biserica lui isus hristos a sfinților din zilele din urmă

once upon a time, a girl named emily lived in romania. iași, to be exact.

and while she was there, the branch in romania got a new building. which is super exciting.

instead of just having one floor of a big building, they now have an entire building!

and it's really nice.

it's just a little farther away, probably five minutes more? we're still working on determining the most effective route.

anyway, it's in a cute little neighborhood, that's not as city-ish.

kind of like how the other one was too, just a little bit closer to the river. and not as much in a little valley thing.

i don't really know how to explain it. it would only make sense to people who have been here.

but anyway. it's a cute little area. and we all know what that means. pictures! perfect.

i really like the parts of iași that aren't so city-like. i'm not really a city girl. let's be real.

without further ado: photos!

member how i love romania? yeah? yeah.

they block this whole road off on weekends, so you can just walk freely. super neat, huh?

member when there was a kid walking down the street in sandals and underwear? bahahaha.

romania's pretty, huh?

let me tell you one time.

i have lots of different things i could say. so this is going to be a fun post. obviously.
so i'll say cu placere right now. [you're welcome.]

member that one time i got two of my studly boys laughing more than they ever have, just by moving their chairs forward and back and making cool sounds? plus singing the star wars theme to them. i'm thinking that was the magic. ha ha. kidding. sort of.

member that one time the worker in my room took the walking girls outside, and left me with all the rest of my kids? so naturally i lined up the chairs just outside the door to the back room where the others were on the beds. and stood in the middle of all of them singing and being funny. don't worry, i'm sure they loved it. haaaaa. or maybe i'm just a big nerd. probably that one.

member that one time all of iași got married? just kidding. just a lot of people in iași did. how do i know? because after someone gets married here, the cars with the wedding party drive down the street honking nonstop. and i've heard it many times today. it's a saturday thing. and today it's been a popular one. june 4th. sounds like a good day for a wedding to me. ha.

member that one time i got gelato at the moldova mall? best 4 lei i've ever spent. in case you were wondering, that's $1.40. yum.

member that one time i went to the hospital and spent a bunch of time with the wrinkly old man (few week old baby that has wrinkles that make him look like benjamin button) and with the girls we named? that was cool. i loved it.

member that one time i was singing to the girls with rebecca, and a gypsy girl from the next room over came in and was just sitting there. we had a nice little chat. she's 8. and is in the hospital for something related to her ears and blood. that's about all i got in that regard. and she thought the babies were adorable, which they are. it was fun. and then she asked me about a few words and how you'd say them in english, because i guess she'd learned a little bit in school. like cat, dog, boy kind of little bit. i thoroughly enjoyed it.

member that one time i wished i had pictures of my section 2 stud muffins and princesses? not that i'll ever be able to post them on here. but i want photos before i leave! and ideally more than just pictures of them. i want pictures WITH them. as well as pictures of them playing. all in due time. i've still got 7 weeks with them.

member that one time i got sick of always having to have my hair up? i know, right? and this is me we're talking about. but seriously. when you no longer have a choice about it, it's not as neat as when you choose to be lazy. even if i do wash my hair, no one would notice. always up on work days, and even if it was down, it wouldn't be for long because of the heat. sweat+heat+hair down? heck no.

member that one time i finally cracked and had american food? after the hospital yesterday we went to iulius mall on the way home. and i got mcdonalds. and because i got a menu item, i got a free 125 year celebration coca cola glass! cool, i know. the food wasn't that incredible, though. so i'm satisfied with going back to non american food. ha. except the fries. i always love mcdonald's fries. i think part of it was that the only drink options were carbonated ones. and we all know how i don't like carbonation. well, if not, then you do now. the ice cream sundae, on the other hand, was delicious. yes, i took a picture. i'm cool.

member that one time we watched anastasia while in romania, and compared everything in it to romania? even though it originally takes place in russia. don't even worry, it could have been romania. it's practically the same story of our kids.

member that one time i spent a saturday staying home and resting instead of going out exploring? part of me, while home alone, wished i had gone. but then i reveled in the alone time. no offense, group. but seriously we spend every waking moment together. so it was a nice little breather. i caught up on homework, did laundry, slept, watched the romanian news channel for awhile, hung my clothes out to dry on the clothesline on our balcony once the washer finished. you know. just a few average romanian life things.

member that one time i almost caught my hand on fire while trying to make grilled cheese, because the fire on our gas stove is so huge sometimes? that was cool.

member that one time i got shocked while pulling my clothes out of the washer? oh, right. that's every time you open the washer to take clothes out. electric shock? check. it's weird and tingly. i'm not a fan.

member that one time we made homemade cafe rio? ok, so it's not even remotely the same thing. but it was still good. it reminded me of hawaiian haystacks. mmm.

member that one time we sat in our living room laughing with our whole group, and the man who lives upstairs came down, rang our doorbell, and while smoking AND holding a baby asked us nicely to quiet down? that's called multi-tasking. we are college students, he knows. but 10 is too late for happiness.

member that one time i thought about my kids all day since i didn't get to see them, seeing as it's saturday? i miss them!

member that one time i got a little teeny maybe kind of homesick? don't worry. then i thought about how ordinary my life would be if i wasn't in romania. and i felt infinitely better. romania is infinitely better than a summer in america. i've had lots of those. how many summers in romania will i get? maybe only one.

member that one time i lived in romania? yeah. that was neat.

member that one time i realized i only have seven weeks left with my kids? aka, only eight weeks till i go home? that wasn't a fun moment.

member that one time we were working on planning our mid-semester retreat. oh, yeah. that was fun. oh wait. we're still working on that.

member that one time my hair air-dried? oh, right. ok, so that's every day. member how it's super frizzy and hilarious? oh, cool. also every day. member that one time it dried into a few perfect little ringlets on one side? yeah. don't worry. it frizzed very soon. and now my hair's kind of just puffy and curly and i don't even know what. it's cool. i'm used to it.

 member that one time i hated being in pictures by myself? and i think taking pictures of myself is super awkward? you know. every day of my life. no big deal. nbd. the usual. photobooth=awkward. you were thinking it. i said it. but you can kind of see my curl instead of the usual just wavish things! big deal, i know.

member that one time i had a whole bunch of babies that i plan to bring home with me? the list keeps getting longer, don't you fret.

member that one time i looked like a sicko every single day of my life? not that i've ever been one to care that much. let's be real. if you know me, you should probably be laughing right now. but after awhile it gets slightly ridiculous. but i still have no motivation to even care since we change into scrubs anyway. when in romania, life's hard. ha ha. good one.

member that one time i wondered about who even reads this blog, because no one ever comments on it or mentions it besides my parentals? hahaha. ok, so there are a few others. don't feel bad. but that was fun. too bad i can't even tell any real details about my kids. oh well. the teasers are just so you always want to know more so that you have to contact me privately. or so you'll want to see me when i get home so you can see pictures of my loves in person.

member that one time i don't take very many pictures anymore, because i've already taken so many, and can't take any of what i do all day? so instead you get to look at cheesy pictures of me. cool story, i know. i'll take some tomorrow, perhaps. though i did take a few on the way to the new church building last week. maybe i'll add those someday. probably after tomorrow when i have a few more from on the way to and from church.

member how the physical therapist from section 2 is getting married tomorrow? free culture proof, done and done! thanks for that, buddy.

member that one time i thought back to high school graduation? (hence the aforementioned star wars theme being sung to my kids.) yeah, that was weird. member how if you had told me then that 2 years from that date i would be in romania (ROMANIA.), i probably would have laughed in your face? oh, right. hey there, reality. life comes at you fast, yeah?

member that one time i loved my life? ok, right. so that's every single moment of every single day. i'm a lucky girl, obviously. living the dream. check marks the spot.

june waters.

i wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always june.

l. m. montgomery.

hopefully if it was a world where it was always june, it would be a utah kind of june. not a romania kind of june. we're slightly dying of heat. and humidity. it rained today, so our apartment/outside is super hot and muggy. will this impact sleep? chances are high. but we'll see. we need to get a fan from scala. pronto.

we went to the new church building tonight for institute. it's super nice. and while there, it rained. so the streets were piled high with puddles. if that's possible? more generally, there were a whole lot of puddles.

at the hospital, a little 2-3 week old is doing much better. and doesn't look as blue anymore. and is getting bigger and stronger. though still has old man wrinkles. it's cute.

we named 2 little girls today at the hospital. well, not really. but we gave them names anyway. they don't have one, besides a family name. so we decided to give some. everyone deserves a name, don't you think? so we have names for them. even if no one else does. they're cute.

we met the cutest and chubbiest little baby today at the hospital, as well. she was seriously adorable. i can't even get over how cute she was. and so calm and mellow. i love holding babies.

my kids weren't that exciting today at section 2. it was probably one of the most average days possible in the history of days at section 2. i know, i know. i didn't think it was possible either.

oh my. scratch that. minor note. a group of kids and two women came from a school or something to bring toys to our kids. but it was stuffed animals, and they already have a million stuffed animals there. so none of our kids wanted them. it was kind of weird. and awkward. i never realized how atypical my kids are until seeing them up against a bunch of typical kids. and it was awkward to watch them try and interact with our kids. and then leave. and then as they left, the stuffed animals were pulled away from the kids and put in bags. anyway, it was just kind of odd.

genius kiddie was better today. well, he was still kind of a stubborn pill. but despite being unwilling to be educational, i still got him to work on a lot more than normal. better than nothing. and if nothing else, he's completely hilarious to work with.

i feel like i'm still working on figuring out a routine with my kids. and with what to do with smarty-pants boy. which is slightly unsettling. but we'll see.


this is an enormously packed stream-of-consciousness post. almost to the point of ridiculous. but here i am anyway. about to post it.
in other words, i'm just kind of really tired. good thing tomorrow is friday.
i have some serious write-ups to do this weekend. and some serious culture to experience.
including a wedding we're going to this weekend! exciting, i know.
and some serious sleeping, i hope. something that's been lacking recently. dang heat. and sicknesses.

therefore, all i have left to say is this:
noapte bună. which is to say, goodnight, moon.

a day for the kids.

1 iunie este ziua copilului în românia!

english:

june first is children's day in romania!

so they had balloons hung all over the place outside today.

and the kiddies got special treats.

little filled croissant things, that have alcohol in them. ha.

never fear. they're all still alive.

yesterday being so nice was nice preparation for today. please picture the following:

little boy pulling apart the trampoline. as in, putting his legs, arms, or head through the small holes where the netting isn't tied to the tramp, underneath the safe covering over the springs.

another little boy helping pull off the protective covering over the springs.

all the kids love standing on the edge on that protective covering. without protective covering? ohh boy.

me trying to get my hand through the bottom to restore the protective covering to its proper place.

kids refusing when i kept saying 'mergi la mijloc!' [go to the middle.]

a little boy running over past where he's allowed and could get hurt. therefore forcing me to chase. multiple times.

full speed ahead.

a darling little girl climbing a ladder with a hammer she picked up off the ground. yes, a real hammer. made of metal.

a little boy pulling at the electric chords of the drill a guy was out using while putting up an outdoor tent thing.

a little boy that kept running away where he wasn't supposed to, forcing me to hold him back. which caused him to scream and thrash his head around some more as i held him. don't worry. i fought off battle scars. it's a skill i now possess.

little boy hating my stinking guts. i was completely aware of it.

same little boy almost popping a vein in his neck he was screaming so hard a few times. he can't/doesn't speak. but boy can he scream.

a girl that used to be my hardest, being like an angel these days. i wish i could have praised her more and had a way for her to understand how good she was being. and how good she's been lately. i gave her kisses many times today.

all the while, all the other kids being nice and calm like angels. everyone else sitting in the shade calmly, while i ran around watching some of my kids wreak havoc everywhere they went.

fun day. done and done.

and these are just a few tidbits.

good thing i restrained myself from wringing a few necks today.

good thing at this point i just think it's hilarious.

kids these days. who'd we be without them?

happy children's day to you too.

haaaaaaaaahahahhahaha.

that's the part where you laugh.

pa pa pentru acum.

oppositions.

“anyone looking into my diary expecting to find a day-by-day account of rescuing children would be stunned. it is, rather, a narrative of defeats, disappointments, unbelievable betrayals, discouragements, frustrations, obstacles, criticisms and weariness. scattered among those are the few successes that have made it all worthwhile. it has definitely been panning for gold: much effort expended and tons of sand processed to gain a few precious flakes.”

john kachelmyer,romanian child activist

i couldn't have said it better myself. honestly, every day is filled with all those feelings at some time or another, but every day is also filled with moments that are like little kisses. reminders of the goodness that romania is. we started our third week of work this week, and i already am feeling the gold rush in.

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"opposition brings concord. out of discord comes the fairest harmony."

heraclitus of ephesus

today was a day of opposition for me. as in opposites.
i didn't really sleep last night. and am still sick. and was kind of weary just thinking about the day ahead of me. BUT. guess what? today was probably one of my best days yet there. if not the very best one. it was so good. so so good.
i went outside with my three lovely walking kiddies for the first time in a few days, met a new worker (new to me, not section 2. naturally.), and my kids were all on the trampoline. and when i went over to the tramp to see them, they all came over to the edge of it towards me (there's one of those netting/safety thingies around it. never fear.) and were excited to see me! well, excited in the way they get excited. it was completely darling.
the temperatures/humidity levels here do this weird thing where they suddenly seem to go up, but then stay at that steady heat. until they go up again. which has been happening this week. so my kids were in shorts and t-shirts! this is kind of an enormous deal. usually they have long pants, sometimes long-sleeve shirt. and a jacket when they go outside. and it's been pretty hot the whole time. yeah, they're like little ovens. anyway. it was so cute. and my girls were both wearing overalls. one of them had bright yellow ones, with a shirt with bright multi-colored dinosaurs underneath it. essentially, you should know it was the cutest sight in the world. at one point, i was pushing both of them on swings right next to each other, and the one in bright yellow overall shorts was singing to herself random tunes. and the other kept saying wee as she swung. and sometimes when they came towards me i'd tickle them, so they'd giggle like crazy. have i melted your heart yet? it was probably the cutest thing in the world. ok, so it completely was. believe you me. i experienced a few moments of heavenly bliss. complete, carefree, happy, summertime bliss. actually, the following quote describes it quite well. i'm on a roll with quotes tonight, i guess.

"there are moments that i know i will long for, even as i live them."

judith katzir

that's what kind of moments they were. there were times when i felt like i was already longing for it to return, and it hadn't left yet. and could picture myself thinking back to that moment often. which i already have many times today.

when we came back inside, i made the rounds to my bed and chair kiddies while the walkers were washing up and at masa (snacktime/lunch). all of which were in rather pleasant dispositions. and whilst i was singing to my back three, my walkers returned. and thus resumed the clapping, wheels on the bus, and popcorn popping. and other tunes.

and then for awhile, my boy went down to nap, so it was me and the girls. one in my lap, one standing behind me on the bed i was sitting on. and the worker in a nearby chair. she went through animals and what sounds they make with them. and then had them saying different words, like going through the names of all the kids in the room. it was adorable. and when they say my name, it's probably ten kinds of hilarious. em-eh-meh. eh-neh-neh. that's kind of what it sounds like. i'm thinking we'll try and stick with em. one girl has it down, the other is still working on it.

the lady working in my room today gave me a little cake thingy with strawberry in it that they sell here. it was delicious. and i didn't want to eat it right away while my girls were hanging on me. but they kept finding it, so finally she walked by and told me to eat it, and the girls to leave me. but they seriously looked hilarious as they watched me eat. they were watching in rapture. probably you had to be there. but i thought it was hilarious. they were being so funny today.

other cute thing: someone, somewhere (i think it's one of the workers) taught one of my girls to give massages. if you're sitting down, she'll come up and say 'massage?' and she'll massage your back and neck with her little hands. i can't even really explain it very well. but it's completely hilarious. whenever she says that i start laughing. and occasionally agree to her cute baby little fists pounding my back.

essentially, if you wanted to put the past many words and paragraphs into a smaller and simpler sentence, it would be this: i just kind of completely adore my kids and being here with them.

there's something magic about my kids. i'll feel sick before getting there and as i walk in. and then as i'm leaving the sick returns. whether it's being sick like right now, or just nauseous from some of the scents. but when i'm with them? i forget all of that and am completely and totally focused on them. i love that.

welp, the magic wore off as i was leaving, as it usually does. and when i'm sick, the results of this are more dramatic.

i fell asleep during lunch after writing in my journal and eating a sandwich. well, fell asleep as well as i could. kind of like last night. it was painstaking. anyway. and i even considered not going to the hospital again, but i essentially knew i needed to. and felt guilty missing 2 days in a row, when i knew i could do it, even if i was enormously tired.

at the beginning, i slightly regretted going. it seemed to be an average day there. and in the first room we were in, sweat was literally dripping off my face endlessly. you would think after a certain point you'd stop sweating? yeah. nope. it kept on dripping. i was quite a sight. of that i'm sure. crazy, greasy, sweaty hair. sweat dripping down my face. the usual lack of makeup which would do no good in this place anyway. yeah. cute picture to imagine, i know. point was, i was super hot. and not feeling so hot. and as great as the hospital smells, i might have been near throwing up a few times.

but then amanda and i went up to the next floor. and on one wing met a little boy, that might have changed my life. and might have made me want to cry. he's seven. and was quite distant, not really wanting much to do with us. but after awhile he moved from being in the hall back to his room, and was willing to let us stay with him. and didn't want to do anything we offered. and after a few minutes was suddenly crying. his mom had left him there that day. we're obviously not entirely sure of the whole story, thanks to our limited romanian. but we definitely caught the basics. and while we're not entirely sure of the complete verity of everything he said, it was still enormously sad. i'm not going to give details here. i feel like that's too much. but he was the sweetest boy. and handsome. but he just kept crying. so we rubbed his back, and tried to hug him. and tried to distract him. i can't think of another day that i've said te iubesc or te iubim more than i did today. and after spending over an hour with him, and making sure he actually wanted us there, he kept saying nu plecați! nu plecați! (don't leave!) and we promised we'd come back to him tomorrow. part of me hopes he's there tomorrow so we can see him. but another part of me wishes more that he won't be there, and that there's a happy ending to his story. not the sad one i fear.

(the clouds and sunset last night were spectacular. as can be seen. pictures definitely don't do justice, though.)

tonight i bought more apple juice. and had some shaorma. and gelato! lemon and chocolate. it's probably unfair to the universe how cheap things are for us here thanks to the super great exchange rate. i'm thoroughly glad they aren't using euros here yet. for the sake of all of our bank accounts.

obviously today was not all good. nor was it all bad. but it was just right. more than just right. it was excellent. it's the harder things that make the good ones all the more sweet. and today? today was a very sweet day.

"if we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant;

if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."

anne bradstreet

simple and extraordinary.

the simple things

are also the most extraordinary things,

and only the wise can see them.

paulo coelho

popcoh. pop.

i woke up at 8:20 this morning to the sound of rosly poo leaving, as usual.
and then had a solid day at section 2 with my kids!
one of my boys finally smiled and was happy! this is a very big deal. he usually is in his chair and mostly always partially crying, or something of the sort, or just sitting rather somberly. but he was out on the mattress in the middle of the floor, and was doing some major wiggling with his feet. he loved it. i think that's the key with him. he loves movement.
i took one of my other boys out of his chair today when he started crying and held him for awhile. which he thoroughly enjoyed. as did my other boy that i picked up and danced around with for awhile. mostly, they just all love to be held. it's cute. but tiring. but adorable.
i went back to have my daily time with my kids in the back room, tickle them and sing for awhile. and while there, my other kids came back from outside. my one girl who is usually a stinker was in an excellent mood. and i think she finally recognizes me! she called me em when i asked her who i was. (easier than saying emily. naturally.) and she came up to me and clapped her hands to the tune of a tune i sing when she's clapping mine, as in wanting to hold my hands and clap them as i sang the entire thing. and then both she and one of my other girls, at different points today, started singing a part of 'popcorn popping' to me, so that i would sing the whole thing with them. it was super cute.
near the end a couple of them got quite naughty. which often happens. buuut, nothing too dramatic.
during our lunch break i fell asleep, and since i'm still kind of sick i decided to not go to the hospital for today. the orphanage was long and interesting as it was with my limited energy. but i still loved it.
while i was at section 2 this morning, i realized how much i really do miss my kids over the weekends when i don't get to see them. and i get excited in the mornings when i get to go to them. especially when it's been awhile. sometimes even day to day. like right now, i'm excited for tomorrow. as long as they are happy campers. hopefully none of them are naughty. but i do love that i finally feel like i'm really slightly making headway and really feeling comfortable there and with each of my kids. like i'm past the initial, slightly awkward getting used to each other stage. with my workers too. it's nice.

anyway.so this afternoon i took a nice long nap. like, a real nap. none of this half-nap business that i usually have when i take a nap here. and when i woke up, i moved from the chair i was sitting in (yes i took a nap in a chair. our other sleeping locations were taken with roslyn and amanda sleeping before they left for the hospital.) into the living room and read jane eyre for awhile. I FINISHED IT! this is kind of a really big deal. mostly because i started reading it over a year ago, but with school and everything it's only been off and on that i've read it. but i finally finished. and loved it. so cute. it's been a long time coming. so now i want to see the movie. add it to the list of things to do when i'm in america again. ha.
tonight being monday meant that we had fhe at the branch! and it was highly successful. there were a bunch of investigators there! ha. i sound like a missionary. but it really was super neat. so we played card games and chatted. and then here i am. i think i'm going to go to bed soon. a little pathetic, i know. it's fine. i'm 20. i do what i want.
hahaha. juuust kidding. but i really might go to bed soon. judge me all you want.
i'm like an old lady. it's only 10 and i'm already pooping out. and probably could have gone to bed earlier.
it's fine. don't even worry about it.

p.s. it's almost june. say whaaa? when did that happen? speaking of. i have some write-ups to do. for culture stuff, and for this week there's a special write-up? oh goody.
we've almost been here a month. and after this week, i feel like time is going to fly even faster. especially with our mid-semester retreat coming up, a faculty visit? maybe? haaa. and transfers are next week for the missionaries. super sad. we'll miss them, if they're transferred out. and then at the beginning of july there'll be a new mission pres! not that that will effect us in any way. but it's still exciting. and then soon after all of that, it will be time to say goodbye. not ok. i refuse to think about it. for now, i'll keep enjoying every last sweat-dripping-down-my-face-and-back second. and while i'm at it, i'll enjoy my shaorma too. mmmm.

ani. de ani. big deal.

guess what?

today i turned 20. well, technically i won't be 20 until 3:34am tomorrow morning romania time.

aka, 6:34pm in utah.

but let's pretend anyway, ok?

and with numbers greater than 20, you add a 'de' to whatever it is.

so now instead of being nouăsprezece ani, i'm douăzeci de ani.

it's a pretty big deal. obviously.

today i missed my family a lot more than i planned on. especially this morning when i was sick, and just wishing i could be home and spoiled by family and be at our traditional birthday family dinners. but, my group is super great, and this ended up being an excellent day. even more than expected.

i woke up at 7am again, which is weird.

went to church.

almost fell asleep a few times.

came home. read our conference talk for this week.

read jane eyre.

fell asleep. and woke up as we were almost leaving for scala 1 for dinner.

had a delicious dinner of stir fry.

ate a delicious chocolate cake homemade with love.

had our sunday meeting.

and bring on the skype dates.

done and done.

 making my cake! hilarious, to say the least.

 homemade. frosting and cake. delish.

happy birthday to me!

ha ha.

foreign birthday? check!

ya'll come in and set a spell.

yesterday was saturday. (obviously.) so it was a nice little break from our normal day's work.
i was going to sleep in. i woke up at 7am instead. my family is probably laughing right now. but yep, this is still me. i don't understand it either. i woke up sick as well (boo!) but what is there to do? not much. in the late morning the roomies and me took a little trip to g market and the piața. (open market. you should probably know that by now.) they were buying fruit at the market. i bought flowers. obviously that's a completely rational thing to do. i'm in love with the sellers at the market. especially the flower ones. they're so nice. and practically shoving flowers in your face for you to smell them. and the other lady buying flowers from the same person as me was giving me advice about them. it was sweet. so i ended up with the most beautiful peonies and chrysanthemums you ever did see. in my opinion, anyways. see here.
and then at g market we bought water, as usual. we go through so much it's not even funny. not being able to drink tap water is a pain in the rear. but we're still alive. so it's a fair trade off, i suppose. and i bought some chocolate and apple juice. first of all, i haven't bought chocolate in a few days now, which is a big deal. romania is making bank on the chocolate sales to our group. ha. and i bought apple juice! which i seriously drink like it's my day job. i'm addicted. essentially, the juices here are the bomb dot com. suc de mere. mmmm. love.
then we went to the english classes that the missionaries teach. which was slightly helpful in learning a bit of romanian. and made me glad i don't have to learn english. and then it was roam romania time! oh the adventures we have. member how i woke up sick? that made the roaming less fun than it could have been. but i still enjoyed it. mostly because i'm starting to see how all the streets eventually connect to one another. it's neat. but not as neat as utah's block system. i've been missing those blocked streets. and naturally this adventure resulted in a million more pictures. naturally.

the rules of wandering.

1. if you want to stop, stop.

2. exception: unless it's in the middle of the road.

3. always have your camera ready.

4. always take the road less traveled.

5. exception: unless that road is a creepy alley filled with killers.

6. look up!

7. exception: make sure you don't trip and break your foot on the broken apart sidewalks and roads.

the metropolitan. aka, the biggest romanian orthodox church in romania. right in our front yard. relatively speaking, that is.

 looks greek, yeah?

halfway house? haaaa. or something.

 university of medicine.

mihai was practicing his gangsta face.

 i wanted a picture of the graffiti that said a beautiful mess. and these men thought i was psychoooo.

that's all i'll say about that. ha. hahahahahaa. see photo. ha.

 view of romania from the top floor/restaurant in hotel unirea. no, we didn't eat there. just showed up for the view of iași.

welp. seeing as my birthday is today, last night we went as a group to little texas! it's a restaurant/hotel that's owned by an american. aka, the only american restaurant here. and one of the most american places to be found in these parts. american food. well, texas food. texas is partially america. ha. and the menu was in english. and the waiter spoke english! and romanian, obviously. and he like to chuckle at us. and we were there for 3 hours. no big. haaaa. fun was had by all. it was hilarious. and my chicken enchiladas were just right. as was the brownie. i really want to go back and try the twice baked potatoes. i love twice baked potatoes. and some other things as well. the menu was literally 10 pages long. or more. it was a bit much. sooo we'll probably go back someday anyway. perfect. ha.
also, i apologize in advance that i look like a goon in all photos. i'm not really sure what the deal is. don't judge me, lizzie. don't you dare judge me.

 cute, i know.

i wasn't kidding when i said we laughed a lot. ha.

mandaroo and me shared nachos.

my chicken enchiladas. mmmm.

brownie!

welcome, friends.

texas and romania. weirdest, cheesiest mix ever? you betcha.