Updates and Introductions

This week I found out more information about the children I worked with last semester.
 Nicu- Despite trying desperately not to have favorites last summer, Nicu worked his way into my heart. He became very attached to me (and I to him). My friends in Moldova visited the orphanage throughout the year while I wasn't there and kept reporting on him. He had transferred to group one, and the court had ruled he was available for adoption. When I arrived at the orphanage this summer, I found out that he had been adopted! Although I miss seeing his smiling face, I am so happy he has been adopted!
 Denis- Denis was another child who had become attached to me. He too has been adopted! Most of the children are in the orphanage due to poverty and have living parents,  and as long as those parents continually say they will come back for their children (they are contacted roughly every 6 months by the government) a child can stay in an orphanage forever. However, once in a while, the children are in the orphanage due to parental abandonment or death and, in these cases, the court rules that these children can go up for adoption. If these children are healthy, they are adopted fairly quickly, which is what happened to both Nicu and Denis. However, if these children have a disability, they spend the rest of their lives in institutions.
 Cristian and Cristiana- Twin brother and sister, they are now in group one. I got to see them and tried to hold Cristian who got scared. They look exactly the same.
 Madalina, Andre, and Catalin- All in group one. I got to see them all!
 Vasilie- He was the youngest in the group, only three months old when I was there. He went back home to his family.
 Maria, Euraslav, Adolf, and Julia all went back to their families. And, as I mentioned before, I saw Artur in group four. His sister is in that group and they wanted to keep them together.

There are ten children in the group I am working with this summer.
 Dima is the oldest and is full into his temper tantrum stage. He loves being outside but he throws a tantrum any time something doesn't go his way, like if he can't step in mud, get into someones car, or sit in a puddle. But he loves the other babies and tries to take care of them. He also loves to sit on chairs, benches, curbs, etc. And he enjoys handing me things saying 'Na' (translated to 'take', similar to how we say 'here' when we hand things to children).
 Ariana is another older child. She also throws lots of tantrums, a bit like Princess Julia last year. She is just learning to walk.
 Victoria is also a bit older and learning to walk. She has curly blonde hair that sits like a crown on her head. She loves getting kisses and leans her head towards me in order to get more.
 Mikala is the youngest, three months old, and likes to watch me as I hold other babies.
 Ana is around 6 months and has a misshapen head that makes it hard for her to hold it up. She has pretty blue eyes and dark hair. She sucks her thumb and probably has digestion problems because she cries a lot after eating and the caregivers rub her tummy.
 Ion (pronounced Ewan but is our equivalent of John) has bright blonde hair and big blue eyes. He reminds me of Adolf from last summer. He is very smiley and is starting to stand. He has learned how to stand up in the swing which isn't a good thing.

 Eura also has blonde hair and blue eyes. He is the same age as Ion and loves to explore. He has just started to pull himself up but hasn't learned to stand yet. When I stand him up in my lap, he doesn't push his legs down.
 Anton is probably around nine months old. He is just pushing himself up onto his arms and turning over. He sucks on the palm of his hand and it looks like he is blowing kisses.
 Delia is a smiley baby with dark hair and pretty brown eyes. She is also just starting to push herself up onto her arms. On Thursday, she had used up all her diaper allotment (they are allowed two) so they laid her on top of a sheet with a piece of plastic underneath. She was continually wetting her clothing and needing changing. She went through four pairs of pants in two hours.
 Max is a blonde haired, brown eyed baby. He is just learning to hold his head up.
 Ionana (Johana) is probably the second youngest of the group. She has dark hair and blue eyes.
 This week I spent two full days and two half days at the orphanage. Many of the same caregivers from last summer still work there and they remembered me. They are teaching me some Romanian so I can communicate with them.

We thought a new volunteer was going to come last sunday but I think my hosts had the day confused, so I've been alone this week. The new volunteer arrives tomorrow and I'm excited to meet someone new. I've been busy this week with homework, teaching ESL, and the orphanage so I haven't been too lonely, but it'll be nice to have someone to hang out with. I can't believe I have been here for two weeks already. Time goes so fast!