școală: prima săptămână (school: the first week)

Moldova has a lot of beautiful traditions. The wonderful thing about these traditions is that they are not just for show, or some act that is repeated but has lost its meaning; Moldovans believe in the message, lesson and/or value that the tradition stems from. One of my favorite traditions, hands-down, is that the first day of school is treated as a sort of working holiday. This day is also a day where the value of education is reiterated year to year to the ongoing students while establishing the idea that obtaining an education is something to be proud of to the newest students.

The value of having an education and taking pride in your school was overwhelmingly evident last Friday. Just so we are all clear on this, last Friday was the last day of summer vacation before school started. The last day of freedom. The weather was perfect. The last day to just hang out with your friends. I'm sure any American who has been through any number of years in education will agree with me when I say that there is no way in hell I would spend my last day of summer vacation helping my teachers decorate our homeroom. Yet, that is exactly what I found last Friday, my school's halls full of students who were excitedly working with their homeroom teachers deciding where posters should be hung, how the tables should be arranged   and where the fake flowers should reside (Moldovans are big on fake flowers and lace as decorations and surprisingly they do this is a way that is not tacky, for the most part).

Monday was the oddest first day of school I have ever had. Universally, I think, the first day of school is not a real day of school. Classes usually are just filled with teachers going over the syllabus for the year and maybe there is an assembly of some sort. Moldova is no different, Monday morning at 8 AM (ugg, although it is better than having to wake up at 6 to catch the bus, right Connor?), I walked the block and a half to school and saw that the school grounds were swarming with excited kids while their parents clicked away on cameras. I always loved the first day of school because everyone dressed in the clothes that made the biggest statement about who they are and whatever style they chose made them feel good about how they looked. The outfits here are a little different; the kids obviously all felt very good about the way they looked because they all looked like they were going to a fancy wedding. The boys were in three piece suits with ties and the girls were in black and white dresses in various styles along with makeup, huge bows and/or luffa-like poofs in their hair and heels, there are always heels in Moldova. While dodging these very well dressed students I made my way to my "office" that I share with my partner. In the back of the chemistry class there is a walk-in-closet sized storage room, that is our office. Fortunately, there are many windows in our storage room and my partner has made it very homey with flowers (of course) and a full tea set, meaning several cups, sugar, different kinds of tea and instant coffee. Our school runs from 8AM to 2-3PM and during that time there is no lunch offered to the students. There is a store within walking distance but the food offered there is akin to gas station fare and many students do not have money to buy anything. My partner created this tea/coffee nook for any student who needs a little something in their stomachs during the day. My partner is awesome.

Back to the school day...I followed my partner around for about an hour and then the entire school gathered on the front grounds to celebrate and commence the coming year. There were speeches by the Director, two adjunct directors, the head of the health center (who gave me a shout-out), someone from the Ministry of Education and the local Priest. The latter was interesting to me as this would never happen at a public school in the states. Much of Moldovan culture and day to day life revolves around the Eastern Orthodox religion and while there are still varying degrees of devoutness 90% of the population would say that they are Easter Orthodox Christian. The priest blessed the school and gave the director a special icon for the school along with a smaller icon of a specific saint for each of the teachers. This was followed by music, the raising of the flag to the national anthem and then came my favorite part, the celebration of the graduating class and the welcoming of the new first graders.

Each of the grades were grouped together and the student body as a whole formed a corridor in the front of the school. The incoming first graders were then marched up the corridor to raucous applause wearing special sashes to the place of honor, in front of the 12th grade class. There was then a little speech about the successes of the 12th grade class and more applause for their accomplishments then each of the "seniors" presented the first graders with their welcoming presents - their first school books. It was really touching to see such emphasis put on education and I definitely had to hold back some tears. Of course, Moldova's educational system still has some imperfections; for example, just as in the states, teachers are paid a ridiculously low salary which leads to the huge issues of burnout, low motivation and indifference that creates poor learning environments for students and negative work environments for educators.

After the ceremony I thought we would have normal classes and was preparing myself for a day of work. However, at about noon all of the students were sent home so the teachers could have a party in the conference room. This was a new work experience for me. The tables were full of food in the typical Moldovan fashion, not so new-this happens in the states too, but there were also bottles of beer and cognac everywhere. Alcohol at special meals (masa) is not uncommon at all but drinking while at work, in your place of work with the entire staff including your boss was, to say the least, new. Then one of the teachers brought out his accordion and we all sang together, this was also new. I proudly sang along with the one song I knew and drank every glass of cognac poured for me (this was a mistake, who knew cognac was so strong!).

Monday was great and, in general, the rest of the week was fine too. However, this week I have felt the loneliest I have felt since I arrived in Moldova. I think most of this melancholy comes from the never ending stream of dreams about home that I've had this week. Oh, and the fact that I have no idea what's going on or what people are saying to me, that makes it tough too. My language is alright but students don't really understand the fact that my brain can't translate as fast as they talk. Another challenge for me this week is our ever-changing schedule. The schedules for classes are not really finalized here until the second week of school. Our school went through an administration change the Friday before classes started and the person in charge of creating the schedule kind of got thrown into it. This meant that all week my partner would randomly come into our office, hurriedly saying, "Kindle! We have to teach now!" I'm glad I learned flexibility early in life but the tangible stress and chaos that existed in the school this last week was difficult.

The best part of the week, by far, was the students. They were so excited to meet me and ask me questions about life in the states. My two favorite moments though were the standing ovation I got from one of the 6th grade classes when they saw me come in to teach while yelling "THE AMERICAN!!" and the reaction I got when I answered their questions. For instance, when the 9th graders asked what other countries I have traveled to I answered like I would in the states, "Oh, just Canada and Mexico" and tried to wave it off, but the reaction I got was, "oooooo!!! Can-ah-da!!" I mean I get it that for them Canada and Mexico are exotic but it is just so bizarre to hear someone be envious of me for going to Vancouver. It was fantastic to see that perspective. I think we, in the states, forget all that Canada and Mexico have to offer. My other success for the week was when I made a joke and they got it even with my broken Romanian-this was really important to me as humor is such a gigantic part, if not the main part, of my personality and how I interact and connect with people.

All of this being said, school is still school and students are still students. School gets boring and students can be obranici (difficult/smart-asses) from time to time. Hopefully though my partners and I will be able to keep our health classes interesting enough that they keep coming back for more.

Happy September everyone, I'll post again soon but in the meantime please enjoy this bit of traditional Moldovan music:

Stumbles in Body Language

For the most part American and Moldovans have similar actions, movements and gestures while communicating however, there are a few differences that are difficult to adjust to.

The main one is smiling. As an American, and especially as a Montanan, I smile all the time. I smile when I greet people in the morning, when I say goodbye, when I pass people on the street, when I get on a bus, when I'm running frantically to the bathroom, all the time. Moldovans do not smile much. This doesn't mean they aren't happy or funny, they just see smiling as little gifts you save for special times. One of the first things I heard in this country from a Moldovan was "smiling is expensive." Of course, this Moldovan and I and the rest of our PST group made a big joke of this but in reality the saying holds truth. When you pass Moldovans on the street and smile or get on a bus smiling you automatically are labeled as a foreigner, and based on the looks I've received after trying to start a smiling trend, a buffoon of a foreigner. I imagine it is the same look I would have if I walked into a party and was greeted with the host telling me the evening would consist of us learning the art of miming.

The other that I noticed and confused me to no end was eye contact. In general, when talking with someone Americans and Moldovans both look the person in the eye, but while I was talking to my LTIs a few weeks ago I realized that they were looking anywhere but my eyes. I shouldn't say, I simply realized this, it was more of a minor freak out because I thought that I had something on my face and neck-because that's where they were looking while I was talking. I pretty much stopped mid story and said "what!? what's on me?!" while they laughed and said nothing that they were just looking at me. It was later explained that eye contact when you're in close proximity to another person is too intimate so you look elsewhere. If you ever want to mess with someone try looking at their forehead or neck while they talk. Good times.

Americans and Moldovans also have very different ideas about personal space. Coming from our individualist society our personal bubbles are pretty big in general. For instance, if you're out to lunch with a friend and they sit on the same side of the booth as you with your legs touching, it gets weird really quick. It isn't weird with Moldovans. It doesn't matter if it is 104 degrees out and you are sweating from every pore in your body, if you are friends then your bodies are touching while sitting. Granted this is not the case with all relationships in Moldova, just the special ones. The friendships that mean a lot. It's actually pretty sweet how much touching happens. Mothers and children and girl friends hold hands or link arms while they walk and men always shake hands on greeting. Kisses are also given out freely. I'm still getting used to this as my thing is hugs and always expect a hug to follow a cheek kiss- it does not and my attempts to embrace usually end with a super uncomfortable shoulder hug. I also have trouble aiming the cheek kisses and have ended up making a puckering noise in several peoples ears. I'll get it one day.

New Look Same Info

As you can see I changed the way the blog looks. This feels cleaner. My address (which is the same as before and won't change for the next two years) can now be found in the "Contact Me" tab at the top of the page. I also made a list of things I want from the states but of course an email, letter or postcard are more than sufficient!

I'm Officially Official

I don't think I've written in four weeks - a lot has happened in that time, obviously, here are the highs and lows:

I taught my first class in Romanian - wooo! I felt great after this and pretty much said to myself, "Teaching in a foreign language - no big deal! I got this." However, I would like to point out some reasons why this went so smoothly. One, I planned and taught the lesson with my American friend who, oddly enough, speaks English which was the language we planned and wrote the lesson in initially. Two, our lesson was only 20 minutes long. Three, our "students" were our American buddies who had been prepped on what to say during the lesson and who were overwhelmingly supportive of us because they had to teach that day too. Still, it felt like a big accomplishment to teach a lesson on "The Influence of Mass Media" in Romanian.

Following the week of this first lesson we spent the next week preparing ourselves for what I like to call The Sanity Breaker, officially called practice school. Practice school lasted for two weeks; the last two weeks of PST. The first week we taught four classes (35 minutes each) in Romanian with our future Moldovan partners to real live Moldovan youth. This doesn't sound so bad right? In reality it wasn't...for me, as I had a FANTASTIC partner. The other trainees were not so lucky. There were tears, lots of tears, from the stress of this week. Imagine meeting your new partner that you'll spend two years working with, who you can't understand either in vocal or body language. This partner has been thrown into the world of PC HE procedures and requirements and is just as anxious about the coming years as the Americans. Now add a dash of time crunch, the panic of having to write three different lesson plans in broken Romanian with this stressed out partner in less than 24 hours and you get a big sticky mess of emotions.  As I've said in previous posts, Peace Corps Moldova is a well oiled machine and especially in the Health Education program everything we go through in PST has been tried, tested and tweaked until the outcome is the best for the trainees - even if we can't see it at the time. This first week of practice school was well, horribly rough, but in the end we all have a sense of the challenges we are going to face (interpersonal relationships, communication barriers, creating a curriculum with little pre-existing structure, finding a happy balance between the Soviet era teaching style and our vision for an open, creative class room) as well as the benefits (interpersonal relationships, the rewards of working with youth, thinking outside of the box and developing a kick-ass, interactive and engaging lesson that sneakily teaching kids about a healthier life).

Last week was our second week of practice school. This time with a new partner and instead of teaching three separate classes we taught the same class all week in the format of Health Club. In the HE program we teach normal classes for 8 hours a week and have at least 1 hour of club each week. This doesn't sound like much but when there is no curriculum and you have to write long term plans and lesson plans for each class, the work piles up. Eventually, when we get used to the teaching work, we are expected to branch out and work with community organizations as well as. Club week was funny because we were all kind of dreading another week of practice school and were incredibly nervous about the "surprises" that would cause mental collapses. However, out of all the challenges I could think of that would pop up during this week it never occurred to me that a communication breakdown between two Moldovans would happen. Club week was different than lesson week because we had three teams teaching the same club, just rotating hours. This meant that there were three Americans and three Moldovans all trying to plan lessons together. Our club happened to have one partner who had difficulty with communication and resulted in my partner (who is as outstanding as my other partner- I totally won the teaching partner lottery) playing mediator for the whole week. It was ridiculous. We made it through though and our club's project (a giant children's book about the cold and flu that they presented to the younger classes) turned out great. One of the other trainees caught their presentation on video so I'll post that when I can get a copy.

What does this all mean in the end? PST is over and on Wednesday I took the same oath the President takes and was sworn in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer! Yay!!! Now when people send me things you can write PCV instead of PCT this is very exciting for me, honestly. It feels bitter sweet that PST is over because I'm going to miss my little family of 8 trainees, two amazing language instructors and host family very very much but I'm excited to get down to business.

As always, feel free to post questions in the comment section. I'll be able to post at least once a week now and hopefully, more frequently when I get internet at my new site. Next week I plan on flooding you with pictures, get ready.

Officially yours,
PCV Kindle

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!