A day in my life from Mitsubishi Pajero R310 Man
Life here in Romania can be exhausting hot and dusty in the summer, freezing cold and icy in the winter with every other sort of weather thrown in between. In the summer I am choked with dust Driving in the winter sometimes my heater can only managed to keep the windscreen clear and on other internal windows, condensations turns to ice. I am thankful that the mud and snow tyres are kept on all year or I know that regular road tyres would not last on the flint tracks.
On Tuesday I was on the road before 8am. Driving out of town on the almost smooth road, it was quite pleasant a crisp bright morning and a refreshing 16C. But after 6k the road changed and we were on a stony country track, in places more like a river bed, 12.5 k over hill and dale heading towards the Ukrainian border. Ruth was driving, Chris Tomlin CD, struggled to stay playing with all the bumps. It was pleasant to have the windows open and crisp air drifting through the car, though Ruth had to put them back up quickly as soon as she saw another car coming towards us or we would have been choked by the dust as the other car went past.
We were going to collect a mum and 4 year old boy (see picture with Ruth), who are at present living (with husband and 3 year old daughter) in disused army barracks right on the border along with 15 other families who lost or had homes badly damaged in recent floods. They have such basic conditions and being so far from the main road less aid has reached them.
Gheorge needed to go to hospital in Botosani 53k away from where they live. Not an easy journey hitching and public transport with a fractious 4 year old. He was so happy to get in the car. We called at Cobila on the way as Ruth had to collect a man from the Hands of Hope houses who also needed to go to the city. He was very good at entertaining Gheorge on the journey.
First stop the children’s hospital, Gheorge was seen by the Dr and various papers stamped. We were then told to go to another office on the other side of town for more papers and then come back to the children’s hospital at 2pm. But this turned out to be the wrong place so we had to go back across town to another hospital. Gheorge was examined again. This time we were told that he would need more papers from his village mayor and family Dr to be stamped and brought back to city the next day. Thankfully Gheorge would not need to be seen again (until next year’s renewal), so his mum was able to get the bus the next day with the papers.
Ruth had Romanian worship music playing on the way home and I am thankful that little Gheorge soon fell asleep as he was exhausted and irritable after the long day. We dropped them off back at the camp stopping for a while to talk to the rest of the families living in the old barracks and promising to come back next week to spend some time balloon modelling for the children.
A peaceful drive back along the track to Dorohoi and my day was over.
Life here in Romania can be exhausting hot and dusty in the summer, freezing cold and icy in the winter with every other sort of weather thrown in between. In the summer I am choked with dust Driving in the winter sometimes my heater can only managed to keep the windscreen clear and on other internal windows, condensations turns to ice. I am thankful that the mud and snow tyres are kept on all year or I know that regular road tyres would not last on the flint tracks.
On Tuesday I was on the road before 8am. Driving out of town on the almost smooth road, it was quite pleasant a crisp bright morning and a refreshing 16C. But after 6k the road changed and we were on a stony country track, in places more like a river bed, 12.5 k over hill and dale heading towards the Ukrainian border. Ruth was driving, Chris Tomlin CD, struggled to stay playing with all the bumps. It was pleasant to have the windows open and crisp air drifting through the car, though Ruth had to put them back up quickly as soon as she saw another car coming towards us or we would have been choked by the dust as the other car went past.
We were going to collect a mum and 4 year old boy (see picture with Ruth), who are at present living (with husband and 3 year old daughter) in disused army barracks right on the border along with 15 other families who lost or had homes badly damaged in recent floods. They have such basic conditions and being so far from the main road less aid has reached them.
Gheorge needed to go to hospital in Botosani 53k away from where they live. Not an easy journey hitching and public transport with a fractious 4 year old. He was so happy to get in the car. We called at Cobila on the way as Ruth had to collect a man from the Hands of Hope houses who also needed to go to the city. He was very good at entertaining Gheorge on the journey.
First stop the children’s hospital, Gheorge was seen by the Dr and various papers stamped. We were then told to go to another office on the other side of town for more papers and then come back to the children’s hospital at 2pm. But this turned out to be the wrong place so we had to go back across town to another hospital. Gheorge was examined again. This time we were told that he would need more papers from his village mayor and family Dr to be stamped and brought back to city the next day. Thankfully Gheorge would not need to be seen again (until next year’s renewal), so his mum was able to get the bus the next day with the papers.
Ruth had Romanian worship music playing on the way home and I am thankful that little Gheorge soon fell asleep as he was exhausted and irritable after the long day. We dropped them off back at the camp stopping for a while to talk to the rest of the families living in the old barracks and promising to come back next week to spend some time balloon modelling for the children.
A peaceful drive back along the track to Dorohoi and my day was over.
