A day in Barlad

Today was our first look at Barlad in the light. It is an eastern Romanian rural city at this time, with lots of left over snow. I've learned that the city is the site of the oldest writings on clay. People get around by walking, taking a horse and buggy, or car. After a not so great breakfast, we ventured out. Across from our hotel, The Occident, was a weekend open market. There, we found live guinea birds, rabbits, and pigeons for sale. Then further inside the market were fresh fruits, local made cow's cheese and fresh meat. It was lovely. There were also some handmade items. I purchased a sheepskin hat for Camden. He is going to love it. I took a picture of the man that was selling them and have it posted below.

Following that adventure, we had orientation for our volunteer program, which we will begin tomorrow and a lesson in Romanian language that I'm sure I've already forgotten. Finally, we established team goals and it was nice to see that our group of 5 had similar goals for our time in Romania. Two of our team members, Kristian and Evan, are experienced volunteers for this program and have shared lots of great information about the kids. This particular program has the highest number of repeat volunteers within Global Volunteers (GV). It sounds like once you've met the children your heart melts and you want to come time and time again to see how they are doing. Always with my therapist ears and eyes, I'm thinking of what I can contribute. My goal tomorrow is to sit back and observe. Let's see if I can do that.

Pa Pah (Bye)