The Next Two Years

I started my Peace Corps application in June of last year (actually in January of 2007, but that is a different story); by September I knew I had been nominated for service; by February I knew I had been cleared medically and legally and from February to April I learned to say the phrase “No, I don’t know where I’m going or what I’ll be doing yet” in my sleep. My experience deviates a bit from the majority of trainees I’ve talked with because my placement was linked to my grad studies; most everyone else knew a region of the world they would be going to when they were nominated…and then had that changed at least once before we left the country. In fact most people thought they were going to Africa and some even began studying languages only to have PC be like, “Jokes! You’re going to Moldova.” I want to be clear that while this sounds, and in all honesty is, frustrating everything Peace Corps does has a purpose, including being placed in the center of these seemingly ever expanding clouds of mystery. In fact, I really believe that the first challenge of Peace Corps service is finding a way to remain calm and positive in the fog of unknown. Luckily for me, I had already acquired a pair of glasses with a +5 clarity and flexibility rating so I had some advantages going in (ugg, I feel sick after that joke but couldn’t resist. These are the sacrifices I make for my beloved nerd friends). Anyway…

Last week the final veil was lifted on the next two years of my life; I found out where my permanent site will be. Yay! It was actually really cool how they did it. We found out on Thursday so pretty much Monday through Thursday afternoon whenever we were asked by our LTI’s or mentors if we had any questions the response was always, “yes, do you know where we are going?” This was always met with a smile and sometimes a ridiculously tantalizing clue. When the time actually came, the staff had drawn a huge chalk map of Moldova on the parking lot and one-by-one our Country Director called our names, did the big reveal and we were lead to our spot on the map by grinning mentors, bathed in applause and genuine excitement from those watching. I can’t say enough about how supportive the staff, current volunteers and fellow trainees are here. It is really incredible knowing that you are in a community who automatically has your back, regardless of differing beliefs, personalities and values. Enough with the mush, here are the facts which come from our packet of information and the two day site visit we had last weekend:

• My village (please note that we are advised not to reveal specific locations on public forums but if you want to know the name so you can google map it, email or facebook me) 
• Centrally located and is only a 30 minute bus ride from the capital 
• Population is around 3600 
• Close to my PST site so I can visit my current host family :)
• Close to a river, although it is small but the village is in a small valley so is lush and beautiful 
• My new house and host family 
• My “parents” are both 58 and it will just be the three of us, although they have three grown boys who all live in Italy 
• My host mom is probably the hardest working woman in the world. She is a house wife but the entire time I was there she was running around working in the garden, cooking, cleaning, taking care of the animals etc. She is definitely a strong woman who has been through difficult times. 
• My host dad works in a mill that produces chicken and other animal feed. He is a jokester (although, I have no idea what his jokes were about, I just laughed when he did – he has this great belly laugh). He also makes the strongest wine I’ve ever had, which was offered at EVERY meal. They also tried to give me cognac during lunch one day, that was new. 
• They have the most incredible flower garden I have ever seen. The entire time I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera. Next spring you will be flooded with pictures. Maybe by next spring there will be a way for me to put the smell on the internet too, it was wonderful, sweet and spicy. 
• I have my own house. It is called a casa mica (small house), although I think it is actually the casa mare (big house) because it has more rooms than my host parents’. I have a greeting room, a small kitchen with dining area by the window, a bedroom, a living room with couches, TV and DVD player, a dining room and then another room that is also called a casa mare. When the term refers to the room in a house it means a room where you greet guests and always contains a big display cabinet with traditional dishes and other symbolic items. 
• My house does not have everything though. There is no running water, no stove/oven and no bathroom. There is a shower in my host parents’ house and a toilet, as well as an outhouse. 
• They have a cow. I am so excited about this I almost cried when I found out. I am going to milk the crap out of that thing. 
• Also, my house is about a 3 minute walk to the school I will be working in – major bonus.
• My Job 
• As a HE I will be teaching eight health classes a week and will lead one hour of health club a week, in Romanian – yikes. 
• I have two teaching partners right now and they both seem amazing. One is mid thirties and the other is mid forties. Both have lived abroad. Both have kids. Both have taught for many years. One is a Russian language and literature teacher, the other teaches biology. I had dinner with the Russian teacher and her 16 year old daughter and it was like eating with family. I am pretty excited about her. The other one seems to really love young people and kept saying something about fostering love (my interpretation of her making a heart sign a lot) so I am obviously stoked about that too. 
• Right now I have two each of 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th grade classes and my club will be a mix of 7th and 8th graders. 
• Next week I have my first mirco-teaching lesson in Romanian and in a few weeks we start practice school where we develop 45 minute lessons and give them to real-live Moldovan students. 

The host site visit was one meeting after another. I met teachers, school directors, the mayor, community members, students etc. Fortunately, the week prior we had been developing interview questions for these people. Unfortunately, I understood maybe five words the entire two days. It was like being doused in ice water. My little happy bubble of being surrounded by Americans and English speaking Moldovans in my PST site was burst, and burst violently, at my permanent site. I cannot wait for the day when I don’t have to pause for a full minute before saying something like “I like potatoes” or “That dog is dirty.”

On a side note, it only took me four weeks to become a dog owner in Moldova. This is longer than I’m sure anyone was expecting. In my defense the thing legitimately followed me home. She is adorable and I named her Jose. She’s a tiny odd looking thing and is severely emaciated. The good news is my host family in my PST site is fine with the addition to the family. I will try and take her to my new site but if I am not allowed she will stay here and become the new tiny doorbell.

I hope everything is going well for you in your respective parts of the world. Feel free to ask questions in the comment section below or just say ‘hi’, those little words mean a lot to me.

Favorite Moments...so far

This time I followed Kelly home. On a side note, there are eight PCTs in my village, four of which have names that start with a K sound. Kelly and Kaylee are basically the same person to most Moldovans.

Here are some of my favorite interactions with Moldovans so far:

• When I first got to my host family's house and my mom was showing me around we reached the bathroom and she told me about the toilet situation. The convo went something like this
• Mom: Here is the WC, use it whenever you need.
• Me: Do you have an outside bathroom as well?
• Mom: Yes, yes, of course. 
• Me: So what is the difference?
• Mom: This one is for...little needs. The outside one is for <giant hand waving motion> big needs.
• My little host brother's questions. Once he decided that I was safe to talk to instead of just yelling my name was a glorious day. Keep in mind, he's five. Here are my two most memorable moments
• Stefon (pronounced Shh-te-fon) wanted to go out and climb a tree with his friends but needed to put on his autumn shoes. His parents are out in the garden so I am the only one that hears him when he starts crying. I rush out to the room and see that he's having a hard time getting his shoe on so I try and help out but the thing is just not going on. He starts telling me something and all I hear is "Kiiiinnn-delll, <string of romanian words I can't understand> va rog (please)!" I say I don't understand and he just keeps yelling the same thing louder and slower, much like unaware Americans do when dealing with foreigners. Apparently, this is something that is the same across cultures. Anyway, I finally catch a word and spend ten minutes looking it up in my dictionary. Feeling full of pride at having figured out what he wanted I grab a spoon from the kitchen to bring to him (so he can use it as a shoe horn) only to see him running off to climb the tree already having suceeded without my help.
• A few days ago my friends and I played Moldball (a version of volleyball we made up so we can play without a net, on a soccer field). I was really sweaty and dirty when I got home so hopped in the shower. The showers here don't have doors or curtains around the tub. You just get in and try not to spray water everywhere (I fail at this on a daily basis). Anyway I'm in the shower and hear Stefon come into the house and tap on the bathroom door. I hear his mom say something about how I'm in there so don't go in and he replies ok. A few minutes later I can tell he's still by the door, then the door just opens and I look over to see his little curly haired head pop in and say "Ce faci? (what'cha doing?) It was pretty funny and I'm pretty sure it was the whitest thing he will probably ever see. 

I'm sure I'll have more of these in the future. By the way, this week I find out where my permanent site will be and meet my teaching partners for the next two years! I'm excited and terrified.

Cucumbers and Mayonnaise

Hi all,

Sorry it has been so long since I've posted. We (the PCTs) are so busy that it is hard to find time to go to someone's house to use their internet. Luckily, like a lost puppy, I followed my friend Kaylee home today.

For this post I wanted to give you guys a glimpse of what life in Moldova is like but because I have to get back to class soon I'm going to give it to you in segments. You're excited, aren't you?

The food
The food in Moldova is very much dependent on the season. Everyone has their own garden and right now the fruits and veggies that are ready to eat are: cucumbers, tomatoes, vegetable marrow (like zucchini but bigger and white), raspberries, cherries (sweet and sour), carrots, cabbage, potatoes and green beans. Unfortunately, we don't get to eat the raspberries and cherries fresh because most families harvest them and then make a canned juice with it called compot. This stuff is delicious. I just had a glass of apricot and raspberry compot - like heaven.

Now, when I say that the food is seasonal I mean that at every meal you have something from the garden. This sounds great however, after you've eaten approximately 5000 cucumbers for breakfast, lunch and dinner the novelty of garden fresh veggies loses some appeal.

Every family is different on how they season their food but Moldovans LOVE salt. Everything has salt in it and a ton of it. I told my host mom that I can't eat a lot of salt and I think it confused her, but she's amazing so she just rolled with it. They also put dill in almost everything, which is delicious. My favorite meal so far has been a chicken soup that is made with chicken, salt (obvs.), carrots, potatoes, onion and dill. The other herbs they use are one that my dictionary translated to savory, parsley and celery leaf. I haven't seen any actual celery stalks here yet though, just leaves.

Moldovans also love their oil and mayonnaise. To fry an egg there is at least a half cup of oil in the pan. I told my host mom that you can still cook it the same but use less oil and I think she's going to try it. Mayonnaise is eaten on everything. Yesterday, my family took me to a lake where we had a bar-b-que and they finished an entire thing of mayo. Not to mention it was just sitting out all day in the sun. I have no idea how they don't have major bathroom time after I see things like this. They also use a lot of sour cream which in romanian is called smantana (there are some accents in there too but I can't figure out how to make them on the blog). Anyway every time someone asks me if I want any sour cream I get really excited because I hear "montana" and think they are asking about home.

Loves and Challenges of Moldova
I only have a few more minutes so I wanted to give you a quick picture of the great things and the things that are challenging for me right now.

Loves:

• The landscape. It is beautiful here, rolling hills covered in lush flora.
• The people (for the most part, or those that I can understand). My LTIs, the admin staff and the families and community members I've met are wonderful people. Extremely hard working, generous, hospitable and family orientated.
• The language. This is really a love/hate relationship but Romanian is a beautiful language.
• My family's indoor, flushing toilet.
• Hearing birds every morning (also love/hate as the roosters I want to murder - Mom, Cedar, Connor you know what I'm talking about)
• The goats on the road
• The pride that people have in their country's traditions

Challenges:

• The dogs. Dogs here are pretty much strictly used as doorbells and guard dogs. This is something I can live with (I made friends with my family's dog so give him some love when he's off the chain- when he is on the chain he is too scary to go near). However, the fact that they bark non-stop is something that drives me nuts. Connor, it's kind of like that dog the Smith's have that we wanted to introduce to the bb gun..but times 1000.
• The serious issues. Last week was pretty rough. We talked about the extreme prejudice against the LGBT community here and it was very bleak - I will go into that more in later posts. I also had a frank discussion with my host mom about alcoholism, suicide and domestic abuse in Moldova, all of which are prevalent and visible here. 
• Buying anything. This is a small challenge and will get better as my language improves but it is so confusing buying things here. You walk into a store and you tell the clerk what you want (extremely difficult when you don't know the word for what you want) and then half the time the price is different from what is listed because of random taxes. 
• Traveling in anything that goes over 5 MPH. It is terrifying. More on this later.

Thanks for staying in touch with me and I'll try and get some pics up soon!