My Week in Pictures!

Hello again from Iasi! Alright, I've been a bit of slacker lately with the blog, I know. Last week was Valentine's Day, so of course I spent that entire day having a grand ol' time with a fondue dinner here in the apartment. It was so great, everyone gave to each other in their own little way and we had a great day :) One of the many gifts given were long stemmed red roses from Kasey. Here we are being silly and taking pictures.

That was a great day, and as my last post said, I love these girls. Through the good and bad they are such a huge part of the learning and growing that I'm doing here. Since last Sunday, life has continued to be busy with Section 2, schoolwork, friends, and trying hard to make the most of my time here. It's so hard to choose what to share with all of you, I have so much I could say! So I decided to try and make a bit simpler for myself by doing a week of pictures, seeing how I haven't been posting too many of those :)

Monday

We host FHE for the branch every week, and this last week I volunteered to take the reigns and do a Valentine's party! It was actually an extremely stressful day for me, one of those "I have no idea how I'm going to get everything done" kind of days and when it was all over, oh what a relief! I spent the afternoon making sugar cookies and frosting to decorate which in and of itself is stressful...I miss my normal kitchen appliances...and normal tasting ingredients. Part of the adventure I suppose! But I wasn't too happy about the blister on my palm from the little whisk I had to use. That plus trying to come up with translations for all that I wanted to say in a lesson made for a very stressful but rewarding experience.

Tuesday
Tuesday was a great day! There isn't a lot that I can say about the wonderful kids I work with everyday, for confidentiality reasons I can't take pictures or use their names. But they fill my days with so much joy! I've definitely had my discouraging moments, when I feel at a loss, not knowing what I can do for them. They have been given their own set of trials, and it has been so hard for me to come to terms with their hardships. Yet I know that they do so much more for me than I can do for them in my short time here. I give them someone to cuddle, a loving smile, a song. What they give to me is so much more, something that will last far longer than the tickling or the dancing. And the boogers, bites, drool, and throw up too...who cares? These children are incredible, and I now understand why we need to wear scrubs while working :) I consider it a good day when my scrubs are yucky after three hours of work, that means I was able to do my job. We change each morning in this little room at Section 2. I'm so grateful I have the opportunity to work with these kids!

Wednesday
We try to make point of trying new things and getting out of the apartment. Wednesday was a normal day, finished off by an outing for something yummy. I found Romanian ciocolata calda... so think and good! This was our attempt to get a picture of me with a chocolate mustache but I was laughing too hard. Worth a shot though eh?

Thursday

Yet again, another normal day! I thought I'd throw this picture of Erika in, I walked with her (since we're never allowed to be alone) to one of our favorite little shops so that she could get a yummy sandwich...man those things are good! I finally got to talk to my sister Stephanie too, I don't know if I've said this enough, I love my family! At home I certainly don't see them every week, but something about being on the other side of the world has made me miss them more than I ever have, and appreciate every little piece of home I can get.

Friday
What a day!! Everything about this day was wonderful. The kids were all healthy and up (so many of them have been sick lately, which has been hard for me). Then after work I came home to the best surprise ever from Mario...MAIL!!!!

I got a letter from each of my two best friends in South America :)...I pretty much consider it a miracle that the letters even got to me because Shawn definitely didn't spell everything right. That was such a blessing, and the other girls got packages etc. as well. It was pretty much Christmas, we were all so giddy!

The weather here has been incredible, very humid, and rainy. It feels like spring, and feeling the sun on my face puts an extra spring in my step as always! After the letter party with Mario, Christine, Ally and I headed to the basketball courts to enjoy the marvelous weather. It felt so good to be out and active! Only I missed my frisbee...Christine made it pretty obvious that I haven't played b-ball since I was 15. But it was great all the same!

P.S. I definitely live in a big city, which is so strange still. Just picture those scenes in movies where the gangs meet up on the courts, with the cracked asphalt, graffiti, and chain-link fences. No exaggerations, that's where I live! I may miss my mountains, but there's certainly still beauty everywhere, you just have to look a bit harder :)

Saturday
What a great end to a great week! Mihai, our fearless and extremely helpful guide, cultural informant, and most importantly friend, took us out to visit another monastery: Biserica Manastirii Galata. Built in 1582-1584, this 500 year old building took my breath away once again. We didn't get to go inside this time though, so we'll try again another time. I love the peace and quiet, this entire afternoon was wonderful for me. Enjoy the pictures, I tried to capture everything that I could. The walk there, the dogs and their presents left behind, the beautiful old cemetery just outside the walls of the monastery, and the friends I was able to share it with.

Green is coming!!!

Dogs are everywhere in the city...and I love them, so many are just adorable and so lonely. Christine gets upset with me because the dogs can tell that I love them, and they often follow me :)...she doesn't like that too much. With so many dogs there's plenty of...you know...

Iasi in all its glory.

Pink bus!! And a lovely concrete apartment building...

And finally the moment you've all been waiting for...I'm so sorry but these pictures do hardly any justice. Classic Mihai.And inside the courtyard you find...

Needless to say, I was happily exhausted at the end of our trip. While enjoying the peace and beauty of the cemetery, I couldn't help but think...life is so short. Steph got me thinking about it the other night...her children are growing so old! To think I held my little niece Sariah, so tiny as a newborn, and in one week she'll be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Where has the time gone? There are so many people who have led good lives over the generations, all over the world. How grateful I am to know that life doesn't end in a cemetery, with candles and flowers and stone.

I'm grateful for each day that I have to experience new things and grow. I'm already halfway done here in Iasi, wow...once again, how time flies!
'Til next time, vă îubesc, şi eu sper că sunteţi bine!
I love you all, and I hope that you are all well!