We have already assembled our team and individual fundraising is now well underway.
If you would like to support Project Romania please get in touch. We are holding a fundraising race night on Friday 17th February in the school. Tickets for this event are £5. For more details or for ticket reservations please contact brox_tickets@live.co.uk
Mr McIntyre
Friday 16th
...And we're off! The team arrived at Edinburgh airport at 1.00pm full of excited and tired faces (The prom being the night before!). We had Smooth flying the whole way down to London Luton where we had the opportunity to grab a bite to eat in what must be the most crowded I have ever seen an airport. Mr Halliday's fun fact of the day: A boots meal deal in Luton airport is exactly the same price as it is on the high street. Many of the team grabbed a nap on the second flight as we made our way from Luton to Cluj Napoca in Romania. Upon landing we met our host Calin and his wife Dora who drove us back to our residence in Dej. With a group of tired faces, we got ourselves to sleep thinking about the exciting week which lies ahead.
Mr McIntyre
Saturday 17th
After arising nice and early at 8am local time, we dragged ourselves out of bed and away to Gelissim, a nearby café for breakfast. The selection of cereals and toast gave us all the energy to organise ourselves into 3 teams for the week ahead. Each team then deliberated over what activities they would like to host at the summer camp. Then it was time for Lunch, a delicious chicken burger that seemed to go down very well with everyone. After a couple of hours' free time, we headed down the street to a fair/market/festival, at which all the girls got matching bracelets. Half the team were almost unable to continue the week as they were suspended upside down for what seemed like eternity for them, about 20 seconds (those in the air would disagree). It would be nice to say that those on the ground were supportive, but quite the opposite occurred as everyone else was in hysterics. The dodgems were also a popular ride among the team, as well as the locals. Just as the rain started it was time to go to the park, where a race sparked to the top of the spider web and then back down again (Mr McIntyre is still awaiting a forfeit). Stocking up was next on the agenda as we headed to a supermarket to buy healthy and nutritional snacks...of course. We had some free time before dinner, most of us spent it comfortable in bed. Dinner arrived to the sound of an estimated 10 pizzas hitting the table, the highlight being that the one vegetarian of the group was the only one not to eat the vegetarian pizza. Next on the to-do list was to make a homemade twister mat, which consisted of hands, feet and lots of paint. Thankfully only minute amounts hit the carpet. We then found out how difficult it really is to count to ten in the team building exercises that followed. The pressure of that task tired everybody out, just in time for an early night.
Chelsea McEwan & Jacob Walker
Sunday
Happy Birthday Emma! Today was Emma's birthday and we managed to fill the day with lots of activities. After breakfast and a 'happy birthday' sing-song, we headed off to the salt mine. We climbed the same staircase as the workers would have and we saw the area where the workers would have prayed before entering the cautionary mine. It was very interesting. It got even more interesting when we went even further where some of us went on row boats in the salt water. Then we realised the only way to get out of the mine (other than the lift of course) was to climb the 13 flights of stairs. After a quick bite to eat at a restaurant that serves abnormally tiny portions of salad, we went into Cluj where we walked around the stadium and went on the paddle boats. Some of us on dragons, some on flamingos and some on cars we peddled around the lake looking at the nearby ducks and exercising our legs even more (leg day!!). We raced sometimes and Mr Halliday and Mr McIntyre managed to get a hold of Sophie' jumper from her boat without noticing. 2 pirates in the making! Then some of us got ice cream and some of us tried a Romanian delicacy that was like a cinnamon swirl. It was delicious. Afterwards, we visited Belvedere where we saw a beautiful view of Cluj. We then took some time out of the day to do some shopping and some of us bought face masks and makeup. There were lots of antique stalls that sold items from the war such as gas masks and things. We then grabbed some dinner before heading back but not before there was a clicking sound on the bus. We then arrived to realise that we had a flat tyre. We were then called for a "group meeting" where we sang 'Happy Birthday' to Emma again along with some chocolate cake. As birthday treat to Emma we are now going to have a game of 'hide and seek'.
Eve Armstrong and Chloe Duncan
Monday
After all the exercise yesterday, the early rise seemed much more difficult for everyone this morning! Today was the first day of official work and we visited the orphanage and the Elpis centre. At the orphanage, we bonded with the children over loom bands, face paint and bubbles. We also played lots of games with them including football and shoulder/piggy back rides. Although we didn't understand each other verbally, we still made our own bonds with them which was very special. In the afternoon, we drove back to our residence (most of us napping on the way) and had yet another delicious chicken burger for lunch. We were then given half an hour to have a well needed nap after all the running about with the children. Afterwards we continued our naps on the way to the Elpis centre where we planned our activities for the days ahead and got to know the Romanian team we will be working with. We did some odd jobs like (trying to) put up goal posts, making things for our activities and rearranging the main hall. After that we were treated to an amazing feast prepared by Calin and Dora (which was the best thing we've ever tasted). We said farewell to our new Romanian friends and journeyed back to our residence (after playing a few games on the bus).
Robyn Duffy and Emma Thomson
Tuesday
Today was the hottest and the first day of the summer camp. Team 1 took the responsibility of leading the children with the help and support of team 2, whilst team 3 were out painting fences, raking grass and getting burnt on the DIY side of things. At the summer camp, things were kicked off with a variety of races followed by some parachute games before a yummy lunch of "bangerz n beanz" were served. After lunch, the children then had some chill out time by doing arts and crafts and getting their faces painted. It was so nice to see all the children enjoying themselves. The first day at the summer camp ended with more fun and games outside in the blazin' sunshine. After a very busy, tiring and sweaty day it was nice to say goodbye to the kids until tomorrow. Team 3 got into cars and travelled around three or four miles down the road where they were greeted by a Romanian widow. They spent the morning painting her fence and gate with black glossy paint, strimming the grass and raking it into piles in the garden. They left as a very satisfied group accompanied by a very proud teacher (Alan). At lunch time, all teams were reunited at the camp just in time for some parachute fun. When all the kids left at half past four, the teachers, Romanian team and translators all had some down time before a lovely dinner of pork, rice and veg was served. Followed by THE BEST pancakes ever tasted. We then returned home (well to what is now known as home) after some top banter and sing songs on the bus. Miss Duffin announced a photography competition where we had different photos to take in our teams (winning team TBC). We are now off to shower, do face masks and eat snacks.
Night all!
Sophie and Caitlyn.
Wednesday
After a humid, restless night the team awoke at the break of dawn of 6:45am readily prepared for their second day of summer camp. With the bus heavily loaded full of equipment for the activities ahead, they set off for another busy day. We were thankful of the extra snooze on the way! The group was quickly separated on their arrival at the camp with Team 1 heading out to do voluntary work of painting a local widows fence. We also got to play with her chickens. Team 2 led the summer camp with the support of Team 3. Today's activities included a challenging obstacle course before lunch, salt dough creations, a Scottish-themed treasure hunt and finished with the kids decorating a banner of hand prints with facts about themselves. We ended the day with our team's enthusiastic rendition of the Macarena. The team are now getting the hang of the Romanian songs by attempting to pronounce the words, getting the actions right and banging the tables for sound effects. The day finished with an enjoyable meal of pasta and cake before setting off for a tour of Dej with Alex, a familiar Romanian face from over the years.
Update: After Mr McIntyre's earlier injury we can confirm he doesn't have Tetanus
Chloe Soutar and Erin Appleyard.
Thursday
Today was our final day in Romania. It was similar in terms of activities to the other days at the summer camp however a different atmosphere, as we knew it was our last day, furthermore it was the hottest day we had experienced during the camp. Team 3 lead the summer camp today (save the best for last) and team 2 went to do the final DIY project. Activities ran for the children today included rounders, tug of war and spaghetti tower building. When it came to the DIY team, we realised that the small tasks we were doing in fact made massive differences to those that we are helping. For team 3 there was some stress about meeting the high standards of the days organised previously however at the end of the day the children had a great time. Despite this it was difficult for the team to say goodbye to the Romanian children (this was due to a serious lack of translator presence) and harder still to say goodbye to our good friend and forest walk enthusiast 'Roberto'. In the evening the team went out for a well-deserved last supper before coming home to the ELPIS foundation for a light-hearted awards ceremony in which it was shown how much the team and teachers had bonded throughout the week. Overall the trip made us realise how much we take for granted and how much you can help others through small acts, a truly unforgettable experience.
Ryan Fullarton and Daniel Milligan
