We might have started off slow this morning - everyone was a bit tired and sore from yesterday's work - but we got our 15th wind once we got a little coffee.

Ah, another successful day at the office! :) Today it was a bit cooler which was actually nice. The rain in the afternoon put a slight "damper" on things but we were able to finish what we needed to and be ready for tomorrow. Today's work consisted of putting 2 coats of mud/cement all over the house, finishing the stryrofoam coating, insulation and prepping the interior for drywall tomorrow. Hopefully it won't rain so we can do the stucco on the outside. My legs are already feeling it from climbing up and down and up and down the scaffolding. I lost count how many times we did that! I think at this time my body is starting to become numb to the pain. Whoever invented Advil is one of my heroes! Is it wrong to take 8 at a time???????????

One of the pictures today are of Alex - our new friend in Romania. We ran into a few of the guys again last night that are staying here at our Peninsea (hotel). Speaking of hotel, let me share with you a few facts. It is a small hotel - only 4 rooms on each of the 3 floors - then another building the same across a small parking lot. The bathrooms are a sink, a toilet and a shower - but the shower drains into a drain in the middle of the bathroom floor. Oh, did I mention there's also no shower curtain??? We are paying what would amount to $20 a night per room at the hotel so clearly there is not enough money to buy shower curtains.

Another picture is of two puppies (you can look, but don't dare touch because there's no way of knowing what disease they could have). I feel as badly for all the dogs and their living conditions as I do the people.

Another picture is of me getting to use the power saw - yea! That was a lot of fun. It was a bit ironic that two of the men were holding the board while I - a female - used the power tool. I guess you could say I was a cut above the rest! :)

Today's 'phrase that pays' as I call it for the Romanian team was "It's not my first time to the rodeo". The guys seemed to like that one as well. Every day they joke around a little more. I think they are finally understanding my humor - that's a scary thought I know! They are just great to talk to and get to know.

One of the neat things we did was that last night my roommate and I were in charge of the evening "reflection/activity" (these are activities to help get to know each other etc.) We had each person write down something about themselves that no one on the team knew, but would be interesting) We wrote each persons statement on a big piece of styrofoam and then as a group went through each one and had to try to figure out who it was. For example, one person said "I once had to bail my mom out of jail" - yes, we had a lot of fun with the stories that came from each statement. Anyway, we ended up putting the names of each person next to their statement and today we used that Styrofoam as one of the pieces on the house. The Beius Team (the guys working on the house with us other than the Habitat home owners) got a real kick out of it.

One of the people, Angelina, on trip is celebrating her birthday today. The guys sang her a Romanina song at lunch and then "Happy Birthday" at the end of the day. I have attempted to add video clips of the song at lunch. I think the other clip might be too long. The one with just a few guys are Emil (Habitat regional leader), Clau (Beius team), Valer (Beius Team) and Jonuet(Beius Team site leader). I think I named everyone.

Tonight we will go to an orphanage to play with the kids and eat dinner. It should be very interesting. We did bring some toys to leave with our team leader to give to the kids. We have one more full day of work and then a half day on Sat. We will then drive to Beius Sat. afternoon to see the town and have dinner. It is about an hour away.

I hope the picture I attached of the horse drawn wagon and colt running behind shows up well. It was so cool. This was right out in front of our hotel. The cars didn't seem to bother the young colt at all. We commented that it is so weird that we are in one of the "big" cities with all the industry, big trucks and so on yet just off the main streets you'll see cattle roaming, horse drawn wagons and other random things.

Well, it is time for me to go get ready to leave for the orphanage. More to follow....