It actually crossed my mind to see if I could stay...

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Written by: Evan

Message of the Day from Evan: “One hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, how big my house was or what kind of car I drove. But the world may be a little better because I was important in the life of a child.” Forest Witcraft

It is hard to believe I only have two days left at the clinic. I found out today that there will be only one person on the next team, someone who hasn't been here before. It actually crossed my mind to see if I could stay for another week but I think I need to get home for multiple reasons. I am worried about these small teams, especially with new babies and others who need attention.

Mihaela was at the clinic today and picked up Delia at lunchtime and brought her back. I didn't see them during the afternoon but expect they were with the mobiles. Delia showed me her backpack with all of her schoolwork at lunch time. She had many papers that said "foarte bine" (very good) on them. In free time, they can draw and she had done some excellent drawings. She is probably the only child at her school that has drawn a picture of an orphanage and orphans. The good news is the orphans were happy. I asked Delia what her favorite thing was about school today and she said religion class. Romanian Orthodox is the state religion so religion is taught in the public schools. If a child isn't Romanian Orthodox, the priest or whoever at their church needs to write them a note to get them excused from the Romanian Orthodox religion class.

The 6:00 bottle came a bit early today so I went into the mobile room and hung out with Miha, Lea Celine, Alina and Andreea for a bit, and brought Gaby with me.I tried the singing and dancing routine to keep them amused and keep Miha from climbing up the radiator to the window sill and then tried bouncing them on my legs and then ran out of ideas. Plus it was time for dinner so I was ready to leave. Unfortunately, the aide had locked the door to keep the kids from escaping, as they are known to do. So I waited for about 5 min. or so until Jalina walked by and I got her attention. BTW, the aides have been really good about helping me feed the children at bottle and yogurt time.

I've started writing in the children’s' journals that we leave for the upcoming volunteers. It is always fun to read back, especially to entries I wrote when I was last here in February. Some children have made good progress and for others it is very slow. I was pleased to see Cristi Daniel who has Down's syndrome becoming more active and then I realized he is 4 years old and probably not even at 1 year developmentally. Still, as long as they are doing better that is the most important thing.

The day started out foggy and then became quite sunny and pleasant. The children are being dressed in their warmer clothes though so I don't expect any more outdoor time.