Train to Brasov

Right now we are on a train to Brasov (pronounced brashov) , which is nine hours south of Iasi. We can’t get into the orphanage or hospital yet, so we decided to go on a three-day trip. We have four more hours to go, but the ride is going quickly. I have been staring out the window for hours; there is so much to see. The countryside is so different from the city where I am living. In the city, it’s just apartment bloc after apartment bloc, but out here, it’s so open and green.

Every few minutes we pass another village. The people out here live on small plots of farmland and have shack-like homes with bright, shingled roofs and picket fences. Many homes look as if they can scarcely stand on their own. In almost every yard, there is loads of bright colored laundry strung up to dry. Throughout the village are small dirt roads on which farmers are driving horse and buggies stacked with hay and wood. In the fields, are whole families, including grandmothers, working in the garden or driving herds of cows and goats. Small groups of children are playing soccer in the streets.

We made a new friend on the train named Nicolae and one of the friendliest Romanians we have talked to so far. He’s an older man and doesn’t speak any English, but has made it his personal duty to visit our train compartment every half hour and make sure we are seeing this hillside or that mountaintop, while giving us a thorough rundown of his personal history again and again. We are having a difficult time understanding him, but have probably heard the word ‘frumos’, meaning ‘beautiful’, come out of his mouth about a million times. We are debating whether or not he is slightly intoxicated, but either way, he is quite the character. He told us that his sister works in the hospital where we will be volunteering and gave us her name. This could be a huge blessing to us, because connections with workers at the hospital are everything. The more they trust you and have a relationship with you, the more they will allow you to do with the children.