First Week Impressions

Brasov is so beautiful! Well, actually, its so snowy, that its a bit like Newark when it rains . . . inches of snow (instead of rain) everywhere and pant legs that never dry. But it's still really pretty with all the snow on the rooftops and all the different colored buildings in the town square. Also, my location is perfect because it's right in the old center, where all the shops and restaurants are. As for the work, there aren't too many babies right now to take care of, which may actually be a good thing, because that means they have parents that come in to care for them. The ones that DO need us to care for them have usually been sent to the hospital for some sort of ailment, and then once they get better, their parents just don't come back for them. Its really sad. And today, I was holding one of them and then went to put him down so I could go take care of others, and he started crying. So then I rubbed his back, hoping to calm him down a little bit, but as soon as I stopped, he looked up at me with his big brown eyes and then started screaming crying! It was so sad.

My roommate Kayleigh, and I have been exploring around Brasov and we took a cable car up to the top of the mountain overlooking the city center. On the mountain, there are big white Hollywood style letters mounted on the side, that say "BRASOV" and light up at night. Next to the "V" is a platform where you can see the entire city and beyond. It's such an incredible view. Unfortunately, it was still very snowy and icy and Kayleigh did not have any tread on her "trainers" (sneakers), so I had to go alone once we got up there. When I saw the sign, I got really excited and started to run. I hadn't gone more than 3 steps before I slipped and fell hard on the snow and ice. Haha, it was so scary, when I looked down and saw a steep vertical drop with rocks and trees 6 inches from where my feet stopped. No worries though, I was fine. And the view was totally worth it!

We also took a trip out to Bran Castle yesterday, which ended up being a bit anti-climactic, because Dracula never actually lived there, it was just the castle where the movie was filmed (or that inspired the castle in the movie, I'm not sure). Anyway, it took longer to get there and back than it did to get through the castle. The architecture was really pretty though. And the building itself was pretty impressive. But what they showed off inside was a little disappointing (nothing to do with Dracula whatsoever).

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