(In no particular order…)
10. Kids Camps at Casa Shalom… While I must admit that large groups of kids intimidates me…I have enjoyed spending time with the gypsy camp that has been going on here at our host home (Casa Shalom means the house of peace). When laws in Bucharest changed and made it so that Casa Shalom could no longer legally be an orphanage, the property has instead been used as a host home for different teams and as a place to have kids camps. This week, it was a camp for gypsy children from a neighboring village. It was hard to see the poverty that these children are growing up in, but it was fun to watch thier delight when at Casa Shalom they got washed up, a good meal, a play (put on by us), some crafts to do and the opportunity to play on the slide and jump on the trampoline.
9. Downtime for exercising… My team-mate Stephanie and I are grateful that we have a chunk of time every day to do our own thing, we usually choose to fill part of that time with some exercise. Upward dog anyone?
8. Elana.. Elana was an orphan in Romania who was adopted and brought to New Zealand. Now that she’s grown, she’s serving here at Casa Shalom for the summer. Elana is one of the funniest, quirkiest and sweetest people I know. I’d really love to take her everywhere with me.
7. Plaza-Romania… Plaza Romania is a mall filled with all sorts of good capitalist food and clothing. American films with Romanian subtitles, KFC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks…the works. On a particularly homesickish day, it’s good to go there and sit at Starbucks or walk around the mall and contemplate (and turn down) buying something overpriced from the GAP. It’s like old times.
6. Skybar… Because I would kick myself over and over again if all I knew about Bucharest is where the Starbucks is, I’ve been trying to explore more unique places to go. Bucharest turns out to be a good place for that. One of my favorite spots so far is the Skybar. It’s a small cafe five stories up. The roof can be pulled back, so that you can sip your coffee or martini and watch the sunset or the stars.
5. Jubilee… Jubilee is a women’s home for abandoned or handicapped women. We’ve been going there every other day or so and doing crafts with these women, spending time with them and giving them a way to pass the days. Some of the women are on a track to get back to a place where they can support themselves and be independant. Others may need to live at Jubilee indefinately. I am trying to make it my aim to seek out the women there who sit off in the corner and don’t engage with the rest of the group. Sometimes that means sitting next to someone for hours without being acknoweldged, but usually they warm up eventually. It is life-changing to get an opportunity to befriend these women.
4. Sleep time… Despite the fact that the springs in my matress broke leaving a huge hole in the middle of my bed, I am still grateful for the time we have to sleep or nap. Everyone has been getting well-rested these days and it’s very refreshing.
3. Time with Other World Race Teams… This month we are living and working along side two other World Race teams from our squad. It really is fun to be around them, whether we are working hard or inventing a slip and slide out of an old tarp and some dish soap…
2. Gardening… Sometimes we get the chance to do some manual labor or some weed pulling here at Casa Shalom. Can I just say, I love it? I really do enjoy working hard…especially when it involves dirt and flowers.
1. Pretty City… I think Bucharest is gorgeous. It’s nicknamed the “Little Paris”. I think the name is pretty appropriate. Not only because it has a mini ‘Arche de Triumphe’ but also because it is a center of culture. The city is littered with beautiful old architecture that managed to survive WWII and the Soveit Union. Small cafes are loaded with some good Romanian eats. The fashion-concious use thier days out on the town to show off thier new outfits, and let me tell you…it has certainly inspired the tiny speck of fashionista inside of me…See?
There are more than ten things to love about Bucharest, but that’s what I wanted to share with you for now. More is to come!
-Michele
p.s. Some of these photos were taken by Kirsten George and Carrie Campbell…so…props to them.
