Life Has Carried On

It has been quite a while since I have written. So much has changed! After returning from Romania it was a long transition back to life in Iowa. I had a hard time being around people and adjusting to life in America. My reverse culture shock was much worse than my culture shock.

I'll give a quick overview of a few months

May: Returned from Romania, Graduated from college, Worked a 60 hour week, Got Engaged!

June, July, August: Planned a wedding, Trip to San Francisco and California

September 18: Married my best friend! It was a wonderful day except for the rain that ruined our plan of an outdoor wedding. Besides that it was everything I could imagine and more.

End of October: Josh was offered a job in Bismarck, ND. He took it and we planned to move two weeks later.

November 7: Moved to Bismarck, ND.

It has been a crazy past 6 months. However, I would not change them for anything. I love my husband and love being with him. God has blessed us beyond our wildest imaginations.

It might take me awhile to adjust to a place that I have never been before or thought about going. Bismarck seems like a very nice city that I am sure I will come to like and call home. For now I am waiting for Christmas and trying to remember that God is with me through all things.

Volcanic Ash What?!

Well, it is Sunday, 18 April. I am sitting in April and Kelly's apartment in Madrid but should be on my way back to Romania. Who would have guessed the thing that delayed my travels back would be a volcano? God works in strange ways. I am glad I get to be with family and spend more time with them.

It has been a wonderful week. I was able to visit Toledo which is a smaller city outside of Madrid. It was beautiful weather and we had a very pleasant day with the family.

I am now going to be spending a few more days with April and Kelly in hopes that the volcanic ash will clear and I will be able to fly back to ROmania.

This has really put a damper on my last two week plans for Romania. It has been an emotional adjustment and will continue to be. I still believe that this is some how God's plan and it will all work out. If there is one thing I have learned above all others this semester it is flexibility and adaptability. I have continued to learn this over and over again. This is another wonderful example of how I can learn these attributes.

Happy Easter Everyone!

We serve a risen Savior!

It was wonderful to spend a holiday like Easter in Lupeni. I was able to see an experience the traditions of the season. The coloring of eggs in the traditional red color. The knocking together of two eggs and seeing whose cracks. Hearing of the service that takes place at midnight and the walk up the mountain with the stations of the cross (I didn't participate in either of these...sadly).

Last week was a crazy one because I spent many hours with young people talking and learning more about their experiences here. However, it ended in a wonderful way with celebrating the resurrection of Christ. On Friday night I attended a special service for the Pentecostal youth from the Jiu Valley. This was a wonderful time to see many young people in one area sharing a common faith and feeling the presence of God there. Mari, my wonderful supervisor, translated for me. She did an amazing job and really helped me to get more out of the service.

Tradition

This week has been a whirlwind of events. It started out with gaining a new roommate last week Saturday. She is from Wisconsin and it has been nice to be able to talk with her.

This week one of the IMPACT groups I am involved with completed their business plan that they have been working on. The big thing that they pulled together was a Show. It was amazing to see how these kids worked together to pull of this really amazing show off. The crowds here really get into the show also. It was fun to see how everyone still gets really energized by the traditional dances and songs here. I wonder what Tulip Festival would be like if we all got that energized for our traditions.

This show was on Thursday so it was a wonderful way to sort of end the week.

I am continuously reminded of the blessings relationships are for me here and the people God has graciously put in my life here.

On a side note, Thursday afternoon I ate pizza that was named, "Fruit of the Sea" It had small octopi on it. I truly enjoyed them.

I have added both two short videos of the traditional dancing and singing for Romania and a picture of an octopus on my pizza.

Crazy Past Week

It is amazing how quickly the weeks are passing here. This past week was no exception. I can't believe it is Sunday once again. It means that I am getting closer to seeing people at home but it also means I am getting closer to leaving the people I have constructed relationships with here. It is a bittersweet feeling to be honest.

This past week has been a crazy one filled with many events. On Saturday I was able to visit Deva with two IMPACT groups. It was fun to see a new part of Romania. We saw European Bison, a castle, and a fortress. This was quite fun for all of us (even though it was a bit cold)

Then later that night my parents arrived! They stayed until Tuesday morning. We were able to spend time with my host family, make it to Straja, and eat with my fellow colleagues at NHF. It was wonderful to be able to share a glimpse of my experience here with family from home. They will understand a little more what I am talking about now.

Wednesday morning I left for Cluj-Napoca! This was quite the experience. It was so different from Lupeni. It was different in the scenery and the people I saw. I was very blessed to share this time with my instructor, Mari! She is just amazing.

I arrived back in Lupeni on Friday afternoon and had class. Then the weekend was relaxing which was much needed! I was able to go to my home stay family's house to celebrate the little girl's birthday. This was a wonderful time to share with them. They have also been such a blessing for me while I have been here.

Transitions Continued

Well I have made the transition to the apartment. It will be an interesting change. I am excited for the potential growth that can happen in this environment. It will be challenging and wonderful all at the same time.

Tomorrow I leave for a short day trip to Deva. After this my parents will be arriving for a few days. This is a nice step in the transition. It will be great to see them again.

Then it is off to start another week. This week I am traveling to Cluj to visit another branch of NHF. I am excited for this trip.

Transitions

One more week has passed. It is crazy how quickly time seems to be going while I am here. I move from my host family's home today. This is a really strange feeling for me. I feel like this whole semester I have been in transition and the transition never stops. I came to Romania (huge transition), spent one night in the apartment, moved to my host family's home, started working, began attending the two clubs regularly, and now I am moving back to the apartment. There are 6 weeks left in Romania. It is such a strange position to be in. I really feel like I am beginning to understand what I am doing here and now I need to begin preparing for the transition back to Iowa.

This was a short post just of my feelings as of late. I move in a few hours. I'll post after the move again.

A Week in Review

Tuesday, I arrive at group. It is the last meeting for the main leader. The meeting goes well. We finish up the group. I find out I have to plan and execute next weeks meeting. This is a prayer request. Please pray that the Tuesday meeting will go well.

Wednesday, i walk out of my Romanian lesson and pass a garbage can. I have some trash to throw away so I stop and throw my trash in. At the same moment a man walks up and begins to dig through the trash can that is next to the one that I am using. It was a moment of questioning for me. Questions of how, why, and what came to mind. How did this man get to a place where he needs to dig through trash? Why do we live in a world where this is not addressed and fixed? What can I do as a single human to change the world? This wasn't the first time I have seen people dig through trash. But this is the first time that I was throwing something away that signified my wealth (I was throwing away water bottles and food that I had brought from America) standing next to a man who hoped to find something of wealth and use in the trash. This really struck me because I was so close to it and felt the barrier between us even though we both bleed red.

Thursday, my advisor and I went to another NGO which works with primary school children in a type of after school program. I played a game with them. One I have played many times in different settings in America "We're going on a Bear Hunt". It was so much fun to see there actions and them laughing and enjoying the activity. It shows the hope and future for Romania can be bright with organizations such as New Horizons Foundation and the other NGOs working with the children and young people. As Gandhi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world."

Oh, one more thing because I enjoyed my home stay so much I decided to extend it for another two weeks. This means I will be leaving there house on March 12.

Random Thoughts

This completes my 5th week in Romania! This thought is crazy to me because it means I have been away from Iowa for 6 weeks. It means that this coming Friday I will be moving out of my host families house and to an apartment. It means that I only have 9 more weeks of my practicum (internship).

The week before this one (the week I didn't write a blog) was by far the most frustrating week I have had here so far. It was the most frustrating because of my lack of language. I recognized that this is what was creating the frustration however and really prayed about it and came to a place where I knew I was still doing what God wanted in the capacity I could.

This past week was a huge improvement. I was not nearly as frustrated or upset. It was a good week.

I thought I would share a few random thoughts that have gone through my head since I have been here.

~ I wonder if I would look good in skinny jeans.

~ Oh the burn in my legs feels so good

~ The pace of life here is amazing

~ I can't believe I just fell down trying to get my chapstick

~ This view will never get sickening

~ Hmm...this is always what I thought liver would taste like

~ I need to shout out to Dave for telling me to purchase a pair of hiking boots with Gortex in them! I can't believe these are the only things I have worn for 5 weeks

~ Chocolate is so good!

A Run Down of a Typical Week

I missed last week...oops. So this weekend I'm writing two!

This one is going to be a run down of my week.

Monday

8:02 Wake up but only if we have staff meeting

9:15 Arrive at the office

9:17 Wake up if I don't have staff meeting

9:30 Staff Meeting

12:00 Romanian lessons

14:00 Either go home for a while (if we had staff meeting) or go the office (if we didn't)

19:00 Go to IMPACT 1 meeting

20:30 Start to head home

Tuesday

They vary but include at least one IMPACT meeting at School #2

Wednesday

9:17 Wake up

11:20 Leave the house

12:00 Romanian Lessons

19:00 Go to Impact 1 meeting

20:30 Head home

Thursday

8:02 Wake up

8:40 Leave for the office

9:15 Arrive at the office

Work through the day

17:00 Leave for home

Friday

9:17 Wake up

18:40 Go to class at Northwestern :) (I go to an online class)

20:10 Finish class

Saturday & Sunday

Vary greatly

There is a short run down of my week. Throw in some meals, sleep, walks, and work and you get a rough idea of how a week goes.

The same struggles here and there

I realized today that I missed my normal Saturday posting. Oh well at least I am getting something up...then again I don't know if anyone really reads this so what does it matter when I post.

This week was fairly uneventful besides that fact that I felt it just flew by. I honestly couldn't believe it was Thursday and the week was done already. At this point in my practicum I have joined two different IMPACT clubs. In these clubs there is a service-learning component and learning happens through games and stories. I have joined two groups one is with middle-school students and the other is high-school students. I really love each of the groups. They both give off such different vibes and are in different stages of being a group. I really am enjoying it.

On Friday I was able to spend the afternoon with two of the girls who are in the high school group. I was able to go over to one of the girls house and just spend the afternoon talking and hanging out. We talked over some pizza that girl made for us. It was such a blessing to spend that time with them. But this is where my title comes in also..."The same struggles here and there" At one point when we were getting ready to eat one of the girls said she would not eat very much because she had to lose weight. She was very unhappy with the size she was. This really just broke my heart because this girl is in no way over weight. She is so beautiful and loving. I would honestly love to put her in my pocket and take her home with me because she has such great energy and is so caring. She also has the best smile ever! Anyway, when I heard her say this it broke my heart because in no way should this 17-year-old be worrying about her weight. She should be just enjoying spending time with friends and being 17. But because of the society she is raised in there is a a perceived mold that everyone should fit in and she feels she doesn't so she wants to change. I guess it just broke my heart to see that this body image struggle is not confined to certain areas but it goes beyond borders. It really hurts me to see what an issue it is. It makes me wonder why this started and how to change it.

Sorry this was such a serious post. On a lighter note. Monday, I left the house to go to work. The road I walk down has a steep hill at the beginning. It had been icy on the road but I didn't fully understand how icy it was until I began to slide down the hill and was not able to stop. I slide for a good 10 feet. Luckily I didn't fall but I have to admit there was a bit of screaming and flapping of arms involved.

It's the second car you have to worry about.

Another week has passed. It is unbelievable that I have been here two weeks already. It really feels like just yesterday I was flying into Bucharest but that is not the case. The past two weeks have been wonderful. It is amazing to see how my practicum is really unfolding. The first week my advisor was gone to a training so I was not able to meet her. However, I was warmly welcomed by another employee and she introduced me to the organization. This past week I was able to meet my advisor and she is marvelous. She has really put her heart and hard-work into my time here. It is amazing how much she is putting into my practicum here. So this is what I mean by watching my practicum unfolding. I am able to see what I will be doing this semester. I will be able to see how social work is taught and practiced in Romania, while still adding to the organization I am working in. This week I felt much more of the groups I attended. I was able to lead a game in each group and I felt the games were well received in both groups. This really helped the kids in the groups feel I was there to contribute (more than last week when I was much more of an observer).

The home stay is still going amazingly well. I really enjoy the family and they are very welcoming. I said the other day to my advisor that when I go home at the end of them night I truly feel like when I go home at the end of the night I feel like I am going home. It is a great feeling. I thank the family for that because they are the ones who have created that type of environment.

I still enjoy my walk each day. I will admit some days after I'm done working I dread that I know I still have that walk to complete but then when I am on it I realize how great it is for me to have that time. The walk I complete is on the road with vary little room for a car someone walking in most places. This story is where my title of my blog comes in. One afternoon I was walking home. When I am walking on the road I am very attentive to listening for cars coming up behind me. So as I was walking and heard a car coming behind me so I moved over. After the car passed I moved back over only to get honked at by another car that was behind me. This event caused me to say, "Self it is the second car you have to worry about because you can't hear that one. The noise is covered by the first one."

Anyway, overall this week was another good week here. This afternoon I am going ice skating with one of the groups I am apart of which should be fun.

Praises

Completing a second week!

Feeling apart of the group!

Wonderful kids who will translate for me!

A wonderful supervisor.

My host family

Requests

I've been having a few stomach issues this week. I am really not sure what it is but pray it heals.

That I will sleep well at night.

Blessings,

Heidi

Garbage, Cat, and Dog - Quite the Combination

This marks the end of the first week of being in Lupeni. I arrived on a Saturday and now it is Sunday again. It has been a fairly uneventful week. I will be working with the New Horizons Foundation and this week the thing I did most there was just read and observe. I am giving myself sometime to adjust and learn about the place in which I am working. I feel this is the most important thing I can do right now because I want to work very competently and in order to do that I need to learn the culture.

I am very excited to "dig in" and begin working. From the learning I have done about the organization I believe in what they are doing very much and am excited to see where I can use my skills to enhance their mission. It will be very much a learning experience for me. In the end I hope that the organization feels I have contributed to their mission because I know I will take so much away from this experience.

While observing the culture there are things I have found that I really enjoy. Such as the pace at which people move. It never seems that anyone is in a hurry to get anywhere. They will get there when they get there. This is a contrast to the American way I feel. We never take time to enjoy the in between trip. We simply want to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. Because of this mentality of speed is good I find myself constantly reminding myself to slow down as I walk otherwise I am passing everyone on the street. The other thing I have found so beautiful about this culture is the fact that they pull their children on sleds down the streets.

Every morning I have a 35 minute walk into work which I have found to be such a blessing. On this morning walk I really take time to pray and prepare for the things I will face during the day. It is a great time for me to just be with God and just be. This is also the time I try to observe what the culture is like. I then have a 45 minute walk home. (This way is longer because it is going up towards a mountain). I am sure as I get more in shape the walk will decrease in time. This was is great also because it gives me time to think through the day and then leave the day behind me so I can focus on the family at home. Overall, I love the walks I must do.

The family I am staying with is wonderful. The mother is such a gem! She is very, very welcoming and has helped me to feel right at home here. She speaks english very well (even though she says she doesn't). We have had some great opportunities to talk. She also keeps me very well feed. I do not think I have ever eaten this much. I am taking this opportunity to try all different things. It is also great because I can experience the culture first hand this way. If I was living in an apartment there is no way I would get the knowledge I am getting in the house. Just about the food and the way things are done in a household. I think this home stay is such a blessing from God. The other blessing is that they have the internet at their home. The reason this is such a blessing is because on Friday nights I have class but it is class in Iowa so it is over the internet. If I didn't have internet at home I would have to walk all the way to town just for an hour and a half of class and then walk back. Overall, this family is beautiful and so far would not change the experience for anything. One cultural adjustment I am finding I have to make is what my palate believes is breakfast food. Here savory things are for breakfast what I mean by that is things I think should be lunch are breakfast. Such as a ham sandwich or a pork spread with tomatoes. I do not believe this is a bad thing but it is definitely an adjustment from the usual cereal for breakfast mode. Sometimes I get a sweet roll and eggs (that is by far my favorite breakfast).

I know this a long post and probably quite boring but I'll end on with a funny story.

One night as we were sitting down to eat the mother was telling me what the dish we were having was.

She says, "I really like this. This is garbage."

My response to this was an immediate shaking of my head and saying, "No, no, no. I don't think it is garbage."

This resulted in having a nice explanation of what garbage actually was and a time of laughter.

The next night we were eating again and she asked, "Do you know what type of animal that is?"

I said, "Pig?"

She shook her head and said, "No, cat."

Which shocked me and the father just started laughing.

She realized she was wrong in saying cat and proceeded to, "Moo" so I would know it was cow in reality.

She said the next night we would have dog!

Prayer Requests

- That I will allow myself to take time to adjust to being here and not jumping in too soon.

-That I will continue to have a great experience with my host family

- For all of those in Haiti who have lost so much

-That I will learn the language

-That my stomach continues to stay strong so I can eat everything my host mom prepares (I eat everything now and she likes that)

-For safe travel for everyone in the organization as most people were gone this week and will return this weekend.

Beginning

I have finally begun my practicum/internship whatever makes sense to you. The beginning of this week has been filled with meeting many different people both those who work in the organization and those who benefit from the organization. It has been an introduction to the organization which involves reading and some other things. So far I have really enjoyed finding out what I will be doing and how I will be completing things. It will be a great learning process that I look forward to.

I have also started my home stay which has been a blessings so far. My family is very nice and have provided my own room for me. They also have internet which is wonderful! The mother is so beautiful she is always making sure I am comfortable and well feed. I find that her feeding me is such a blessing because if I would have moved into an apartment I would not have eaten very well in the beginning probably. Each day I also have a 40 minute walk to and from work. This is because the house I am staying at is up a mountain towards the main skiing area. As you can imagine where the area in which I am staying in is quite gorgeous and beautiful. I think this walk will be quite enjoyable for the most part because it will give me time to both review my day and prepare for my day.

If you want to know anything else or anything explained please ask!

Blessings!

Arrived!

Just a quick update. I have finally arrived in the final destination. Now that I am here I cannot wait to begin what God has prepared for me. It shall be an adventurous learning experience!

In Transit

I have started the journey towards Lupeni! As I am writing this post I am sitting on April and Kelly's couch in Spain typing one-handed because I have a sleeping baby in the other. I realize how much of a blessing it is to have family to stay with for a little while I'm adjusting to Europe and the time zone. I realized this even more last night when I was awake for an hour and a half.

As I get closer to my final destination I grow more excited and nervous! It will be a growing and learning experience. I also realize how this experience is such a blessing from God!

Waiting

The first adventure I will be writing about will be the adventure of doing my practicum in Romania. I was supposed to be on my way to beginning this adventure but instead I am still in Orange City because of the delay of weather. This has been tough on me mentally because I was prepared to leave and now I am waiting.

I am very excited to begin this adventure and look forward to the opportunity. Here is to the beginning of something great!

The Beginning

Here is the beginning of my blog. This blog will be a place to update what is going on in my life. I am not promising profound or even interesting posts. They will be life posts which could be very short or could be quite long. I guess we will have to wait and see what comes of it.