First Day

Sorry but I have no pictures today.  We finally went into the orphanage today.  I have been waiting for this day   It was amazing. I fell in love immediately with the little kids. There was this one boy who started giggling when I came over to him.  I feel in love again. I want to bring all of them home with me!!  The orphanage was hotter than heck if you know what I mean.  And it's only April, y'all.  Geez.  Sweat much? But it's totally worth it!!  Love those kids! (As a side note:  I can't take any pictures of the kids at the orphanage or of the orphanage itself.  Sorry y'all.)

We also visited the hospital today.  It was so different than anything in the United States.  It was smelly, dark, and hot!!  We were sweating like crazy.  We went to ICU first and that was hard to see.  The little babies are so tiny and underweight.  I wanted to save them all but I felt super uncomfortable!  I was afraid of the doctors and nurses and that I would do something to hurt the babies.  When we got out of the ICU floor and there was a gypsy that accosted Camille and me.  She wanted diapers and wipes.  I feel so bad telling them no but we aren't allowed to give them anything. She came up to us again later and once again we had to tell her no.  I survived my second gypsy encounter!  Maybe it gets easier.  When you get to a wing of the hospital, you find a nurse and say, "Aveti copii fara mama?" or do you have kids without moms?" The nurses then direct you to the kids.  Then you change the baby's diaper and play with them and love them!!  It is an interesting experience.

Here is a picture of us on our first day in scrubs!!  La revedere!!

Aislynn, Me, Leigh, Camille, Chelsea

Walking and walking and walking and walking.....

Y'all, all I do is walk and sweat. Not really but it sure seems that way.  I might of thought that I was going to die yesterday in the heat and my calves hurt.  YAY!!!  It will get better though.  Here is what I have done in the past couple of days accompanied by pictures:

 This is me eating real covrigi for the first time.  YUMMY! 

• We went to a couple of churches on Friday.  We visited the biggest Greek Orthodox Church in Iasi.  We stood in line to kiss a dead saint's hand.  Her name is Sfanta Parascheva and supposedly if you kiss her hand, your wish will come true.  I felt a little awkward because I am not Greek Orthodox but with was a neat experience.   I also wrote a prayer to give to the priest.  Later, we walked by the Roman Catholic Church.  It wasn't open for us to go in but it was a beautiful building.  We ended with visiting the Mormon Church.  Good News!!  The Church has filtered water which was a lifesaver after we had been walking around in the heat.  Also, we had our first gypsy encounter.  This woman came up to us while we were getting Betty Ice (yummy ice cream) with her little boy and told us she was hungry.  It was the hardest thing to refuse her. 

Greek Orthodox Church

Roman Catholic Church

Look behind the two girls and you can see the gypsy

• After our tour of the Churches, we went to the piata, or the outdoor market.  Alexandra, a Romanian who has befriended the Mormons and the BYU girls even though she isn't a member, went with us and told us to watch our bags.  That made me nervous....I held on to my bag super tight but nothing got stolen.  It was an interesting experience buying things off the street.  I was buying oranges which cost 2.50 lei.  All I had to give the lady was a 50 lei.  The lady tried to pretend that I only gave her a 5 lei and only gave me 2 lei back.  I am so proud of myself for not letting her take my money.  I demanded she give me the rest of the money which she eventually did.  Then we went to buy bread which is like $0.30 American cents. The men, however, made fun of us.  We have had a couple of run ins with some Romanian men that have been less than stellar.  I think they know what makes the American girls uncomfortable and they try as hard as they can to make us so.

The best picture I have to the piata.

• Friday night we made dinner as an apartment.  It was a great attempt using things that we can read labels on.  It was some sticky spaghetti noodles and bread that we "toasted" on the stove. It was interesting.

Leigh and Camille just "toasting" some bread

• Saturday was interesting,  We walked forever and I almost died while being out in the heat.  We walked past the university and ended up at this garden called the Tree Park.  There were beautiful flowers and trees.

Aimee, Riley, Chelsea, Kelsey, and Leigh

Just like Mary Poppins...

Some cool building

• We then walked to Kaufland's or a European grocery store.  Sorry but I don't have pictures to show you.  I tried to take one and this man came out of no where and started yelling at me!  He was speaking so fast and all I couldn't say is "I don't speak."  He stood over my shoulder until I deleted the pictures.

• Sunday was great!  We went to church which was a little overwhelming. Of course we walked there.  It was in in Romanian and missionaries were trying to translate.  I just got all confused between the missionaries whispering English and the Romanians giving their talks but it all worked out.  I already love the people of the branch.  They are so welcoming and sweet even though I can't speak to them in their own language.  I am excited to go to church there for three months.  I am excited to be among the Romanian people. Oh my goodness though, I need to work on my Romanian!!

• We start working tomorrow.  I get to go to the orphanage in the morning and the hospital in the afternoon.  I am so excited but I am so nervous.  It is finally coming real, I think.  I am excited to get to work! I hope you are doing well.   Sorry this is a forever long post.  Love you all!  La revedere!

Finally Here!

Guess what?  I am in Iasi safe and sound.  It was ridiculous trying to get here.  The poor girls in my group spent like thirty to forty hours traveling here.  I am so grateful that I split up my traveling and didn't have to fly straight for so long.  We had a five hour layover in Bucharest but that turned into eight. YAY! I got stopped while going through security.  Joy.  First of all, they did not speak English.  Second, they wanted to search my carry-on.  Do they know how tightly packed that suitcase was?  Because I am pretty sure that when the Romanian man opened it, things just exploded.  He searched the suitcase and came across my Reese's and brown sugar (they don't have these things in Romania).  I just say the look of confusion on his face.  He tried to show the other man, but he didn't have any idea either.  I tried to explain that it was sugar or zahar but he just looked at me.  Finally, he just shrugged his shoulders and left me to repack my suitcase.  I just kept thinking through the whole process that the man should just try Reese's and brown sugar.  I am pretty sure that he wouldn't have stopped me then.  I briefly considered offering him a Reese's as a bribe.  The airport did not have internet but at one point a wireless connection popped up named "Greg."  I have never seen fourteen girls pull our their computers so fast!  Too bad Greg, whoever he was, disappeared...no more internet.  It was a long wait and we were starving...We didn't get on our last flight until after midnight.  Plus, the little plane ride was terrifying.  This girl, Nicole, and I sat in the front row actually facing these other two men.  Can you talk about awkward situations?  I was terrified my luggage wouldn't make it but I almost cried when I saw the man carry my big purple suitcase to the luggage area.  Then we rode in a crazy taxi at like two in the morning with Romanian music blaring. It was quite the experience but the good news is I made it to our apartment.  We didn't even end up going to bed until like four because we were laughing too hard.  Leigh and I were putting sheets on our bed and wondering what the heck have we done!!!

We slept in until like 11 but we were all so tired and desperately needed the sleep. Aislynn, gratefully, bought us some cereal and milk for breakfast.  Leigh and I had poured the cereal into our bowls but then tried to find the milk in the fridge.  Don't worry we found the milk a few minutes later; it was just in the door....in a bag...Aislynn, bless her heart, took us grocery shopping today.  She is a brave soul to take all fourteen of us to the store.  Leigh walked into the store and just said "I'm so overwhelmed right now."  That's how we all felt.  I was standing in line and Aislynn was trying to tell me what to say when I got up to the counter but then the check-out lady started talking really fast and I couldn't think of a single Romanian word.   Somehow we successfully bought our groceries and guess what????.  The toilet paper is scented and orange.  After that, we wondered the city, got followed by the gypsy children, watched old men play chess the park, and figured out money.  That was pretty stressful but we got it done.  

We went to dinner tonight as an apartment plus the other Kelsey in our group.  We went to this pizzeria and Aislynn tried to order us pizza (which she did successfully).  Apparently we needed to sit down, get a menu, order, then pay.  That's not what we tried to do at first, however. We let Aislynn do the ordering because she speaks enough Romanian...unlike the rest of us. She went the the window and they were super confused but they took her order.  Then, she tried to go to the next window and pay.  She said in Romanian, "I got a margarita and a Hawaiian pizza."  The lady in the window kept saying "Foarte Bine, Foarte Bine."  Apparently it was a different store and the lady was just congratulating Aislynn on her pizza order. It was so funny when we eventually figured out why the lady wouldn't take her money!  Don't you worry, we somehow got our pizza, ate it, and paid.  Who knows how tips work here, though....

I can't believe I am living in Romania now! Can y'all?   I already love it here but I wish I just spoke the language.  It's so hard and people talk so fast.  I know every one goes through when living in another country where people speak a different language but I never have had to do it! Anyway, here are some pictures of our first day in Iasi!  La revedere! 

 An eternity of a wait

 Just hoping for the internet...

 View from our balcony

 Don't worry guys...we found the milk...in a bag....

 Old men playing chess in the park

 Is this even safe?

 Kelsey, Camille, and Chelsea

 Leigh, Aislynn, Chelsea, Camille, Kelsey

Detour to London

My pops is so sweet to fly over here and spend a couple of days in London with me.  It is has been a whirlwind of a visit but I know the Underground quite well and I always know to "Mind the Gap."  Yesterday we went to the Tower of London, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and Victoria Station.  Today we visited Windsor Castle (the queen was there...oh la la.), Harods, Picadilly Square (which btw is like a miniature Times Square), White Hall, Downing Street, other government buildings, and I went to my very first China Town!!  Yesterday was rainy, cold, and wet.  I froze!  Today was lots better but maybe that's because I was better prepared and wore two jackets.  It's been a whirlwind but I say we did a pretty darn good job for having less than two days here.  Thanks pops!  Love you!

Tomorrow I fly on my first ever non-Delta flight.  Yes, I am 21 years old (well in like 10 days) and I have traveled all over the world but have never flown with an actual ticket (all standby) or on any other airline besides Delta.  It's a big day!  I fly on British Airways and Tarom (Romanian Air)  This time tomorrow I will be in Romania.  I got those dang butterflies again but I am excited.  Here are some pictures of London! La revedere!

Leaving on a Jet Plane....

Today is the day!  I leave the states at 10:45 tonight and fly to London.  My dad is coming with me and we will spend two days exploring London.  On Wednesday, he will stick me on the plane to Romania.  The past couple of days have been a whirlwind.  I finished finals, packed, and shopped for things I needed to take with me.  My mom was a lifesaver and came to Utah to help me.  We spent Wednesday night and all day Thursday clearing out my apartment. I have realized something very important: I have too many clothes and packing them is a pain.  But I appreciate my mama so much.  I have the best mom, y'all.  I love her!
 My dad and I were originally suppose to leave yesterday but any of you who have ever flown standby know how that goes.  If there isn't space, we don't go.  Yesterday, there wasn't any space in business class.  I know that seems incredibly snobby but they give you the best ice cream sundaes and warm toasted nuts.  Plus, the beds lay all the way flat.  Yes, we are snobbish but once you fly business class, you can't go back to Coach.   Our time in London is cut short by a day but that's okay.  I got an extra day at home which I desperately needed.  I got to sleep and got to spend time with my mom.  I needed both of these things.
I am so excited to go but completely terrified.  Pray for me!  La revedere.

Beginning My Summer

Oh my goodness...time has flown by.  It seems like just yesterday that I was just trying to make the decision to go to Romania.  Now I leave in less than a week!  I am super excited to spend my summer there but to be honest, I am completely terrified.  I live with constant butterflies in my stomach (which by the way, is not a pleasant experience).  I keep praying that this experience will change my life but right now I am questioning why I am even going!  Why am I choosing to live in a foreign country for three months?!? I don't even know!  I just know this is what God wants me to do this summer.

For all y'all who have no idea what I am talking about, let me fill you in.  I am going on an internship to Romania this summer.  I will be spending three months working in an orphanage and children's hospital in the city of  Iași (pronounced yawsh).  Most of the children have mental and physical disabilities...nobody wants to adopt them!  A group of BYU girls, me included, are going to hopefully give them the love and attention they don't get.  Working with these children and the workers terrifies me.  First, I have no experience with children with disabilities.  Second, I do NOT speak their language.  Yes, I did take a Romanian class this past semester that was suppose to teach me basic survival skills but I am pretty sure I won't understand anything besides buna ziua (this is how you say hi)!  It's going to be an interesting summer....

I wanted to create this blog to keep y'all informed about my adventures in 

Iași because it will be an adventure.   There will be highs and lows, funny stories, and days where I just want to come home.  I am posting it all on here so prepare yourself!  I am grateful for all of you and your support.  Thank you for your prayers in my behalf but please pray for the children of Romania.  They need your prayers more than I do.  I love all of you and I am so grateful for this opportunity. I just hope that I will be able to give what ever I can to these children.  I already love them and I haven't even met them yet!  La revedere!