i believe in miracles.

something indescribable is happening right now.
a miracle, of sorts.

last night, one of the interns from last semester contacted me, wondering if i was in her room/to see how the kidlets are doing if it is the same room. you must know, i have mixed feelings about this. up to this point, i try to forget about the fact that there are other americans that have had a similar experience. i like to think romania is our own. however, my mind has now been changed.
while i do still kind of like the idea that our experience is unique, there's something to be said for combining our unique and tender experiences into something incredible for a child's benefit. most of all, having this happen without either of us knowing, until now when i'll soon be headed home.
and tonight, i'm learning that this is exactly what happened. magic for a child, because both those interns and i were willing to throw ourselves out here and give our hearts to our kids.

a miracle.
a beautiful, indescribable miracle.
for us, at least.
and for our boy.
it's all coming together, and it's completely beautiful.

i wish nothing but the best for you.

today was my last day with both my kids, and at the hospital.

i said my goodbyes, and it was perfect.
for the most part, it was a rather average day until the moment at the end when i had to say a final farewell.
and i would have had it no other way.
i didn't even cry for almost the whole day.
[until i saw a certain boy make a certain face as i was saying goodbye. and then all hope was lost.]
a little girl gave me kisses, and then gently slapped my face. it seemed fitting.
my favorite worker was the one working today.
it was average.
it was beautiful.
it was just right.

i love them forever and always. and i'll never forget the experiences we've shared together. almost every day, there was something significant felt or experience had with at least one of them, usually more, and today was no exception.
it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. sunny days, sweeping the clouds away. on my way to where the air is sweet. come and play, everything's a-ok. family. neighbors. friends. that's where we meet. can you tell me how to get to sesame street?
and so i say to them for the last time, pa pa pentru acum.
see you in heaven, my loves.

for my babes and their angels. you are mine.

I have noted that children are often more naturally accepting of pain and suffering. They quietly endure with humility and meekness. I have felt a beautiful, sweet spirit surrounding these little ones.

Thirteen-year-old Sherrie underwent a 14-hour operation for a tumor on her spinal cord. As she regained consciousness in the intensive care unit, she said: “Daddy, Aunt Cheryl is here, … and … Grandpa Norman … and Grandma Brown … are here. And Daddy, who is that standing beside you? … He looks like you, only taller. … He says he’s your brother, Jimmy.” Her uncle Jimmy had died at age 13 of cystic fibrosis.

“For nearly an hour, Sherrie … described her visitors, all deceased family members. Exhausted, she then fell asleep.”

Later she told her father, “Daddy, all of the children here in the intensive care unit have angels helping them.”

To all of us the Savior said:

'Behold, ye are little children and ye cannot bear all things now; ye must grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth.

'Fear not, little children, for you are mine.

'Wherefore, I am in your midst, and I am the good shepherd.'"

kent f. richards, the atonement covers all pain.

some things are meant to be.

let's pretend we're riding on a kite.

let's imagine, we're flying through the air.

we'll ascend, until we're out of sight.

light as paper, we'll soar.

let's be wild, up high above the sand.

feel the wind, the world at our command.

let's enjoy the view, and never land.

floating far from the shore.

some things are meant to be, 

the clouds moving fast and free,

the sun on a silver sea,

a sky that's bright and blue.

and some things will never end.

the thrill of our magic ride.

the love that i feel inside for you.

we'll climb high, beyond the break of day.

sleep on stardust, and dine on bits of moon.

you and i will find the milky way.

we'll be mad, and explore.

we'll recline, aloft upon the breeze.

dart about, sail on with windy ease.

pass the days doing only as we please.

that's what living is for.

some things are meant to be.

the tide turning endlessly.

the way it takes hold of me,

no matter what i do.

and some things will never die,

the promise of who you are.

your memory when i am far from you.

all my life, i've lived for loving you.

let me go now.

some things are meant to be, little women.

i sing this to my kids in the back room. every single day. i do so on purpose, so that no matter what, there was some sort of continuity, and a repetition giving them something to associate me with. and as a message for them. i've lived my life to this point, to love them. and even when i am far from them, i'll always have their memory.
they all love it. one girl always 'sings' along. and one boy has a favorite part. he always, always perked up when i said 'let's be wild.'
this 'wild' boy of mine is going back to heaven very soon. i learned today that he's been transferred now to a new location that will give him all the care he needs in his last days. the last phase of his life. a life too short by normal standards, but long enough considering the conditions he lived in and the body he is trapped in. i know i'm not allowed to talk about him. or really say much. but i can say this: he is one of the sweetest boys this world has ever known, if not the sweetest. and he always has an ear-to-ear smile on his face. always. the world is a better place for him having been in it. and i know i've been blessed to have know him. the sweetest soul from heaven above will soon be back there again. and he'll run and jump and laugh and play.
don't worry. i've already had my crying session. i think what makes me most sad is thinking about the girl his bed used to be next to. they had a special bond, she and him. and i don't care how odd you may think it is for me to say, there really has been a noticeable difference in watching her see that he's not there anymore, and the fact that his bed has now been moved out of the room and she's more secluded from the others. whereas she used to have a special friend always by her side in what usually looked like one big bed.
there's more a could say about yesterday or today. but for now, i just don't want to. tomorrow is our last day at section 2, and this morning the reality of us leaving actually hit me. and i cried while in the back room, before i had even found out about this boy of mine. it's been a day. goodbyes are hard no matter what, and even harder when they're for life. when i walk out of section 2 tomorrow, it will be for the last time. and there's a high chance that i'll never see those kids again in this life. bring on the tears. i love them too much. it's ripping my heart apart. and the worst part is knowing the neglect they'll face before a new intern comes in september. they just need somebody to love them.
on the bright side, i'm lucky to have met them. and gotten to know each of them. and most of all, i'm lucky that it wasn't until now that this boy of mine is headed back to heaven. i've had the opportunity to love him all summer long and get to know his beautiful soul before he returns back home and straight into the arms of god.

curly q's.

i need to go to bed, so for now, i'll let the pictures do the talking.

any day that has out of control curly q's means one thing:

a whole lot of sweat.

which means a whole lot of kiddies being adorable/climbing all over me.

babies. my kids. the works. and maybe a few suffocatingly sweaty hospital rooms.

all cooled off by the air conditioning in the vila.

my skin has never been so moisturized.

so rossles helped me have a photo shoot with my hair.

haahahaha.

romania is too good to me.

why must i leave this place in a week?

in the words of so many romanian children/children around the world:

(not my own, bineințeles [of course]. they'd never give such attitude.)

nu vreau.

[i don't want to.]

marriage and things.

last night after swimming and shopping, we met teo in copou and went to the wedding of another physical therapist in section 2! this time, it was a romanian orthodox service. the church was beautiful. the evening/sunset was beautiful.  the couple was beautiful. and the ceremony was an interesting peek into romanian orthodox traditions.

the bride and groom are the ones wearing the metal crowns.

bride, groom, and a few of section 2's finest.

we might have had a picture taken with them when we went to give them flowers after the ceremony. aka, the first group picture. they didn't stop for anyone else. ahahaha. we'll see it someday in the future, i hope. we also have a photo with teo. but it's not on my camera, so i'll have to add it someday as well.

operation wedding? success!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

now that we are in the single digits when it comes to how long we have left in romania, i'm starting to feel like there's not enough time. but at the same time, i've done most everything that was on my list. there are just a few remaining excursions that i'll be taking this coming week. all before packing my suitcase and leaving on a jet plane. i'm at a weird point between being ready to move on, but still loving my children to death and not wanting to say goodbye for life. especially because i know how neglected they'll most likely be, not just in my room, but in all rooms when suddenly section 2 is down so many hands and loving hearts.

bring on the last few days of loves and hugs and adorable romanian children that make life all worthwhile. i wish my kids were more loved and cherished. i'll leave my peace at that in so public a place.

i love romania. i love my kids. i love the rain falling outside the window as we speak. and i love babies!

i don't love the thought of leaving. or the thought of all the write-ups to be done. or a few other things. etc.

you get the idea. i've a torn heart, you see. torn between here and there. between here and gone.

mișionarii.

this past week was transfers for the missionaries,

so sora mullen and sora holman came over on tuesday night so that sora mullen could say her goodbyes.

we spent tuesday night through friday night, essentially, without electricity. except for off and on every so often. starting with just light switches being out, and then everything. reason number 32497 why i love romania.

my point in telling this fact is this:

don't judge our dark looking apartment and our beautifully sweaty faces.

sora holman is still here. (the one on the left.)

sora mullen has been transferred to cluj. (the one in pink on the right.)

as far as elders go, they shot-gunned the area.

elder wirthlin went HOME!

and elder cox, the boboc, was transferred to a place i can't remember.

so we have three new missionaries for our last week and a half together.

sora bennett, elder biggs, and elder simoilă.

(i think. he's romanian. so remembering his last name has proved interesting.)

life's exciting when the missionaries are such a big part of the branch.

and therefore we have lots of interaction with them.

welcome to the newsies!

venice, anyone?

as we all know, saturdays are the day of the week that we don't go to section 2 or the hospital. and instead we have a break from that, and get to explore iași. and have fun adventures.
let's start with last saturday, shall we?
a week ago, we started our day by going swimming! why it took us until the middle/end of july to go find the pool, we're not really sure. i guess you could say we've been a little preoccupied discovering all the other cool things about iași. welp, a couple weeks ago was an insanely hot one, so we just soaked up the pool time. refreshing? you bet. it might have involved seeing a whole lot more adult flesh than we've seen in a long time. (let's be real. we see naked babies all the time. bahaha.) buuut we just averted our sweet and tender eyes and soaked it up while laying in the sand. (yep. SAND!) and it may or may not have been my first sunburn of the summer. how sad is it that it took until the middle of july to get the first one? oh well. my tan skin isn't complaining. :)

i've never seen so many speedos in my life.
nor have i ever seen two men play backgammon in speedos.
popular pool game, i suppose? ha.

after swimming last week, we headed to the branch and then packed into taxis to go to veniția! (venice!) if only we meant the real venice in italy. but it wasn't half bad. it was an adorable little tucked away lake. on a day that turned overcast after we left the pool/soon after arriving at venice. the lake thing was bad news for mosquito bites. but an incredible success as far as a branch picnic on a saturday afternoon in july. a whole bunch of people showed up/met us there. and we had a ball playing games and eating sandwiches & watermelon. you know, the usual picnic sort of things to do. ending with realizing how sunburned we were. and going home to a nice quiet night, in my apartment, at least. successful lake trip? check.

behold: veniția in all her glory!

arrivals!

elder wirthlin & elder cox.
hauling water balloons. :)

we might have had an egg toss. and it might have broken on me. same story with breezy's egg. ha.
don't mind my creative hair. andrada said she loved it. haaahahaha. good thing she was mocking me.

member that time fratele popovici played backgammon in swim trunks?

elder wirthlin (blue shorts) has a thing for whipped cream and any game that involves its use.

ilie and michael got creamed.

member that time breezy got 'whipped'? she does. :) 

member when rossles got attacked by whipped cream too? ahahahahahaha.

group photo with sora holman.

group photo with amanda.

elder cox and mihai got egged. and water-ballooned. at long last.

frog catching!

don't worry. no missionaries were harmed in the making of this photo. nor did any fall/get pushed into the water. 

backgammon, yet again.

what a pretty little place, wouldn't you say?

everybody heals with love.

song of the day: everybody, ingrid michaelson.

happy is the heart that still feels pain.
darkness drains and light will come again.
swing open up your chest and let it in.
just let the love, love, love begin.
everybody, everybody wants to love.
everybody, everybody wants to be loved.

this week i've been thinking about love. about the moment when i truly realized i loved my kids. not that it came all at once. but there was a point near the beginning or middle of our time here, when i realized i truly loved them. each at a different time, for they are each individuals. and i work with them on an individual basis. that was one of my goals from the very beginning: to get to know each of them as individuals, and not group them when it comes to loving them. ever. and that's just the thing. i do love each of them. individually for different reasons. real love. not a general kind of love for them because of who they are to me, for that is how i love the babies in the hospital that come and go from one day to the next. but rather a specific and individual kind of love, realizing how much i care for a child. i thought about it as i was spending time with one girl. and then i thought about each of my children. and how i love them. and why i love them. and how, despite everything that has happened throughout my summer in romania, at section 2, and with each individual child, i would give the world to my kids if i could. forgetting about everyone else, i devote myself solely to my kids. they are angels on this earth. it's the adults that can make romania scary. but the kids? no. they are the ones that make us feel worthwhile. they are the ones that can put a smile on your face seconds after having brought you near tears. they are the ones who, regardless of the time or the day, will always be happy to see me. the ones who make me laugh for how cute and funny they can be. the ones who will always run up to me as i enter the room in excitement to see me, if they can run. as far as the others are concerned, they are the ones that i hear cooing from the back room as i arrive. the ones that give huge grins as i enter the room and join them. and talk to them. and sing to them. and they love every second, just because i'm there. because i stop for more than a second, and say their names, and tickle them, and massage their unused muscles, and let them be as loud as they please. i think there's something healthy about using your voice. one of my girls sings along with me, in her own way whenever i go back and sing to them. and the others will squeal in excitement and giggles. can you beat that kind of love and acceptance? i would daresay no. everybody just wants to give love and be loved in return. and as for me? i love them. each and every one. i wish i could tell you why. and tell you about each child, and the way they brighten my life. i'm not allowed to publicly, obviously. but just know this: i love them. all 10 bright shining souls.
i tend to forget that i'm working with kids with disabilities. even the most noticeable of disabilities disappear to me as i see my kids for who they are, not for who their bodies would say they are. they're so much more than the bodies and minds their souls have been trapped in. even my kids that seemed nearly unresponsive when i first met them in may have distinct personalities and characteristics. individuality. i forget that some of them can't talk verbally. i forget that some can't move on their own. i forget that some are disabled in anyway, because despite what their body looks like, they are individuals with a soul that shines through. and it's amazing how much can be communicated with only eyes or the slightest of movements. astonishing, really. and yet it happens each and every day. a beautiful thing? yes indeed. in honesty, i'm the one blessed by being able to have met these children. to partake of their beautiful hearts. they're the ones doing me good. providing me with profound insights into the mysteries of eternity. not the inverse. it's all about them. if nothing else, that's what i have learned. these kids are my world. and nothing could keep me from them. after next week, it's likely that i won't see my kids again in this life, which is heart-wrenching. and yet, that's ok. we'll be reunited someday. someday in the eternities when their bodies will be as perfect as their spirits already are.
"A physical body is also essential for exaltation, which comes only in the perfect combination of the physical and the spiritual, as we see in our beloved, resurrected Lord. In this fallen world, some lives will be painfully brief; some bodies will be malformed, broken, or barely adequate to maintain life; yet life will be long enough for each spirit, and each body will qualify for resurrection."

d. todd christofferson, reflections on a consecrated life.

BREAK part 2--bucurești.

part 2: bucharest!

wednesday night, the 29th of june, we took a train from brașov to bucurești. i personally wasn't as excited for bucharest, especially after how charming brașov was for us. but never fear. it's still something new. and therefore exciting. let's start at the beginning, shall we?
after our rather pleasant train ride that may or may not have lasted a few hours longer than it should have, and involved a stop at one station for over an hour, we arrived in the paris of the east. a huge, big, scary, fraud capital of the universe (i made that up. but it's probably not far off.) around 11pm. it was a little scary. i won't even lie. particularly because we had no idea where we were going. and looked like deer in the headlights as a little huddle of huge backpacks and bags. high stress environment? no sweat. never fear. after a few turns, and encountering a completely ripped up road, and a few other fun moments, we at last found our hostel! i don't think i've ever said such a constant prayer in my life. it was terrifying. big and foreign city. nighttime. alone with 7 other americans that don't know the city. but don't worry, bucharest is much less scary in the daylight.

thursday, june 30--day 5.

we started our venture in bucharest as almost anyone should. by touring the people's palace. aka parliament palace. aka the second largest building in the WORLD. second only to: the united states pentagon. yeyahh! i honestly wasn't expecting that. but i guess it's true. well, in our grand tour in which no photos were allowed, we only saw five percent of the building. FIVE. ok, and yeah what we saw seemed huge. in other words, the building is ginormous. literally. in every sense of the word. and never before have i ever heard so many ceaușescu jokes in my life. i think it was owed in part to the fact that our tour guide was so young. but still. it was almost creepy. especially because the building itself is full of so much empty space. the ceilings, walls, and floors would be immaculately designed. every detail made from purely romanian materials - except for two doors. but then in the room itself, there was very little furniture or anything. and anything that was there looked pathetic in comparison to the size of the room itself. and in the 'theatre,' the stage was significantly too small to be a real stage. and the chandelier is the largest in europe, containing 7,000 lightbulbs. and to change a lightbulb in said chandelier? four people! it's insane. the funniest detail of all: she would turn lights on and off as we went through the rooms with our tour. regardless of the fact that there were tour groups only minutes behind or ahead of us. and the lighting was awful, with hardly any of the lights on.  then again romania would be broke if all those lights were on all the time. apparently the amount of electricity required to have everything on in the palace is absolutely astronomical. and after seeing just five percent of it and doing the math for the rest of the palace, i seriously don't doubt it.
and now i must tell you the story of the pink umbrella. thursday morning it was raining cats and dogs in bucharest, and luckily i was armed with my cheapo, small, and wonderful pink umbrella. it was enormously effective. and highly useful in every single day up to this point. yes, it did rain every single day. loved it. well, this handy dandy umbrella of mine broke when i went to close it upon arriving at parliament palace! i know. i was dying. and not willing to pay obnoxious prices for a new umbrella. so i figured i'd just get over it and either break and buy a new umbrella or use my jacket with a hood whenever it rained. don't you fret. it never rained very hard again while we were there/while we were out and about. tender mercy? yes.

the little courtyard area outside our hostel. aka, the tables for smokers.

parliament palace! from a side corner. don't even worry. it's huge. you can't fit the whole thing in one frame unless you're coming from the side. otherwise there are buildings across the street blocking it. my point? it's ENORMOUS.

the piața in front of the palace. behind where that green fence is, and over to the right is where concerts are often held.
for example, bon jovi was in bucharest in that exact location on july 10.

the girls.

cutest couple award? check.

the view from the balcony that michael jackson stood on and said, 'hello, budapest!' cultural fail, he knows. knew. he's dead now.

after touring the enormously ostentatious splendiferous display found at the people's palace, we went to the patriarchal church. it's apparently like the 'mecca' of the romanian orthodox religion. kind of like what temple square/the salt lake temple is to mormons. it was essentially the same as all the other orthodox churches we've been in, except more nicely kept up. and the artwork was still colorful and vivid. in all the other churches, it's duller and blacked out from the smoke from candles used over so many years inside the church. beautiful and clean stain-glass windows, and really, the frescos on the walls/ceiling were beautiful.

palace of the patriarch.

romanian patriarchal cathedral.

these guys are 100 percent the real deal. neat? yes.

i don't have any pictures of the inside, but here's part of right outside the door to go inside. (the white in the bottom right corner is the top of the door)

the building behind the fountains is the people's palace. we were at the other end of strada unirii.

just a few romanians on a thursday afternoon in bucharest.

after visiting the church and people's palace, we stopped in an enormous mall of sorts and had a classic mcdonald's lunch. in the nicest mcdonald's i've seen in awhile. ha. it actually reminded me a lot of the one i went to when i was in spain in 2008. sometimes some american food is a nice break from the fact that every restaurant we went to was practically the same. romanian food is not necessarily something to rave about. especially having it so often that week from restaurants. anyways. after lunch we took the metro to the museum of the romanian peasant. and we were there at the same time as a big tour group of senior citizens from FRANCE! it was so exciting. i may or may not have slightly followed them around just because i felt cool and i liked listen to them. the most hilarious part was the old men at the back of their group laughing and making jokes with each other. it was like watching a bunch of little kids on a field trip. bahaha. i really liked the museum itself, as well. it was really big. a lot bigger than i was expecting it to be, especially because whenever i thought i was near the end, i realized there was a whole other wing to visit. but i really liked going, and i feel like it gave a better idea of the romanian identity. so fascinating.

after visiting the museum, we walked through the streets of bucharest, ultimately arriving at the romanian athenium on our way back to the hostel to buy tickets for the symphony friday night. and then headed back to our hostel for some rest and chill time. butterfly villa hostel was nice, but wasn't quite as friendly as rolling stone. and our room was much smaller, and constantly smelled mossy. it was a little gross. but we survived. anyway. thursday night we walked through the old/historic part of bucharest. kind of like old main street in park city. it was cute. and then had dinner at 'cara cu bere.' translation? beer cart. don't worry. it was seriously like a big beer house. don't worry, we didn't get beer with our food. it was a huge restaurant. and there were dancers later in the evening. classic.

museum of the romanian peasant.

the romanian athenium. (more on this later.)

street musicians in the historic quarter of bucurești.

friday, july 1--day 6.

friday morning was cloudy, but beautiful. scratch that. all of friday was cloudy, with occasional sprinkling. nothing big though. mostly just cloudy. anyway. we started our day by visiting the jewish museum, which had gotten bumped from our original intentions of going on thursday because of the fact that it closes at 1. and we didn't realize that until too late. thus we decided to start with it first thing.  it was honestly fascinating. granted, i have a secret obsession and fascination with world war ii/the holocaust. but still. inside the synagogue was a museum of the history of jews in romania, and the most recent portion was essentially the holocaust/the creation of the jewish state in israel. i think that's what made everything so much more real for me. being in this city. in that place. and our tour guide said that while the city itself has changed, the synagogue looks identical to when it was first built. it sounds so silly from an outside perspective, i think. but there's something about being in a place with it looking the same as it did to those people that were killed. there were photos from the holocaust taken right outside where we were. in addition, in iași in 1941, the iași pogrom was one of the most violent pogroms in jewish history. and as a part of that, iaşi was the location of some of the most brutal antisemitic actions during the holocaust, because of the iaşi pogrom. there were death trains in iaşi that were the cause of death for between 13,000 and 15,000 jews. trains that left from the exact station we traveled from. the very one, that hasn't changed much in the past 60 years. hearing that, and seeing the photos made everything infinitely more real. anyway. there's actually an exhibit about the pogroms in the museum inside the cultural palace right now. so we're going next week. i'm a little excited.

the river that crosses through bucharest.

the outside of the jewish museum.

after visiting the jewish museum, we went towards the big mall place to do some shopping for a bit. more souvenirs. the usual. and then walked over to where the art museum is, which is right across the street from the revival's memorial, which is the monument to those who died in the revolution in december of 1989. all of which is inside revolution square, which is where the revolution started during ceaușescu's speech/where the balcony he was giving his speech from is located. once again, it was one of those moments where it was neat to actually be where something so big happened and to see it first hand.
we then walked through the art museum. one side was european art, the other had romanian art. personally i preferred the european art side. i liked the simplicity of the way it was displayed. the romanian side was quite overwhelming, because there was so much of items that were enormously similar. either way, i quite enjoy art museums. so i liked it. from there we headed back to our hostel, and had some time to nap/relax before going to the symphony!

the largest circles represent the men that died under communism, the medium sized--the women. the smallest circles--the children.

the man we chatted with a bit who told us about the monument. and then told us he gave tours.
we didn't take a tour from him, but he was fun to chat with.

just above where the flags are is the balcony ceaușescu was giving his speech from on that december day in 1989.

the balcony.

names of those who died in the revolution.

'national romanian art museum.'

the outside of the museum.

the doors into the museum.

oh the symphony. where to begin. most the group was a little skeptical about it, but i'm grateful they were willing to humor me. i loved it. and by the time it was over, most admitted that they really liked it. the george enescu symphonic orchestra performed works by giuseppe verdi. and it was incredible. not the best i've ever heard, but it was good. most of all, the athenium is gorgeous. roslyn and i decided it's on the list of things that doesn't really belong in romania. kind of like peleș castle. but really, it was absolutely stunning inside. and we thoroughly enjoyed it. i felt so at home just listening to them and watching them play. love. and then we ended our evening by going over to the historic quarter for dessert at chocolat--a french desert place. the lemon sorbet? to die for. mmm.

shaorma stop for dinner!

the lobby of the athenium.

the ceiling inside the theatre.

seat buddies/music nerds. rosles and me.
our tickets were spread out in a group of 4, and then 2 groups of 2. luckily, the two of us that cared the most got the best seats. :)

the pictures obviously don't do it justice. but you get the idea.

french dessert place? don't mind if i do. :)

saturday, july 2--day 7.

our final day of our trip we woke up to blue skies! the first clear day of the entire week. it was beautiful. and we had a chill day planned seeing as we were all tired, and let's be honest. 24 hours a day together 100 percent for an entire week? stress levels might have risen by this day. thus a more relaxing day was excellent. and the sun coming out to visit? even better. though i must say, we are all extremely grateful that we had an overcast week for our retreat. having it be as hot as it usually is while traveling together? someone might have died. or been killed. i'll let your imagination do the rest.
we started our day by taking the metro to the northern part of bucharest, and then walking to the arcul de triumf--the replica of the arc de triomphe located at the end of the champs élysées in paris. beautiful? yes. make me wish i was in paris? check. pretty much everything about bucharest made me wish i was in paris. it wasn't once named the paris of the east for nothing. though all in all, bucharest was quite lackluster, besides a few things here and there. that's the thing i'm noticing about romania. there's not much to see that's touristy. it's a place where people live and work. any resulting attractions are only the result of that life. and i used/saw more french in our few days in bucharest than i have in the past three months being in iași.

after visiting the arch and taking the necessary photos, we walked a small ways to where the romanian village museum is located. it reminded me a lot of this is the place state park. a whole bunch of houses, designed and set up in traditional romanian fashion from different time periods and locations in romania. to top it off: it's the largest outdoor museum in europe! how neat. in all honesty, my favorite part of it was the fact that it was located by a lake, and there was a little pathway in the trees by the lake. and at one point i just sat on a stone bench built into the wall lining the pathway and watched the lake, listened to the sounds of 2 women singing in romanian from afar, and watching across the lake as a willow tree brushed across the top of the water in the wind. a magically peaceful escape from the city. across the lake, is a big park, kind of like central park which we walked through after going to the museum. bikers everywhere. families. tall trees. i loved feeling like i wasn't in the city, if only for awhile. and i like seeing romanians of all walks of life walking through. the fact that it was a saturday helped out in this regard, because people were out enjoying the day off and the sunshine. loved it.

my view of the lake.

my beaten down shoes. they've served me well these past few months.

hollyhocks!

michael jackson was the name of the street in the park. so naturally they had a little tombstone of sorts. haaa.

watching this man park his bike and eat his ice cream was probably one of the highlights of my life. it was charmingly adorable.

beautiful park? don't mind if i do. :) 

yeah, yeah. i guess you want to see my face every now and again.
this is how i feel about a summer in romania. :)

we left from the park and went straight to the hostel to pick up our backpacks and then to the train station. we were a bit tight on time, but never fear. we made it! and then enjoyed a nice long saturday night train ride back home to iași through fields of millions of sunflowers on both sides (yes, it was like a dream. yes, i loved every second. and i might have screamed when i was notified of this.) and the most gorgeous sunset you ever did see. it was literally orange and lavender colored. as usual, the photos don't do it justice. upon arriving in iași, we ended our trip at the mcdonald's right by the train station. judge us all you want, but we were STARVING! so we stopped in for some food, before taking a taxi home and to bed! thus ending our weeklong retreat and tour of beautiful romania. :)