Day 6: Monday, July 11

Crocs and smocks at the Hospital!

        Monday morning we visited yet another hospital. The group woke up early to travel to a very nice hospital in Bistrita. At 9am, we entered a medium-sized room with big windows and six cribs along the walls. There was children’s music playing and flowers painted on the walls – the whole atmosphere was different from the other places we had been to. The hospital was exceptionally clean and looked vey new.

        We were introduced to four very young baby girls who were being looked after by a handful of nurses. The babies were all under a year old, but older than five months. The music playing was cheerful while we held the babies and bottle-fed them. They all were calm, none of them crying while we were there. Sadly, however, we had to leave after an hour to go back to the placement center. And although we were sad to leave, we knew that these four girls were in good care and being looked after by loving staff.

So at 10am the group ventured back to the placement center once again. As we entered the grounds, the weather was dismal and grey, foreshadowing a storm. We walked through the gates to the center and were shocked at the sight before us. What would normally be a happy scene – kids playing on the playground – was sad and heartbreaking. They all stared at us, silent, as we walked up to the overgrown and crumbling play area. The colorful paint on the seesaw was chipping and although the kids were playing on the equipment, none of them were smiling or laughing. The clouds hung dramatically over the scene as we tried to coax smiles out of the kids unsuccessfully.

                The weather did not let up, and it soon started to rain, the sky getting darker and darker. We helped the staff get the kids inside, and we brought the children we had worked with earlier in the week into a playroom upstairs. Although the setting was happier, the kids still sat silently as we played with them. Although the majority of them were at the talking age, most of them could not speak because they were underdeveloped. Despite this, we got to know the kids through their reactions and expressions, and started to see their personalities.

                At noon, the group was getting hungry and had to leave the center for lunch. So we said goodbye to the kids, hoping to see them again in happier circumstances. The rest of the day we spent meeting some of Wendy’s friends. We felt truly lucky meeting such warm-hearted people, knowing that our experience was unique and unlike one of a tourist or other volunteers.

                Although some parts of our day had been gloomy and dismal, we had high hopes for the rest of the week. The group planned on bringing new clothes to the children at the placement center, and hopefully a new stroller as well, since they were down to one after a wheel rolled off the other. We looked forward to seeing them again, as we had gotten over some of our ignorance regarding disabilities and were really starting to get to know the kids.