one of the best of all my travels.  I learned so much about Romania's history and culture from all the wonderful people who were so open about sharing their stories and so welcoming.   It was so much more educational and meaningful than sitting and reading about it or watching it on T.V. at home.  Most importantly, this trip was an affirmation that there are good people all over the world, doing their best to take care of those in need.  I witnessed firsthand that love is recognized in any language and no words are needed to see it, feel it, or give it.  Just like compassion.  I am just glad that I was able to be a small part of it. 

Lastly, thank you to my wonderful family and friends who have always been there to support me through my adventures!!  I know I'm crazy, thank you so much for sticking by me always.  I owe everything to each and everyone of you.  Love you all so, so much.  A huge thank you to my work peeps for holding down the fort while I took the time off.  I'm well rested to face the madness on Monday!!!  Bring it on:)  Also, thanks to all the people following this blog that I haven't had the opportunity to meet yet.   Your encouraging words, enthusiasm, and support has helped me in ways you'll never know!  I was so excited to meet Caroline, Caroline's dad, and Robin today.  I feel so much better knowing the kids will be in such loving and caring hands.  I wanted to also ask you all to please, please give Bobby and Oscar (the hotel pups) love and hugs from me too, thank you!  They are also so dear to my heart.  Go team 161!  I will be watching out for your updates:)  Oh, and how could I forget my awesome teammates of team 160?  You guys rock.  Here are a few unforgettables just for us:  Crap means different things to different people; Romanians don't flirt-they just stare; tall white guys make awesome dance move advisors...for babies; if staff someplace in Romania can't find something- for instance, like apple juice, just tell them to look harder; "this is CHICKEN!!!"  "no, no chicken, no chicken!  i call dan"; "yo, whass up?"-complete with the swagger and hand motions; always stock up on Milka caramel chocolate from Tiff's, or your roommate might just beat you to it; and never, ever attempt to say lemon in Romanian!! 

Pa, Tutova!!  Multumesc from the very bottom of my heart.  xoxo

Happy First Day of March!

Today, we celebrated the first day of March and the coming of Spring.  In Romania, it is celebrated by exchaning pins as a symbol of a wishful and healthful new year.  The pins are called Martisors-I'm missing a few of the Romanian accents.  A time to reflect and bring good thoughts along with the new season.  Here is what it looked like here in Tutova, hopefully spring will come soon!

At least the snow is melting, right? :)

And, here are the very nice pins I received today.  That was so nice of them, totally made my day!! 



it's little but can you see the pins all pinned on the left sides of our chest?

 In addition to receiving pins, I also received my very first manicure in Romania!!  One of the aides was so nice and she noticed that I liked her nails the other day so she offered to paint mine:)  She even had a little chair with a cushion all set up for me. 

Roxana and I admiring my new mani!!

It's hard to believe that this is my last week.  I keep looking at all these cute little faces and can't help but tear up at the thought of leaving them soon.  I spent my morning as usual with the babies.  Poor Nico, she has been having a rough time with her cough and is now getting more frequent breathing treatments and medication through an I.V. placed on top of her foot, right at her ankle...which means we haven't been able to work on standing or kneeling/quad activities.  They are really keeping a close eye on her.  I hope she doesn't haven't to go to the hospital.  Our little Andrada has still not come back yet.  I'm really hoping she comes back this week so I can say good bye to her.  I held Cleo a few times today...she has really started to let us know when she wants to be held or needs some loving. 

At the end of the day, one of the aides asked me to hang out with the toddlers while she prepared the evening bottles.  It was the first time I had really hung out with all of the older toddlers in one room.  It was wild and so much fun!!!  They are some tough kiddos:)  I finally heard the "Zoom Zoom" song that I've been hearing about all this time, and I had the chance to see firsthand what Kellie was talking about when the toddlers immediately get on their backs to assume feeding position as soon as they see the bottles!!  It was so cute to watch.  I also experienced how strong Ion can throw!!  I didn't even see it coming but I sure felt it when a rattle hit me square in the face.  He was standing way across the room...he has the best aim ever!!  It was so funny and I was so shocked, I couldn't even get mad.  And then, of course, he came to give me the biggest hug and kiss ever.  Little Ion. 

It was a good day for hugs and kisses.  Especially for my buddy Paula.  She was having a great day today.  All about the kisses and she even busted out some dance moves that I know, our previous volunteer Steve taught her!!!  It was awesome to see her so happy. 

Paula---check out her new haircut

Today was a rather quiet day in the baby room like I mentioned before but yesterday was a different story!!  Marius joined our little baby room sometime over the weekend and boy, did he make things exciting!!!  He was in the crib right next to Cleo's and I completely forgot that he was there while I was giving her a bottle until...a pair of little hands started pulling out my hair with an accompaniment of very loud and contagious gigles!!!  He was having so much fun!!  Poor Cleo, she didn't know what was coming at her for the rest of the day.  He would drop blankets and soft toys right on top of her head or be knocking their cribs together.  She didn't seem to mind though, and seemed to enjoy all of the different sounds.  I discovered Marius really, really loves to be tickled so that was fun.  And, at the end of the day, I found he really likes to be carried and sung to, so that was really touching and I was so glad to finally be able to connect with him. 

Cleo, beautiful, precious Cleo

Celine and Gina workin' hard!

My friends back home may notice that my cheeks have like doubled in size and I am getting chubbier by the minute, so I wanted to show you why...check out some of the wonderful food I'm eating!  Oh, and you guys are going to trip out that I have been totally loving dessert and eating it almost everyday.  You'll see why when you see some of the pics.  Yum yum. 

This bean soup is soooooo good

This cheese layer cake like dessert was from lunch yesterday!!

Best mashed potatoes ever!!!

The soup that has been warming me up everyday, it is so delicious.  I love that we always have a soup with lunch.

Chicken with mushroom and sour cream sauce

Apple pie cake, amazing

Chicken in garlic tomato sauce with rice pilaf.  One of my faves.

Saved the best for last...the Romanian doughnut with chocolate syrup and Nutella.  Served warm. So decadent!

Should go to bed now,  talk soon wonderful peeps.  Good night. 

A little cultural exchange, a dance party, and a lot of chillaxin'

It's Sunday today, and Heather and I are relaxing, sleeping in, playing in the snow, and of course, I was playing with the dogs.  I also did some laundry, I'm getting pretty good at cleaning my clothes in the sink:)  It's warmed up a bit here and the sun is out, making it a really beautiful day to be hanging out outside. 

My roomie Heather and her snowman:)  Alex our waiter helped with the hat and nose!

A little like freeze drying...

Yesterday, we took a stroll into Barlad after we said goodbye to Steve and Kellie, the two weekers.  We took the microbus with the locals, took a stroll in the local art gallery, and shopped a little at the open market.  I wish I could have taken some pictures but my fingers were frozen...according to Heather, who is from Minnesota, it felt like it was below 20 degrees because of the wind chill.  Brrrr...Heather made friends with some students and they totally helped me out in purchasing 2 kg of oranges at the open market.  Speaking of students, we had the opportunity to visit a high school class for a little Q and A last week.  It was so much fun and the school was absolutely gorgeous!!  We talked about things like what we did and where exactly we were from, music, and living costs in the states.  I was impressed with how polite they are and with their language skills.  They spoke English very well and a few of them even busted out some Japanese!!!! 

Heather and I also went for a short visit to the clinic yesterday, delivering our oranges and yogurts from our breakfast, as usual.  There were only 2 aides there with 1 nurse and all the kids were napping, except for a very lively Alina and Raul.  Alina and I reviewed our counting skills in Romanian, while I performed my best singing and dancing routines for Raul.  I felt so badly when he reached out to me and not only did I notice that he didn't have any fingernails, but that I couldn't pick him up and play with him.  It is so different on the weekends and now, without the 3 other volunteers, it was really different as to how I could distribute my time and attention.  Sadly, a lot of the younger toddlers had to stay in their cribs while the babies and the older toddlers were attended to by Heather and I.  It has also been hard as the babies continue to be in isolation and are unable to leave their rooms. Going to have to figure out a better way for Monday...good thing we had our mega-dance party on Friday with the youngsters :)  And, it's a good thing I took advantage of having Steve and Kellie last week to take some more pics around the clinic.  

Finally a full shot of Petre!

Alex and I after our leisurely stroll.

Marius!  He was playing his little game of cough until the volunteer starts panicking, then laugh your head off!!

Crisi Daniel.  Check out those beautiful lashes and beautiful skin!

Paula!!  Time to get out and explore again!!

Love this girl and how she lets us know what she wants, rarely takes a crib already occupied, and waits for my hands to become free before taking it to guide me on one of her adventures.

Nico, right before she started blowing major raspberries and cracking herself up.

Lea Celine, aka Ana's Mama.  She is so good to her and oh so protective of her.

I love this pic,  Marius is so handsome!

Alex, I feel like she is such a deep, old soul.  I would love to know what she is thinking.  She's probably like those silly, silly, big people!!

Andrea!  This pic says it all.  She has no fear and is so smart!!  She figured out that Celine gets out for visits to the baby saying "Ana, Ana.." so guess what?  This little one started it saying "Ana, Ana..." to escape!!!

 Thanks to all of you following my blog!!  It has been so encouraging to hear from you and I really appreciate all of your comments!!  Please let me know if there is anything else or anyone you want to know about and I will do my best to find out and post pics during this last week of mine. 

Rest in peace my puppy friend

Today was a sad, sad day for me.  My little puppy friend, Labota (not sure of the spelling but it means little puppy hand, pronounced Labozza) passed away last night.  He was attacked by one of the hospital dogs when he was following us to the clinic yesterday morning.  We knew the dogs were not friendly, but had no idea that they were so vicious.  One of my teammates and I rushed to his side and carried him home, placing him into the doghouse the hotel owner had built.  He just looked like he was in shock, with no visible injuries, so we left him there, checking in on him when we could during the day.  He looked more traumatized than when he was hit by the car.  As the day progressed, it snowed harder with more wind, so after dinner we decided we would bring him inside to keep warm as he was still only moving a tiny bit inside the doghouse, with plans to ask to take him to the vet the next morning.  As soon as he came inside, he put his head to rest on the little pillow, covered by towels and our clothes.  He just looked exhausted, but would continue to wag his tail or lift his head up when one of us touched his little face. We prayed that he would make it through the night.  At about one thirty in the morning, my teammate came to tell me that our little friend was gone.

Thank you for giving me one of the warmest greetings at a hotel I have ever received and for making me so happy everyday.  You were a very strong and brave little one and I will never forget how you gave me so much hope and joy when you came walking towards me after the accident, and everyday since then when you would greet us when we came home.  You were the best snuggler ever.  I miss you but know that you can now run around happily and freely without worries, along with all of my beloved pets who have said good-bye.

I was devastated heading into the clinic today, but knew that nothing would make me feel better than to see those kids.  Already fighting back tears rather unsuccessfully, I felt a whole new set of them gushing as I looked up in the window to see Andrea, Celine, Ion, and Petre all looking at us and waving with huge smiles on their faces.  Today, especially today, their unconditional love, smiles, and laughter, along with their hugs and silly antics nourished me and helped me to move forward.  I always knew it would be a privilege to work with them, but it was truly a much needed gift for me today and I was so grateful for each and everyone of them.  The babies were amazing, it was almost as if they knew we would need some nurturing today.  They all were so happy and ate so very well, hanging out with them was so peaceful.  Here are some shots from the day.

Woo-hoo!!!

Daria our little gymnast

Sorry it's sideways...:(

From the afternoon baby session:

Nico and Cleo havin' a moment of fun

Cleo enjoying her decorated crib

Here are some pics and a video of Raul from some of the other days that I haven't had a chance to post up yet:



Celine, our little mama



Roxana and Andrea

Ionutz

Petri!  So hard to get a pic of this handsome little guy

Nicoletta and Maria

Raul (sorry, didn't have a chance to check the spelling of his name)

And I forgot I wanted to add this one from today:


 Only because...after this beautiful moment of friendship, little Miss Alina proceeded to head butt me, smack me in the face, and attempt to take a chunk out of my arm all at once!!  She's a quick one alrighty---keeps me on my toes:)  Oh yeah, I didn't get a pic but when I walked in she had her onesie hanging down from her waist, fully zippered and buttoned, grooving to some hip hop...it was awesome.