Summer 07

Hello there.



Since I haven't blogged in more than a month, it's going to be a tad difficult for me to remember every single detail of what's been going on in my life, but I'll try.

As you may have guessed, I made it back from Moldova and, unsurprisingly, managed to return with the same milk-bottle skin I went out with. You'd think that the "62" degrees heat in Chisinau would have had some sort of effect on me, other than just making me 7 lbs lighter- which was mainly because of the fact that I was constantly perspiring every drop of liquid that went into my body. That's one thing I can confidently say I do not miss; waking up every morning in a puddle of sweat, delightful though it was.

Everything else, however, I do miss and would do anything to be able to do it all over again.
Okay, so before I went, I'll admit I wasn't feeling terribly enthusiastic and, to be honest, I was so overcome with anxiety that I hadn't really thought about the possibility of it being life-changing.
Funny thing is, everything that I thought was going to be hard to cope with was, and yet, somehow, it all became part of the experience.

If anything, it taught me a few lessons- one being that I should never ever complain about the state of public toilets. A bit of pee on the seat seems petty when you're faced with the obstacle of having no seat at all, just a- quite literally- crappy hole to go in. Once you got used to the whole idea of squatting and the hindrance of trying to avoid peeing on your foot, it really wasn't so bad. There were plenty of bugs in there to keep you company, including the occasional moth, I discovered, one of which managed to fly right up the hole when I was trying to go, which is always a nice surprise I must say.

The food was another thing. I can now officially say that I have tasted fish porridge, complete with brine to top it all off. It was as delicious as it sounds. Actually though, this was about the only inedible meal at the kids camp. The rest were completely fine. I only really had a problem with their eagerness to give us hot chocolate with lunch ( which was generally some sort of hot soup), which never seems so appetising when you think you are actually going to turn to dust in the 40-something degree heat.

These problems, however, became so frivolous after the first couple of days of being there. To our surprise, the whole 'we can't speak romanian' thing wasn't that much of a problem. You don't always need words, I've learnt, to show someone that you care or to make them smile. Therefore, we managed to make friends with the kids pretty quickly and we saw their attitude towards us change almost instantly, once they discovered we weren't freaks.
I wasn't really sure what to expect from the kids camp to tell the truth- I didn't really think that it would have such an impact on me, but it did. Even the simple things like "twins day" and the secret friend day, as well as the postbox day were great- just playing with the kids and getting to know them was fantastic and it was gratifying to see that things like the trampoline, which we bought them, could bring them such joy.

After our fantastic week at the kids camp, I was really quite sad to be leaving; an emotion I didn't envisage I'd be feeling at the end of the trip, the first time I laid my eyes upon the fishy porridge dish. We had a lot of banter at that camp- it was where we discovered iced water can give you throat disease, people sometimes poo in showers, there are wolves in moldova and that Clare screams in her sleep, and it was there that the obsession with twosies began.

After our week there, we travelled back to Chisinau to stay with Niclae and his family ( also home of big ears, the "friendly dogs" and is also where Babuska Valia got naked). The only real problem with staying in the city was that we had to travel back and forth to the village every day- which is highly entertaining when you're sitting in a van that doesnt have working gears, has seats that are coming off, is lacking in seat belts, and you're driving through forests to try to get to the village. Of course, the roads aren't quite as bad in the city- they're smoother that is. The only problem you have to face there is deciding which lane to drive in and how fast you're going to drive, because rules don't seem to apply there. Scary, but incredibly fun nevertheless.

Working in the village was amazing. Sweaty, but amazing. The difference we made there is probably beyond what any of us can imagine- because noone really seemed to care about those villagers before we came, so just being part of a team that was able to go in and change things for them for the better is something I'll always remember. We may not have seen anyone directly become a christian while we were there, but what we did see was lots of what-were-once-frowns turn to smiles, and so through our action, we will have hopefully planted a seed and shown the people God's love.

Although I'm glad to be home, for obvious reasons such as being able to use a toilet that flushes, I really do miss Moldova. We made wonderful friendships with some fantastic people out there and I hope that some day we'll have the opportunity to go back.

* * * *
Right now, it is 12.30 am, which means it is the 10th of August, which means the day of doom is only six days away...dun dun dun. I'm trying not to get stressed, but it's unavoidable. The only reassurance I have is that I've done well in art, which really isn't that helpful ultimately, since it's the one I want to drop. Woopee. I'm just crossing my fingers that my failure to string a sentence together in the french oral will not jeopardise my grade and that my made up facts about Brittany will go unnoticed by the examiners.

I'm hoping to spend this week doing things to keep me occupied. I'm just back from seeing Hairspray in the cinema with Caters, which was one of the best films I've seen in a long time. Yesterday Caters and I went to Sarah's for a day of lost-watching and chocolate fountain dipping or, rather, spoon-licking. I think I may have gained about a stone there, and then another one later that day when I went for dinner with Caters, David, her Aunt, Uncle and little cousins.

Tomorrow, or should I say today, will be spent making an attempt at my personal statement, as I have been procrastinating the idea of writing it for quite some time. On Saturday I'm hoping to go see Bluetree perform at the castle, which should be fun. I refuse to discuss the following week since it is the week I shall fall into a state of depression and the whole world will discover that I am a waster, and I will have to make the choice between working in McDonalds or Burger King for the rest of my life.

Bring it on.

Okey dokey man.