The Second Assignment (Day 3)

This was a super exciting day.  Cami and I were able to sit down and talk about my observations, I received my first language lesson, and we went to the orphanage. This day was amazing all around.  I will start with the observations I made.  My observation and assumption about the greenery was right on the mark.  Apparently, Romania just joined the European Union (which is like an organization of countries in Europe to make them, not literally, like our states in the US with common currency, ability to go country to country without showing your passport, etc.) a few years ago and they gave Romania practically billions of dollars to boost it up to par with the other countries in the European Union.  Romania is still working on being able to meet this standard but is getting closer.

My observation about the dogs was also correct.  Cami also told me about how the dogs on the streets were more muts than pure bread dogs and it was very true that they are bigger then the owned dogs.  She also told me that the dogs on the street was way down from just a few years ago because a person came into power who euthanized some of the street dogs so the streets were safer.  Although this sounds mean, I do not know if there is anything else they could have done.  At least one person a year is bitten by a dog and dies from it.  They have been interbreeding for the past 20 years and now there are a lot of dogs on the streets again because the new Governor believes the dogs on the street are okay so they numbers have been rising again.  Here you cannot go down a street without seeing a stray dog or a pack of stray dogs that are really territorial.

The observation about everyone carrying things was correct but the assumption was very wrong.  People are usually carrying things here because most of them do not have a car (even though there are a lot of cars here and they drive extremely crazily) to keep the purse or groceries and such in.  So what they have, they have to keep with them, which makes a lot of sense.

My final observation and assumption about no one wearing tennis shoes was also correct.  Style is a huge thing here and even if you are going down the street you have to be dressed like you are going out.  Wearing a t-shirt here definitely shoes that you are an American.  Cami also told me that just a few years ago that no Europeans wore white tennis shoes.  That was only an American thing and now that is becoming a little bit more acceptable here in Romania, but still not very common.  If Romanian's wear tennis shoes they are dark tennis shoes like black or brown and such.

Also talking with Cami I told her about the park I visited and how I wanted to visit all of them here in Bucharest.  Apparently they have a lot but she thought it would be a fun experience so I am definitely going to try.  Also in this conversation she gave me my second assignment.  This assignment included learning more Romanian and using it. I asked to learn the phrases "My name is Amanda" (which has three different ways of saying it) and "How old are you?".  I used the name one a lot and the other one just a few times, but the kids definitely understood me the first time.

So... going to the orphanage was amazing! Not only was I able to try out my new Romanian language skills, but I was also able to play with the kids.  I met this beautiful girl named Alexandra and she gave me this huge hug and told me that she loved me in English and in Romanian.  That was adorable.  I also met a lot of other kids too, but so many new names and faces are hard to remember so I will only mention a few. I ended up playing bad-mitten with a few of the boys and a boy named Coasti (who is very attached to me) painted my nails.  They were pretty cool.  One hand was was pink with three yellow dots on them and the other hand had an orange stripe down the middle with a black line going out towards my fingers to make what looked like a cross. They were pretty cool.  I would have kept them if both hands were the same, but since they were different I took them off.  Unfortunately we were only there for two hours which was sad because they loved seeing us and definitely tried jumping in the car with us.  I am getting really excited for camp and being able to spend almost a whole month with different age groups.  It will be so much fun.

After visiting the orphanage the Mather's opened up their home to David and I and Renee and McKenna (two of the Mather's daughter's), Hannah, and Kaitlyn all watched a couple of movies and the girls re-painted their nails.  We had a High School Musical day and then also watched She's the Man (all in English of course).  Although it doesn't sound like what I am supposed to be doing over here, it was extremely good that I was there.  I was able to build relationships with the girls who I will be working with on and off throughout the summer at the camp.  Plus, it was a lot of fun. :)

At the end of each day I keep thinking about how God created the perfect timing for me to come to Romania.  Everything fits together so well.  I am so calm and feel so welcomed as well as building good relationships with others.  It all just works.  Making friends is coming easy which means these relationships can become so much deeper and influences, differences and impressions can be made for a lifetime.  God is good, He truly, truly is.