Backpacking, Hostels, Wonderful People, & Beautiful Places

This past week, we got a break from work to go on a week-long trip around Romania.  We started out in Bucharest and then headed to Brasov and Sighisoara.  It was a fun but long exhausting week. I stayed in hostels for the very first time which I must say I didn't particularly enjoy.  Here are the pictures and stories from my first "backpacking" trip.

Guess who didn't get us sleeper trains?  Oh right, that was me.  Sorry guys.  It was a delightful night...Leigh wasn't too happy with me but I found the situation funny.  I had to laugh because otherwise I would have been crying.

Bucharest

I have officially been to the Hard Rock in Bucharest...to be honest the food wasn't that great but guess what? They asked me if I wanted ice cubes. Hello, heck yes, I do. Those were the first ice cubes I have had in months and they were absolutely delightful.

The church building is Bucharest.  Sunday ended up being my favorite day on the whole trip.

This is Sora Gabriela Terbea and I at church in Bucharest.  As many of you know, my my sister, Shelly served a mission for the Church in Romania about eight years ago.  She spent a year of that mission in Bucharest.  I was super excited to go to church there because that is where my sister spent a year going to church.  Shelly asked my to look up Sora Gabriela when I went to church.  So when I got to church, I asked the sister missionaries if they knew who she was and if she was there.  They had no idea who I was talking about but said one of the missionaries should know who she is and that I should ask another elder.  So after Sacrament Meeting, I asked a different elder and he also had no idea who she was.  At this point I was getting pretty discouraged but he said that he would check to see if she had moved or if she still came to church at all.  He went and checked and came back right before Sunday School to tell me that Sora Gabriela was indeed still active in the church and just wasn't there that wee.  I was super disappointed that I missed her.  So during Sunday School, while I couldn't understand anything because it was all in Romanian, I decided I would write her a note.  Right as Sunday School ended, I turned around to ask an elder if he would give the note to Sora Gabriela.  I was in the middle of talking to him, and the elder who had helped me before walked up and said, "Kelsey, this is Gabriela."  I had no idea what to do.  I threw down my stuff in my lap and hurried over to her.  I almost started crying at this point. She told me immediately that I looked just like my sister.  I was able to talk with her for a good while and sit by her in Relief Society.  It was so weird, though.  While I was sitting beside her, I couldn't help but think that my sister did this exact same thing in this exact same place eight years ago.   This experience has been one of the highlights of my experience in Romania.  I can tell you that I was meant to meet Gabriela Terbea that day.  I think it is a miracle that we met especially because none of the missionaries (A.K.A the only people I could really communicate with) knew who she was.  It definitely was a tender mercy from my Heavenly Father.

 Now, this wonderful lady is Sora Gorzo.  She, like every other person at church, welcomed us with wide-open arms on Sunday.  She kissed our cheeks and hugged us multiple times.  She is so sweet and invited us to lunch.  She feeds the missionaries every Sunday and takes care of all of them.  So Cortlandt, Rachel, Leigh, and I found ourselves sitting in a small apartment, with many missionaries, eating a very traditional Romanian meal.  Sora Gorzo's generosity astounds me.  This lady is extremely poor but she is so generous to everyone.  I felt blessed to spend only a couple of hours with her.

Church is Bucharest was one of the Sundays I have had while in Romania.  I love church in Iasi where I live but last week was a very special Sunday for me.  From meeting Sora Gabriela, to being welcomed be every single person in that branch ( I don't know how many times I got hugged and kissed on the cheek), and to eating at Sora Gorzo's, I will cherish this Sunday for a long time.

My mom will be so proud!!

The Palace of the People. This is the 2nd largest building in the world.  Does anyone know the biggest?

From the balcony of the People's Palace

 Bucharest

This is the Bucharest Train Station.  For some reason I just love this picture.

BRASOV

Welcome to Brasov!  Does anyone else find this funny.  Copy much?

 This is the entire city.  If you look super close you can see the different sections of the city.  On the right, there is the old Romanian town.  In the middle: Old Saxon Town. Left side: Communist Romania. 

 Leigh and I got free bikes for a day because we are students.  We just rode around the old cities and almost died a couple of times.  We either almost hit people or cars would almost hit us.  We did not know the protocol for biking riding in Romania...

 Leigh, Cortlandt, and Rachel hiking to the Brasov Hollywood sign.

 View from the top

That's me in the B! It was terrifying getting there and terrifying to take the picture so y'all better enjoy this picture. :)

 Panoramic view from the top of the mountain.

 Me :)

 Our new Moldovian friend, Virgilo,  He walked down with us and then proceeded to invite us to stay with him in Moldova (the tiny country just Northeast of Romania)

 Castle Time: We went to Peles Castle (pictured), Bran's Castle, and the Rasov Citidel

 Romania is beautiful

 Sighisoara

 Does this look familiar to anyone?  Yep, my mom has painted this exact picture.  I just wanted to prove I was there. We went to Sighisoara for the day!  It was actually quite the adventure.  As you can see below, our train was not very comfy or clean but Sighisoara was beautiful.

 The Gypsy Train...but for real...there were a lot of gypsies on the train.

 I think the train ride home is in competition for one of my worst traveling experiences.  It was so hot, the train went so slow, it stopped at every little village known to the Romanian man, and the best part is the ear-wrenching screeching we heard every time it did stop at every single village.  I felt so gross and sweaty by the time we got back to Brasov.

 Need I explain this picture...

 Rope Street: One of the narrowest streets in Europe.

 Our tour group!  It's the first time I have officially met me an Australian!

 yes, this explains how I felt all week.

 Aislynn!  Our facilitator's name is Aislynn (said Ashlyn) but everyone here pronounces it Aizlan.  So know we just call her Aslan, the lion for the Chronicles of Narnia.  Here she is! I found her at the castle.

 Climbing yet more stairs...This was at Bran's Castle, or "Dracula's Castle."

 Romania is BEAUTIFUL

 This is Alina, me, and Olimpia.  We became good friends with Olimpia and Tom from Australia.  Leigh and I are going to visit them next summer.  Surprise, Mom and Dad!

These next pictures are just the amazing views I saw while climbing hills and stairs in Brasov and Bucharest.  Romania is gorgeous.  I can't believe I live here.

It was quite the week.  I am grateful for the chance to see more of Romania.  It is a beautiful country.  Y'all should all come visit me or just visit Romania.  I will post more pictures of my whole trip on Facebook, so y'all so check it out.  

I am excited to return to work tomorrow.  I miss my little kids.  Part of me needs another day to recoup from my vacation. Y'all know how that goes.  Everyone needs a vacation after their vacation.  I didn't particularly like living out of a book bag or sleeping with strangers in my room but I guess that all just adds to the adventure. I am happy to be back at home.  

I can't believe I leave Romania in four weeks from today.  I am excited to go home but I will miss Romania more than I ever thought.  I am so excited to see my nieces and nephews...sorry to my brother and sisters...but I just want to see those precious little kids.  I also have started a list of American things I need my mom to have ready for me when she picks me up from the airport.  I never knew I would miss things until I didn't have them anymore. I just want a hamburger with American ketchup.  Anyway, I hope you enjoyed all the pictures.  Sorry I didn't write much about my work but I just didn't work this past week.  Love you all and am grateful for your prayers and support.  La revedere!

The Blessing of Being in Romania

Before I update y'all on my life, I would like to take a minute to talk about my pops.  Yes, I call my dad pops.  Ask him about it...he loves it!  I think I have the best father in the whole world.  I know you all think the same thing about your dads but really I have you beat in the father department.  My dad is my rock in life.  I don't think I could every fully express my gratitude for him but I shall try.  I think I appreciate my dad (and mom) more now than I ever have before.  Romania has blessed me with understanding and appreciation especially for my parents.  I am so grateful that my dad (and mom) taught me the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I am so grateful that my father remained worthy to be the priesthood leader of our home. My testimony of the power of the priesthood grew from watching him.  I will never forget how my dad has made sure that I always have the priesthood close by no matter how far away he is from me.  I am grateful that my dad worked (an still works) so hard to provide for our family. I am grateful that he (and my mom) have expanded my world through travel.  I am so grateful that my dad can magically fix any car problem I have even though he is 2,000 miles away and has to suffer through my explanations and reenactments of the problem.  I am so grateful that my dad can make me smile when nobody else can.  I am grateful that he has always told me I am beautiful.  I am most grateful, however, that he took my mom to the Temple almost 33 years ago so my family can be together forever.  Thank you, Pops!  Happy Father's Day. I love you!

Now back to my life!  It is so hot here and I would do most anything for air conditioning or ice cubes some days.  The heat is just zapping my energy.  I am tired all the time but it's all worth it.  I know it's been awhile since I have blogged.  Sorry about that but please don't give up on me.  I have been feeling particularly blessed by my Father in Heaven this past several weeks.  Here are some of the reasons:

1. Orphanage update: Oh my goodness!  It was an amazing week at work.  I am completely in love with one of my little boys.  He has stolen my heart.  One of my best moments while here happened while I was working with this little boy this past week.  I was bouncing him on a big exercise ball and he was loving it.  But we can't just have fun all the time so I was making him repeat words while I was bouncing him.  I would sometimes have to break up the words for him but he was doing pretty well.  On one of the longer words, he pronounced it extremely well and I just said "Bravo! Foarte Bine!"  He looked so happy and just jumped into my arms. I can't even remember the word I had him repeat but I will never forget the look on his face and the hug we shared afterwards.  It makes me feel like my time here is worthwhile.  It was such a simple moment but it changed my entire experience here.  Most of the girls in my internship are devastated at the thought of leaving their kids in a few weeks.  While I will be sad, I hadn't ever felt devastated about it and I felt so guilty.  I didn't understand why I didn't feel as attached to my kids as the other girls were to their kids. So I spent the next weeks praying for my heart to be opened so I could love my kids completely.  God answered my prayers this week.  That little boy told me he loved me the next day and always blows me kisses when he runs off to play.  He will forever hold a special place in my heart.  I wish he could come home with me.

2. Mihai's baptism: Mihai is a young man that the missionaries have been teaching.  He is probably one of the happiest people that I know.  He smiles and laughs all the time.  He doesn't speak any English and well we don't really speak Romanian so talking with him is always fun. Well guess what! He got baptized last Saturday!  Seeing that I don't really speak Romanian, I didn't understand much of what was said at the baptism but I can say that the Spirit was there.  Mihai looked even happier when he came up out of that water.  I am so happy for him.  The next day, he sang with us in church.  Yes, I know it's hard to believe but I sang in front of people! Ah!  I love that Mihai got up with 7 girls to sing a Child's Prayer in Sacrament Meeting right after he got baptized.  It was a blessing to witness Mihai's baptism.  People have such strong faith here even when times are extremely hard.

Mihai is in the very middle in a white shirt next to the elder.

3. Professor's Visit:  The professors came to visit last week.  Oh my gosh!  It was wonderful.  I was super nervous about them observing me and noticing everything I was doing wrong with my kids but it wasn't at all like that.  I got to ask amazing questions and they were so very helpful.  They told me things to do with my kids that I would have never thought of.  Thank you!  We also got to take a trip with them.  We saw a couple of Greek Orthodox Monasteries in the mountains. They were beautiful!  I learned so much about the Greek Orthodox faith that day.  It was a blessing to have my mind opened to a different religion.  Sorry I couldn't take pictures at the monasteries.

Camille and I on the never ending bus ride 

Romanian countryside.  That was so cold, rainy, and foggy.

4. 3rd Nephi:  I appreciate these scriptures in 3rd Nephi more now than ever before.  These are the verses I came across while reading the scriptures in 3rd Nephi 17 this week:

21. And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.

22. And when he had done this he wept again;

23. And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones.

24. And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.

25. And the multitude did see and hear and bear record; and they know that their record is true for they all of them did see and hear, every man for himself; and they were in number about two thousand and five hundred souls; and they did consist of men, women, and children.


5. Bird Invasion:  I don't know if this is really a blessing but it was funny.  We left our kitchen window open when we went to FHE on Monday.  Whoops.  When we got home there was just a bird chillin' in our kitchen.  Ew.  Chelsea had to get it out because there was no way in this world that I was going out there.  Only in Romania. God was trying to be funny that day!

Sorry that was so long.  I hope all of you are doing well.  I love Romania!  I feel like I have been here for forever yet I feel like I just got here. I can't believe that I come home in jut five weeks.  Thank you for all of your love and support.  I appreciate all the prayers in my behalf.  La revedere!