Barcelona

One of my established goals is to make sure I get out of Bucharest at least once a quarter. This helps keep me sane and joyful in the midst of a not-so-beautiful city where I live and call home. I decided to seek out some sun this spring break and traveled to Barcelona. Although it was windy and a little cool, I spent time walking along the beach and sitting there too.

One of the highlights was the Sagrada Familia--a church in Barcelona that is still under construction. It's designs are beautiful and were created to mimic designs found in nature. What better way to honor the creator than creating a church honoring his designs. It was neat to travel to the top and see the roof closer up as well as see all around Barcelona from a height.

I took part of an afternoon and traveled out to the area near the Olympic stadium. The hilly area is covered with gardens and I spent time reading and journaling on the benches here.

From the castle on the hill, you have a great view of the harbor and sea. Beautiful!!
I forced myself out of bed a little earlier than needed on the morning of my departure to see the sunrise--well worth it!

Nightmare

It's always been one of my biggest fears...oversleeping and missing my flight. That fear is compounded when most flights out of Bucharest leave early in the morning so it's not unusual to have to set my alarm for 4:00 or earlier. I usually set more than one, just to be sure.

This morning, the first day of spring break, I was scheduled to fly to Barcelona. Last night, I had checked that my alarm was set for 5:00--plenty of time to catch my 9:15 flight--and crawled into bed. In that early morning haze, I was a bit startled that there was already sun shining in my window...not a good omen. Flipping open my cell phone, I see it is now nearly 7:00. This strikes panic in my heart and I race to the bathroom, jump in the shower, and frantically try to think through what needs to be done on my list of everything I wanted to do. Only the essentials. Most of the packing was done, for which I was really thankful. I've been known to leave that for the morning of departure.

As I called at taxi at 7:20, I was thankful that it was Saturday--less traffic. We made it to the airport by 8:00 and by 8:20 I was checked in and through security and passport control. Yeah!

As I sat waiting for boarding, I figured out that I had set my 'weekday alarm' for 5:00--not thinking that because it was Saturday, it wouldn't go off. I'm thankful for just the right amount of sleep and the gentle nudge of God that woke me in plenty of time to get to the airport.

Visa :)

After jumping through the two different stages of making the visa application, it was just a matter of waiting. It generally takes a month from the date of submission until you return to pick up your visa. I went today and it was ready:) So, I am ok to stay in Romania for another year. It is great knowing that I don't have to worry about questions every time I fly in and out and that I don't have to plan my life around leaving the country every 90 days.

Amazing Race in Romania

A friend forwarded the following links to me from a 'recent' episode of the Amazing Race which took place in Romania. It was fun to see places I recognized, to hear things pronounced incorrectly, and to laugh. I've since learned that they 'gypsy village' was created specifically for this event and really doesn't exist as it appears to in the episode.

Amazing Race Season 14 Episode 3

part 1

part 2

part 3

part 4

part 5

Women's Day

Last Sunday was Marţisor. As I walked home from church a radio station was handing out flowers and chocolates to passing women. Kind of fun!

Today is Women's Day:) The choir at church had prepared a number of special selections (some of them in English). A number of children joined the choir on stage to sing as well. The women were each given flowers. It was neat to see women/girls of all stages of life honored.

Field Trip!

Last week, my class traveled to the Military Museum for a field trip. We planned on taking a tour, exploring the museum a little bit, stopping at McDonalds for lunch and then heading back to school for the last part of the day. At least, that's what I was planning...

We arrived just a few minutes before 9:00 (when the museum opened and our tour was scheduled). The doors were open and the entryway completely empty. We explored the display about Ion Cuza while waiting for someone.

A few minutes into our wait, a woman came out. I'm not exactly sure what her role was... We waited a bit longer for the tour guide to arrive and then I was informed that we needed to pay (2.5 RON/kid (less than a dollar) and 5 RON for the two adults along with 20 RON (about $6) for our English tour--can't beat that deal!).

As I paid, our guide started the tour and then led us into the beginning of the museum. Our three hour tour took us from ancient civilizations through Romania entering NATO. We looked at artifacts, weapons, uniforms, pottery shards, and lots of maps. I was thrilled! with how my students did throughout the long tour!

Within the last few years, we have started using Story of the World for our history at the elementary level. It was neat to see them interacting with the tour guide, asking informed questions and taking notes on new information. They are truly a great group of kids!

After we finished our tour (about the time I had figured on leaving the museum), we walked out the front doors and sat on the steps to give our feet a breather. We gathered to take a group picture too.


As we walked out the gate, the guard called us back and asked if we wanted to go look at the other parts of the museum. I gave up on getting back to school on time and we explored the aviation building and the yard full of tanks, cannons, and other large weapons. The kids had a great time.

We walked back to the metro and stopped at McDonalds for lunch. As we came up from the metro for the 10 min walk to school, it started raining. I was just thankful that the day hadn't started in rain:)

We arrived back to school wet and exhausted, but also very thankful for the neat opportunity!

Radical Womanhood

A friend recently loaned me this book by Carolyn McCulley. I spent a chunk of time at Starbucks this morning and picked it up.

The book seeks to show how feminism and our culture have affected the way we see the roles of women in the home, workplace, church, and culture. How they have clouded God's vision for women. I was challenged in my thinking about submission within marriage, the way the home has changed in recent decades, and the important role that mothers play in raising their children.

I am so thankful for the many examples in my life of women who are supporting their husbands, seeking to love and help them, and lovingly raising their children. I want to look around me and see where there

In Process

It seems there is construction happening all over Bucharest. There are apartment buildings springing up everywhere. The two biggest questions in my mind are: Who is going to live in them? Where will they park their cars?

With the economic crisis hitting Romania, some people who had signed contracts for these new apartments are struggling to make payments as the exchange rate between RON and Euro fluctuates. Salaries are staying the same and mortgage payments are skyrocketing.

As I've struggled with exchange rates in paying my rent, I can understand the frustration as they see their payments become harder to make.

Some Assembly Required..

It was wonderful to have my mother come for a visit last month! We weren't sure until just a few days prior to her arrival that she would be able to make it.

I loved having her see 'my world' and help me make some changes in my apartment. We made a couple trips out to IKEA, purchasing a desk and bookshelf.

The bookshelf went together quite quickly, but the desk proved to be a bigger challenge. We ended up having to pull out my drill to create new holes during one step. This was easier than trying to figure out which piece was creating the problem, take it back to IKEA, and get a replacement.

I am enjoying the new arrangements in my apartment and look forward to the finishing touches coming together.