"Do you have rap?"

Monday Adriana and I planned to do manicures with the girls. Everyone was pretty restless and loud that day, and it seemed like we spent most of the time getting the kids to quiet down and not aggravate each other. Therefore, time for nails went out the window. Adriana, however, lead a great activity about dolphins with an art project the kids liked. So, after a discussion cu fetele (with the girls) about being patient with each other, we said tomorrow could work for nails depending on their ability to be quiet and more patient with everyone.

Today the girls (and guys) did really well. The kids from Galati had made each child a card (please. this was amazing. our kids loved them), and a short video. Rachel passed out the cards and showed the kids the video and pictures on a computer. Some kids responded excitedly, "Hey! Can I write them a note?!" So, maybe we'll have some pen-pal-ish action going on between here and Galati...how great would that be?

After the presentation, the boys headed outside and two nail stations were set. Each girl got a bit of a manicure: nail soak, cuticle treatment, trimming and shaping, hand massage with lotion, a nail buff (to shine up the nail), and a coat of pink or clear polish.

We had music in the background - my iTunes account. They found the "Teach Yourself Romanian" tracks and thought it was pretty funny to hear the recorded Romanian lessons.

The manicure was a precious bit of individual time with each girl. The last young lady and I actually had a conversation. It went something like this:

I was like, "So, what are you doing after this?"
(Imagine the head tilting side to side. We were getting nails done, after all.)
And she was like, "I'm going to do homework and eat dinner and then read."
I was like, "And what did you do this weekend?"
And she was like "I played games and made food and..."
I interrupted, "What kind of food? Because I don't cook and need to learn. What's your favorite food to make?"
And she was like, "Well, macaroni with cheese."
I was like, "How do you cook it?"
And she was like, "Well, you boil the water and put salt and oil in it. Then when the water's boiling you put in the pasta - "
"How much?"
"Well, however much you want to eat."
"Oh."
"Then when the pasta is done, not to hard and not too soft - "
"How do you like it?"
"Ah, normal." (Head tilt and shoulders shrug.)
"Oh, sure."
"Then drain the pasta and add cheese and mix it together." (During this section I had to get clarification...which means using hand gestures and sound effects.)
"That's all?"
"That's all."
"Do you add salt?"
"I already did to the water."
"Oh, and oil?"
"Da." (I must have missed that step, although at the time I most certainly affirmed that I understood.)
Then I hear:
"Eini, do you have rap?" "Hey - what did you do to the music?!" "Hey! Leave it alone!" "Eini, Eini, Eini, Eini, can i use this please?"...and thus ends our cooking lesson.

Each of the girls seemed to glow just a little bit afterwards. Not so much from the manicure itself - which, by the way, wasn't too shabby, please - but from the one on one interaction. It was a small thing to brighten their day. It was a huge gift to me.