2010 Day 1

I’m back! Arrived in Moldova a couple hours ago and I’m settled into the orphanage now. The girls were as welcoming as ever and showered me with hugs and kisses. It got a bit crazy at one point where about 30 girls were all trying to get my attention. They were pulling my hair, arms, legs and clothes and were shouting things that I have zero understanding of… The nannies thought it was hilarious. Although it was a little overwhelming, it was amazing at the same time. The girls were just so excited to have someone new to play with.

If I’m being honest, I was pretty nervous coming over again… Last year it was a huge culture shock and I was completely unprepared for the experience. Previous volunteers that I had asked for advice all told me things like “Oh definitely go for it, it’s the best experience of your life”, “it’s the most amazing thing you’ll ever do”, “you’ll have such a great time”… Let me first say that they were 100% right but it was also one of the toughest things I’ve ever done and one of the saddest experiences of my life. I wasn’t used to dealing with so many illnesses and disabilities and honestly, that’s all I could see for the first while. But coming here today was completely different. I didn’t see any disabilities. I just saw beautiful, smiling faces who couldn’t wait to come over and give me a hug. I know this is completely cheesy but the girls here in the orphanage are an inspiration and I’ve gotten so much more out of coming here than I could ever give.

Righto, I better get myself to bed and rest up for tomorrow so that I can earn my keep.  A truck load of aid arrived from Ireland today and we’ll be unloading that first thing in the morning. Night night.