Archive Nov.22, 2009: South Carolina Here We Come!

A blog or two may be missing over the next two weeks as Nate and I head back to South Carolina with his family for Thanksgiving. Then we will head to Colorado where I will attend a “How to start a birth center” workshop. From there we will fly back through Germany to Bucharest. We will be back the beginning of December and I will jump right in to blogging and let you know what is going on in Bucharest.

Last week’s check off list of tasks went well- I crammed in 12 weeks of school into 8 before our trip. God allowed me to meet with several close friends and establish a new relationship with a local doctor Dr. Ilinca Gussi. She graciously offered to clinically mentor a midwife student and provide observation opportunities for doula students. This is a huge blessing because the current class of Bucharest midwife students have NO where to do their clinical hours.

After leaving the hospital (under ‘strict quarantine’ for the swine flu)I immediately called midwife student Irina Popescu and shared the news. She was ecstatic. Irina’s heart for women and children is large and she has been lobbying for the midwife students’ rights. I hope that this will be the first of many partnerships that will provide Romania with midwives for the future.

In addition, I have started a mini research project for my birth centering marketing course at the local Euroclinic. I will compile my data while in the U.S. along with a research paper. The data will reflect the openness of Bucharest citizens, docs and nurses to midwives and birth centers.

I leave you with the comical picture of me and Nate at the abandoned Club Hermes- expats have some comical nicknames for this former hang out spot. Yikes! This is a crumbling former discotheque in old Lipscani neighborhood of Bucharest...