Reunited with the Children

Monday

I've been looking forward to today ever since I left Romania seven months ago :-)

I met my teammates, Denise (from Boston)  and Lynn (from Austin, TX), at breakfast this morning, then we set out for the hospital.  I swallowed a big lump in my throat when I saw Gaby, Alina, Emma, Luciana, and Andrei. 

The children have changed a bit since I last saw them.  Alina is quieter;  she didn't walk up my legs and flip around even once.  I only coaxed one "ooo la la" out of her, and not much talking or singing at all.   I'm a little concerned about her.

Alina accessorizing with new beads, bracelets, and a bow

Emma is thinner.  I heard she lost some weight from a serious infection.  She was taken to a hospital in Iasu for treatment a few weeks ago.  But she is healthy and smiling a lot now.  She has started to babble and has learned to clap her hands.  

Sweet little Emma

Gabriella (Gaby) likes purple

Luciana seems a wee bit bigger.  Last time I saw her, we were teaching her to roll over and crawl;  now she is learning to walk.  Gaby is a little taller.  She is still trying to see through any object she holds, and she still loves anything that lights up or makes noises.  

Our special angel, Andrei

Andrei pulls at my heart strings as much as ever.  I was happy to see him eating better;  I fed him his breakfast bottle and he drank the whole thing.  He also ate some mashed banana.  He didn't cry and he doesn't seem to be uncomfortable.  When I first walked in the room, I couldn't help but be reminded of precious Cleo when I saw him on the bed in the same spot that Cleo used to occupy.  

Delia is at the Placement Center right now, so I haven't seen her yet.  I hope I get to see her before I leave.

I met some new children today -- Luca, Samy, and Ionica.  I don't know them very well yet.  Samy made a name for himself today by breaking not one, not two, not three, but four glass bottles.  (Don't ask why they don't use plastic bottles;  I have no idea).  Our fault entirely.  If we were all experienced Mommies, we would make sure they were out of his reach, right?

Luca

Trying out a pediatric arm sling

We unpacked all the medical supplies I brought from Medwish International.  The nurses were very grateful, and snapped up a few things that they needed right away.  Cora, the first thing they did was put batteries in the pulse oximeters and tested them out on themselves.  They were delighted to have them!

Grateful Nurses

In the afternoon, Mihaela unpacked the clothes I had sent ahead.  It was fun picking out new outfits for the children and trying them on.  I think there will be something that fits everybody.  

What else can I say besides "I'm happy to be back in Barlad"?






Tuesday

We spent the morning at the hospital again today.  Unfortunately, the children were exposed to measles last week, and so they are under quarrantine.  We can't take them outside to play, or even down the hall.  We are confined to three un-air conditioned hospital rooms.  It's hot and stuffy.  The children (and us) are uncomfortable, but we are making the best of it.  Today, Dan did get the fan to work (so we had air movement, but not a/c).  None of the children has shown any sign of measles, but we're not out of the clear yet.

I spent some one-on-one time with Alina.  I played the picture card "Memory" game that I had taught her in December.  She remembered it, but didn't seem to want to play very long.  Denise and I had some fun teaching trying to teach her to skip.  She mastered standing on one foot, and hopping with both feet, but skipping was a bit too complicated for today.

Gaby had a blast with the new toys I bought.  She jumped and down and laughed and screamed when she saw them light up with blinking lights.   I'm also pleased to report that she doesn't drink from a bottle anymore at all.  She doesn't feed herself yet, but she does eat with a spoon.  

Coca (the nurse) went through all the new clothes, and a few of the girls tried things on for a little fashion show.  Coca and the other nurses just loved everything we picked out (thanks Peggy and Mary 2).  That pink polka dot top in the picture was an especially big hit.

Nurse Coca with Luciana, Gaby, and Alina trying on new clothes

We all went to the high school this afternoon to teach English.  I was asked to take a small group of advanced students to challenge them a bit more.  We used some of the conversation cards I had brought to talk about "Good Habits/Bad Habits" and about "Food".  Then, we played a game called "Word Snap" which is very similar to Scattergories.  They were really pretty good at it.  I'll go back for another session with them on Thursday.

Dinner tonight was at an Italian restaurant ..... who knew that Romanians could make such good Italian food?  

I've found that if I walk down one floor, and sit on the couch in the stairway, I get pretty good internet reception.  The only problem is that the lights are on a motion sensor, so I have to keep waving my hands to turn them back on.  Oh well, at least I'm able to send pictures and post to my blog now.

One Day in Bucharest

After flying more hours, with more layovers and more miles than planned, I finally arrived at the Rembrandt Hotel in the historic district of Bucharest.  The last time I was here, the skies were gray and the streets were snowy.  It was nice to see sunny skies and outdoor cafes stretching along the brick streets. 

The Rembrandt Hotel is very small.  In fact, it is so small that only one person and one suitcase can fit in the elevator;  that meant three trips just to get my bags to my room.   My duffle bag, packed with 50 pounds of English books and language games, does not have wheels.  The street is closed off to cars, so my poor driver had to carry it all the way down the street  (read:  nice tip for him).  Here’s a snapshot of the hotel and outdoor café.

Me, Adriana, Raluca 

I had a lovely dinner with Adriana Tontsch, founder and president of ARSBH (Asociatia Romana Spina Bifida si Hidrocefalie) and Raluca Liculescu (works in the ARSBH office in Bucharest).  We walked to a nearby “beer garden”.  We talked a lot about their work, which is primarily providing shunts for children with hydrocephalus (which often accompanies spina bifida).  They also provide education to the community, organize parent support groups, and try to persuade doctors to refer these children to neurosurgeons for treatment.   Even in the medical community, there exists a pervasive thinking that these children are not worth saving, and they often get no surgical intervention whatsoever (like our dear little Andrei). 

Entertainment at the Beer Garden

Sunday morning, we started out early for Snagov Monastery.   The monastery was founded in the 14^th century on a small island in the middle of a lake.  It is still used as a monastery today, but only four monks live there.  It seems completely incongruous, but this is one of the sites where Vlad the Impaler (aka Dracula) tortured and killed criminals and prisoners of war.  I almost lost my breakfast listening to our tour guide describe how victims were “impaled”.

Church at Snagov Monastery, with Adriana Tontsch

The Orthodox Church at the monastery was simply beautiful.  Every square inch inside was painted with saints’ portraits and religious scenes.   (Sorry, but I wasn’t allowed to take any pictures inside).  In front of the altar is the honorific tomb of Vlad the Impaler.   In recent times, when archaeologists dug up the tomb they found a nobleman’s rich clothing, but horse bones rather than human bones.   It is thought that he is buried somewhere else on the island since he requested he buried at the monastery, but that the exact location was kept secret to protect it from vandalism, and the location in the church is a decoy.

Painted egg at the Monastery

There are animals at the monastery that the monks care for.  One large, particularly aggressive turkey followed us everywhere.   I think he just wanted to be in all the pictures we took.

 

After a relaxing coffee break, our next stop was the Parliament Palace.  The Communist Dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, began its construction as his Presidential Palace, but he was overthrown (and killed) before it was completed.  It is the second largest building in the world (the largest is the Pentagon).  I can only imagine the size of the ego that would bulldoze 1/6 of Bucharest, displacing thousands of people, to have such a monstrosity built.   Some people say he was mad with power, and I could easily believe it. 

Inside Parliament Palace, just one of 1,100 rooms

Location of Nadia Comenici's wedding reception

The palace is one mammoth marbe and crystal room after another (1,100 of them).  For the engineers among us, it contains one million cubic meters of marble, 550,000 tons of cement, 700,000 tons of steel, and 3,500 tons of crystal.   The main ballroom (where Nadia Comenici held her wedding reception) is large enough to land a helicopter.

With tour guide, Diana, outside Parliament Palace

 A large, marble balcony overlooks the center of Bucharest.  Ceausescu intended this as his stage for public addresses.  He never stepped out on it.   Only one person has ever made a public speech from this spot.  Who was it?  Would you believe ... Michael Jackson.  He made an appearance here during a concert in Bucharest.

I left Bucharest Sunday evening for the four-hour drive to Barlad.  This is where the real reason for my trip, helping Global Volunteers care for the disabled abandoned/orphaned children, will begin.

Preparing to Leave

Hello Everyone,

On Friday, I will be leaving for my second trip to Romania.  I knew when I left last Christmas that I would return someday.  I didn't expect it would be in less than a year, though.

This trip will be a little different from the last.  I will spend my first week with Global Volunteers, working as before with the disabled children at Elena Beldiman Hospital in Barlad.  I can't wait to see  Alina, Gaby, Emma, Luciana, and little Andrei again.  I am sad that Cleo won't be there (she passed away in March), but I think I'll still feel her spirit there.  I am excited to be bringing a generous donation of medical supplies from MedWish International -- a wonderful organization.

www.medwish.org

The next part of my trip, I will be teaching at an "English Camp" for teenagers, sponsored by the Scouts for Arts.  The goal of the camp is to integrate Arts Education with conversational English language learning.  I will be traveling with a group of 35 14-19 year olds to museums, monasteries, castles and cultural heritage sites throughout Romania.  I don't know all the details, but I know we will be spending one night in Putna Monastery in medieval Moldova.  I also know we will spend one week in the Ciucas Mountains near Valea Prahovei, reported to be the most beautiful site in Romania.  Check out these links to Google Images if you would like a preview:

putna monastery images

Valea Prahovei


I'll post to this blog when I can, but I don't know how reliable internet access will be.

Bye for now,
Mary