HEY. I've been living in Romania for about a month and a half, and it's so weird to think about! I honestly feel like it was 2 weeks ago that my parents dropped me off at LAX at the buttcrack of dawn. I'm not gonna lie, there are some parts about living in Romania that are really hard. There have been some days where I'm laying in my bed after going to the orphanage, trying not to sweat, trying to remember what being cold felt like, trying to ignore the many, many bug bites all over my body, realizing that the dinner people brought (: soup (: again (:, and wanting to cry. I don't know whyyyyy, but the caterers of our dinner think we like to eat soup at least 4 times a week when it's so friggin hot outside. But don't get me wrong, those bad days are few. I've been so so SO grateful to have the opportunity of being here, and it's going to be the most bittersweet thing when I have to leave in almost two months. I don't even want to think about the last day of being at the orphanage knowing I will probably never see these kids again.
Over the time of being at the orphanage, I've been learning more about each child, their disabilities, personalities, and backstory. Unfortunately, I can't take any pictures of the kids at the orphanage, which breaks my heart because I just wish you could see their smiles and all the funny things they do. I also can't use the exact names of any of the children in my room, so when I talk about kids I've changed their names.
Sam: He's in the first of the three rooms in Isolation, so he's under a year old. Even though he turns 1 year old in August, he's still really small and he's also mentally delayed. I love this little boy so much. The first time I heard his laugh my heart melted. His laugh is more of a exhale of air through his nose, and the first time I heard it I was reminded of a broken squeaker toy haha. He always breaks out into the biggest smile whenever I pick him up, and he loves being given kisses.
Francine: Me and Morgan (the other volunteer in Isolation with me) call her crazy legs because she's always constantly moving haha. She's also about 10 months old, but is still super small. She was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome so it's hard for her to stay still for very long. She's friggin adorable, and honestly one of the prettiest babies I've ever seen. She's always soo smiley and gives you the biggest toothless grin whenever you pick her up. It's funny to watch her try to concentrate on a toy or try to figure out how something works because she'll stop frantically moving around and just stare at it for a second.
Dora: She's about 1 1/2 years old and has been in the orphanage for about 4 weeks. The day she came in broke my heart. She comes from a really abusive family, and CPS took her straight from the family to the orphanage. At first, she was super timid, didn't ever smile, and cried really hard whenever you put her in her crib. The workers told us that whenever a new child comes in they usually cry for about 3 days because they're scared, but after that they get used to it. Dora came in on a Friday about 40 minutes before we left, and she was crying and screaming in her crib. I wasn't sure what to do, but one of the workers asked if I wanted to just hug and hold her to calm her down. I wasn't exactly sure how to help a little girl who had just been taken from her family, so I just held her tightly, rocked her, and sang some songs. She finally calmed down and quietly laid in my arms. That was one of those moments where I knew I was supposed to be there, to be giving these kids the love they desperately needed. The part that broke my heart was when I had to put her back into her crib where she immediately started crying again. Thankfully, since then, she's gotten a whole lot better. She's makes me laugh because I feel like she's a teenager in a baby's body haha. She will smile, still not a whole lot, so I usually make a fool of myself trying to get her to crack a smile. Most of the time she just stares at me like I'm an embarrassment. But she's also really good at looking like she's just really bored. Sometimes I'll look over and she's leaning over the side of her walker with her head hanging to the side, like she's just the most bored she's ever been haha. I love that little girl, with her raspy little voice and blank expressions.
Bridget: She's in the first room, about a year old, and so so cute. Her mom had small pox when she was pregnant, so Bridget was born without a body part and is missing an eye. But holy smokes she's still so cute. Her other eye also makes up for the fact that she only has one in the way that it's one of the prettiest eyes I've ever seen. It's like a mix between green, yellow, and a little bit of blue. She also has this super black hair that is short but sticks straight out haha. Morgan and I call her Roly Poly because she's just a little chunk and just curls up into a little ball whenever you hold her. I think she may have some problems with her legs or back because she has a problem holding up her head and can't stand up or put any weight on her legs, which breaks my heart. She never cries and is just a little cuddle bug so I always love holding her.
Eddie: He's about 2 years old, and is in the third room with the kids who have more disabilities. Eddie is blind and possibly deaf too. I'm not too sure about the second one because if I turn on the toy that plays a lullaby whenever he's upset, he immediately calms down. He's the cutest and breaks out into a huge smile whenever you touch him. I'll go in there multiple times during my time there and rub his chest, legs, or arms because he loves it. I also will usually pick him up and hold him for a little bit and rub/scratch his back, which usually makes him squirm and laugh because he's not used to that feeling since he's usually laying on his back. He's an instant way to make my day even better because his laugh and smile is so infectious. He usually has a really hard time eating and doesn't like it at all, so this past week they tried putting in a feeding tube. This broke my heart because I could hear him screaming and crying really hard from outside his room. I couldn't imagine how scared he must be whenever something out of the norm happens like that and someone is ramming a tube down your nose. I just love that little boy, and he definitely makes me appreciate life more.
Elizabeth: She's about 1 1/2 years old and is in the second room in Isolation. Elizabeth was born with dwarfism and is one of the cutest babies I've ever seen. She has a few front teeth on the top and bottom of her mouth, has the cutest little dimples, and she has brown short hair that is a little curly at the ends. Because she has dwarfism, Elizabeth has really short legs and a normal-sized head, but it's so stinkin cute because the length of her legs is the same as her whole head haha. She's a pretty happy little girl, and is easily made happy and breaks out into a really, really cute smile. I love it because whenever I make a face at her or make her smile somehow, she'll tilt her head to one side and become the cutest lil thing you've ever seen.
Alright I don't want this to become a novel, so in another post I'll talk about more of the kids! I love them all sooooo much and writing about them here made me feel so blessed I get to see them everyday. It just baffles me why these kids' parents would ever think about abandoning them because they bring such joy to my life. I think everyday I'm at the orphanage how much I want to just take them ALL HOME. I would buy a big bus, build a huge house, and just take them all to the beach and Disneyland everyday. That is my biggest dream right there. So if you have any ideas on how I can smuggle 15ish kids back home let me know!
Also, here's some pictures from my past week or so! (I need to get better at taking more pictures of my day-to-day life)
We went to the botanical gardens in Iasi and these are some of the pretty roses from that day!
Right by the Palas yesterday, they were having an animal convention or something and this guy had this huge fluffy dog. We were walking right past him and about to ask for a picture when he just handed me the leash and walked off haha. He did come back like 5 minutes later though. Funniest part was when we were walking away and laughing about it, then turned back and he yelled "You like my bitch??" hahaha. We kind were taken back for a second until we realized that's what a female dog is called.
Me in front of the sign at the orphanage
Me with some of the "lovely" children I teach at the kindergarten. Jk, these are some of the better kids haha.
Kara
Sam: He's in the first of the three rooms in Isolation, so he's under a year old. Even though he turns 1 year old in August, he's still really small and he's also mentally delayed. I love this little boy so much. The first time I heard his laugh my heart melted. His laugh is more of a exhale of air through his nose, and the first time I heard it I was reminded of a broken squeaker toy haha. He always breaks out into the biggest smile whenever I pick him up, and he loves being given kisses.
Francine: Me and Morgan (the other volunteer in Isolation with me) call her crazy legs because she's always constantly moving haha. She's also about 10 months old, but is still super small. She was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome so it's hard for her to stay still for very long. She's friggin adorable, and honestly one of the prettiest babies I've ever seen. She's always soo smiley and gives you the biggest toothless grin whenever you pick her up. It's funny to watch her try to concentrate on a toy or try to figure out how something works because she'll stop frantically moving around and just stare at it for a second.
Dora: She's about 1 1/2 years old and has been in the orphanage for about 4 weeks. The day she came in broke my heart. She comes from a really abusive family, and CPS took her straight from the family to the orphanage. At first, she was super timid, didn't ever smile, and cried really hard whenever you put her in her crib. The workers told us that whenever a new child comes in they usually cry for about 3 days because they're scared, but after that they get used to it. Dora came in on a Friday about 40 minutes before we left, and she was crying and screaming in her crib. I wasn't sure what to do, but one of the workers asked if I wanted to just hug and hold her to calm her down. I wasn't exactly sure how to help a little girl who had just been taken from her family, so I just held her tightly, rocked her, and sang some songs. She finally calmed down and quietly laid in my arms. That was one of those moments where I knew I was supposed to be there, to be giving these kids the love they desperately needed. The part that broke my heart was when I had to put her back into her crib where she immediately started crying again. Thankfully, since then, she's gotten a whole lot better. She's makes me laugh because I feel like she's a teenager in a baby's body haha. She will smile, still not a whole lot, so I usually make a fool of myself trying to get her to crack a smile. Most of the time she just stares at me like I'm an embarrassment. But she's also really good at looking like she's just really bored. Sometimes I'll look over and she's leaning over the side of her walker with her head hanging to the side, like she's just the most bored she's ever been haha. I love that little girl, with her raspy little voice and blank expressions.
Bridget: She's in the first room, about a year old, and so so cute. Her mom had small pox when she was pregnant, so Bridget was born without a body part and is missing an eye. But holy smokes she's still so cute. Her other eye also makes up for the fact that she only has one in the way that it's one of the prettiest eyes I've ever seen. It's like a mix between green, yellow, and a little bit of blue. She also has this super black hair that is short but sticks straight out haha. Morgan and I call her Roly Poly because she's just a little chunk and just curls up into a little ball whenever you hold her. I think she may have some problems with her legs or back because she has a problem holding up her head and can't stand up or put any weight on her legs, which breaks my heart. She never cries and is just a little cuddle bug so I always love holding her.
Eddie: He's about 2 years old, and is in the third room with the kids who have more disabilities. Eddie is blind and possibly deaf too. I'm not too sure about the second one because if I turn on the toy that plays a lullaby whenever he's upset, he immediately calms down. He's the cutest and breaks out into a huge smile whenever you touch him. I'll go in there multiple times during my time there and rub his chest, legs, or arms because he loves it. I also will usually pick him up and hold him for a little bit and rub/scratch his back, which usually makes him squirm and laugh because he's not used to that feeling since he's usually laying on his back. He's an instant way to make my day even better because his laugh and smile is so infectious. He usually has a really hard time eating and doesn't like it at all, so this past week they tried putting in a feeding tube. This broke my heart because I could hear him screaming and crying really hard from outside his room. I couldn't imagine how scared he must be whenever something out of the norm happens like that and someone is ramming a tube down your nose. I just love that little boy, and he definitely makes me appreciate life more.
Elizabeth: She's about 1 1/2 years old and is in the second room in Isolation. Elizabeth was born with dwarfism and is one of the cutest babies I've ever seen. She has a few front teeth on the top and bottom of her mouth, has the cutest little dimples, and she has brown short hair that is a little curly at the ends. Because she has dwarfism, Elizabeth has really short legs and a normal-sized head, but it's so stinkin cute because the length of her legs is the same as her whole head haha. She's a pretty happy little girl, and is easily made happy and breaks out into a really, really cute smile. I love it because whenever I make a face at her or make her smile somehow, she'll tilt her head to one side and become the cutest lil thing you've ever seen.
Alright I don't want this to become a novel, so in another post I'll talk about more of the kids! I love them all sooooo much and writing about them here made me feel so blessed I get to see them everyday. It just baffles me why these kids' parents would ever think about abandoning them because they bring such joy to my life. I think everyday I'm at the orphanage how much I want to just take them ALL HOME. I would buy a big bus, build a huge house, and just take them all to the beach and Disneyland everyday. That is my biggest dream right there. So if you have any ideas on how I can smuggle 15ish kids back home let me know!
Also, here's some pictures from my past week or so! (I need to get better at taking more pictures of my day-to-day life)
We went to the botanical gardens in Iasi and these are some of the pretty roses from that day!
Right by the Palas yesterday, they were having an animal convention or something and this guy had this huge fluffy dog. We were walking right past him and about to ask for a picture when he just handed me the leash and walked off haha. He did come back like 5 minutes later though. Funniest part was when we were walking away and laughing about it, then turned back and he yelled "You like my bitch??" hahaha. We kind were taken back for a second until we realized that's what a female dog is called.
Me in front of the sign at the orphanage
Me with some of the "lovely" children I teach at the kindergarten. Jk, these are some of the better kids haha.
Kara
