| Meet Paulina; A 90's girl from post communist Romania | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 29 2018, 09:16 PM (5 Views) | |
| Chipl95 | Jan 29 2018, 09:16 PM Post #1 |
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Chapter One: A New Beginning Paulina’s eyes were wide as dinner plates as she looked around her. She was at Henri Coandă International Airport with her adopted mom and dad waiting for a plane that would take her out of the only home she knew. She was born in Bucharest in 1985, four years before the Romanian Revolution. Her birth parents had seven children including her and could not feed everybody. When she was six years old, they took her to the orphanage in the hopes that she would be able to find parents who could feed and clothe her. When she was told she was being adopted by a Canadian couple, she knew she was very lucky. She was very nervous, though. She did not know where she was going or the language her new parents spoke. “Paulina! Avionul nostru va pleca! Our plane is going to leave!” Paulina’s mother exclaimed. With that, Paulina stood up and followed her mother and father to the long line of people to board the plane. Her eyes were wide; she had never seen so many people going in all different directions before. She heard all sorts of different languages; Romanian, English, German, Russian, and even some French. Soon she and her parents got to the front of the line. Her mom handed the boarding passes to the agent, who said “Mersi” and smiled. When the trio got on the plane, they looked for their seats and settled in. Paulina sat beside the window and had her last look at Bucharest. “La revedere” she said as she looked out the window. She took out an English picture dictionary and started to study it. She sounded out words as she read them. “Cat. Dog. House. Mom. Dad.” Her mom could understand a little Romanian, but Paulina knew she would need to learn English fast. Lucky for her, she bought Paulina a few English books that she could read on the plane and learn a few words right away. Soon the flight attendants started their safety demo and before Paulina knew it, she was in the air for the very first time. “La reverdere, Bucharesti.” she said, looking out the window at the city that was her home for her whole life. She wondered how everybody back at the orphanage was doing and if anybody missed her. Still, she thought it would be nice to have a family and not be in a large orphanage anymore. “Mama, where are we going to live?” She asked her mom slowly, sounding out each word in English. She learned the phrase in one of her books. “We are going to a city called Ottawa.” Her mom answered, showing Paulina some pictures of the Parliament buildings, the canal, and Rideau Hall. Paulina looked at the pictures and smiled nervously. “Ott-a-wa.” She sounded out slowly. The flight attendant came around and offered everybody a bag of pretzels as a snack. Paulina’s mom took a bag for herself and for Paulina. She opened the bag and devoured the pretzels in 30 seconds flat. “Wow, you must have been really hungry!” Her mother exclaimed. “We will get some supper in Frankfurt.” She added, pointing to a picture of a dish of food in Paulina’s picture dictionary. She nodded and smiled at her new mom nervously. She noticed her new daughter’s nervousness and offered a hug. Paulina hesitated at first, and then came closer. She looked at the picture books with her mom for the duration of the flight. Before either mom or daughter knew it, they were going to land in Frankfurt. Paulina’s eyes were glued to the window as she watched the ground get closer and closer. As soon as they all got off of the plane, Paulina’s dad spotted a restaurant. “Let’s eat here!” He said to Paulina and her mom. They both nodded in agreement and they found a table. Paulina’s dad went to the counter and ordered a meal for each of them. He came back with a hamburger and fries for everybody. Paulina looked at the hamburger, and watched her parents as they each ate theirs. She slowly picked hers up and took a bite, savouring the combination of textures and flavours. She finished her hamburger and moved on to her fries. When they were all finished, they went to look for a board with the information for where their flight to Ottawa would depart from. Once they found their flight number, they went looking for their gate. Paulina noticed it in big letters and pointed. “Mersi, Paulina!” Her mom said. They sat in some empty chairs while they waited for the plane to be ready. Paulina pulled out her picture books to look at while she waited. She was so busy reading she almost didn’t hear her mom say it was time to get in line to get on the plane. She quickly shoved her books in her backpack and lept up. They repeated the same process of finding seats that they did on the plane from Bucharest. Paulina sat in the window seat and her dad sat beside her this time. Her mom sat in the aisle seat opposite the two. Paulina looked out the window as the plane went faster and faster, lifting off of the ground. She watched the ground get further and further away and took a breath. This was the plane that would land in her new home. She was going to have a new life; a new beginning. She pulled a picture book about Canada out of her bag and started to read it. She looked at pictures of moose, geese, bears, and beavers. She wondered if she would ever get to see any of these animals in person. |
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7:50 AM Jul 11
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7:50 AM Jul 11