Carla's Dreams

     Another volunteer has come and gone. She was only here for a week and was a lot of fun. She had my same silly sense of humor. There is one other girl here with me. She will be here for a month. Tomorrow a male volunteer from Italy will be coming. We're very interested in finding out more information about him. 

      Last Sunday, there was an event in the park near our apartment for children from orphanages all over Chisinau. The volunteer who was with me and I did face painting. I can now say I am a professional butterfly and spiderman face painter. We painted faces for 3 hours straight. It went very fast and was actually a lot of fun. I think people were excited because they knew we were foreigners. We would ask what they wanted and gesture to our faces. I had painted half a butterfly on the other volunteer and she had painted spiderman on my face. Sometimes the people getting their faces painted spoke some English and could tell us other things they wanted. We attempted other paintings such as cats, tigers, bats, flowers and 'something scary'. For 'something scary' I painted their face white and then put black around their eyes and mouth with a trail of blood leading down from their lips. They loved it. A couple of people also wanted the Moldovan flag on their faces. I needed some help with that. I asked Vica if we made it on the news for this event but she said that the President of Moldova was there and they had more important people to film. 

      The orphanage has been great and I am going to miss it more than I can say. I found out that another of the children has gone home to his parents. I have mixed feelings about this because he is the one I think was being abused. He was really scared when I first got there. I watched as a kid hit him over the head and he didn't react at all. He would also move away from me whenever I came near. After a month, he was running to me, wanting hugs and kisses and crying whenever he wanted some attention. I really hope his parents treat him well. 

    Nicu and Denis are so fun. Every morning, when I come in, they run to me and want to be picked up and held. I really want to take Nicu home with me. He is whiny and spoiled but I love him so much. His smile is breathtaking. Denis also has been running to me and loves being cuddled. I'm so happy I get to spoil them. 

     I try to hold every baby at least once a day and usually suceed but some of the babies are in quarantine and I don't always get a chance to hold them. They are kept separate from the other kids and the caregivers have been having me take the healthy kids outside while they bring the sick ones into the main room. If the healthy ones are in bed by 3:30, I go into the sick room and hold the others. My little baby Vasili has been at the hospital because he was sick but now he's back and I'm so excited to spend time with him. I was worried he wouldn't be back by the time I left. He is so cute and loves being held. I talk to him and sing to him and his eyes get really big. He is the youngest of the bunch.

       On Friday, we went to Carla's Dreams' concert. I was so excited. Carla's Dreams is the singer who hasn't revealed his true identity. He is in the music video  link I sent last week. He is singing with Dara (another Moldovan singer) but the video features Roma's face as Carla's Dreams. We all thought Roma really was Carla's Dream. Vica kept telling us he wasn't but I said I wouldn't believe her until I saw them in the same room together. At the concert on Friday, I could see Roma standing across the room from the stage where Carla's Dreams was performing so I think I can safely say he isn't Carla's Dreams. 

     The concert started out with Dara singing some of her songs. Check out the link to her song 'Open you Eyes.' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFm0ApksBRw   Love this song!  

     After Dara performed for about half an hour, the annoucer told us Carla's Dreams was coming on stage. Vica had teased me that Carla's Dreams would reveal his true identity. I could hardly wait, but it never happened. At first, a bunch of people wearing different colored hoodies came out and performed a dance. It was interesting, especially with the whole hoodie thing going on in America. Then Carla's Dreams came out. He was wearing a black hoodie and had his face painted black. He sang a bunch of his songs and then Dara came out and they performed their duet. It was so great! Here is the promo for the club event http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc04OP6sKtg   And check out this clip from the club http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDcGlPVJoNs   The cameras never pan over to where we were at. 

     If any of you are interested in a gift from Moldova, just let me know what you want and I'll tell you the price. There are nesting dolls for around $15 . They also have some pretty boxes . And Soviet memorbilia. You can buy an old soviet pin for $5-10. . Or check out this link to see the actual craft market http://www.360cities.net/image/kishinev-sounenir-bazaar-chisinau-moldova#261.90,4.94,70.0

      I can't believe I only have one week left. It is going to be impossible to say goodbye. I will miss those kids so much.  

Becoming Famous

Once again, the other volunteers have left me. They were so much fun and I'm really going to miss them. Another volunteer comes tonight and then another tomorrow so I won't be alone for long but it is hard saying goodbye. 

     Last Saturday night, the four of us went to a concert in the park. It was Europe Day, a day celebrating Europe. Roma said, "Don't you have this day in America?" The concert was a bit of a let down. The security wasn't the same as the Moldcell concert and they didn't close down the street. The stage was in the same place as before, in the middle of Stefan cel Mare, which is the biggest street in Chisinau. At the Moldcell concert they shut down the entire street and it was crowded with people. At this one, they didn't shut down the street so the stage was four lanes of traffic away from us. The military was out guarding us from running into the street. It really didn't make much sense. We hung out at the concert for a moment and then went to get some drinks thinking they would shut down the street later, when it got busier. We went to a place near our house called Cocktail. We had a couple of drinks and, after an hour or so, headed back to the concert. We stood by the side of the road (it still had not been shut down) and started to get into the music. After a song ended, an annoucer came out and said something. We assumed he was introducing the next act. Then everyone in the audience turned to leave and we realized he had said Good Night. The concert was over. 

      On Monday, we went back to the orphanage to play with the babies. Another of my babies, Caitalin, has gone up to group 1. And we gained another baby, Maksim, or so we think. The first day he showed up he didn't look too good. He is probably 6 months old, has a very large head, very pale skin (through which you can see all his veins) and cries a lot. He also spits up a lot and I've been covered in it more than once. I say he is probably 6 months because they are feeding him solid food, although he is pretty small and can barely move. The other volunteer in my class said she noticed all the careworkers looking worried about him and reading over some papers. He wasn't there thursday or friday so we're not actually sure what is going on with him. 

        We've found out some more information about the babies. I asked the psychologist who speaks English about why the babies are here. She said that Daniela's mother was only 16 when she had her. She said, for most of the babies they are left by their mothers and will never see them again. Some of them, like Adolph, is left by his mom until she can get back on her feet again. And she told us that the twins are going to be adopted. Both of them to the same family. I asked her when and she said she didn't know. I was very happy to hear that. I also got a more accurate idea of their ages. The name cards on their cribs have changed and now contains their date of birth. I only got a look at a couple of them but I'll check them all out later. Now I know, Nicu and Denis are both a year and a month old. They are 8 days apart but are very different developmentally. Nicu is walking very confidently and seems bigger and more physically developed than Denis. Denis is still crawling and has a baby body. His legs curl up when I pick him up. I've been helping him to walk a lot lately and he's been getting better.

    We've been taking the babies outside (still dressed in 3-4 layers). The other volunteers brought bubbles and the babies love them. Valeru is very wary of strangers and is very aware when he is outside. I was walking with him and I think we got a little too close to some people because he started to cry and I had to pick him up. He's been giving me kisses lately but sometimes they turn into bites and I have a bruise on my arm from him. At first, he didn't like being held and would move away from me. Now he is running to me, sitting on my lap, and giving me kisses! Denis is also running (crawling) to me to be picked up. It is so nice to see them want some affection. It's also good to see them cry because it means they know their needs will be met. I'm sure the caregivers don't appreciate it though.

     Potty time is very dramatic, with everybody crying and whining. I've downloaded some children's songs on my phone and play that for them during potty time. That seems to help quite a bit and the caregivers have been requesting it. They'll clap along or hum to the music. It would be a good idea to get some kind of program for potty time. They are all sitting around in a circle, so it would be easy to do some kind of songs or activities with them. Julia has now joined potty time and she is often the loudest crier (as she always is). She is definitely Princess Julia and must always have her way. Luckily, we  can usually distract her during potty time.

      On Tuesday, we went to the orphanage in the morning and then left at noon. We went home for lunch quick and then Vica called and said she was sending a taxi to take us to the hospital where she was putting on an event for sick children. I wrote down the address to tell the taxi driver and when he arrived I showed him the note. He dropped us off and pointed to where we needed to go. We headed toward a gate that led into a big park. The address I wrote down was 93 Strada... but the building we were looking at was 82. I asked someone and they pointed to the building. Vica had told me that she would be outside the building and that we would hear music. She wasn't and it didn't look like any festival was going on. There was a map of the different buildings in the park area but they were labeled 1, 2, and 3. We headed to the one on the map that was called Pediatric, thinking that was probably were the festival was. When we got to it, nothing was going on. I asked a nurse sitting outside about the address but she said she didn't know. We headed back to the map and were considering our options when a woman on a bike, who had heard us speaking English, stopped and asked us if we needed help. She was a English translator who lived in St Petersburg but was home for the week to visit her family. We explained our problem and she went inside the building to ask. She was inside for at least 15 minutes and when she came out she said she knew the answer. She had spoken to the director of the hospital and they had told her where the festival was. She took us all the way around the building, a 5 minute walk, to an area being set up for a festival. We were so appreciative of her help. I'm not sure how we would've found it if it weren't for her. 

   Vica was there setting up and asked us if it was easy to find. We said No. She then asked us to ask some other volunteers what we could do to help. The other volunteers (Moldovans) told us to blow up balloons. 200 balloons and some very raw fingers later, we were finished. At that time the festival had begun and we found different areas to sit to play with the children. At first I played bean bag toss with some boys and then I found my way to a huge mat piled with legos. Parents and children would come over and the children would build things or (as was the case with many of them) throw things. They were very cute. All of the children were sick and most came from very poor families. You could see the relief on the parents' faces whenever their child laughed or smiled. They were so happy to see their babies having fun. This touched a cord with me because I was once a sick child and I'm sure that same relief could have been seen on my parents' faces. One little boy was really cute. At one point he grabbed a jump rope and started singing into the end of it while his mom strummed an air guitar. We all cheered for him when he had finished which only made him do it more and louder. Another little girl was picking up blocks and putting them back in their container. When a little boy came over to help him she screamed at him and her mom and I made eye contact and laughed about it. 

     There were a lot of news shows there and I made it onto three different channels. Two of them are posted to my facebook page and one we watched on tv. Check out these links http://tv7.md/ro/news/voluntarii-au-organizat-jocuri-pentru-copiii-bolnavi-de-la-centrul-mamei-si-copilului-12198.html      and http://www.publika.md/zambete-pe-fetele-copiilor-spitalizati--zeci-de-voluntari-i-au-amuzat-pe-micuti_846451.html . The girls sitting next to me are the British volunteers. And the girl with the big eyes and blue headband being interviewed is Vica. 

     After the festival, Valeru drove us to Malldova where we had dinner and fruit and chocolate. 

    On Wed, after the orphanage we came back home and got ready to go to the Primer of a music video. On monday evening, we were all hanging out in the girls' room when Vica came running in with the phone in her hand. She ran to the window and started waving. We looked out the window and on the rooftop across the street Roma, Vica's boyfriend, was waving back at us. He was shooting a music video. He is involved in filmaking and had been telling us about different projects he was working on. One was this video. It stars two singers, Carla's Dreams and Dara. Carla's Dreams is a russian singer who keeps his identity unknown. The public doesn't know what he looks like. Dara is a Moldovan singer. She was at the hospital event, singing to some of the kids. Wed night was the release of the video they were filming.

     The premier was at a restaurant and Dara sang a bunch of songs. Who knows is Carla's Dreams was there. In the video, Carla's Dreams starts singing. All you can see is his mouth and right away we recognized it as Roma's. Roma was in the video as Carla's Dreams, lip syncing the words. The song is about love and the different ways people treat it. It's really good. Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrzwXHggSMg . We all have the song stuck in our heads constantly. 

    On Thursday, we did half a day again. This time we went to Vicotria's to teach. The other volunteers are studying to be teachers so they wanted to see an English class. Also, Victoria's son was in the hospital and she had to cancel some classes. She called me to take over her classes. The girls really enjoyed the class and the students were a lot of fun.

      Friday night (last night) was a big night for us. When the girls first arrived here they were very excited by all the David Guetta posters all over town annoucing his upcoming concert. I had heard of him but didn't know a lot about him. The girls were desperate to go and the tickets were only $20 so I decided to join them. Andre (Vica and Roma's friend) came with us, as our bodyguard. The doors opened at 6 but we got there around 7. We didn't have seats so we found a place to stand. Soon, more and more people were crowding in on us. David Guetta didn't come on until 10 and by that point we were being crushed by the crowd. People had weaseled their way in between us and for the most part we were separated. People kept pushing their way and I was literally jammed against people. I couldn't move my arms. Some people pushed past us to get to the guard. They bribed him to get into the 'Fun Zone' which was much less crowded. 

    At 11, my feet were killing me and I had to use the toilet, so I left everybody and told them I'd see them at the enterance. The concert ended at 1 and we were all exhausted. It was very cool but he kept saying "Moldovia" instead of Moldova. On the way out, a man overheard us speaking English and started following us. He was very drunk and wouldn't leave us alone. At one point, he stepped on my shoe and it ripped off. I had to shuffle it back to the car. Luckily, it was easy to fix. 

    I have two weeks left. It is going by so quickly. 

Jessica

     My three new volunteers have been here for a week and they are all wonderful. They're University students from England and we are having a lot of fun together.

     On Monday, I went to the orphanage as normal and they all went to do the medical stuff. Around noon a woman came into my room and asked if I wereJacy. This was strange for two reasons. One, why would someone be asking for me at the orphanage and, two, everybody at the orphanage calls me Jessica. All the caregivers call me Jessica and I'm not sure why, but I don't want to correct them because I think I would just confuse them. So now I answer to Jessica. The woman who came into my room and asked if I were Jacy handed me a phone when I told her I was. It was Vika and she was explaining to me where the new volunteers were at. We were hoping they'd go into Group 8 which is where the other volunteers worked and a group that needs a lot of help. However, the new volunteers wanted to be on the same schedule. So, two girls got put in group 6, another baby group. The other one was in group 1 for the morning and then spent the afternoon with me. Vika, however, just told me they would meet me at noon in the entrance area. When noon came around and they were not showing up, I went to the director to ask in broken Russian about the volunteers. She escorted me to their rooms.

     So now I have a friend with me in my class and it's a lot of fun. The first couple of days she kept picking up the same baby and I thought, she must really like Madelina. But she said she couldn't tell them apart and she thought she was holding different babies all day.

    The babies have been so much fun. We've been taking them outside a lot. They still need to be dressed in full winter gear despite it being in the 80s. At the least, they wear long sleeves and hats. On Friday, we got a new little baby, probably 3 months old, named Daniela. Eleana, one of the older ones, was moved into group 1 because she was getting too big. I'm going to miss her. She would run to me to be picked up and really liked being held.

     On Monday, in the afternoon, we were outside with the babies and a blonde woman walked up to us and asked something. The caregiver answered her and all we could understand was sleeping. The woman walked away, looking very sad. The next day, we were going to take some babies outside and we went to take Adolph but were told his mama was coming. Later, we saw the blonde woman, with a little girl, taking Adolph. I asked if Adolph was gone and the caregiver said yes. However, she must not of understood me, because he was back later, which means she was just visiting him. I felt so bad for the mom. I'm sure she had to choose between which kids to keep at home and which ones to give to the orphanage. Because Adolph is so little and harder to care for, he had to go to the orphanage. He is a  very happy baby and is learning to stand and walk, which his mom is missing. It must be so heartbreaking for her.

      Nicu has been so whiny lately, but it's really cute. His crying sounds like a kitten mewing and everyone makes fun of him. He just stands still and his shoulders start to shake and then you start to hear 'mew, mew, mew'. Then he'll throw himself on the ground. I think he's been tired lately because he's been doing it for no reason. One day, he just couldn't be happy so I picked him up and rocked him while singing. He feel asleep. I showed a caregiver and she woke him up because he needed to eat.

   Yesterday, everyone was really tired for some reason. Babies kept falling asleep while we were feeding them and Catalin fell asleep on the potty which was funny to see. His head kept slipping forward and then he'd wobble back awake.

     On Thursday, I didn't go to the orphanage because I had a sore throat and I didn't want to get everyone sick. Tuesday I noticed my throat was sore but on Wed after work I had completely lost my voice. I decided I should take a day off. I'm still fighting something but I wonder if it's some kind of allergy thing because there is so much pollen in the air and it's only my throat and a cough. There are some trees here that are shedding like crazy. It's like walking through a snowstorm. It gets everywhere and by the time I get home I feel like I'm covered in it.

    On Wed, Vika took the volunteers to the village to give groceries to the poor families. If you are interested in hosting a family from a village here go to http://themoldovaproject.com/. For about $45 a month you can feed a family. Many of these families have children in orphanages and want to get them back. The poverty is very startling. 

     Today, the other volunteers have gone to visit the caves monastary. I'm just doing errands and hanging out. Tonight, there will be another concert in the park that we will go to. I can't believe it's been 5 weeks. Three more to go. It's going to be so hard to say goodbye.

My Week Alone

       I have a couple of events to report on. Two tuesdays ago, the other volunteers and I were sitting at home after work drinking tea when Vika asked us if we'd like a healer to come to the apartment that night to give us massages. We were a bit shocked by the suddenness but said we would like that. Valeru had told us about this healer before. He said he is the best in Moldova. That night, at 8, Valeru, his wife and two kids, and the healer, with an assistant, arrived. First, Valeru got worked on in the living room while we stayed in the kitchen. After an hour it was my turn. I walked into the living room and the healer started asking me questions while Valeru's wife translated. He asked me if I had had a problem sense I was born. I said yes. He asked if it was my spine. I said no. He asked if it was my hips. I said yes. Then he asked me to disrobe except for my underwear and bra, and to lay on a blanket on the floor, face up. His massage was more about acupressure than actual massage. He was very interested in my history and told me I should've come to see him years ago. He told me to stop drinking cola and to change my diet. I asked him how I should change my diet and he didn't really tell me. He also told me to take calcium pills. However, I had just gone to the doctor before I had come to Moldova and he had said that my calcium was a bit high and I will need to run some more tests when I get home to see why. I told this to the healer and he said it didn't make sense. He worked on my neck for a bit and then told me my circulation problems have been fixed. I haven't been as cold as I normally am, but it's been 80 degrees here and I've been mostly sweating. He told me two more things that I have a lot of contention with.

     First, he told me not to drink anything half an hour before eating and at least an hour after. This is a commonly held belief here. Drinking with your meal dilutes the acids in your stomach and makes things harder to digest. This is something that I personally do not believe. In fact, it goes against my intuition, along with information a gastroenterologist once told me. Because of my stomach issues, drinking water with meals actually helps me digest. It breaks down the food before it gets to my tummy. I did some research online too and Mayo clinic says the only way you could dilute your stomach acid is to drink a lot of water.  

    Second, he told me not to carry things. Vika asked if it would be okay if I carried babies. He said I could hold them but I couldn't carry them. This is something I am completely ignoring. I have really good upper body strength and am not worried about carrying around babies. That is the whole reason I am here. I did enjoy my visit with the healer. He said I should see him again. It only cost $20 for an hour massage, so it was definitely worth it.

     On Saturday night, after one of the volunteers had left to go back to England, the other volunteer and I went to the Moldcell Purple Festival, in the park by our apartment. Moldcell is the cell phone company here and they were having a huge 15th anniversary party. The street in front of Parliament was blocked off and a huge stage was built. We wandered over around 8. We had to pass through a makeshift gate where Police Officers stood with metal detectors, checking bags. Once inside, we got as close to the stage as possible to listen. The singer was singing Lady Gaga 'Bad Romance'. She wasn't very good but it was very entertaining. We had looked online to see who was performing and saw that Oceana was their main performer. We had never heard of her. We listened to some other performers for a little longer and then went to get a drink. Then we headed back toward the stage. About 20 minutes later, after a guy from Istanbul who sang in English and issued directions to the crowd like 'let's start a wave' which no one understood, Oceana came on. We both really liked her. She sings in English and her top hit is 'Cry Cry'. She is from Germany originally. I really liked her music and downloaded some of her songs. It was a really fun festival but it started to get really crowded so we headed home. We were a little disappointed because the website said there would be special effects that had never been seen in Moldova before. All we saw was the Parliament building lit in a purple light. However, later that night we heard fireworks going off and assumed that had been what the website was talking about.

     This week has been a bit lonely without my friends but I've managed to keep busy. On Sunday, after dropping the last volunteer off at the airport, I hit up a second hand market. I bought 6 shirts for around $15. Monday I didn't go to the orphanage because it was a holiday and Vika asked me to go with her to her mom's house and then to a picnic. Her mom lives in Transdniestria, an area of Moldova bordering Ukraine that considers itself a separate country from Moldova. They have their own President, Police Force, Currency, etc. They just aren't recognized by the rest of the world. I had to bring my passport and we had to go through customs (I didn't get a stamp in my passport though). It reminded me a bit of the DMV, a kind of no-man's land. Once through the check point, we went to Vika's mom's house. Vika's mom was very nice. She didn't speak any English and when Vika wanted to run to see her cousin and told her mom to entertain me, I asked to see pictures of Vika as a baby. She was very sweet, and gave me some wine to take home to my mom.

     After lunch with Vika's mom, Vika, her boyfriend, three of their friends, and I went on a picnic. We were on the bluffs high above the river Neistre. We had fresh veggies and bbqed meat. It was very delicious. We were there for 6 hours. It was a little hard because everyone spoke Romanian and Russian the whole time. I did engage a couple of people in conversations and we played a card game, but it was long. We didn't get home until 11. I was exhausted.

      The next day, Tuesday, I worked in the Orphanage all day. I had missed the babies and gave them lots of kisses and hugs. I found out today that the baby I call Baby John is going home. His grandma was coming to get him. I was very happy for him, although I will miss him. Also, Cristian, one of the twins, is back. Yesterday, I asked one of the caretakers where he was because he has been gone for three weeks. She said bonav, and since I didn't know what that meant, I wrote it down and asked Valeru's wife (Victoria). She told me it meant sick, so I assumed it meant he was in the hospital. However, when I came in today, he was back. I was very excited to see him. 

      Across from the orphanage is a military compound and last week a bunch of the guys from the military compound were at the orphanage doing some construction outside. It looked like they were building a set of stairs that led nowhere. We were very interested to see what the finished product would be. Perhaps a cool playhouse or a set of swings. Then, when we arrived last Friday we were shocked at what we saw. A life-sized replica of Jesus on the Cross, complete with blood and cuts. It was not what any of us expected, especially at a government run orphanage. A lot of the rooms have pictures of Mary with Jesus, but this thing was huge. It had spotlights shining up on it. I'll put a picture of it on facebook. It was very shocking.

     Wed and Thurs I only worked until 12 at the orphanage because I had told Valeru's wife that I would help her in her English classes. It was a lot of fun teaching, I forgot how much I liked it. On wed, I taught two intermediate classes, and on thurs there was a beginner class and an intermediate class. One of the classes was a group of 14 year old boys and they were a lot of fun. They asked me lots of questions about America. Each class was an hour, although I usually went over. I mainly played games and talked to everyone. I really enjoyed myself.

    Valeru's family is so nice and I really enjoyed spending time with them. They cooked me lunch and dinner and I ate a lot.

    Tomorrow I'm going to go shopping for sandals. I only brought one pair of shoes along and am really kicking myself for not bringing my comfy sandals. There is also an American Film Festival that might still be going on, so I thought I would check that out. On Sunday, three volunteers are coming and I'm excited to meet them.

 Check out my pics on facebook.