November 29, 2010
The alarm clock went off at the dreary hour of 7 am. It is black as night outside and the cold air can be felt seeping through the cracks in the window sealant. Blah. I guess this means I am still not a morning person. We have to go to the immigration office this morning and Mario reiterates that we must be there no later than 8:15 am. You know what this means? Half hour snooze. I get up at 7:35 am or so, throw on some clothes, my glasses and boots and run out the door. The plus of packing early is that I only have two options of what to wear; it makes things easier. We grab a taxi and off we go to the immigration office to fill out the paperwork for our visa extensions. I don’t know if it was the taxi drivers cologne or car freshener but my head starts spinning and stomach sinking… the smell is so strong I feel like I cannot even breathe. Our visas are only valid for 90 days and Dani and I would be here for 91. Turns out that because we went to Moldova for a day, we hit the 90 day mark right on the dot. We definitely got lucky! 30 or so minutes later we part paths with Mario and head home. It was a bit rainy but we decide to walk home. It is such a nice and refreshing walk even though I underestimated just how far of a walk it would be. It is satisfying to feel like we know our way around the city know. I know landmarks and have a general sense of where things like, independence square, specific streets, specific universities etc. Once I get to a landmark I can easily find my way home. It is crazy to think that this city in Romania has become a home of sorts. It has at least has a familiar comfort to it.
I was hoping to take a nap but by the time I got home I was refreshed rather than groggy. I took a shower and we said our goodbyes to Jesse who took off to go home. Lucky stinker. We planned to go to lunch with all the girls but things all kind of fell through and it was Megan Dani and I left. We went to the Iulius mall (second taxi today) and Megan got a shaorma while I caved and got McDonalds. No regrets though. After our tummies are filled, we head to the hospital to say goodbye to Cosmin. He was so happy to see us. I brought him some collector’s cards that reminded me of Pokémon/ magic cards, a little action figure, a four-wheeler toy that came with some candy. He did not seem to really know what to do with the playing cards so I guess they must not be a very popular type. There was another little girl in the room who came over and was like wowww I like these so I think that as default, her reaction made him more excited. I thought that I brought a balloon but could not find it in my bag. Megan had bought one and we played with that for a while. The highlight of the time was when I started playing with my hair... I put in over my face and put my glasses back on and Cosmin thought it was just hilarious. I then did a bunch of crazy different hairstyles asking each time if he liked it (similar to what I did with AU). Wow I just thought I get to see him tomorrow oh wait no I don’t. So crazy. ANYWAYS... but Cosmin had a great time I think. We played a bit of hide and seek before we had to go. Dani had to be home to clean at 2pm and it was already 2:30… Cosmin was pretty upset that we were leaving. He understood that I had to go home home to the United States and that this was the real deal goodbye. I wish I could have had some one on one time with him in all honesty. He kept asking why I had to go back to the United States, if I would ever come back. I told him no, he asked why not. I told him I would miss him and he told me the same. He would not tell me that he loved me too though... It was a tender moment and it was a hard goodbye for us both. It is hard for me because I do not know what will happen to him. He has such a fragile family situation and I just pray that he will not be in the hospital for ‘a few years’ like Alexandra told me a few weeks ago. I want to do a child write-up for him and leave it for the next girls so that they know about him in the hospital right off the bat and do not waste any time visiting him. I think he will be in there a while and I want him to have a solid friend to play with. To have a girl to play with for three months is the most solid of a relationship he will have... I feel like even though I have only known him for a month and a half, I have been one of the few anchor relationships for him. It is so important that he gets love and attention, particularly consistently because all the friends that he makes are other patients that come and go in just a few days or couple weeks. One thing that is good though is that there are volunteers that come and visit him kind of like what we do. He is such a cute kid. He still had my photos on his desk and the paper looked well loved and well worn already. I miss him already.
After the hospital I finished packing. A lot of shoving and a broken zipper later, I have successfully fit everything in my suitcases! Dang those souvenirs though! Man! I just really hope I do not go over the weight limit. I don’t really have much more money to be spending on fees and blahness. I am now officially ready to go! just about! Wow I am so incredibly excited :)
I am off to watch a movie and Skype with the love of my life... But I will catch you on the flipside… a.k.a tomorrow!
November 28
At church they watched general conference again today so we left after sacrament. They were trying to shoo us out to start it so I did not really get to have a decent goodbye with everyone. I think that there is more of a barrier with the branch and us vs. past girls due to the increased language barrier. I have built some good relationships but I don’t know… these goodbyes are not as hard for me because while I can say I love them as a whole. I just did not feel like I could really find my fit. I know that all the girls had purposes for being here. I do not think mine had much to do with the branch members. I had a difficult time connecting with them. My sense of humor seemed to often offend them. When people would engage in a discussion with me, my perspective and opinions were always bluntly rejected and shut down.It did not offend me but it still prevents relationship building conversation. Did I have a good time with the branch members? Yes. Did I build friendships? Yes. Did I feel like a made a difference? Not so much. Elder Shillabeer has this really cool book with quotes, letters, pictures... it is really cool. I want to do something like it. It actually is a cross between a journal and a scrapbook.. I wish I had done one while here in Romania. Actually. I really wish I had. I could have put in little memoirs, postcards, notes, have people sign it, ticket stubs. Oh well. You cannot really do it after the fact either. I am thinking of starting one having to do with Brad and myself. OH I GOT IT! I totally am going to do that when I get home.
Because translation is so difficult, I just spend sacrament meeting reading my scriptures and pondering. The downer though is because the branch is so small... sacrament is usually 5 minutes or so which really limits my personal study time.
It is definitely winter time in Romania now. All the sidewalks are just iced over and there is snow. I am happy that it did not start until this past couple days but man it is freezing! Romanians have a lot of superstitions about getting sick so we definitely get the stare down going to church in our skirts. In the elevator, the woman told me I should change my shoes. Ha I was wearing black tights and flats and I was fine... but they just worry a lot about the little things and always think that we are going to get sick! It is not as cold as it is in a lot of places in the US.. comparable to Utah.. so I mean.. they think we do not know anything because we are Americans but I'm just trying to dress up for church here.
November 27
Today is Saturday and I cannot believe that next weekend I will be home! Let’s see... well today was mainly my relax day. I was planning on doing my cleaning but figure it will just get dirty again (particularly the bathrooms) so I decided that I am going to wait until Monday or Tuesday. Jessie leaves on Monday and I must say that I am a little jealous! I spent most of the day packing which was so very exciting. I also set apart some good study time, was able to catch up on the TV show Modern Family and just relax. I took a pretty long nap which was really nice too. It is so crazy to think that we are done with work! I have to go to the hospital one more time because I promised Cosmin that I would say goodbye to him but once I do that I am going to be done. So bizarre. I was able to Skype with Brad for a while which is always so incredible. Lately more so with the excitement of seeing him in a few days.
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