2/13

Well lets see… I cant remember where I left off last time, so here goes!!! This past week was great! I was able to meet with the preK teachers and go over some objectives/tasks that I need to complete before the semester is over with… it had an interesting start, but in the end everything seems to be going really well and I am very excited! We are going to be holding meetings for the parents of the preschoolers on “how to love your child using concrete and practical concepts”… we will be talking about the 5 different love languages children possess and how to incorporate this into their daily lives while parenting their children. We are going to talk about how each child has their own love language, and as a parent they should be aware of that language- especially if it is different from their own… this concept seemed a little weird to me at first, but I am growing to like the idea of these seminars more and more. So I have been doing a lot of research for these meetings, so that is taking up a lot of time. Last week I was also able to go on a home visit to see one of our special needs clients, which was really cool. I love the people in special needs club so much… they really make my day! I am excited because this morning I will be going on home visits to see most of the clients that are involved in the club!  I am trying to think of what else is new… hmm… o yes! We went to Beritan (sp) this past weekend and visited the fortified church there… it was amazing! We weren’t able to go inside because the caretaker was not available, but we were able to tour the outside of it. There are 3 walls guarding the church, and it has about 7 buildings ( I think) within the walls. It was really cool because there is this one small house like building within the walls and Dorothy told us a story about the house that is very interesting… The house is small- it consists of one room.. inside the room are two chairs, one table, a bed, one fork, one spoon, one plate, one bowl, a bathroom, and a lil kitchen area… If a married couple went to the priest seeking a divorce, the priest would send them to live in this little house for two months time, and at the end they would decide whther they still wanted a divorce or not. In the two months time, the couples would learn how to share, love, and listen in way that they had never expected. Rumor has it that over 100+ years time, only 1 couple actually went through with a divorce!!! Crazy huh? I was impressed… but then again… its just a rumor…  I love visiting all these churches and castles, and villages! I just wish I was able to enjoy them with my family and junior!!! I know they would love it here- even mikey! ;) This weekend we are heading out to Sanaia and Bucharest!! We leave Friday morning and come back Sunday evening! I am SO excited!!! This experience thus far has been such a blessing in my life. I feel like I am learning so much and that I am expanding who I am as a person, and how I want to live my life! I am so excited because today was our last day of Romanian class!! Woo hoo!!!! I love the language, and I love learning it… but I am DONE with classrooms….. this is my PRACTicum…  hahaha…Yesterday was wonderful! I was able to go to Pre-K then meet and chat with Dorothy for a while. I really look up to her so much. God has blessed her with so many gifts, and she is truly a blessing. I really look up to and admire her. I hope I am half the woman she is when I am her age. After meeting with her I checked the mail and received TWO letters!!!!!! I was so happy!!! I opened Mum and Dads card first, and it was PERFECT!!! It cheered me up and made my day just seem so much better… then I opened the second letter and it was from Junior!!!( I would keep adding exclamation points if I could… )  Seriously… could that day get any better? I am going to go for now.. I will write more later…. O yeah… did I mention that I dyed my hair….. ?... ha…. Its really dark brown…. Like…. Black… I wasn’t sure how I felt about it at first- but now I love it… and Romanian guys don’t gawk at my blonde hair anymore which is nice… I can just walk without being hollered at on the streets…. Yay!!!........ la revedere! Love and miss you all!!!!!

2/5*

Hello all, it has been about a week since my last entry. First I want to say happy 1 yr and 5 months to Junior.. haha.. and on another side note- thank junior for the pictures on this blog (he is so computer savvy... unlike myself) :)
Anyways... it the past week or so has been very busy and interesting. Last week I was able to go on my first home visit to see one of the pre-schoolers and his family. I was able to see the home they lived in and the boys overall environment. It is interesting how in Romania there is no "standard" way of living- just like in America. Some peoplehave large, luxurious houses, and others have small one bedroom apartments for 3 people. The home I visited looked like this... visualize with me, if you can.. *you walk into a doorway that is covered by a blanket to keep the small amount of heat in. After passing through the blanket you see a small sink (maybe the size of a standard bathroom sink in the US) that the family uses for their everyday kitchen sink.Touching corners with the sink is a television on top of a small shelf which is directly touching a full size bed that is used for both sleeping purposes and daily use as a couch. To the left of the bed is a table for four with only 2 chairs in sight. Across the room from the table is a small refridgerator about the size of the one I use in my dormroom attached to the stove/oven that has boiling soup cooking. There is a small door that leads to a very small cramped bathroom, and there is a matress leaned against the wall to put on the floor at night for the two children to sleep on. There are four people living in this house, and its not really a house... its a room. A room that is about the size of my familys living room @ our house in Quincy. ... not very big... I think about all the space that my family has and lives in, and I am being humbled more and more by the people I am with everyday. This family has nothing- and yet, with the 3 or 4 lei they did have (money) they went and ran to the store to get juice to serve us so that we didnt have to drink water. This homevisit was an amazing and humbling experience for me, and it is only the beginning.
After a very long and busy week... and a romanian test! :) We took a day trip to Sibiu and the Paltanise mountains (sp) Sibiu was lovely and last year was named the Cultural capital of the world.. or something like that! :) We visited some shops and went to the Orthodox church in teh big plaza, as well as one of the last Lutheran churches in Sibiu. Both were so amazing. I love visiting the old churches, and looking at the architecture. The Orthodox church was built during the baroque period- which I have come to realize, that I am not a fan of the Baroque style... its a bit too flashy for me... The Lutheran church on teh other hand is a Gothic style church. I loved it, despite the creepy cherubs everywhere! :) After visiting the city we went to the moutnains and ate a sack lunch at a lodge that Veritas frequently uses for retreats... all I have to say is WOW... GOd is good!! The mountains of Romania are unlike antying I have ever seen! The picturesI took do not do it any justice! The mountians are just ... amazing! AFter lunch we went sledding at one of the smaller "rolling hills" at the top of the Large mountain. It was a beautiful but tiring day! I am all out of things to say at the moment... I will try to write more later tonight or througout the week as it comes to me... thanks for all the prayers...

la revedere!