Alexa in Romania: New Year, New World: Life's dealing hand

Ahhhh... life sometimes kindly and unexpectedly offers us of its sweetest gifts ... without our necessarily deserving them or our being able to fully appreciate them... And then, just as suddenly, takes them away and leaves us to mourn barely understood hopes, broken new-born dreams ...

A little poem I just wrote:

When the night silently comes
and clouds the day with sounds of darkness

When cold embraces you too closely
and echoes through your very heart

When fear of the next moment bites
and longing of the past pervades you

Sit still a moment, let it be,
pierce through these very burning times

And know the sun will once more rise

Alexandra Alexandrescu, March 6, 2011
copyright

Moving on...
I am just back from an afternoon spent with my godparents... and God-parents, God-sent they truly are:

How is it possible that this whole family (not just them) who has barely seen me in over 20 years takes me into their heart so easily, so readily. What a wonder! What a blessing it is to me. I have come to this new place with about three built-in families... I love them all dearly. My godmother is part of a very old Romanian family who was harshly persecuted by the communists because of the simple fact that they were "boieri", the highest rank of aristocrats when they (the communists) swept in and confiscated all land and all riches from all who had any, and then proceeded to throw them in jail and banish them from the various cities where they had spent their lives, and this, for over 40 years. While her father was rotting away in a communist prison - for no other reason other than that he was a land-owning aristocrat - her mother, for the same "reason" would not be given any work by the rest of the scared community. They had nothing to eat, had to rely on neighbors, had to move in new cities. During communist years, due to the "economical plan" of our infamous Ceausescu, she contracted Rheumatic heart disease because they spent many winters in 0^oC - 4^oC temperatures in their house. Gas was turned off for three months at a time to "save money" for the country... She has told me so many crazy stories, she has had such an interesting life, that I am seriously thinking of recording everything in what could eventually become a book, the book of her life. Isn’t history better understood through personal accounts? It seems to me it would be…

Yesterday, I had my first encounter with some of Romania’s orphans! Finally! These kids are part of a small group of "privileged" orphans in that they do not live in orphanages but in apartments - 5 kids in each apartment with live-in caretakers. This ONG I went with (www.ajutor-real.ro) does many things for them, one of which is they build libraries where these kids go at least once a week to read books, play, learn to paint and to play instruments, and - the project I got involved in - they learn good manners... all made available and possible through Ajutor Real.

I did not really know what to expect at all... I went with another woman who has been doing this for some time and, the moment she said hello to them, they came running to us and, though they had never seen me before, I had as many hugs as her... Some were permanently perched on her, some on me. Some were very hungry for affection, but they also knew how to take care of each other. You should have seen how some of the older ones were taking care of the little ones... It was heart warming. They formed their own community, a family. Though it is hard to imagine what their daily life is like, they seemed to be OK, good even. They are taken care of by this wonderful NGO.

I have taken TONS of pictures. I was allowed to by the NGO I went with… but I am not allowed to make public any pictures where their faces show. It is to protect the privacy of these kids. And, since I was only told this after I took the pics, I have but few to show. In some of these, I cut off the parts which show the children's faces. Here they are:

To end on a spring-y note, here are some pics I have taken in two parcs in the City. I want to show you that in Bucharest they have outdoor gyms!!!

And now, especially for the non-believers... some pics of the brave and graceful FLOWERS that have already and profusely pierced through the last blanket of snow. I took these pictures today, March 6, in Cismigiu Park, the GORGEOUS park that adorns the heart of Bucharest since 1847! Share in the simple joy....