I have been in Romania for about a week now, but it has been a much harder transition this time around. I think because we all became so attached to the family we were living with in Ukriane. We had a fun last few days in Crimea. We had a bonfire down at the beach and made them banana boats while watching the sunset. It was a memorable night. Mama Anya made us a delicious home-cooked meal that I don’t think we ate until close to midnight. Our last day there Angelina, the eldest daughter, presented us with bracelets she had made us, and Nicola, gave us drawings he had made. Mama hand wrote each of us notes and read them aloud to us at breakfast. I can only imagine how long that must have taken her being that English isn’t her first language. I cried a few tears as we drove away.
Nicola and the pictures he gave us:)
We stopped at the church on the way and they presented us with little gifts of tea and certificates thanking us for serving them. They brought us to the train station and not only sang us a song in parting, but started running and followed us as far as they could before the train picked up too much speed. It was one of the best send-offs I’ve ever had. Here’s a video my teammate Katie made to give you a better glimpse of where we lived this past month.
World Race Cribs: Crimea, Ukraine from Katie Hines on Vimeo.
My teammates and I ended up taking three trains to Bucharest. Unfortunately, on one of our stops, it was raining and I wasn’t keeping a great eye on my things. When we got back to our hostel I realized all my personal debit, credit cards, license, and money had been stolen along with my itouch. I was beyond upset, and couldn’t believe it! I wanted to cry and scream, but I just sat there in disbelief. One minute it was there, and the next it was gone. I’ve since recovered and am now being extra careful about my things. I’m very thankful that I still have my passport and my camera.
Now we are in Pitesti, where we will be spending our last and final month. We are living in a hostel, in a very spacious room. Our ministry so far has consisted of teaching dance lessons to young gypsy girls. If you know me at all you know I LOVE to dance so I am happy this is how we will be spending most of our time here. We had our first lesson this morning, and the girls were adorable. Some of their parents were even participating.
Last night, we had a barbecue to celebrate the 4th of July. It was a fun time and turned out even better than I would have expected. We even had a few fireworks to set off.
Hope you all had a fun time celebrating. Know that you were in my thoughts and that I was missing you so many miles away.
