Journey to an unknown land...

Greetings!

 

The rest of that first week was spent meeting people, overviews of the organization, planning for the Sunday program… we went to dinner at Karen and Cornel’s one night, it was good, they bbq’d.  We also went to a movie; Prince Caspian.  It was opening night in Romania (it takes a few months to get them there!).  Movies are all in English with Romanian subtitles, so great for us.  It’s entertaining for funny lines; as they say them the Americans laugh, and then there’s a short delay until the Romanians read it and laugh.  I wonder how much doesn’t make sense through the translation.  Anyway, when we got to the movie theater we were talking and a few rows over there was another big group of Americans from Chicago, and then once we were all talking, a third group of Americans from somewhere else jumped in on the conversation.  They were all working with different organizations doing basically what we were doing.  More Americans in the theater than Romanians!

 

Saturday we had a scavenger hunt throughout the city, aimed at getting us to really know the city, the trams, our translators, etc.  Now, by this time, I’m actually getting really frustrated because we hadn’t really done any “work”.  I mentioned this to Rachel; she explained that as missionaries you have to be very protective of your personal time, otherwise you won’t get any.  After this first week they knew we were going to be working like animals and they wanted to make sure we had gotten over jet lag…  She said she tried to get us a whole day off but it didn’t work out.  Well, I told her I was frustrated because I didn’t come here to play, I came here to give of myself to these people in need.  All the (amazing, wonderful) people that supported me did not do it intending me to have a vacation!!!  Well, we were their first longer-term (longer than a week!) group and they were learning along with us; in the future they will likely do things differently. J

 

The scavenger hunt was really fun!  We were given clues and had to take pictures of us in certain places, doing certain things.  It was a beautiful day (every day was a beautiful day – great weather!!!) and while it was intended to take two or so hours, it took us almost 5, because we were just sauntering around, enjoying each other and having a great time.  I got a little sunburned, we all did, but it was so much fun.  I’ll attach a few pictures of our stops. 

 

One random thing; when walking from one place to another, we came across this random lady stacking empty beer crates, trying to break a record for standing on the tallest tower of beer crates.  SO weird.  Photo attached.  We watched in awe J

 

I’m going to cut it off here, as our next experience was the gypsy village, and that will take a LONG email to describe. J 

 

Ciao, Krissy

Greetings!

 

The rest of that first week was spent meeting the people that work for Pathway to Joy Ministries (PTJM) and the various projects they work on: the Hospital project, Foster Care, Orphan Mentoring, and Gypsy village.  I’ll tell about my experiences with each one later.

 

The head of the Orphan project’s name was Diteo – he’s a big bald Albanian who the girls and I admit were a bit afraid of when we first met him.  About three or four days after that we made him laugh somehow and we were really excited about it.  Weird, I know.  Then at camp we saw him with the kids and he’s really just a big teddy bear – I’ll try to find some photos of him… His wife’s name is Donna and she and Tabeta are the other two folks that work on the orphan project fulltime.

 

During that time we also got to know the tram system in Oradea – now, I have never lived in an area with a tram or subway, but have ridden them in several cities… this is much worse J.  Try to imagine it, these hot-dog shaped ovens riding around the city, stopping every few blocks, many of them filled to capacity with people with whom personal hygiene doesn’t seem to be a priority in their lives… probably not helped by the frigid water our half of the town gets the honor of showering in.  (when I say frigid I mean straight from the glacier cold… at least that’s what it felt like!!)  We learned quickly to stand as far back in the tram as possible as there was the possibility of a breeze if the windows were open… I wanted to bathe myself in purell after each time I rode it but in the interest of blending in did not, soaked my hands in the stuff, though!  Some trips, though, depending on the time of day, the cars were almost empty which was not bad at all! 

 

We also found out we were going to be doing a Sunday morning program with the gypsy kids that weekend – so we had to plan two hours of entertainment and storytelling to the kids.  Sue said it usually takes groups several hours to put something like that together and it only took us like 20 minutes, we’re overachievers… 

 

We met Mircea and Norbi, two of the translators that work for PTJM in the summer, they were really fun guys.  I’ll attach a photo of Mircea (pronounced meer-cha, Norbi is pronounced Nor-bee) with money – he was trying to prove you couldn’t rip Lei because they are made of plastic, then he went and ripped one.  He insisted that it wasn’t possible!  That bill must have had a tear in it already because then we all tried to rip them and it is really impossible without cutting it with something.  Very cool. 

 

Okay, well that’s enough for now.  I’ll write about our first experiences in the orphanage and gypsy village soon.  I’m in the midst of my busiest season of travel at work so we’ll see how often these get out.  Thanks to everyone who has sent comments my way, I love it!  And if you don’t want to receive these, please let me know!  I won’t be offended J

 

Ciao, Krissy

 

Chronicles of Romania: Day one.

 

Refresh your memory as to where I left off: insane crazy Hungarian trying to kill me, my life flashing before my eyes and visualizing the headlines when I am dead before I even reach my destination.

 

It’s about a 4 hour drive to Oradea from the airport in Budapest, plus any time spent sitting at the border check – thankfully it wasn’t too long.  By this time it is 11pm Romanian time and I have been awake for around 45 hours.  Sue decides now to inform us that the entire piece of the city we are living in has no hot water – no one really knows why, and they don’t know when it will be back on.  Great.  We drove through the city to our apartment, keep in mind that it is dark and we can’t really see anything, and don’t have a map to orient ourselves anyway. 

 

Our apartment is small; the people who live there are in Italy for the summer, which is great, except that there is NO place to put anything.  SO I am in the one bedroom, Meg and Kensie are sharing the pullout couch, and our suitcases are all over the floor; it’s a serious maze.  We have a small bathroom and kitchen, the whole thing probably 700 square feet.  Sue then took us out to Karen and Cornel’s (they weren’t home) to take a shower with warm water – oh the things we appreciate when we do not have them. 

 

The next morning is really rather comical.  We are supposed to meet Sue and Rachel at noon at McDonalds.  When the three of us got up, we discussed our situation: We have no food, no water (can’t drink the tap), no idea where we are, no money, and no comprehension of the language.  An interesting predicament.  So I say it is time for an adventure!  I take my hesitant and timid roommates out to the streets of Oradea.  Thankfully the McDonalds is only a few blocks away so we have one point of reference.

 

We found a cash machine and got some Lei – there is about 2.2 lei in a US dollar.  Then we went in to a little corner market to buy water.  Well, the lady behind the counter started a tirade in Romanian when we went up to pay; we were buying two bottles of water (~like $4) with a 200 lei bill – that’s all we had thanks to the cash machine.  We just looked at each other and thought it is probably better that we don’t know what she is saying!

 

We met Sue and Rachel at McDonalds – now this is the nicest McDonalds I have ever been in.  It’s a common stop for Americans (WHY???) and many of the workers speak English.  I’ve never seen people clean windows like they do – Seriously, we were sitting there for maybe an hour and they washed the windows at least half a dozen times.  After McDonalds we went out to Real (pronounced Ray-aal) which is the huge walmart-like store outside of the city, to get food and water and other important stuff.  None of the three of us cook; we bought great stuff like cereal and chips.  Yummy.  The Honey Nut Cheerios over there are better than they are here.   By this time we are ready to pass out so back to the apartment we go!

 

 

Until next time - Ciao, Krissy

The chronicles of Romania: Travel

 

I flew direct Seattle to Paris that left at 2 pm, lending itself nicely to NO sleep.  Anyway, I was sitting on the plane next to this very strange woman who was on her way to marry her fiancé who is Algerian who she had met once.  His parents were meeting her in Paris.  Quite a story.

 

Now, let me tell you about the Paris airport – it is NOT pretty and the people are rude.  I got in line for the passport check right where the lady barked at me to stand and then she barked at me again when I was in the wrong line.  Sheesh, and good morning to you too!  Then I sailed through – no customs, the briefest of passport checks, no stamp, nothing.  I suppose they figure if you are coming from the US you’ve already been strip searched.  I took the fast train into downtown; wandered around the Louvre, ate a chocolate crepe, took some pictures, spent about three hours taking in all I could of Paris and then headed back to the airport.  Now, I spent some time there in high school so knew my way around as well as the language so had no problems at all, actually surprised myself at how well I spit out the French I haven’t used in years.

 

Back in the airport I didn’t even get a passport check.  Security checks over there are almost comical; none of this take your shoes/jacket off thing, you just set your stuff down and walk through.  I beeped the metal detector because I had a metal hair clip that I had forgotten about; the lady looked at me and said “oh, you’re fine.”  So, to all those terrorists out there, go through Paris.  Ha. 

 

Side note: on the way back thru Paris the other direction, I had to go through three passport checks, a security checkpoint, and a “random let’s dig through your bag and pat you down” search.  And I didn’t even leave the airport!

 

No customs in Budapest either.  Great.  I knew Kensie and Meg were on that flight, too, but I didn’t know who they were, and there were three sets of two young women traveling together.  Anyway, I walked out and Sue was supposed to pick us up – she wasn’t there.  I noticed one set of lost-looking young ladies and yes, they were Meg and Kensie (cheers).  We were just starting to discuss what to do now, as our ride was not there, our cell phones don’t work, and we don’t speak Hungarian, when Sue walked in – she had gone to the wrong terminal.  They had a van waiting for us outside.

 

I have never been so scared in my life.  This driver, I tell you, was crazy.  We must have been going a hundred miles an hour, weaving in and out on this two lane road between huge trucks, in the rain.  Seriously, we must have come within inches of the bumper in front of us.  Welcome to Europe.

Buna Ziua!

 

Episode one in the Romania Chronicles: cast of characters.  I’d like to be able to refer to these people without having to describe who each of them is every time.  J So here we go, photos are attached.

 

Sue: Is a ministry assistant at Pathway to Joy.  American, a Jersey girl but ‘lives’ in Florida now and is supported by a church in Ft. Lauderdale.  She’s been in Romania for about a year and spends most of her time with the short term teams and at the orphanage.  She’s a fireball, very extroverted and self-acknowledged “odd”. 

 

Rachel: American from California, just started working with Pathway a month before I got there.  She’s been a missionary in Romania for several years with different organizations.  She’s the opposite of Sue, very introverted and mellow, they complement each other well.  Rachel and I connected really well, we’re the same age and have a lot of the same passion for people and our work in Romania.  She also speaks the language very well and taught me quite a bit.

 

Karen: Karen and her husband Cornel are the founders and run Pathway to Joy.  I spent quite a bit of time with Karen working on some of the video work as well as some of our time in the village.  They have been in Romania for about 15 years, I think… They have 3 kids and a very nice house outside of Oradea.  I didn’t interact much with Cornel. 

 

Kensie and Meg: My roommates and we spent most of our time together.  They are from Atlanta and both 19, doing an internship this summer with Pathway.  Kensie is a sophomore at UGA and Meg at Wofford College.  They stayed for 8 weeks.  We lived together in a tiny apartment and while I had a great time with them, I don’t want to live with 19 year olds again J

 

Well, there you have it. Those are the people I worked and interacted with the most! 

 

Stay tuned for day 1 in the Romania chronicles. J

 

Ciao, Krissy

Buna ziua my friends and family –

 

I apologize for being silent these last few weeks since coming home to the US from Romania.  Returning to “normal” here at home has been hard; getting back to PILES of work, then spending several days at kids camp with my church, then back to more piles of work…  It’s so easy to get pulled back into the every day and yet so hard; I have to remind myself that it really did happen, that they were real people I worked with and real stories I was a part of, and not let the experience fade into the background of life, to keep their stories alive so that I might have the opportunity to make a difference. 

 

Beyond just getting back in to work is the change I see in myself – I see things in a different light.  We have so much here in the US, we take so much for granted.  One of my coworkers whining about gas prices while she holds her $25-a-gallon Starbucks latte in one hand and drives her Lexus SUV – Now, there is nothing wrong with either one of those things… but all I could do was shake my head.  Send her to the gypsy village and see the children who live on dirt floors and wonder where their next meal will come from.  Those children have nothing and yet have so much joy… Money can’t buy that.  My heart was stretched in ways I never new it could be, I don’t ever want to go back to the way it was!

 

I want to share their stories with you.  The stories of the children I met, the families I interacted with, the people I worked with, the places I visited…  I am so honored that I had the opportunity to be a part of these people’s lives; and through me, you are a part of their stories, too.  You are their heroes!

 

I will be emailing and blogging as I re-live the experiences through my photos and journals, feel free to send it on.  Check out photos, too!

 

Ciao, Krissy

Greetings -

 

Well, I am home in Seattle once again.  I knew it would be hard to leave Romania and the people there, but not quite this hard!  A huge thank you to everyone who supported and prayed for me; indeed, it was a life-changing experience which will take me a long time to process and reflect upon.  Everything feels different here; I'm no longer surrounded by communist block housing, filthy littered streets and beggars on every corner.  I went to the grocery store yesterday and immediately missed getting my bread from the bakery down the street and my fruit from the fruitstands and the piata.  My home didn't really even feel like mine, I kind of wandered around looking at everything with new eyes!  I even miss being surrounded by a foreign language and trying to make myself understood! 

 

Things I have a new appreciation for:  Hot water.  Tap water I can drink.  Peanut butter.  Cleaner air (not so smelly!).  Drivers that are not INSANE.  Knowing if I get sick or injured I will be cared for in a clean, safe environment.  A comfortable mattress.  My job and home.  Power (note: bring more than one power converter adaptor thingy!).  Nice soft clothing dried in a dryer, not on the porch (pretty scratchy and wrinkly).  Labels, signs, directions written in english.  

 

I'll put up some camp photos; though they can't do it justice in expressing the awesomeness of the experience.  The only downside was the weather was awful; however it did mean when the power/water went out (welcome to romania) the kids weren't passing out in dehydration. :) the last few days I was there I went back to the hospital, hung out with the kids at the orphanage, and packed. 

 

I have not yet brought myself to changing my watch from Romania time.  Wierd, I know, but it feels like I am holding on to a piece of my second "home". 

 

I have so many stories!  The highlight of my trip (there are many but this is the most high) was bath bubble day in Sibolciu, which I wrote about in a previous post.  The lowlight?  Saying goodbye to the team, my last hug for the children in the hospital, the bus full of kids pulling away from camp (there were a LOT of tears), the last time I was in the village and couldn't say yes when the kids asked if they would see me tomorrow. 

 

I have so many stories, I will try to post some more up on this blog with more details of specific events that impacted me.  I hope and pray I have the opportunity to return!

 

That's all for now.  Pace, Krissy