Fall Feelings and Halloween Happenings

I hit my half way mark! 8 weeks down and 8 weeks to go. As I reflect on the time I have spent here and the time that I have left, I can't help but wonder what my life would currently be like if I had decided to not come to Romania. The month of October is my favorite month out of the entire year for many reason. In the past it has been full of changing and falling leaves, carving pumpkins, hot chocolate, scary movies, haunted houses, football games, and many of my other favorite things. This year I have tried to incorporate as many of those things into my daily life as I can, but it sometimes proves to be quite difficult. I have found myself more homesick and envious of my friends back home this past month than any other time while in Europe. That is why I have decided to use this blog to compare and contrast what my life would be like back home vs. what it is like here in Romania.

The first thing that I miss most is beautiful thing that happens in Oregon and Utah during the fall. The leaves all turn vibrant orange, yellow, and red and fall to the ground creating a complete canvas of color to spend your days in. I love bundling up in scarves and hats and rain boots to take a walk outside and smell the rain and enjoy the beautiful world be are blessed to live in. In Romania, a similar phenomenon occurs. There are also many tree's that change color and I am constantly greeted by a new beautiful sight to see and picture to take. The thing I love about the beauty in Romania is the culture surrounding it. Along with color changing tree's, there are flower shops on every street corner adding to the vibrant fall colors around me. As I walk down the street bundled up in my warm clothes I not only smell the rain, but also the sweet scent of freshly made pretzels from my favorite nearby pretzel stand. When I was in Germany I saw not only thousands of breathtaking views full of tree's and lush green fields like I see in Oregon, but views of castles and palaces as well. The thing I love about the scenery here in Europe is that it isn't like the scenery at home. It is different and unique to what I am use to, yet still beautiful. That is reason enough for me to love it just as much.

Another thing I miss most about home is the excitement and atmosphere that leads up to Halloween. Halloween is not a largely celebrated holiday here and many people don't see it as a big deal. This has been strange for me because in my family, Halloween is a huge deal. The other night I was looking on social media of everyone carving pumpkins and dressing up for costume parties and I couldn't help but envy them. I love carving pumpkins and I thought about what I would have carved on mine and what I would have dressed up as for Halloween this year. Then I thought about how I get to dress up in scrubs and spend my days with my precious babies every single day. I am willing to sacrifice giving up one night of dressing up for pretend, so that I can dress up for real everyday and bring smiles to my kids faces. As for the pumpkin carving-I don't care if I have to carve an apple, something will get carved this week before Halloween.

Another thing that I have been missing out on is going to all of the haunted houses, scary corn mazes, and watching scary movies with my friends. I am a girl of very little fears and I find "scary" and "haunted" houses and corn mazes much more amusing rather than terrifying. I enjoy the thrill of making it to the end without getting scared and I look forward to seeing if I can find one that makes me jump. Since no such things exists in Romania, I have had to do a bit of compromising. That is when I realized that I am living in a real life haunted house also known as my lovely apartment. I have already told you stories of exploding pipes, broken toilets, and a washing machine with a mind of its own, but there have been many other events that I have not mentioned. Between my lights shutting completely off all on their own (sometimes for days) and my bathroom light flickering like straight out of a horror film, I can find my amusement right here at home. There is our demon possessed bird, strange tapping noises that continue throughout the night, and don't get me started about the many strange pictures and drawings found on the walls of my apartment. I realized that living in a real haunted houses is much more appealing than having to pay a lot of money to spend an hour or two in one created for the sole purpose of causing teenage girls to scream more than humanly possible. (Disclaimer: I love haunted houses and I know a lot of work and energy goes into creating them).

This thing is above one of the girls beds and it is freaky. You can't really see the face on the butterfly but it would definitely give me nightmares!

There are things at home that I simply cannot participate in here such as attending football games and attending the annual center street Halloween party. However, I will be spending the weekend before Halloween in Transylvania exploring Dracula's castle which is pretty darn cool. I will get to experience the fairy tale version of Halloween with vampires and castles and I get to spend it with the many friends I have made here, This will be a once in a lifetime holiday for me and an experience I would not want to trade for the world. No amount of my moms homemade pumpkin pie or candy corn or other American Halloween novelties could change my mind about where I want to spend my Halloween this year. So although I miss my American home and Halloween; I look forward for the next few festive days (and weeks) to come.

Castles, Kings, and Mountains

This past weekend I traveled to the land of castles, mountains, green fields, historical landmarks, and the best chocolate I have ever eaten. This place is also known as the country of Germany. It started Thursday morning when I woke up bright and early and traveled to the airport along with three other girls. When we arrived in Germany, we took a train straight down to the cutest little town called Garmish-Partenkirchen. When we stepped out of the train station is was as if we had stepped right into a fairy tale. The small town was surrounded by giant mountains and there were plush green fields full of cows and sheep that stretched on for miles. The buildings were all white with brown roofs and accents and had perfectly trimmed hedges and lawns. Once we found our hostel, we ventured out into the town to explore. We decided to travel to the base of the mountain to ride a tram up to the top to see the town from up high. The path to our destination ran along the base of the mountains and gave us a stunning view of the city. As we were walking I couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to live there. It seemed like a place where nothing bad could ever happen. The people we passed were all so friendly and the town was so quiet and clean and beautiful. More places should have that atmosphere. In the city where I live in Iasi it is always so loud and busy and cars are honking and people are yelling. We all need to take time to step back and enjoy life and find the beauty that exists all around us. Many of us forget how important it is to "stop and smell the roses". Visiting this peaceful town helped me see the importance of doing just that.

The girls I traveled with!

After strolling along the beautiful path that led us to the tram, we arrived at 4:08. Turns out that the last tram up leaves at 4:00 so we missed it by 8 minutes. We were disappointed but the walk to get there was so beautiful that we weren't that upset to have missed it. That's another lesson I learned; your final destination may not be what you expect, but it is important to enjoy the journey you take to get there. There is often much more beauty found in the journey than the destination. We took a different path back that went straight through the city. At one point we came across a mother and her two sons spending the afternoon together. They were standing in a big field and the young boy was riding his tricycle along the path. The mother and her older son were standing in the field trying to fly a kite. She would throw it in the air and he would run as fast as he could to try and get it into the air. They also had a beautiful golden retriever digging in some mud nearby. As I watched this family, I thought about what I wanted my life to be like down the road. I don't think I could imagine a life more perfect than theirs. They all seemed so happy and were living in this tiny town and didn't seem to have a care in the world. After we all agreed that they were living the ultimate perfect life, we kept walking and arrived back to the hostel and called it a day.
The next day, we decided to go straight to the city of Fussen where the Neuschwanstein Castle is located. This was my favorite part of the entire trip. The castle was incredible and the views from the castle were breathtaking. This castle was built by King Ludwig II who was declared mentally insane and suspiciously murdered days later. He was obsessed with fairy tales and therefore, fairy tales were his inspiration for building his many castles. This castle later inspired Walt Disney and is the model he used for the castle in Sleeping Beauty and the Cinderella castle that is at Disneyland. We took a horse drawn carriage up to the top and toured the inside which was beautiful. After some hardcore Disney Castle fan-girling and taking a million pictures, we left the castle and headed back up to Munich where we would spend the remainder of our vacation.

We spent the entire next morning at Dachau, which was the first concentration camp built by the Nazi Party. I have always wanted to visit a concentration camp and I was so excited to be able to experience it. We took an audio guided tour and as soon as I stepped into the camp, a feeling I can't describe overcame me. I learned about what certain buildings and areas were used for and heard real accounts given by survivors. I can't imagine what that must have been like to be there during that time but they were incredibly brave. If any of you have a chance to visit one of these incredible sights I highly encourage you to do it. It puts life in a whole new perspective and leaves a clear message in your heart of what it means to make sacrifices for what you believe in.

This is part of the big memorial that is in the camp.

This is where the prisoners slept.

These bunks were meant to house 200 people but ended up housing 2,000 men inside.

The crematorium that held the gas chambers and furnaces.

We spent the next day and a half exploring Munich. We took a walking tour and our tour guide was awesome. He told us so many fun stories and interesting historical facts about the city. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to see very many of the places he told us about but that just means that I will have to return someday to experience it all for myself. I loved the city and the people there were all so friendly and welcoming. Germany now has a special place in my heart and I loved visiting and sharing their culture and love for life. Now I must return to my kids at the orphanage and share my love of life with them.

Schimbare (Change)

Well I've been back in the orphanage for about a week and a half since returning from my adventures in Greece and a lot has happened. All of my active kids except for three were sent either into foster homes or apartment located in a nearby city. I was so sad to see so many of my babies leave but I still get to see most of them a few times a week. 

Two or three times a week I jump on a bus and go and visit some of the kids who have been moved from the orphanage to the apartments. The point of the apartments is to help kids transition into the lifestyle of a regular family and home. Three of my kids were moved there and although I don't get to see them everyday, I get to spend more one on one time with them in the apartments. It also means they are closer to finding a family so I can't help but be so happy for them.

Three of my kids who left were siblings and so adorable. They are happy and healthy so they went to live in a home with a foster couple. On Friday before they left, I got to join them and a few other kids on a field trip. We traveled into the country side of Iasi to a cute little animal farm that is owned by a very kind woman. The animals are therapy animals and have all been trained to be around children. The farm had dogs, cats, pigs, goats, bunnies, turtles, and chickens. A few of the kids freaked out at first but soon were besides themselves with excitement. It was so fun to see them in a different environment and how they reacted to all of these new and exciting things they were being introduced to. There was also a huge playground for the kids to explore. The farm was up on a hill and had a view of the countryside and city and with the changing leaves, it was so beautiful. I was sad to see my three siblings go because they were a bit older and I was able to really bond with them, but I can't help but smile when I think of them in their new home.

This week was the first time I had to say goodbye to any of my kids. I knew it would happen eventually and I thought I would be prepared for it but I had so many emotions running through me that I didn't expect. 

First I was sad because I wouldn't see them everyday. I wouldn't see what new thing they learned that day, or what new skill they wanted to develop. I wouldn't discover a new thing that they like and dislike and what makes them giggle or what makes them upset. I wouldn't see them grow up and figure out who they are and what they want to be when they are older.

The second emotion I felt is joy. By moving out of the orphanage, they are moving into a huge new part of their life. It means they have a chance of having a family. I know what having a family is like and it truly is the greatest blessing on Earth. If I could, I would take every single one of my babies home with me to give them that family. However, they have to stay when I go so I want every single one of them to leave me before that happens so that I know they are that much closer to their forever families.

The next emotion I find myself feeling is hope. These kids didn't have anyone pulling for them when they came into the orphanage. Now, they have the workers and volunteers in the orphanage who love them more than anything. I feel more than honored to be someone cheering them on in their new life. I may not know what happens to them or where they might end up. I know they won't remember me or the things I tried to teach them. I can only hope that by showing them my love and affection these past few months, I will have even the slightest bit of influence in their life for the better.

Now that most of my kids have been moved out of my room, it is a completely different atmosphere. I now have two active kids and 6 less active kids who are severely disabled. My room went from nonstop yelling and running to nonstop cuddling and tickling. We get to spend more one on one time with the kids who hardly got any attention before and I love getting to know their personalities. Although they can't speak or move far on their own, I'm learning what makes them smile and laugh and which toys are their favorite. They all love sitting on my lap, holding my hand, and having me sit there and sing or talk to them. They have such individual personalities that I didn't recognize before and my love continues to grow beyond and above what I imagined it could. 

There are many days when I truly miss the craziness and chaos. At first it was the reason I didn't want to be assigned to that room, but now it's the reason I don't want to leave. I'm sure we will soon receive more crazy kids to continue my fun, but until then it is nice to have a break to slow down and get to know some of my other kids. 

This week I am traveling to Germany for another fun adventure which I am super excited for! So thank you again for your love and support and I will keep you all updated again soon!

Donkeys, Gyros, and Sunsets

219 hours. I never knew it was possible to have 219 straight hours of pure happiness and bliss until I spent those 219 hours in Greece. I traveled with three other girls and we began our journey in Athens. We arrived on September 23rd at 8pm and walked through the airport doors with big eyes and small fears. We went straight to our hostel and decided to go right to bed because we had a big day planned starting early the next morning. Our first Hostel had a fun atmosphere and the people staying there were very friendly. The next morning we woke up bright and early to conquer the entire city of Athens in one day.

Getting ready to get on our tiny plane to fly out of Iasi!

We started at the Acropolis which is located on top of a big hill in the middle of the city. The views from the top are amazing and the city is much bigger than I had anticipated. We saw the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Erechtheion, and the Temple of Athena Nike. The weather was perfect and the crowds were small so we were able to explore the Acropolis quickly and thoroughly. Then we traveled down to the Temple of Zeus. Maybe it is because I grew up watching Hercules and am a bit naive, but I was expecting a monument a little more grandeur than a few standing pillars. Nevertheless, I could not stop the song "I Can Go The Distance" from playing in my head repeatedly and I can now say that I went the distance and have stood at the Temple of Zeus. Next we went through the Acropolis Museum and saw a lot of cool statues and artifacts, followed by the Ancient Agora which honestly looked like a bunch of old rocks. However, it still had some cool buildings and history to read about.

Behind me is the Acropolis

By the time we finished the museum and Ancient Agora, we had seen everything we planned on seeing that day. Apparently we were way more efficient than we planned on being because it was only 1 o'clock in the afternoon. So we decided to wing it and ventured into the small streets of Athens full of markets, restaurants, and pushy salesmen. Eventually we made our way to the base of a nearby mountain called Mount Lycabettus which we were going to climb in order to watch the sunset. Once we reached the top we came to the realization that the sun didn't set for another 3 hours. So we hung out at the top of this tiny mountain with about 100 other tourists. Finally the sky turned pink, the air got cooler, and we found the perfect spot to watch the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen.

The next morning we got up at 3am to head to the airport to get to our next destination of Mykonos! When we landed in possibly the world's smallest airport in Mykonos, our hotel driver was not there to pick us up yet so we waited at the airport along with around 5 cats who were just chilling in the airport (which apparently is a normal thing there). Finally, the cutest old man came walking up with a "Hotel Jason" sign and we piled into his van. After hitting a few cars while trying to pull out from the curb we were on our way with the unknown of if we would make it to the hotel alive. When we did reach the hotel alive and safe, it was the cutest hotel I have ever seen. The buildings were all white and each building had blue trim. It was located in the countryside and run by the old man and his daughters. We checked into our cute little room and went out to explore for the day. After walking for about 10 minutes we decided that we needed to rent scooters (mopeds) to ride around the island because all of the walking we had been doing was way over-rated. We found a place and the guy asked if we had experience riding. I have only ever ridden on the back of scooters so I decided to practice before paying to rent one. Let's just say, we all quickly decided that ATV's was the much safer choice for me. So we all rented ATV's to travel around the island and it was the best decision we made on our trip. We had a lot of fun on them and were able to see a lot more of the island that way.

While in Mykonos we did two main activities. The first one was wandering through the labyrinth of Mykonos town and Little Venice that are both located right ton the water. It seriously looked like straight out of a travel magazine and was so cute. The pictures I took pretty much speak for themselves. The other thing we did was spend time on the beautiful beaches there. The water was so clear and a whole lot warmer than the Oregon Coast so I thought it was perfect. We saw a couple more beautiful sunsets and after a few days in paradise we headed off to Santorini on a ferry.

One thing you should know before I talk about my time in Santorini is that it is the one place in the world that I knew I had to see with my own eyes before I die. I have been researching it and planning it for a long time and it is an understatement to say that I was extremely excited to finally be going. For me, having the opportunity to go to Santorini was my dream come true. We arrived via ferry boat in the late afternoon and were taken straight to our Hostel. There are five main towns on Santorini and we were determined to experience them all. We were staying in Perissa and therefore, had that town taken care of from the beginning. We decided to spend the night in the town of Kamari.
When we arrived in Kamari, we headed to the black beach and tested out the water. Since it was later in the day, we didn't have a lot of sunlight to use and only stayed in for about 20 minutes. However, I discovered that the water there is extremely salty and as a result of that, I pretty much float! That made swimming much more fun for the rest of the time in Santorini. After swimming we got hungry and decided to walk along the water and check out all of the restaurants that were lined up on the beach. Outside of each restaurant is a menu along with a very charming and persuasive host who will say almost anything to get you to eat at their restaurant. We quickly noticed this and decided to see what the best deal we could get was. Each time, we told them what the other host's had offered us and the new host would try to do better. We ended up with 10% off our meal, free ice cream, and an ocean side table. After eating, we made our way to an outdoor cinema theater, This theater was adorable and one of my favorite things that we did on Santorini. They had a bunch of comfy chairs in front of a huge screen and had snacks and drinks and rented out blankets. The theme was sorta a vintage movie theater and they played a bunch of old music. It was a great start to our experience in Santorini.
The next morning we traveled to the main town of Fira. While walking through the streets we came across a fish spa! It is a place where you put your feet in a tank full of small fish and they eat all of the gross stuff off of your feet. It was the weirdest feeling and tickled a lot but it totally worked! While we were there, a lot of other tourists kept stopping to watch and I'm pretty sure at least 5 random strangers took pictures of my feet being eaten by fish. After exploring the markets and shops on the street, we began the famous 6.2 mile hike from Fira to Oia. It was longer than I expected and a lot was uphill but the view was beautiful. You hike along the mountains and every once in a while a little white church with a blue roof will pop up and the ocean is around you the entire way. The hike took us 5 hours and once we got to Oia, we were exhausted. We decided to take a bus back to Fira and spend the evening there. When the bus pulled up, it was completely full but they decided to squeeze us on anyways. Myself along with the other three girls got put in the very front sitting right up next to the driver. We were trying our hardest not to fall over while this huge bus made its way down this tiny winding road on the edge of the cliff. Every time we passed another bus, our driver would honk and show off that he had a bunch of cute girls sitting next to him. It was actually a very fun and memorable bus ride.

The fish spa!

The awesome girls I traveled with. We had so much fun together.

When we got to Fira, we went to a small gyro place for dinner and ate our favorite meal of chicken or pork gyro's. By the time I left Greece I probably had eaten 1-2 gyro's a day. They were amazing! I also ate a shameful amount of ice cream. We found a place that had the most amazing ice cream that happened to also be incredibly cheap. For someone who is borderline addicted to ice cream, that is both my dream come true and my worst nightmare. Anyways, we headed up to the edge of the town and watched yet another sun set on the ocean. Santorini is known for it's sunsets and it was incredible to see one in person. Santorini at night was just as beautiful during the day and after taking some pictures of the city, we headed home.

Now, let me tell you about day three in Santorini. This day was by far my favorite and a day that I will never forget. After sleeping in, we again hopped on a bus and went to spend the day in our fourth town in Santorini called Oia. The first thing that we had planned to do was to go cliff jumping in the nearby bay. On our way down the side of the cliff to the bay, we found the house that Lena (from the movie Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) stayed at and that there were donkey rides from the bay up to the house, just like in the movie. I could hardly contain my excitement. When we got to the cliff jumping spot, we swam across the water to a small island and climbed up to the top. There was a small group already there and so we sat and waited our turn to jump. A few of the guys were going to jump from even higher up, but then realized it was a horribly dangerous idea. On their way down, I guess they accidentally caused some big rocks to fall because next thing I knew someone yelled, "hey watch out!" and I quickly put my head down under my arms. It's a good thing that I have good instincts because I got hit by a big rock on the back of my shoulder seconds later. The other girl who got hit was hit by a rock that was much larger than mine and so everyone was worried about her while I was off to the side making sure nothing was broken. We were both fine but the girl and her friends decided to head back to shore. Since I hadn't even jumped yet, there was no way I was letting this get in the way of a once in a lifetime experience. So I pushed through the pain and decided to jump.

Lena's house!!!

See where that person is standing on the edge of  the cliff on the island? That's where we jumped from.

There were five guys who were still up on the cliff and we eventually started talking to them. It turns out that they were from Sweden and were in Santorini for a worldwide parkour tournament. They had all already jumped and so we were asking them the safest way to go about it. Three of us enthusiastically made the jump and it was so much fun. However, it turns out that Katie got a little hung up on the whole jumping thing and didn't like the idea of throwing herself off of a cliff into cold water surrounded by sharp rocks. So with the help of our new Swedish friends, we spent the next 30 minutes trying to persuade her into the water using every trick in the book. Eventually, she jumped and we were all so proud. The guys invited us to go watch the parkour tournament and it sounded cool so we figured why not? However, there was no way I was missing the donkey ride up the mountain. Luckily, some of the guys also wanted to do it so we all rode donkey's up the mountain and it was pretty much the highlight of my life so far.

The parkour tournament was awesome! Our Swedish friends knew some of the competitors and judges and explained all of the technical things to me. We also were able to go down and watch it up close by all of the competitors which was really fun! After watching for a while we all got hungry and headed to a pizza place for dinner. It was fun getting to know each other and our waiter was the best! After dinner, we were planning on all heading to the edge of the town to watch the most beautiful sunset in the world. However, once we paid and were leaving the restaurant, we realized that it was getting pretty late and we were about to miss the sun setting! So all nine of us start running through the cobblestone streets of Santorini to catch the sunset. I was wearing sandals that were preventing me from running fast and it was so frustrating. One of the guys suggested just taking them off and so that's exactly what I did. So I was full on sprinting through the crowds of people barefoot in order to catch this sunset. We finally get to the edge of the town and we had missed it by seconds! We were all so heartbroken! So we sadly headed back home with the plan of all meeting up at the red beach the next day.
The last section of the island that we wanted to explore was Akrotiri where the famous Red Beach is located. We met us with the guys and spent the day in the water, We wanted to take some pictures with our new friends and all lined up in the water. While we were getting ready to take it, a big wave came up and at first we thought it was funny and all stood there laughing. Then we realized how big the wave was and it was quickly racing towards all of our bags full of our clothes and dry towels. So then we were all frantically trying to grab our stuff before it is all ruined. During the chaos I guess I forgot to grab a shoe because I saw it floating away into the ocean. Thankfully, one of the guys ran out and grabbed it for me. The best part about this is that the guy who was going to take our picture got the whole thing on camera and we got some great pictures out of it. After the big wave fiasco we journeyed to the end of the beach where we found an underwater cave that you could swim through. At first I was a bit nervous to swim through it but after a lot of coaching and encouragement from the guys, I made the swim through and I am so glad I did. Eventually, it was time to leave and so we said goodbye to our Swedish friends and made our way to the docks to board our ferry. We had a lot of fun with our friends and we were sad to say goodbye. Santorini was everything I had hoped for plus so much more. Sailing away was one of the saddest moments of my life but I hope that I can return to the beautiful island again someday.

Our last destination was Heraklion, Crete. Since we only had one full day in Crete and it was the end of our vacation, so we were exhausted, the only logical thing to do was head to the beach for 6 hours. It was a really warm day and the water was so refreshing. It was the perfect way to end our journey. I also was able to see the Heraklion Archaeological Museum which had some super interesting artifacts in it. Finally the time came to hop on a plane that would take us home to Romania. I would have missed my plane and stayed in Greece for another few weeks in a heartbeat but my orphanage babies needed me more than I needed the extra time in Greece.

When I walked into my room the morning after we returned home, the greeting I got from my kids was worth every heartache of leaving Greece. Although the situation my kids are in can sometimes hurt my heart as well, spending time with them each morning I am in Romania puts my heart back together and makes it stronger than it was before. They are the true source of my happiness and although Greece was an incredible experience that I was always remember and hold dear to my heart, volunteering in the orphanage with my kids is where I belong. So thank you Greece for changing my life, but now it's time for me to change the lives of my kids. After all, that is where true happiness and bliss can be found.