Friday 15th
After a long trip we have arrived safely in Romania. It was good to see a refurbished Luton airport to keep us entertained this year!
This was the first time we have landed in Romania with a little day light. This was a bit short lived as the storm clouds came in bringing a pretty impressive flash flood. However, we are Scottish and we did not let the rain stand in our way! We made a quick visit to the local shop to pick up a few essentials and settled in for the night hoping for better weather and a relaxing first day.
Mr McIntyre
Saturday 16th
Today was our first day in the beautiful country of Romania, as we travelled ALL day yesterday we were graciously granted a long lie. We woke up, refreshed and ready to conquer the day ahead. However, during breakfast we received some distressing news - one box has gone missing thanks to French customs! We did not know which box had been taken, we were very concerned in case it was our toiletries. We were delighted when Miss Duffin presented us with our toothbrushes however our moods were quickly shot down when we found out the most important box was missing. So, we spent this morning preplanning our WHOLE trip. Finally, after hours of discussion we made our decisions and these will be put to the test tonight (we will keep you updated).
Once our hard work was over, Lorna collected lunch. This was an interesting experience - massive rolls, chips, chicken, lettuce, mayo AND ketchup. It was scrumdidileyumpshis. Then we headed into town to see the fair, where we got to see traditional Romanian produce and merch. We shopped for our families and ourselves and had a cheeky slushie on the way. We later went to a park where we sat in the sun. Lorna and Sarah thought they were buying diet sprite, but in fact discovered cucumber Sprite. 1/10. Would NOTrecommend.
On the walk back to base, we witnessed a showcase of traditional Romanian music and singing by some local children - they were really, really cute. We then got back to our accommodation and sat outside and caught the rays.
Now we are sitting in the corner of the dining room after dinner writing this blog post before we go down stairs and do some testing of our lava lamps.
With love from your gals - Sadie and Lorna xoxo
Catch ya, we out!
P.S. The weather did improve and it has been a beautiful hot sunny day.
Sunday 17th
On the second day we woke up and got ready for a big day ahead. We visited the salt mine which was very impressive with an underground fair including: mini golf, table tennis, bowling and a ferris wheel. We decided to try out the ferris wheel instead of going further down to the depths below because Sadie was afraid of the lift. In the mine Mr McIntyre scared us by telling us that horses that went into the mine to work were blinded once they got out again because they were not used to the sun anymore. Luckily this did not happen to us. Afterwards we went to the mall where we finally got a lunch everyone liked: McDonalds! We also had to go the shop to replace all the arts and crafts things that were lost in the box. Later on in the day we went to a park where we went on pedal boats for half an hour, trying to ram Mr. McIntyre and Miss Duffin out of their boat. We then strolled through the park to be picked up by the wee bus man, to be taken to our next destination: a viewpoint from where we could see most of Cluj-Napoca. Once the rain drove us back into the bus we went for some pizza which was served on enormous plates, four pizzas backed into one. Back at base we tried out the arts and crafts thing we had just bought to practice and see that everything worked the way we wanted it to work for the orphanage tomorrow.
By Lisa, Baillie and Bardo
Monday 18th
On the third day it was a busy, jam-packed day. With visiting the orphanage early in the morning filled with many messy activities, including making slime and having foam fights with the children. It was a truly eye-opening experience and will not be taken for granted. Later, in the day, after lunch, we travelled down to a widow's house to give a helping hand. After painting doors, fences and gates and running about with children all day, we were in desperate need for a shower. On our way home we decided to visit the Elpis day camp where we will be spending the rest of our trip. However, we were not warned of the DEATH HILL we'd have to endure to reach the camp. We were not a fan of the bumpy road and the steep, narrow hill, but thankfully we survived that time. Back at base we are now clean, and getting prepared for our day tomorrow.
Lots of love,
Amy & Sarah xx
Tuesday 19th
Today was the first day of the summer camp and this meant getting up early. We were all shattered from the orphanage visit the day before, but once we got to the camp the energy kicked in. To start the day off we sat in on the bible study class - this gave us a chance to meet the Romanians who were going to be translating for us. Our first activity was parachute games, this involved Miss Duffin finding the phonetic spellings of colours for us. The kids bought into our games really well and seemed to enjoy the games before lunch. After lunch we had our 3 activities - lava lamps, volcanoes and salt jars. The lava lamps were made in bottles from oil and coloured water, with lots of glitter, the volcanoes were coke and bicarbonate of soda. The salt was coloured with chalk and put into the jars to create levels. The day ended with more songs before the kids left and we cleaned up the hall. Now we are back at the buttery biscuit base, preparing for tomorrow and writing this blog.
With love from your gals - Sadie and Lorna xoxo
Catch ya, we out!
Thursday 21st
Today was our last day at the day camp. We started off with a few activities which helped us gain points for our teams, which were ongoing throughout our visit. We competed in relay races; which included the wheelbarrow, hopping and the "crab". We also played Chinese ladders which became very competitive, causing a few slips and falls. After lunch we then went inside to partake in the costume competition, which involved the kids making their own hats, jewellery and masks. Sarah had the GENIUS idea of making shoes out of water bottles, which were very popular. Once the winners were decided for the competition, it was time to announce the champion of the day camp! The blue team won the competition for creating the best flag, however the Yellow team (also known as the Bananas) (aka Sarah and I's team) won first place overall! We are now getting prepared for an early flight from Cluj to Luton airport and we will hopefully see you soon!
Lots of love,
Sarah & Amy xx
Friday 22nd
2018 - mission accomplished!
It's been another great year and a lot of hard work has paid off. It's hard to believe it has just been one week. The challenges the group faced this year included some of our equipment being held up in French customs, and, at times, some of the warmest weather we have experienced in Romania. Despite these initial challenges, the team worked hard and delivered a memorable holiday camp. Each day seemed to get better and better showing that the team were constantly learning and that the partnership between our team and the Romania team continually improved.
There has been a lot of memorable moments for us, including the fly by bird pooing incident on poor Sarah, the fair-ground attractions, seeing a black swan, and many more. But most of all we will remember the hard work put in by the team over the course of the week.
With many of them moving on to new pastures, we wish all of the S6 team who came with us the very best for their future. We hope this has been a memorable way to end their time at Broxburn Academy. We thank the whole team for their efforts over the week and all those who have supported them over the year.
We are now waiting for our final flight, from Luton back to Edinburgh, where some of us will be lucky enough to have plenty sleep before one final week of term.
Mr McIntyre and Miss Duffin
