Behind the blog...

Manu of Amy's House

As my stay in Romania has ended and I'm actually home in the US, I'd like to take a moment to give you a look at life 'behind the blog'. My month long stay in Romania was fantastic! From the day I landed at the airport in Timisoara on March 3 straight through to the time I headed back to Timisoara for my flight home on April 3. The people I work with at RCE (many of whom I've known for 12 years now) are like family to me. They are some of the most wonderful and amazing people in the world and words cannot begin to describe how thankful I am to each and every one of them for such a fantastic month in Romania.

Marti- Doina during fence painting

I was very well cared for, VERY well fed, and so encouraged during some unexpected challenging times as we went about our work together. I also relied very heavily on many people to translate for me along the way-- Simona with Toni, Ovi, Carmen, Cara, Paula, Angy, Ina, Mona, Krista, Lorena/Carina Martin and Doina. Doina seemed to be with me everywhere I went and was a HUGE help. We learned a lot from one another during this trip and I am so thankful to her! I am already looking forward to going back to Romania, hopefully sometime this fall.

Here are a few things I did not mention in any of my blogs, but were going on behind the scenes as I posted picture after picture, wrote story after story each day. So here's a little bit of the personal side of my month..

The Tram in Arad

Herman and his after school 'lapte'

- The days were long. I left the apartment just after 7AM every day and didn't get back most days till 8PM or so. The blogging took place after that.

- I took two 'days off'..well, they were kind of days off. Otherwise I worked Mon thru Friday just as if I were at home..only the work was very very different.

Policy meeting

- I accomplished many of my goals at the RCE office..finished up a policy and procedure project; oriented RCE Directors/Coordinators to the idea of performance evaluation; took lots of pictures for future RCE newsletters and publications; dealt with some other issues that came up. Some of the other things I set out to do, didn't quite get done, (i.e. building a standing frame for the kids) but there will be other trips.

Ovi with 70 lbs of potatos

- I caught a cold mid-way through my stay and got myself some VERY effective Romanian cold medicine that nipped it before it got out of control. The very vocal roosters and dogs near the bloc I stayed in made good sleep often challenging, but I got just enough.

Teo

Ica's freshly made sausage

- I found myself at a Romanian gynecologist's office at 9PM last Thursday night. Even had a full blown exam. Felt like I was in a movie. The office itself, the room I was seen in, the doctor, the nurse and Doina translating for me from behind a curtain as I was examined was something I'll never forget. I was even prescribed a host of Romanian medicines as is standard in this country. My only comfort was that one of the meds I was given was manufactured in my beloved New Jersey, so I figured it couldn't be all that bad. However, I have to admit the instructions I was given for taking one of the meds was kind of strange. "Take the coat off (outside), throw away the middle and eat the coat". It was an up close and very personal look at the medical system that I have been so fascinated by over the years.

Carina

Ciorba (chor-ba)

- I took more than 1,500 pictures while I was in Romania.  Pretty early on I realized I had to get a good system down for keeping them in order and deciding which ones I wanted to use for the blog. Selecting, sizing and arranging the pictures in each blog entry took way more time than writing the text, but that was actually the fun part for me. There are so many interesting people, animals, landscapes and food to photograph in Romania, the number of pictures I had to choose from was downright overwhelming. There wasn't a moment during my trip that I didn't have my camera slung across my shoulder, or in my back pack nearby. Actually, one time I left my camera at the office and I got a talking to by one of my colleagues-- where's your camera, you should have it with you always!!?? :)

Orthotic evaluation

- Some major achievements on the physical therapy front while I was here.. finally figured out how to get appropriate orthotics/braces for the kids that need them. The Romanian system is challenging to work through, but I was able to meet with an orthotist and with some help from my Romanian friends, I think I finally have it down.... also got one of our kids at the Sunshine School onto some anti-spasticity medicine so he can move better. We have already seen results. These kinds of meds aren't widely used here, so this was a big victory!

My personal translator- Doina

- Got to see many interesting folks with a variety of issues/impairments while I was in Romania-- both children and adults, those under RCE's care, RCE empoyees, and also folks from the community.. scoliosis, spina bifida, stroke, brain injury (mild and more severe), lateral epicondylitis, low back pain, hydrocephalus, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, a couple of knee injuries and several other diagnoses. Even identified a couple of leg length discrepancies along the way.

Before the painting began

-When I was in Romania in December, I stayed with the Martins. Ovi mentioned that in the spring he was hoping to finally paint the fence/gate in front of their house. I said I'd help when I came in March. Well, he took me up on it. It took 3-4 of us nearly 6 hours one Saturday, but the job got done..here are the before, during and after pix.

The fence is done!

- A friend in Romania asked if I were going to continue my blog when I got back to the states. I chuckled. Life back home is interesting for sure, but not nearly as interesting as it is here. I can't imagine what I would have to say. Plus I'd have to change the title of the blog to:  martiUSA2011.blogspot.com  However I WILL continue the blog into Mon-Tues April 4-5, so keep checking!

-The Romanian language continues to be a challenge for me, but after spending a month here, I can understand a lot more and speak a bit more than I could before. But I have a looonnnngggg way to go before I could even dream about being able to carry on a conversation...

-I noticed many more cats in and around the city this visit. Some even seem to belong to someone. Maybe the dogs are being replaced? For those who don't know, Romania has long had a problem with wild/street dogs. There are still many, but not quite as many. You also see many more people with dogs as pets.

It was cold and snowing when I arrived in early March, now it's warmer and the flowers and trees are blooming..spring is here!

Romanian Words of the Day:

Flower= floarea (floor-ea)
Soup (with stuff in it)= ciorba (chor-ba)
Soup (broth base)= supa (soup-a)
Train= tren (tren)

Last Blog Entry will be tomorrow-- Tuesday April 5th!