resolved:

i have come to the following important conclusions:

• i'm not homesick anymore. i refuse to be. i only have 3 weeks left, and then i'll be gone from this beautiful place for what could be forever. and even if i do come back, it wouldn't be the same as the experience i've had this summer. in reply to my email to my entire family that i'd arrived in romania, my aunt jane replied simply and said what is probably one of my favorite pieces of advice i've ever gotten: "it's raining and cold here so don't waste any time being homesick." and that's that. i'm done. amanda and i were talking about it this morning on the way to section 2, and we're determined to keep each other from being homesick. and to remind each other about how it will pass so fast, and life will be super complicated once we get home. we'll have to worry about classes, jobs, money, and all that jazz. in romania, our life is simple. and we quite like it, 99.9 percent of the time.
• i adore my kids. literally, adore. how am i supposed to leave them forever  after 12 more 3 hour blocks? yeah, i don't know either. at one point this morning, fred from this post was lying down next to me on the bed i was sitting on, and every couple of minutes he would sit up and hug me. and then lay back down again. it was 12 different kinds of cute. maybe more.
• i've never once had a day that i went to the hospital and left it regretting that i had gone. regardless of how i felt on my way there. not once.
• the fifth floor is my floor. it's my town. my territory. yes i am slightly possessive. it's not once done me wrong. not once. from the first day when i met an adorable baby boy that i fell in love with, to today when i held two adorable little ones. i still don't understand why these babies don't have mammas. they're so perfect.
• i really like my roommates. and our apartment. it's so charming. and our elevator works.
• i love how much i can understand of romanian. and it's weird to think about a place where everyone around me speaks english. on the way home from section 2 today, a few people walked past us speaking english, and i can't even begin to describe how weird it was.
• i need to work on more homework and getting more sleep. it's going to be a busy few weeks cramming everything in that we want to before we go. stores, restaurants, places. all things that only can be found in romania. not america.
• i've never sweat so much or showered so much and still felt so gross so frequently in all my life as i have the past 2 months, and especially the last few days.
• this summer i've spent almost all my time completely absorbed in other people. hardly ever looking in a mirror, completely never doing my hair or worrying about how i look. any moments i do see my reflection in the mirror, my hair is a hopeless cause, and the sweat on my brow is permanent. and you know, i think i kind of like it that way. being completely lost in the work.
• i don't like weekends. well, i do love church. but i don't like all the free time. during the week, we don't really have spare time to think about home or anything. we forget ourselves, and go to work. at section 2, at the hospital, and with branch activities. i like that. being busy doesn't allow for homesickness or any other sort of silly things.
• i don't think people in romania will dress up for harry potter. and we're still working on how to dress up with our limited wardrobe options that we brought with us. either way. t-minus 48 hours!
• i really like living in europe. it's all the little things, really.

22 de zile, prietenii mei și familia mea. 22 de zile.