Then it was aboard a mini-bus for a 5 hour drive to Romania which included an hour time change as well. It is midnight as I write this post but really can't sleep. Not entirely sure how I will function on the work site tomorrow. I am somewhat overwhelmed with my surroundings. Although I've only seen it in darkness, it's not so much how it looks, but where I am that is got me energized.
A little bit about where I am:
In addition to having the great opportunity to again work with Habitat for Humanity in eastern Europe, I am living and building in a city not far from where my mother was born and her family originates. Yes, I have Transylvanian blood in me! And there was a time, not that long ago, that was also a part of Hungary.
Romania is a country about the size of the state of Oregon, situated in South East Central Europe on the lower Danube. It borders Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova to the Northeast, and the Black Sea and Bulgaria to the south.
The areas of Oradea and Beius (where we are working) was founded in the 10th century, when a a small citadel was established by King Ladislaus I of Hungary. Until the end of World War II when Romania was awarded this region of Transylvania, possession of the city and the it's surrounding environs, alternated between the Hungarian and Austrian empires and Romania.
Here is a map of what Hungary once looked like.
This a VERY simplified version of the history. But when it was still considered Hungary, my mother was born in Kolozsvár. (Read more by clicking on the link) And I am now on the same land that once was where my Mother called home.
Looking very much forward to the sun coming up and getting a look around, meeting the families at the Orphanage and getting to work.
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