Day 42

So today consisted of gorgeous weather. It was so nice out.. I was warm with my jacket on. The weather is so bizarre here. It seriously was bitter cold and rainy last week and this week is warmish and really sunny. It is perfect though now that Iasi Days is in full swing. The streets are just lined with dozens and dozens of shops. There are a lot of the same things like hats, scarves, jackets, sheep skin etc. There are also a ton of these round sweet roll things that are utterly delicious! They bake them fresh and roll them in a topping like almond, or sugar, or cinnamon sucar, or toasted coconut. They are fantastic fresh off the press. Ill have to get some pictures for the blog cause it is very difficult to understand. I got a traditional Romanian scarf today! I am not really sure how to wear it but I love it. We walked around a bit today after the orphanage and it seriously is so much fun. They have all the stores and then they have food stands with options like those rolls, corn on the cob, sausages, kabobs, rotisserie meats, and lots and lots of beer or homemade wine. People drink wine like water here because so many people make it at home with their little grape crops. It is such a big party in all of the city. Even now it is like 9 pm and I can still hear the music blasting and the occasional person blowing a horn or bugle or something. Romanian music is something else. It is very energetic often sounds like an energetic saxophone… to my untrained ear sounds very obnoxious to be completely honest. Here is a link to a Romanian line dance song that you hear everyyyywhere: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaDEahQ-UTE Most songs are faster than this one too. We can hear this music blasting even from our apartment!

Highs today: Lumi was working today. She is one of my favorite workers so it is always a great day when she is working because she shows a keen interest in me and my life even though we have a language barrier. At snacktime I was eyeing the wafers the kids were eating. She gave me a chocolate wafer and orange slice! She always feeds me and it makes me happy in a selfish sort of way haha. She has me sit at the table and eat my snack like one of the kids. It’s funny. Jello has started to say my name! He is talking so much now it is so cool to play a part in the prime time for so many of these children’s lives. Darian is starting to walk and it is so exciting to help him and see his first steps as he waddles towards me! The kids successes are my successes and I can only imagine how much more so it will be when I have my own children. The hospital was really great today which is always such a boost because the hospital is one of the most difficult things for me to do every day. Megan and I were able to have such a satisfying day with the different kids. We had to leave the two cleft palate girls because one of them, Elena, has a severe attachment disorder. It is so sad because she needs the attention but when you play with her she will just scream and scream. The nurses get really frustrated with us and kick us out. It is such a lose lose situation with attachment disorders. They develop due to neglect but they become so clingy that they get left alone because then they do not cry.. but that is exactly why they have the disorder . an interesting thing though is that she cries 'mama' all the time but she has never known her mom. It shows that 'mama' is an instinctual and like.. inborn need for children. She is lonely so she cries for mama.. even though she does not even know what a mama is. It is heart wrenching.

Megan and I found a little boy.. I guess he had a mom but the nurse showed us to him and it was THE funniest thing ever. We thought the boy was like… 1 year old or something. He was small and looked really young. He has a magazine so we were playing peekaboo with it and then covering up megans hand. All of a sudden the boys says ‘pune mâna acolo” or “put your hand there” what! Freaky man child! He could speak perfectly in his little child voice! We bust up cause it was so bizarre. I then am playing the game where I hide something in one of my two hands and made him guess which one it was in. He guessed correctly and then hides the object behind his back… all of a sudden he throws his hands out just like I did expecting me to guess! He was full of surprises and the child we once thought was 1 all of a sudden was showing the mental capacity of a 4 or 5 year old! Megan and I were dying laughing he was the funniest boy ever… of course it got a little awkward when his mother walked in and we were all up in her son’s grill. Haha we left a couple diapers.. gave a cordial ‘revedere’ and left. The day finished with a wonderful trip to the Kaufland grocery store where I completed my ingredients list for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! Woot woot I cannot wait. Example of my Romanian classic grocery list:

-honey nut cheerios

-wheat bread

-pasta (you can get one bag for the equivelant of 50 cents)

-rice

-apples

-onions

-bell peppers

-sometimes chicken breast when I am feeling classy

-peach Activia yogurt (the only kind I can really trust)

-milk and water

And that is a wrap! Welllll I am going to watch the new House episode and hit the hay. So far it has been a great week and I am looking forward to more Iasi Days festivities.. if anyone has specific requests on souvenirs let me know! Now is the time to buy them! Love you all and thank you so much for reading.. for my avid readers I apologize for not updating as much lately.. it has been crazy!