Town Fun

The stench of stale urine wafted up from the pavement as I walked to work this morning through streets that were swimming in a weekend of litter. It was not as it looked the remnants of a riot but purely the leftovers from a 3 day weekend of annual festivities. This was the 44th annual town celebration. A weekend when the streets close off to vehicles and fill up with pedestrian traffic. Stalls line the streets filled with pottery, jewelery and all manor of tat for a gauntlet of market shopping. Another street lines with fast food stalls and grills. All kind of sausages, meats, kebabs, burgers and beer for the consumption of the masses. Further up a stage dominates the center blaring out a badly organised ensemble of bass while teenage girls sing out their hearts to a modern mix of music and old men lament to the tune of days gone by, each accompanied by their own appropriately dressed and moving dance brigades. At the top of the high street the rides stand tall. An enormous inflatable slide for crazy acrobatics and a whirling 'fifi dance' to make mama's feel sick. The best of all are the dodgems. Who needs security fences? I captured these moments in a country where the word 'queue' is non-existent as you can see change over is a manic affair (although I'm not sure it properly captures it but it's a good indicator). We had to wait at least 6 x to manage to grab a car.

The days are long and disco music blasts into the night air. (I am thankful I no longer live right beside that stage because my first 2 years of this weekend were sleepless affairs where we slept on the floor and tried to pad the windows with our mattresses to dull the boom of the speakers - to no avail I might add!).  I have to admit through it's craziness I love it. It is the one weekend where I forget where I live. A weekend of hustle bustle that brings all ages, sexes and races together for a weekend of madness. It appears for a moment that no one is above another that we all - as we should - live and enjoy this community together. A weekend where for a moment it seems bigotry and hate is suppressed so that all may enjoy the wonders of the town's festivities. Apart from the craziness shown above and the fact that it costs me a small fortune in fairground rides I say bring on these day's a little more often. 

Family Packages - Monday

I think I speak for most of us when I say we walk round with some kind of blinker, protecting us from the hurts of this world that surrounds us. I realised that this summer more so with the different visitors I had. Some found it so hard the differing amounts of obvious poverty, the abandonment, the negativity and bigotry that is so apparent in the area where I live. Most of the time I think I must ignore it or maybe I'm a little desensitized to it - I think you have to be otherwise I'd never leave my house. Other times it hits you like a steam train and Monday was a day that affected me greatly.

Part of the work the foundation does is to deliver (3x a year) a small clothes and food package to different families in the town and outlying villages. They are often families who used to have children in the orphanage, others have come to the foundation and asked for help and a few have been put forward by their town's mayors office as 'in need of support'. On Monday, we visited 4 different villages (maybe 15 family packages in all) and their poverty and struggles brought me to the brink of tears.

One of the first villages we visited was basically 4 houses on the outskirts of a village. Down a dirt track little brightly painted houses stood and as our car arrived at the top of the road this rabble of women, children and men followed by a gang of ragged dogs ran up the hill toward us. I think only 2 of them spoke Romanian but their smiles were easily translated and shone brightly through their mud smeared faces, bare feet and ripped clothes. I captured them as they walked away from us a beautiful but sad sight leaving our car.

 
We visited a boy I used to work with at the special needs school. He doesn't really have special needs as such but he was a little lazy and came from a rough background and so failed in the normal school system. It was so nice to see him after over a year (he finished at our school 2 yrs ago) and I momentarily missed the sadness in his eyes. As I asked how things were he told me that his mother had died 3 weeks previously and his dad (not the best guy ever) was now living with him. What do you say to that? How can you possibly help heal that hurt? A hug and a few chocolate bars from my friend was what he was left with. It's awful to feel so useless.

We also visited a lady, a grandmother of a boy who was at the orphanage. She answered the door pale and shuffling. She had just been sick and constantly apologised for not tidying her (tidier than mine) house. All she wanted was for us to come in and sit with her a while. So lonely, so fragile again I felt so useless.

Those are just a few examples of the people I saw on Monday and each one chipped at my heart a little bit more. There really is so much poverty and sadness around and even though I know this and see this on a daily basis it still shocked me.

We did find a hidden gem on our travels. One of the villages had a little old wooden church and it was as amazing to find as the smiles on some of those little faces. So once in a while take the blinkers off. I know it's easier to deal with life with them on but you never know what treasures are hidden amongst the hardness that we're hiding from.

'Starting School' and 'A new home for Alex'

'Starting School'

School started again this week and was kicked off as usual with a huge gathering of all the children , teachers and parents and many speeches from just about any prominent figure in the town - Mayor, police chief, and of course a priest from almost every denomination - who each had their own 20 minute speech and or prayer over the children and school. 

This year they have changed things up and have divided the schools  not by age  and class but by language. It feels like one step forward and several back as we encourage our Romanian speaking and Hungarian speaking children to be seperated. It will be interesting to see where this change will lead our town. Time will tell. 

However for now I am not complaining as it means that the children all go to school in the morning rather than half attending in the morning and half in the afternoon . It was supposed to be Cristi's turn to go to school in the afternoon and I wondered how this was going to affect his learning and my work schedule. So, seeing as my schedule did not have to change I have been at the hospital and school and depot this week making dad help me pick out clothes for some of our transit kids and play with my school kids and cuddle my precious babies (one of whom I'm glad to announce left for a foster family today - and the social worker told me that 2 more will go this week. I'm so glad they are finding some families at least). It has been a busy week so far but I did realise that I failed to blog about Alex and the big change in his life so.........

'A new home for Alex'

Two weeks ago our beautiful precious little Alex found himself being taken to his new home. A home that was hoped for, wished for and prayed for by him and us for many years. 

When Casa Alba (the orphanage) closed only 2 children remained without families to go to, Nicoleta and Alex. Nicoleta went to the foundations home for children with special needs (a small group home where 7 children with varying special needs live together). Alex was left at the 'boys house' a home where Cristi and my friends 2  boys lived until they were able to live with us in our own homes. A home which my friends and I ran with a lot of love and also frustration as we dealt with many different issues and heartbreaks which came along with the situation.

When to our joy the boys were allowed to live with us Alex (who still had no family of his own to go to) was split between myself and 2 friends. So, he moved between us, 3 different mummy figures 3 different brothers, staying 2-3 nights with each of us in turn. This was of course difficult for him, for our children and of course for us. Different parenting styles, disciplines and constant changes for him - a child who really does not do well with change proved of course challenging but, I would not trade the joy and enormous heart warming smile that this little boy brought into my home and life. 

For differing reasons we were never able to find a foster family for him but he has moved to one of the foundations group homes and it is a wonderful one. Loving, caring parents who will probably honestly be the most understanding of how Alex is than anyone else in the country. I saw him a week after he went there and when I asked him what he liked most about living there he replied with his huge goofy beautiful smile "toate" (everything). 

Just after we talked about how life was in his new home.

Oh my, Alex we miss having him with us every week but I am so happy for him that he no longer has to call the mummies in his life Auntie. For now he has someone to call mummy of his own.

Alex with his new mama :)

A few days out....

The Black Forest

'Death of a s'more'

Sinteu

Sunshine and smiles

Vadu Crisului

Fishing with grandpa

Walking to the caves

Inside the caves

'Don't be a prat....wear a hat'

"Mama look it's Dracula, take a picture. Quick mama I'm so scared. Mama I want to show my friends but he is really scaring me quicker mama please."

Grandpa has returned.

 Grandpa has come to visit and my little man could not be happier! We've been playing in the park and playing games just generally enjoying the Grandpa fun. It's so great to watch how Cristi's face lights up when Grandpa starts talking in his Donald Duck voice or whistling like a bird. Today there were many giggles as he rubbed his beard over Cristi's face. It makes it ever more apparent how much is sacrificed when you live so far from your family, so, it is great to be able to spend some time together. 

Today I took dad to the institution and I thought (seeing as dad brought me a camera to replace the dud one I had) that I should show you through pictures how that visit went. So while we were at work today...................

 

The boys prepared the feed for tomorrow for....

The piggy piglets......

While we hauled water up from the well

Some of them just stood around playing ball and looking pretty

We weren't the only ones working hard, I came home to find Cristi earning his crust too driving the forklift........