Cute Girls

October 30, 2007

Today was a good full day. I got to talk to Adrian this morning. It is so nice to hear his voice. Sniff.

We did the normal orphanage thing.

Larisa was really funny today. She was disappointed that I didn't bring my IPOD but luckily she fell in love with Adrian instead. It was really funny. She saw our picture on my phone and her eyes lit up. She even kissed his picture and asked if we could call him on the phone so she could talk to him. It was really funny. I will have to keep my eye out for her, she might steal Adrian from me.

It is going to be nice to come home to some personal space. It will be really nice to actually be alone....

Went to the apartments in the afternoon. Mihaiella was as crazy as ever. She is so funny because she would get so excited and hyper, like out of control. Then she would ask me to pick her up, and she would turn into this angel. She let me hold her for like 20 min and she was silent the whole time. Wow she can be two different people sometimes.

Romanian Orphanage

October 29, 2007

Today was a pretty good day. I was my first day back since last Friday. It felt really good to be back. It was so fun to come in the room and have all of my kids yell “DANIELLA!!” It was nice to know that I was missed and loved. Ghitsa was practically knocking his wheel chair over he was so excited. Sniff I really liked that.

We got to go outside today too! It was my first time taking the kids out. It was fun to see them all get bundled up to go out. They had to have hats and winter coats on. It was pretty funny. I pushed the kids on the swings and played with the plastic bowling set. It was really funny. I remembered I was in Romania when one little girl had to go to the bathroom. The worker instead of taking her in the building which was five feet away, she took her behind a bush. It was pretty funny.

We had Family Home Evening tonight. We made Caramel apples. It was really fun. Sort of hard to make Caramel on Romanian ingredients but it was okay. I am excited to get home and have Caramel Apples from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Wow those are so good...

Halloween is decided!!!

October 23, 2007

Today is my half way point! I dont really like describing it like that because it feels like I have been here a long time and then I find out it is only half way. I like to think of it in bit milestones. I leave for Budapest in a week and a half, when I get home I will have a week and a half until Thanksgiving and then i leave in three weeks to come home! I cant believe it. It has gone by so fast and yet so slow at the same time. It feels like years since I have seen my friends and family and Adrian, but I cant believe that I am almost going home. A little bitter sweet but hey I will be glad to be home.

Aside from the strange illnesses I seem to acquire, I live Romania. I love the people and the culture. But trust me it has definitely given me an appreciation for America that I never had before.

I have decided to go with Erica's idea of being Wendy from Peter Pan. Really ingenious idea! Heff the girl from the Ring terrifies me. If I embodied her character, like I do all of my Halloween characters, I would be scarred for life. That is actually really scary to think about....

I was home sick today. I was all alone. It was kind of boring and a little scary. Hopefully I will be better tomorrow but things are not looking bright.

:)

Cabin Fever

October 22, 2007

Today I was home sick again. I definitely think this Cabin Fever thing is true. I have not left the house since I got home on Friday at 12. It is weird what not having fresh air can do to you. He he he.

Hopefully I will be better tomorrow and i will be able to go to the orphanage. This is the reason why I have not been posting. My life has been very boring.

I have been thinking a lot about what i am going to be for Halloween. Sort of slim pickings here in Romania. We did however find a box of old Halloween stuff form past interns. Inside it contained a blue dress. I think i am going to wear it. I dont know what I am going to be though. What do you think I could be? The most creative answer wins!

I have a paper due on Wednesday that i have not yet started. I should get to work on that. I went to FHE tonight. That was fun. We made toilet paper mummies:)

Fast Sunday

October 7, 2007

Today was my first Fast Sunday in Romania. It was really nice to hear all of the testimonies of the branch members. We also met the new missionaries. They seem really nice and willing to translate so that will be good. There was a baptism today. It was really neat and the spirit was so strong. The Elders asked if we would sing a musical number the night before. It went okay, a few minor flubs but not too bad. I am sad that I am missing out on General Conference, we get it next week in Romanian. I need to find out my other options.

I got to talk to Karlie today. That was really nice. I had missed her a lot and it was good to talk for the five min before the phone card ran out. Hopefully we will be able to talk again soon.

I have been a little home sick today. If anyone would like to send me pictures I would love them. I dont have many.

Sigh sorry this entry was not the best, but I love you all and i will write more tomorrow and in my emails.

Happy Birthday Alie!

October 6, 2007

Today Is Alie's 21^st birthday.

We started out by going to Kauffland's and stocking up. Since the festival is going to be starting to is going to be crazy trying to get around and especially trying to go grocery shopping. So I went and got my case of ramen noodles for the next two weeks. I really like ramen noodles. I even am starting to mix things up by adding different vegetables. It makes things a little interesting.

After that we came back and started making party preparations. She wanted to do something with the youth from the branch so we decided to have a little get together at the branch. But before that we went to dinner. It was crazy trying to find a place to eat. Everyone has weddings on Saturdays so we went to like five places and they were all booked out. Finally we found this little Lebanese restaurant that was actually fabulous. I really enjoyed it. But since we got started lated we barely made it to the villa on time.

The party was really fun. About 6 or 7 people came so it was a big turn out. We played games and had cake and ice cream. After that we came home and had girls night. We watched Alie's favorite movie, While You Were Sleeping. It was cute.

A Good Day

October 5, 2007

Today has been a really good day.

I had a little break through at the orphanage today, in two different situations. With the kids whoa re completely functional; it has been really hard to know what to do with them or how to work with them. Since I dont speak Romanian I have had a hard time communicating with them or getting to know them. Today I figured out a way that I can be teaching them but also gaining their trust at the same time. I starting teaching them and playing a shape game with them. I would say the name of the shape and then all of the kids would take turn solving the puzzle. It was also good because it is helping them be happy and cheer for one another, after each child would go we would clap and say “Bravo, Bravo!” for them. It made them all giggle and smile. I was happy that we were all working together. Also I have been trying to reach this little girl named Izabella. She is severely handicapped. When stimulated she hits her face really hard and has bruises all over her face because of it. She cannot speak and is completely blind with one completely clouded eye. She can be sort of intimidating and scary to look at. Often times she is forgotten in the corner because the workers just do not want to deal with her. So everyday I make a conscious effort when I go in to touch her face and say “Buna Ziwa Iza!” so she knows that I am here and that I am soft and nice. I bring a toy for her to play with and through out the day I go and touch her face and say hello. SO I have been doing this for about two weeks with no reaction. Today I go and spend a little time with her and I actually got her to smile and even laugh for a small moment. For the instant it really sort of uplift me and show me that I really was making a difference. It was amazing.

I also got some pictures of my new little nephew Dyson. Can I just say that he is absolutely adorable. He has Jessica's nose and chin and the rest of his face looks a lot like Derrek's. Oh he is so cute. It makes me home sick to see him. I just want to go and hold him.

We are having our girls night tonight instead of tomorrow, so we made Crepes. They were so good. We got this jam stuff from one of the sisters in the branch and it was amazing!

Today was a good day...