Romania - First Impressions

I'm back state-side now. I've been dealing with a respiratory bug I picked up on the way home. Long plane rides almost always guarantee a hitchhiker! Thinking back over the trip to Camp Eli - it seems in some ways like a memory of long ago, but we left 7 members of our team there to do a second camp. Seeing their posts reminds me that this trip *just* happened.

We left Dallas for London on Friday afternoon and arrived without any issues. Our pass through London's security gave us a few surprises. If you have a 100 ml tube of cream, you're fine. If it is 100.1 ml, well... no. Interestingly, that is 3.38 ounces (100 ml). It went through US airport security without a second glance.

As you filter through the wrongly signed queues, you're given a chance to open your carry-on and make certain your liquids and gels are in a 1 quart zip-close baggie. They even provide the baggies. Take that opportunity. Trust me... They expect little clear quart baggies of your supplies be placed in a separate bin to go through the security x-ray.

Regulation comes in layers

We made our way to our terminal which required a bus ride. They apparently have built new terminals, but didn't connect them to anything yet. We checked the board for gate info. Yup, there's the flight. It's at gate.... "to be determined 20 minutes prior to boarding". So, all these no-gate-specified people are clustered around Starbucks and the recharging stations (only half of them actually worked), readying themselves for a controlled stampede to a gate. They are absolutely twitchy. One eye pointed at the gate assignment board, one pointed at their not-yet-charged phones.

Gordon Ramsay's Restaurant

Observations - always take a youngster or three on the trip with you. They can figure out any technology issues you have plus they are endlessly entertaining when they learn their money doesn't work any more. Pro-tip: Bring a credit card.

Oh yes - I have been rude to you, my guest. I neglected to share our group with you. I beg your forgiveness. Here's our team of 14 from Mobberly Baptist Church in East Texas.

Front row (L to R): Elliott, Mackenzie, Sam, Caitlin, Molly, Kyra (me).

Back row (L to R): Patrick, Noah, Sydney, Gary, Bryce, Briana, Noel, Scott.

(Because these are minors, I'm not sharing surnames. Sorry. Not gonna.)

We left from home Friday morning. Mid-afternoon we boarded our flight for a 9 hour session of who's-your-closest-neighbor. I'm happy to say my row got up exactly twice during that flight. I hope you read sarcasm.... We switched planes in London and flew another 3 hours to Bucharest.

We were met there by our host and another driver. Romania would have a near-record-setting heat wave while we were there. The average high for June is 68*F. It was 95*F while we were there. The heat actually got a headline in the newspaper. Every day from the very beginning revolved around water sports. Kids, water balloons, water hose - yep, some things never change.

Here we are, strangers in a strange land. We didn't realized the impact we would have on our new friends, but even more, we didn't have a clue about the impact they would have on us.

Stay tuned - I'm finally getting all my photos processed. I should be able to post a little more regularly so you can see camp life day by day.

Ta for now,
~ky