Last Saturday I, along with Iulia, Madalin, and a few of the older girls from Casa Sperantei, attended a festival in the small town next to Campina called Banesti. The girls were excited to escape the orphanage surroundings and meet-up with friends from school. Most of the time we spent listening to various Romanian musicians (singing Romanian songs); this gave me the opportunity to become a bit more emersed in the culture and language.
The following day I befriended the daughter of the maintenance man at Casa Sperantei-- a teenager eager to practice her English skills. Together Danisa and I attended a pick-up soccer (fotbal) game that involved several Italian volunteers and the orphanage Judo instructor. Pizza at a recently opened restaurant (Bella Italiano) followed and proved to be a humorous endeavor. The dinner party consisted of: five Italians, four Romanians, and one American. Ironically English was the common denominator, although we still stumbled through the conversation both with speaking and understanding. Luckily my studious friend knew all three languages fairly well and served as the translator for the night. One thing we all agreed on was the fact that the pizza was rather subpar and would not be returning to that particular restaurant. After pizza we were invited to the nearby home of the Romanian couple. Their quaint, welcoming apartment and wonderful hospitality was a great ending to the evening. I hope to continue meeting with Danisa to develop our friendship further and serve as a mentor for her (her mom lives in Italy).
Through all my daily interactions and my intensive studying at night I am finally getting a grasp on the language. One of the highlights of my week came when one of the children affirmed, "You understand Romanian!", after I had responded correctly to his question. While I still have a long way to go I am now able to communicate minimally with the children and staff. [Iulia had to help me figure out the system for doing laundry-- I now know it takes more than one day for them to complete the entire process.] However, it is true that English is the universal language, as I daily meet people who know at least some English. Usually they learned it in school but don't frequently use their skills-- I'm just grateful for their efforts.
Wednesday, June 1 marked Romania's annual Children's day (Ziua Copilulor) and the children enjoyed the fun festivities offered at school. At Casa Sperantei we celebrated this occasion today with various performances from the children (see video 'Ziua Copilului') and a delicious lunch with many traditional dishes. As imaginable the children were thrilled throughout the entire day; it was refreshing to see so many smiles and hear so much laughter.
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