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Published: August 16th 2006
Hello everyone! It's Adrienne and I'm happy to report I am vertical and not sick today. I spent all Monday night being sick (To Mark and Sara: #3 and #4) and not sleeping. Before the fun actually started, I remember sitting at dinner, trying to eat what they call pizza (they put corn and ketchup on it), and thinking "there is no way I am hurling in that toilet." But you do what you gotta do and thinking about it was much worse than actually doing it. I finally fell asleep around 3:30 am.
(Look the ENTER key works!)
Wendy was the greatest caregiver on Tuesday morning. She brought me apa gazoasa (fizzy water, my new favorite thing), petit beurre crackers, and Coca Cola Light. She also made many glasses of chamomile tea. I don't know what I would have done without her! She went to the orphanage in the afternoon but I stayed home and slept. Our hosts made soup for dinner and then it was back to bed for me.
I woke up this morning feeling so much better. I think our host has given up even bothering to make us breakfast--we usually only eat a few bites of what she puts out, so today there was nothing. Good thing we brought Luna Bars! You know, I can handle using a toilet straight out of the movie "Trainspotting," I can handle taking cold showers and washing my clothes in a bucket, but I am having a lot of trouble with the food here. I just really don't like what they serve. Plus, their methods of food preparation and storage are not as freakishly clean as ours, as you can imagine. Instead of wrapping up leftovers, they just shove the plate in the fridge, on top of other leftovers, and each night bring everything out again. Yesterday when I was sick, I couldn't even open the refrigerator because the look and smell would send my stomach spiraling.
By staying in the apartment all day, I learned that love is not the international language...rap music is. If I hear one more 50-Cent song I'm gonna go crazy! Someone outside played it ALL DAY LONG.
We had a very good lunch today, so there may be hope. We ate at a restaurant in a hotel. I had a plate of cold mixed vegetables seasoned with herbs, bors (soup), some bread, and a Coca Cola Light. All that for less than $2 USD. I think we will eat there every afternoon!
So, about the orphanage! This is the time that is making this trip wonderful. These kids are adorable and loving and sweet. It is obvious they crave personal contact and attention. Wendy and I took 3 of the Down's kids who can walk to the playground, where they interacted with some of the other kids and played with their toys (stuffed animals mostly). Two of the boys, Andre and Yorgi, got in the sandbox (no sand, just old dirt) and filled up little blocks with dirt. They would throw the dirt out of the sandbox, sometimes on me, sometimes on each other...quite cute. However, their caretaker was not amused. She made us bring them back and then pointed sternly to the sand in their hair. I made a sheepish expression and cleaned them off as best as I could.
Wendy and I got in their outside playpen and sang "Itsy Bitsy Spider" several times. They didn't sing along but they loved doing the motions. They are also quite the little pickpockets. They kept reaching in and pulling out my Romanian phrasebook and our cheat sheet of Romanian expressions (like "You're a good boy." ). Yorgi is obsessed with bosoms. He kept hitting the chest of one of the caretakers and pulling on the zipper of her dress. I can't remember what he called them but it sounds very similar to what we say in the US. He tried pulling on my shirt too but I was able to keep him out. Not like there would be much to see on me anyway! 😊
We have the middle of the day off while the kids nap, which is why we are online right now. We both wish we could spend more time at the Center--we offered to fold clothes but they waved us off. There is a park with 3 lakes nearby so we will probably walk around it every afternoon to keep in shape. We are definitely doing our share of walking here, thankfully!
Oh, the bathrooms at the Center are just fine. I wish they had an extra room for us and we could just live there!
Bye for now! Thank you for your comments and emails. It means a lot to hear from you!
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Salli
non-member comment
Glad to hear you're feeling better, Adrienne - I'm guessing you haven't thrown up that much since college! Ha Ha. Sounds like the work is already rewarding and y'all are getting into a Moldova groove - hey, that sounds like a great title for a rap song......