Registration Packet Received

I received my ABSN Registration Packet today. It contains copious amounts of information. I have a habit of rolling over every morning, reaching for my phone, and checking my email. This was the first thing I saw in my inbox. I continued to read 25 pages worth of information and my brain started to spaz a bit. I decided to print out all the information (after I read it on my small phone).

The first thing I decided to do was check my immunization records. It turns out I have all of mine up to date. I got a butt load of shots before heading off to Romania the first time. I remember getting 5 in one day. I survived. All I need to do is get a TB test.

I decided I needed to call the OIT help desk to get my email set up. Every time I tried to login, the page would loop and keep refreshing. Turns out it was because our email boxes weren't actually set up yet. The nice guy offered to get me one set up and said it would be done within 2 hours. Guess what...it was up and running within 30 minutes. I hope things continue to go this smoothly.

I searched online to find a BLS class that the American Heart Association offers. I found a lot of online classes, but I want to find an in person one. I need to figure things out quickly. We only have until November 1st to get a lot of stuff done. We are leaving on our road trip the 27th-ish, so I need to get going!

We were given 13 modules to finish online that have to do with HIPAA/Safety Training/a bunch of other things like blood bourn pathogens and info on TB.

I finished every single one of them...just a couple of minutes ago. It took me probably 2 hours, but I passed them all.

Registration for classes doesn't open until November 3rd. I have until then to figure out which track I want to do. I am leaning towards the research route and less towards the language/spanish route.

We'll see!

The Present

I now get to fill you in on what has been going on these past 2 weeks.

It took me over a week to get back to my normal sleeping pattern. I was passing out at 7:30 PM the first couple of nights back home. I would wake up the next morning with no remembrance of going to bed. This never happens.

I went with some friends to go see The Town. I loved it! I didn't used to be into action films that much, but lately I've had a thing for them.....and maybe a thing for Jon Hamm =P

I opened up an account at a new bank last week. The bank I am currently using does not have any banks in North Carolina. While I was in there, a man started yelling and having a fit. The lady helping me out lets out an "uh oh"...so my heart rate goes up a bit. I was already on edge after seeing The Town...all I could think about was bank robbery while being in there. Luckily, the man calms down and the cops didn't need to be called. I succeeded in opening an account and not being held at gunpoint.

I have really been neglecting on the exercise front. I told myself I would get back in gear once I got back from Romania. Then I told myself "after I get over jet lag". Now what is my excuse? Pure laziness. I managed to make it to the gym once last week. It was enough to make me sore for 5 days. Then I went for a run and realized how out of shape I have become over the summer. "I'll start tomorrow" =\

One thing I can say is the weather has been PERFECT! The highs have been in the 80s and I think it made it down in the upper 50s one night. We were able to open the doors and let the fresh air blow on in.

One of my favorite local restaurants, Taisho, is closing down at the end of this month. My friends and I were able to squeeze in one last dinner together. It was 30% off!

The weather was cool enough to where my Dad and I could go fishing. We took the boat out a couple of nights ago. No such luck on catching anything, but it was nice to be out on the water again.

We took a drive to Glen Rose, TX to visit Fossil Rim. It is a wildlife center that you drive through. I hadn't been in over a year and I used to go all the time. I hadn't been since I got my new zoom lens ...so it made it all the more fun. The Red Deer were bellowing to each other and running all over the place. I'm pretty sure it is their mating season. I thought we were in in the wild about to get trampled by elephants it was so loud.

Baby Zebra

Baby Deer

Female Waterbuck

Greater Sandhill Crane

3 Baby Deer

Giraffe

Addax

European Red Deer

Fallow Deer

Ostrich

Turkey

My Mom did shoot some video while we were going through the park. I put together a video with the clips:

I already knew how crazy ostriches are...but I decided to let one approach my car (windows rolled up of course!) and this is what happened:

you have to scroll to 18 seconds into the video (shot from my iphone)

London

I can't believe I am just about done recapping my trip.

17 days have passed since I have been in London, but I will try my best.

We woke up very early. For some reason I believed we needed to be downstairs by 6:30 and we could eat breakfast. Turns out I was wrong and we needed to be downstairs by 6:15 to leave.

I was on the last bus to the airport.

Once we got to the airport, we checked in and made it to the terminal. I spent this time doing some last minute shopping. I bought a keychain, magnet, and 2 hand-painted Romanian eggs. I needed a new keychain because my purse was stolen earlier this year...so I lost my keychain...along with a lot of important things. I needed a new one. I also need to start a new magnet collection for the new fridge I will have in NC.

Anyways, I grabbed a muffin and some water to chow on before take off.

Once I actually made it to the gate and sat down, I realized it was September 11th.

Oh boy.

That really brings back some memories and reminds me how thankful I am to be an American.

I'll always remember.

They kept replaying the twin towers being hit on the TV in our terminal.

Over and over.

As if my heart rate isn't already through the roof.

The fear subsided and we boarded the plane.

3 hours later, we were in London.

We checked into our hotel and met downstairs in the lobby to formulate a plan. The majority of us decided to take a bus to the train...and the train into downtown London.

Once we managed to do that, we started walking!

The first thing we spotted was the London Eye.

London Eye

We were heading to the other side of the river when we walked passed a cute bakery and decided to go on in and have a look.

the place was filled with the cutest desserts

I didn't get anything, but Becki let me try one of her meringues. It was pretty good.

Me, Pam, and Becki in the cute bakery

We were about to make a turn at a corner when I spotted a phone booth.

I had to pose.

The thing smelled like piss, but I faked a smile.

Once we turned the corner, we spotted Big Ben.

Me and Becki on Westminster Bridge in front of Big Ben

As we were crossing the bridge, we noticed a wedding party getting off a boat.

I don't know how, but I always seem to run into weddings or brides...wherever I go!

the happy couple

We were caught in their crowd for a bit of time. When they reached their destination, they had to cross the street. An older woman tried to stop traffic and nearly got ran over!

I did notice just about every lady had on fancy hat.

We walked past Big Ben, and headed towards Buckingham Palace.

The group decided to take the tour...which is pretty awesome...because the palace is only open a couple of months a year.

Pictures were not allowed inside.

Once we made it to the garden we could! =)

Me and the backside of Buckingham Palace

this probably just looks like a patch of grass

wrong, this is the Royal Garden =P

Trying on a Guard hat in the gift shop

The Front Side of Buckingham Palace

Inside the palace there were displays of the Queen's gowns from over the years. That might have been my favorite part.

Next, we started walking back towards Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.

Before the next picture I must explain some things.

There were over 600 pictures taken on my one day in London. This was mostly because of a little dude named Rumpelstilskin. We picked him up as a toy at McDonalds. He kind of became the mascot of the trip/camera hog. I have almost 200 pics of him that Mike took.

Here, he decided to share the frame with me.

Rumpel and I in front of Westminster Abbey

We hopped on the Tube and made our way to Picadilly Circus.

Me on the Tube..notice Mike holding Rumpel behind me

At Picadilly Circus we had 45 minutes to do whatever we wanted until we met up again. I went into Lillywhites to see if I could snag any awesome deals like last year. No such luck. No 1 Pound slippers like last year =(

I decided to head back outside and people watch for the next 20 minutes.

Picadilly Circus

As we were walking towards Trafalgar Square, we ran into some super fans.

I think Latvia beat Turkey in a basketball game or something. I'm probably all wrong, but the fans were running through the streets blocking traffic.

A couple of minutes later we were in Trafalgar Square.

Me in Trafalgar Square

Last year I tried to make my way up on top of one of the Lion Statues.

I didn't even make it up on the platform (it's higher than it looks).

This year, I made it up on the platform...but not so much onto the Lion.

Another failed attempt by me to be ON the Lion Statue.

Rumpel mocked me =(

...But that's okay...because he drowned in the fountain

he slipped, I promise

As we walked to find where the Prime Minister lives, we ran into a guard! Hooray!

Messing with a guard.

I could not make him laugh. He passed another day's test.

tossing Rumpel into the air

posing in a Pub

We were going to try fish and chips, but we were meeting the group for dinner soon.

I think Pubs are so pretty on the outside. Gold lettering and all the flowers...gorgeous!

For dinner we all ate at the Texas Embassy Restaurant. It isn't an embassy...it's just the name.

It is Mexican food, but not the good Tex Mex you find in Texas ;)

I did order a Dr. Pepper and it was the best tasting Dr. Pepper I'd ever had. That might have been because I hadn't had one in days...and I was missing home!

dinner at The Texas Embassy Restaurant

We took a train and a bus...and then we were back at the hotel.

I got 4 hours of sleep.

I woke up 2 hours early...for some strange reason. I decided to make the most of it and go on a walk.

I walked and found a Starbucks down the road. I bought a Starbucks mug with London written on it. I ordered a Chai Tea Latte.

I sipped it in the Lobby and waited for everyone to come down.

We boarded a bus and made our way to the airport.

We took off and 10 hours later we were back at DFW.

I gave my parents a big hug and headed home.

Romania Day 8

This brings us to the final day in Romania =(

Day 8

I awoke bright and early to go on the last walk of the trip.

Kerri and Merri had tried these delicious pastry type things before and loved them. The place was finally open when we walked by...so I tried one. Delicious!

yummmmm

After the walk and breakfast, Mia came to speak with us.

Mia is the late Pastor Joseph's wife.

Gene showed her a plaque that will hang in the front of the clinic in his memory.

Gene presenting the plaque.

Our bags were already brought downstairs and the boys were loading them into the vans.

Everyone said their final goodbyes.

This is one of the hardest parts...including the night before.

Actually driving away from the Clinic is so hard. To think it would be at least a year until I could return again (most likely 2 years for me now that I'm going into nursing school).

2 years is so long!

That is a long time to miss all these wonderful people. The translators will grow up so much in that time. I don't want to miss it!

the bags being loaded

goodbye pic with Basil

Everyone lined up as we pulled away

We still had full day ahead of us.

We were headed toward the market first.

We had a little over 30 minutes to walk around and look at things.

I had mentioned to some of the group members that they sold pig heads in the market. I knew exactly where to go to find them. They were all stacked up and I started to take pictures. The lady behind the counter saw what I was doing and rearranged the heads for the picture. She was proud of her pig heads!

looks good huh?

We looked at normal stuff as well.

legumes

fish

and flowers

Up next: a visit to the old clinic

The new Diaconia Clinic is only 2 years old.

It opened my first trip to Romania.

The ServingHim organization has come a long way.

outside of the old clinic

I was very glad to hear that we would be making time to visit the Home of Hope. It is an orphanage that works with the Holy Trinity Baptist church and the Diaconia clinic. There are 4 homes, each with an average of 10 kids. Each home has a house mother and father. These kids are very sweet and seem very happy.

Here I am with Claudia and Kerri.

I had never met Claudia before, but she came up to me and held my hand. She proceeded to walk me around the property and show me their home dog, Daisy.

Daisy has an underbite =P

I did get to see Maria. I helped work on Maria in 2008 and she quickly stole my heart. She ran to the dental chair and had the biggest smile on her face. She continued to smile through her whole appointment. She is just a very happy child. I got to see her last year again. When we first walked up to the Home of Hope she skated up to me and gave me a hug. What a great feeling.

Me and Maria: 2008, 2009, and 2010

After we got to tour one of the homes, we had to hit the road.

Peter in front of the Home of Hope

We had a 40 minutes drive to the town of Ianca.

a buggy along the way to Ianca

We would be having lunch at Nina's house. Nina is a member of Peter's church. She was so kind to cook for all of us.

Nina

walking up to Nina's house

(Sammy)

Peter helping set up for lunch

It was a beautiful place to eat. The breeze was perfect.

Becki pouring her drink

There was plenty of food to go around...and it was very good!

Nina even sang for us!

One thing that we all noticed was that Nina never once sat down with us. She said it is custom to serve her guests and to not eat with them. This is so if we need something she is there for us. I found this interesting. Some of the women were wondering what would happen if they did that at their next dinner party. What would the guests say?

something to think about

After we ate...just a couple of feet over...and on the other side of the fence...we got to check out her animals.

The dogs

the pigs

the goats

and it was hard to miss the chickens

It was almost like a petting zoo!

she had a pretty garden

saying bye

It was time to go to the park in Ianca.

It just so happens that they had bumper cars set up for a celebration of some kind.

Everybody shared a car with a kid in the park. The kids had a blast....ok, we did too!

what a way to cheer up a day of goodbyes

We taught the kids some songs and how to brush their teeth, let them color, Mike played soccer with some, and blew up balloons.

We spent quite some time at the park with the kids.

After we left, we got to visit Peter's church. This was my first time to see it in person.

I asked Peter to stand in front of his church

We hit the road once again.

We had about a 3 hour drive to Bucharest.

We stayed at the airport hotel.

After we checked in and had a little time to relax, we all walked over to the restaurant nexdoor.

It was a cute place!

When we first got upstairs to sit down...I noticed it was pretty hot up there. I switched seats to be next to the window and opened it. There was a nice breeze, but the window would not stay open. Mike, Dan, and I proceeded in trying to find a way to keep it open. A fork ended up being the winner.

I had my usual at this point

schnitzel

Tamara and I were both pretty tired, so we left before dessert. We went back to the room and got ready for bed.

I took a pic of the cook on the way out

Tamara and I realized that our room had not cooled off since we turned the AC on before dinner. We called downstairs and a guy came up to help us out with the AC knob. We had it on the coldest it would go and he tells us it is cool in the room. No, it was not. I like air that goes below at least 80 please! He switched us rooms, but the problem was the same.

I did watch a little Romanian TV before bed.

We had to be downstairs the next morning at 6:15 AM. yikes!

I did snag some pics of the room in Bucharest.

I didn't sleep well that night...I missed the 60 degree AC and comfy beds in the clinic! =/

Ah well

The next day brings us to London.

I'll save that for tomorrow.