An eye-opening experience

Today was our last day and it was so much harder than either of us could have predicted. There were tears as we had to put the kids in their cribs for the final time, from both the kids and us! Sara and I are wishing we could just adopt all nine children and bring them home with us. But our last day was nothing short of amazing just like the other hospital days. We took lots of pictures and made the kids giggle extra amounts! I can speak for the both of us when I say how hard it is to leave them. We are feeling so blessed to be able to meet such amazing kids and it is reassuring to know there is another round of volunteers coming right after us. This experience has been so eye-opening and has really made my future goals more clear! All nine of the kids will forever hold a special place in our hearts. We will miss everything about Romania!

Entry submitted by: Jamie 

Feeling blessed in Romania

Today, we had another fun day at the hospital and starting realizing tomorrow is our last day. The kids were very attached to us today, especially when a tour group came in and viewed the hospital. It was awesome that the kids felt comfortable with us when strangers were around yet heartbreaking because we know it will quickly be coming to an end. We are not excited for our last day, but we are feeling blessed to have met such amazing kids in the first place.

Entry submitted by: Jamie 

Teaching Romanian children English

The past two days have been fun as usual, just a little more tiring without our third team member. On Tuesday Gabi's possible foster mom came to visit and we were excited she might have a home but reluctant to say goodbye. The kids have been sick for a little while but most seem to be getting better and it's showing in their moods! On Wednesday we had a normal morning, then went with Mihaela to the hospital for the first time. Alina got to go outside and run off some of her energy before it rained, but we wished we could have taken all the kids outside. As the week is winding down, we are beginning to think about saying goodbye and wishing it wasn't so soon. These two days, Jamie and I also went to the middle schools and worked on English skills with a variety of different aged children. It was so cool to see how their schools operate and to hear the questions they had for us about English and our American culture in general.

Entry submitted by: Sara

Another fun day with the children

Today we lost a team member so it was just us two girls against the nine kids! Iontz went back to the placement center and even though he was very quiet to begin with, the hospital atmosphere felt much emptier without him. This was the first day either of us interacted with Alina because our teammate was usually with her and she didn't like the lack of attention to say the least! (She was put into time-out quite often). Even though most kids were sick (including ourselves), it was yet another fun day with the kids!

Entry submitted by: Jamie

Visiting beautiful castles

Friday – Sunday Free Time  

The past three days we stepped aside from the hospital and visited some of the most beautiful places in Romania. On Friday afternoon, we traveled to our Bed and Breakfast or “pension” with our driver, Durrell. It is located in Bran right by the mountains. The family we stayed with was extremely friendly and welcoming. On Saturday, we went to Dracula’s Castle in Bran and explored the beautiful castle and learned the history of it along the way. Then, Durrell took us to Sinai to see the Pele’s Castle, which was much more extravagantly decorated compared to Dracula’s castle. By the end of the day, we were exhausted so we went back to the pension. On Sunday, we went to Brasov where there were many stores to shop at and we bought many souvenirs. Unfortunately, the uncooperative weather came in the way of our shopping so we got an early start home. We loved seeing all the pretty places in Romania, but it was also very nice to be back to Barlad!

Entry submitted by: Jamie