Thursday, June 26, 2008

REMM Journal--#2

(A recap of my recent trip to Romania.)
Day 2

After spending over 24 hours traveling, I didn't need much encouragement to go to bed--even with the eight hour time difference. I woke up on Saturday feeling much better and ready to get started with the work we came to do.


Nicole and me, unpacking and organizing.

Linda checking the inventory in the clinic's pharmacy.

I, along with the team, took my time in the morning getting ready for the day. After a late breakfast, we gathered up our suitcases that were loaded with medications and headed to the clinic to take inventory. We unpacked medicines, clothes, and other supplies--sorting them into piles. Pills were organized by their function--multi-vitamins in one pile, blood pressure medications in another, and etc. I particularly enjoyed the tubes of diaper ointment appropriately labeled, "Butt Paste." All would eventually be placed back into suitcases so that we could transport them from town to town when we started the clinics.

After that, it was lunch time. The food is hearty and good. Truly meat and potatoes country. I don't think that there was a meal that didn't have some form of potato included with it. Lunch usually consists of two courses. First, we were served a brothy soup of one kind of another--sometimes chicken stock based, other times tomato based. After the soup, we received the main dish of some kind of meat and potatoes. Meat was usually beef, with some pork and chicken. I really like the salad that they occasionally serve. Usually salad is a shredded, slaw-style cabbage, with carrots, a sweet vinegar dressing, and seasoned with a little bit of dill. Refreshing. Also, I can't forget the ever present tub of "Delma" margarine, peach jam, and bread.


Today was the first opportunity for me to walk to "The Bridge," a coffee shop run by REMM in Beius. Built to provide a non-alcoholic, non-smoking, Christian environment to the people in Beius, The Bridge serves restaurant quality desserts along with frozen ice cream treats, espresso/coffee, and soft drinks. I was amazed that a dessert and espresso that would have cost me at least $6 or $7 in the States only cost me on average 4 lei (Romanian currency) or roughly, $2 (U.S.). Needless to say, I will head back there many times.



I met a recent high school graduate from Tulsa, OK, name Jackson Siebert. Jackson is working for REMM and the Lucaciu's this summer, doing some landscaping work and whatever else needs to be done on the properties. I've enjoyed talking with him so far.

So much for today. Pretty laid-back. Tomorrow promises to be much busier. We have two church services and I have sermons to finish.

2 comments:

Joel said...

Todd:
Curious if you know--have they adjusted the lei in recent years?
When I was there (almost 8 years ago?!) I seem to recall that they were talking about lei in terms of thousands.

Todd said...

Joel,

Yes, they have adjusted the lei. I'm not exactly sure about how many zeros they knocked off the end, but I do know that the money my folks used two years ago was no longer valid. So, I don't know if 4 lei was either 400 or 4000.