Snow!!!!!!!!!!

This week marked my 6 month anniversary here in Moldova…wow! After being sick for about a week, and having to go into the capitol to see the Peace Corps doctor, I was happy to get back to site, and yes, back to work. I was going absolutely stir crazy!

Things have been rather hectic since I have been back. I have started meeting with both of my Odyssey of the Mind teams after school a few times a week. This means that I don’t leave the school between 6 and 7pm, which makes for a very long school day. Right before I got sick, we had a teacher work day at the school. I observed, along with the French teacher and the other 2 English teachers, a Russian class…I had no idea what was going on, but it was very interesting to watch. I also observed a primary level class – the little kids got so dressed up for the occasion (it was like the first day of school again). I got to help my partner teacher give a seminar on the “8 intelligences” and the different styles of learning. The seminar was for all of the teachers in my school – about 30 in all. Since it was all in Romanian, I was more of a Vana White than anything else but it was a seminar I had actually attended during training (in English) so I did have a pretty good idea what was being said. One of my jobs was to write on the board during a brainstorming session…all of the other teachers were impressed by the fact that I could write (with only 1 mistake) in Romanian (which made me pretty happy). The day wouldn’t have been complete without the traditional masa, so after all of the seminars, we had a bit of a party in the teachers room (tons of food and, of course, wine).

As I am typing this, I can see snow falling outside. It is the first real snow of the winter (here in my part of Moldova, that is) and I am sure there will be much more in the coming months. I checked the weather forecast yesterday, and it is looking rather bleak. One day the high is supposed to be no more than 14°F…eek!

I have to keep reminding myself that it is almost Christmas. I was thinking about why it doesn’t feel like the holidays the other day and I think that is more than just the obvious fact that I am away from home and my loved ones. In America, we hardly get past Halloween before we are bombarded with advertisements, Christmas carols, lights, decorations, and the Salvation Army Santa Clauses everywhere. I have yet to see so much as a wreath here. This may be due, in part, to the fact that many people here celebrate Christmas on January 7th…following with the Orthodox tradition. My own host family prefers to celebrate on the 25th, but usually end up celebrating on both days…who doesn’t want 2 Christmases? My host mom came home from the piaţa this weekend with our Christmas turkey. He is currently sitting on death row in our chicken coop because my host mom doesn’t want to kill him until closer to the day so that he is fresh. While I am looking forward to experiencing Christmas in Moldova (not to mention the end of the school term), I am a little sad I won’t be able to spend the holidays with my family…although, after 4 years in the hotel business, I guess I am kind of used to it.

Let’s hope I don’t eat it on the walk home from school today…I just went outside and it is quite icy and the snow is still falling. Ice + my natural clumsiness = face full of sidewalk. It has been awhile since I lived in Denver and this Texas girl is definitely not used to this whole winter thing!

Back to work...

I never thought I would say that I would be glad when a vacation ended, but I have to admit that I am. After one week of Fall Break and then an extra week off because of the Swine Flu, I was beginning to feel rather useless. Classes were back in session on Monday and things are almost back to normal…sort of. Due to the continuing spread of the flu, many schools in Moldova are taking extra precautions to protect students and teachers. My school is recording every student’s temperature daily and sending any child with even a slight fever or any symptoms to the hospital immediately. I personally think that many students see this as an open invitation to get “sick” in order to miss a few lessons. Today, I was walking to the school and passed 2 of the boys in my 10th form class who were walking to the hospital because they were “sick”. I am no doctor, but those boys definitely did not look like they were feeling even slightly under the weather. One of my friends is teaching in a raion center (a bigger town) close to the capitol and, as of today, has to wear a mask to school every day. Unfortunately, the school calendar doesn’t have built-in inclement weather days (or swine flu days) like we do at home, so we have to make up the missed days elsewhere. It looks like the schools are going to be given the option of extending the term into the Christmas break or making the days up on Saturdays. I personally hope that my school picks the latter since I have already booked my trip to Istanbul and my plane takes off 2 days before the term would end if they extend it into the vacation. I am rather skeptical of the effectiveness of trying to make up the time at all…what kid would willingly go to school on Saturdays or on Christmas day (classes could be extended until the 29th)? I have already been told that we can’t give any major assignments, quizzes, or tests because a significant percentage of the student body will be absent on the make-up days. Oh well.

On the subject of Swine Flu…has anybody else ever heard that garlic is a natural antibiotic? I hadn’t before moving to Moldova, and now it seems that garlic is supposed to be my main defense against contracting the gripa. My host mom hasn’t stopped singing its praises for about 2 weeks now. At least my house will be safe from any vampires in the area…everything I eat these days is chock-a-block full of garlic.

Last weekend, I went to a meeting for coaches of Odyssey of the Mind teams. I got some good information, and am now just waiting on the word from my team as to when we are going to start meeting. My team was very successful in the competition last year and actually advanced to the International competition in Slovakia. The national competition will be in February, so we need to get going!

There has been a considerable amount of frost on the ground the past two mornings, and my host family has been lighting our soba (stove) earlier and earlier every day…I still haven’t gotten used to the sun setting so early or wearing so many layers. I guess growing up in Houston doesn’t actually prepare a person too well for a real winter.

Yay for Swine Flu!!

I am currently sitting in my room with my back against the soba (the stove that heats our house) taking a break from writing long term lesson plans for next term and trying to keep my toes warm (apparently 2 pairs of socks are just not sufficient)…

Last week was our fall break from school, so naturally, Peace Corps planned an IST (In Service Training…PC loves their acronyms) in the capitol. From Tuesday to Friday, all English Education volunteers had workshops and sessions about education in Moldova, teaching methods, and all kinds of fun stuff. While a lot of it was just a repetition of what we learned during PST (Pre Service Training), I did find that being able to share the stories, challenges, and successes that we have all encountered within our first 2 months teaching here was helpful and rather therapeutic. It was nice to hear that the things that frustrate me about my job are not specific to just me, and are present in many other volunteers’ daily lives at school as well. The training also afforded us the opportunity to hang out with our fellow volunteers and to enjoy some good food (not cabbage or potatoes) and, of course, a few adult beverages at the end of the day. While we were in training, we found out that the panic that we had been hearing about in Ukraine over the Swine Flu (gripa de porcina in Romanian, which I think sounds more ominous) had spread to Moldova and that our schools would be closed for an additional week. Since our vacation was extended, I stayed in Chişinǎu for an extra 2 nights with 2 of my friends. We rented an apartment and basically just holed up there listening to music, talking, watching movies, drinking beer, and basically enjoying some English-speaking company. I headed back to my village on Sunday afternoon and realized that switching back to Romanian after a week of English was rather trickier than I thought it would be.

So far, I have remained in sweats the entire time since I have been back at site…I see no reason to put real clothes on if I am not going anywhere. We are definitely on the cusp of winter already here. It gets dark between 4:30 and 5 every evening and the sun is making fewer and fewer appearances every day. While we have had a few days of below freezing temperatures, it hasn’t been shockingly bad…the lack of sun and efficient heating in most places, along with the constant dampness does result in a chill that settles into your bones though. I wore long underwear every day but one while in the capitol last week…so attractive. My host family (mainly my mama gazda) is constantly worrying about my clothes and shoes. They are afraid that this Texas girl won’t be able to survive a Moldovan winter. After being caught going outside to use the facilities in flipflops a couple of times by both my mama and tata gazda, I came home from my time in the capitol to find a pair of cropped off Wellington boots that my host dad had specially lined with wool waiting for me in my room. I hate to admit it, but they are definitely an improvement on the flipflops…especially now that the ground is almost constantly muddy.

I think that November will be a busy month for me. I am hoping to start working with my Odyssey of the Mind team once the school is reopened. The competition is in February, so we need to start practicing within the next couple of weeks. I am also planning to head back into Chisinau later this month for another Moldova TIP meeting. Moldova TIP (Trafficking in Persons) is a volunteer-run organization within Peace Corps that works as a bridge between Moldovan anti-trafficking organizations and Peace Corps volunteers in an effort to educate volunteers about the issue of human trafficking and illegal immigration that is so common here. While, for security and legal reasons, volunteers are not allowed to go out and directly try to stop trafficking, TIP does provide resources and education to volunteers to take back to their sites so that they can be informed and ready to identify any potential problems with trafficking within their communities. I went to my first meeting last month, and got to hear presentations given by 3 different local groups that are working on the front lines trying to combat this issue. This is definitely an organization that I would like to continue working with during my time here in Moldova. On a lighter note, I will also probably be going into Chişinǎu at the end of the month for a Thanksgiving dinner that is being planned by volunteers. It should be interesting since, like me, most of my fellow volunteers have never actually made a full Thanksgiving dinner before…it should be a good time though.

It is amazing how quickly my time here is going by. I have officially been in Moldova for 5 months already and I can hardly believe it. At times I feel like I have been here a lifetime (especially when I start thinking about fajitas, hot wings, or Chinese food), and at others it seems like I stepped off the plane just last week.

O zi bunǎ everyone and lots of love!

SOS!! Just Kidding

I am currently a hostage in my own room. I somehow seem to have developed a bit of a cold and, judging by my mama gazda’s reaction, you would think I had the plague or tuberculosis at the very least. I felt it coming on for a couple of days, but was trying to keep it quiet. Well, unfortunately for me, I was unable to stifle a cough in front of mama mea yesterday evening and all hell broke loose! After lecturing me for not wearing a scarf to school the day before, she immediately started informing me of all of the things we were going to do to remedy my cold…starting with a cup of tea with raspberry preserves in it (actually quite tasty). I was then promptly sent to bed with tea in hand and the promise of a bucket of hot water to put my feet in later (not really sure what that is supposed to remedy). All of our host families are told that they are not to, under any circumstances, give us any sort of medicine so my host mama kept insisting that I break out my Peace Corps medical kit and take something immediately. This morning, my host mom snuck into my room and felt my forehead while I was sleeping (well, pretending to sleep). I guess she wanted to make sure that I didn’t die in my sleep. When I went into the kitchen later, she asked how I was feeling and I gave a pretty convincing reply of “I feel just fine”…well, my host brother (whose room shares a wall with mine) felt like he needed to put his 2 cents in and totally blew my cover. When I left the room, he told his mom that I had been coughing all night…needless to say, moments later, I had mama gazda standing in my room, hands on hips, asking about my cough and entire respiratory system. After breakfast, I was ordered back to my room with another cup of tea and was told that I had to take more medicine, put wool socks on, and not stir from my bed all day. When I told my host mom that I needed to meet with my partner to plan for tomorrow’s classes, she informed me that I was not going to be going to school for the rest of the week. I had to break it to her that that was not an option and that I would have to venture out of the house later this afternoon. She was not pleased to say the least. I have spent the morning in bed reading, grading essays, and making visual aids for tomorrow’s classes. Mama mea has poked her head into my room approximately every 30 minutes to check on her invalid and to offer endless cups of tea (I feel like I am going to float away!).

Autumn has officially arrived in Moldova. The trees across from my house have turned beautiful shades of yellow and orange and the weather is significantly colder and damper. While the temperatures haven’t been extreme (ranging from 30-60), the damp air and lack of efficient heating systems have left most volunteers lamenting the fact that long underwear is already a welcome comfort. I have a friend who has been teaching in her coat and gloves every day (she is in the northern part of the country, while I am in the center). My host family has been lighting our soba at nights for the past week or so. A soba is a stove that, in my house, is built between the walls of 2 rooms. Those walls are made of brick and are heated by the fire…I have been surprised at how effective it can be, especially since my bed is right up against that particular wall. My house has a soba between my room and my host brother’s room, one in the bathroom (I don’t think it will be lit but a couple of times a week on bath days), and one in my host dad’s room. Last weekend, we used the “salon” a big room that we very rarely use when we had some visitors. The salon does not have a soba, and I am not exaggerating when I say that I could see my breath the whole time we were eating in there.

Last weekend, we were visited by my host dad’s sister-in-law and her family. Her son is about a year older than Saşa (my host brother) and has been living and working in Italy for the past 5 years. He studied languages at university and speaks Romanian, Russian, English, German, and Italian…made me feel quite inadequate. He is back in Moldova for about 2 months and I suspect that my host mama was trying to play matchmaker. After our meal with them (which included champagne and wine of course), I went to a birthday party with my host mom and Saşa. The birthday girl is a 7th former whose mom is also a teacher at the school. My older host brother (the one that lives in London) is her godfather and our families have been good friends for years. We had the traditional Moldovan feast (including the delightful rooster jelly), accompanied by cognac, wine, and some Grappa that friends had sent them. Dinner was followed by dancing…oh, the dancing! We were hora-ing it up! I danced with the bday girl’s dad (a doctor in the village), a couple of old men I didn’t really know, and Saşa. I am happy to say that I was told that I learned the Moldovan dances quickly and danced like a Moldovan. My host mama kept telling everyone it was because I used to be a ballet dancer. What they didn’t know is that I had no idea what I was doing and was just kinda hopping around, hoping that I didn’t do anything too outrageous. It was a ton of fun. Moldovans are incredibly hospitable and definitely know how to throw a party. The language (and politics behind the language) came up once again while I was dancing with the doctor. He was telling me about how he had studied English at school, but hadn’t practiced speaking it in 30 years. He then went on to explain that language is a source of conflict for him…he told me “I had to grow up speaking Russian, I had to learn in Russian, now I think in Russian…but I am Moldovan”. He and his family, like mine, although they know Russian, choose to speak in Romanian, and he was explaining this to me in Romanian. This is a widely discussed (usually rather heatedly) topic in Moldova. Language is closely tied to politics, and with the current political situation here, it is a common point of discussion throughout the country.

Time is flying by here! In about a week and a half, we have our autumn break from school. Since all schools in Moldova take the same week off, Peace Corps is taking advantage of the time off to call us back to Chişinǎu for training. We will spend 4 of our days off in workshops and seminars. While I can’t say that sitting in meetings for the bulk of my break sounds that appealing, I am looking forward to seeing my fellow English Education volunteers and comparing stories etc. Peace Corps puts us up in a hotel for the duration of the training and we get a per diem for food and all that, so I am sure there will also be some socializing after the sessions are done every day. Once we get back from the break, we will only have about 6 weeks until Christmas. We work right up until Christmas Eve and then we have 2 weeks off before starting the next term.

Somehow my camera broke towards the end of training…it still takes pictures but the screen is messed up so I can’t tell what I am taking a picture of until I plug it into my computer. I have posted a couple of the pictures that actually turned out ok on facebook and will try to keep posting more as I take them…just wanted to apologize for the quality.

Oh, and on a funny sidenote…I introduced my host mom to peanut butter when I got some in a package from my dad and now she is hooked. She told me she was too embarrassed to eat any more of mine, so she made her son in England send her more. Cultural sharing at its best!

Not to freak anyone out or anything...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8308422.stm

It is interesting that the only news channel here in Moldova that has reported this so far is the European one...the one Moldovan channel that we get has not said a word. My host brother was quick to point out which political party runs the Moldovan tv station...any guesses?

Fake Posting

I have received a few requests for information about what it is like to teach here in Moldova.  In order to give a full and honest report, I think it would be best to leave the public domain of the blog and switch to email.  I have written up some of the observations that I have made so far about teaching here, the school system, the teachers, and students and would be happy to email them to you if you are interested.  Just leave a comment here or email me and I will send it your way.

PS...it has been raining all day...there is nothing quite like Moldovan mud.

Sitting at school...not doing what I am supposed to be doing

I am sitting in the English "lab" on Friday afternoon...TGIF! I have 2 more classes to go before my weekend begins (taught 5 already) and I really should be planning for my 10th form class on Monday, but as you can see, that is not really happening. I blame it on the fact that I now have easy access to the internet on my computer. Anyways, I don't really have anything important or earth shattering to share...just wanted to pop in and inform you that while checking the weather forecast for Moldova, I discovered that there is sleet in my future. Eeeek! Oh, and I finally got around to listening to the latest Regina Spektor album (yay internet!) and I highly recommend it. That is all. Enjoy your weekend! I will drink a glass (or 6) of wine for you. Hai noroc, multi ani, multi bani, si sanatate.

It appears that I am the worst blogger ever, but oh well, what can you do? I have now been at my site for about a month and a half now and feel pretty settled in. I really like my host family and my I have met some cool people in my village. The weather here is definitely changing. I am going to actually experience Autumn! The trees have started to change colours and it is getting pretty cool at night. My package with all of my warmer clothes just got here, and it is not a moment too soon. Sleeping in shorts was getting a bit on the chilly side! My host father was recently hospitalized for internal bleeding. My Romanian skills are not good enough to understand medical terms, but I know he has been in bad health for a while now. He used to be the boss of the wine factory in our village, but had to retire when he went into a coma last year. Apparently the whole village thought he was going to die, but he woke up as soon as my host mom (who had been working in Italy for 6 months) came home...sounds a bit like a movie, huh? Anyways, after about a week in the hospital, Boris is back home again and seems to be doing well.

I am not really sure where to begin so I will start with the first day of school (or first bell, as they call it here). The first of September marks the first day of school all across Moldova (and I am pretty sure it is the same in Romania and Russia). Things are definitely done differently here when it comes to the first day of school. First of all, Moldovans give a whole new meaning to getting "dressed up" for the first day...I am talking full suits for the boys and the biggest, puffiest, white hairbows you have ever seen for the girls. Most students bring flowers for their teachers and the whole day started with a huge ceremony. The students in the 12th form escorted the new students in the 1st form into the school. It was pretty cute to see all the little kids walking in holding hands with the big kids. Speeches were given by the village's mayor, the school director, the chief of police, the regional education director, and the Vice Minister of the National Ministry of Education....oh, and yours truly. That's right folks, I had to give a speech in Romanian in front of all of those people and the entire student body. By some miracle, I didn't mess it up and the ceremony moved onto the blessing by the village priest without a hitch. The priest spent a good 15 minutes chanting and gesticulating before the ceremony was officially ended by the ringing of the bell. I didn't actually teach any classes on the first day, so after the ceremony, I just observed a class. About 15 minutes into the class, the priest came into the classroom to bless the class. Everyone but the foolish American knew to look away and avoided the shower of holy water that accompanied the priest. I, however, was looking right at him and got a nice dose of holy water right in the eye. I am hoping it can only help.

I teach the 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 11th, and 12th forms, which adds up to 18 hours of class time a week. I also meet regularly with my partner teachers (I have 2 local teachers that I team teach with for all but the 10th form) and have about 4 hours of Romanian tutoring every week. My Romanian tutor is the only other single female teacher at my school and is in her early 30s so we have had some fun hanging out, eating, and drinking wine (of course) with one of my partner teachers.

The 5th of October was Teachers Day, and it was amazing. Apparently people here actually appreciate their teachers (novel idea right?). I was greeted at the gate of the school with a rose by one of my 12th form students and then I followed the path of flower petals and votive candles to the teachers room. The teachers room had been decorated with balloons, flowers, and candles and there was a variety of fruit and chocolate out for us. All of the classes were shortened to 25 minutes, which meant that the students basically had enough time to give us presents and thank us for being such wonderful teachers. I received a ton of flowers, chocolates, pens, and one of those stacking Russian dolls (I can't remember the actual name for them). At the end of the morning schedule, there was a ceremony in which 1 or 2 students from each class gave a speech or recited a poem to the teachers. It was all very fancy and formal. After the ceremony, we continued with the afternoon lessons...got more presents...and then we had a masa (party). All of the teachers got together in our canteen and we ate huge quantities of meat, salads, placinta (a pastry-like thing), sarmale (a rice, meat, and veggie mixture either wrapped in grape or cabbage leaves or stuffed into a pepper), and cake. Oh, and tons of booze. Yes, it was the middle of the afternoon and at the school, but hey...this is Moldova. Everyone brought their own beer, wine, vodka, or cognac and shared with the group. Dancing followed the eating of course, and I hora-ed it up with the best of them. All in all, it was a good day to be a teacher!

I have been asked to be the coach of my school's Odyssey of the Mind competition this year. The previous volunteer in my village did it with them last year, and some kids from the 8th and 9th forms have already formed a team for this year. I don't actually know anything about being a coach for the competition, but I think this will be a good way for me to get to know some of the kids and to encourage creative thinking and problem solving (both of which are virtually nonexistent in Moldovan schools.

I am really looking forward to this upcoming weekend. It is Wine Fest in Chisinau (the capitol) and most of the volunteers in the country will be traveling into the city for it. Basically it is a big celebration with tons of this years' homemade wine and grilled meats. A few volunteers have also organized a 5k run Saturday morning...I plan on practicing my cheerleading skills. A few of my friends and I are planning on renting an apartment for the night so we can continue the festivities on Sunday...it is only about 350 lei for an apt. for 4 people which is about $35 dollars. I think its a rather good deal.

I finally got my computer fixed and have access to wireless internet at my school so hopefully I will stop being such a crappy blogger.

PST is almost done...

So I realize it has been quite awhile since I updated this last…things have been super busy and my internet access has been a bit hit or miss lately.

I have been in Moldova for about 2 months now – at times it feels like we just got here, and at others it seems like we have been here forever. The first two groups of trainees (Community Organization and Development and Agribusiness) had their Swearing In ceremonies this weekend and have officially left for their permanent sites. All Health and English Education trainees will swear in on August 18^th. My program (EE) finished Practice School on Friday (sigh of relief!).

During the first week of Practice School, I taught the 7^th form on my own. We were each assigned a Resource Teacher (a Moldovan English teacher) to help with the lesson planning and to observe all of our classes, but we were direct teaching and flying solo in the classroom. My Resource Teacher was actually one of our technical trainers throughout our Pre-Service Training (sessions about teaching methodology etc). During the first week of Practice School, we would have 2 hours of Romanian classes in the morning and then we each taught 2 45-minute lessons. After lunch, we would spend the afternoons planning for the next day and making materials (because there are none here and the textbooks leave a lot to be desired). I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I don’t absolutely suck at teaching! All of my students (local kids from our village) were eager to learn and excited to have an American teacher. At the end of the week, they all brought flowers and gifts (picture frames, chocolates, etc) for us and were excited to take pictures with us. I can’t think of any American kids I know who would voluntarily go to school during their summer holidays and then actually give gifts to their teachers! On the Wednesday following that first week of Practice School, Moldova held its Parliamentary elections so we were pretty much on lock down. Our school was used as a polling site so we were supposed to work from home to avoid getting involved in any political activities. All of our partner teachers from our permanent sites were bussed in to start planning for the second portion of Practice School that day. They, along with our Resource Teachers, were supposed to meet with us at our host family homes to complete our long term plans. Well, it was made apparent very quickly upon my partner teacher’s arrival that we would not be able to work together (she ended up being the school’s psychology teacher and not an English teacher at all) so my site was changed at the last minute. I am now going to be sent to the village where my Resource Teacher, Svetlana, is an English teacher. During the second portion of Practice School, we all team-taught our classes with our partner teachers. Svetlana and I taught the 10^th form together, and I really enjoyed it. Aside from some rather cheeky boys, the students were excellent and really fun to work with.

After finishing the second portion of Practice School on Friday, I was taken to my new site for another site visit. My new village is about one hour northwest of Chisinau and has a population of about 4,000 people. There is only one school – the upper grades have classes in the mornings (8am-2pm) and the younger kids go in the afternoons (2-7pm). I think I will primarily be teaching the upper grades, but I won’t know for sure until I get there in a couple of weeks. I met my new host family…I have 2 parents that are both pensioners, but my host mom still teaches a few hours of Romanian at the school. Their names are Vera and Boris and they have 2 sons, Lucian and Alexandru (Sasha or Sandru). Lucian works in London and Alexandru just moved back to Moldova after completing his Masters in political science in Romania. He is now trying (rather unsuccessfully) to find work in Moldova. My new home is right across the street from the Casa de Cultura (culture house) which houses the library and is where the community holds dance lessons and other ceremonies and events. I am about a 10 minute walk from the school and about a 5 minute walk from my partner teacher’s home. I was able to meet another Peace Corps volunteer who is just finishing up his 2 years of service in my new village while I was there. He will be leaving at the same time that I arrive, but he showed me around the village and introduced me to some of the students. It was great to get some insight into the village from him, and he has offered to stay in touch with me throughout my service in order to help me transition into the community.

Sunday I am planning to head into Chisinau (just outside of it really) to watch a baseball game…that’s right…baseball in Moldova! There is actually a Moldovan league that plays throughout the year, and during the summer, some Peace Corps volunteers play the local teams. I went last weekend, and aside from a pretty intense sunburn, had a great time. I ate fried chicken (that had been prepared over an open flame in an old tractor wheel) from a bag and some house wine…not exactly beer and peanuts, but hey, it’s Moldova.

Big news…I was given a copy of the new Harry Potter movie and am super excited to watch it this evening! Woohoo

Just an FYI - For anyone who has mailed anything to me since July 17^th…I haven’t received it yet. Apparently there was some sort of issue in Turkey, so all of our mail has been sitting in Istanbul since then. We are hoping to start getting some of it this next week.

I am going to try to post some new pictures on Facebook pretty soon so keep an eye out there for photos from the past few weeks. My new host family has a computer with internet access and my school actually has wireless internet (go figure) so hopefully I will be able to keep this updated regularly.

Take care everyone! Lots of love xoxox

New Site

Hey Hey everyone!

This week we got our site assignments for our permanent locations. I am going to be in a small village of about 3,000 people in the southern part of the country. The village is in the Cantemir raion and is about 136 km from the Chisinau. I am expecting it to be a bit more...rustic...than my current location, but I did read that I am going to have an indoor toilet! My host familiy includes two 40 year old parents and an 18 year old sister who is a university student (so I don't know if she will actually live at home or not).

I am going on a site visit on Saturday (just one night) so that I can meet my new host family and school director. I have to admit that I am a bit nervous about it since my language skills are minimal (and that's on a good day!) but I am excited to see where I am going to be living. I will try to give an update when I get back.

I have my first language evaluation tomorrow, so I am off to study my limba romana now.

Week 3

I have officially been in Moldova for 26 days, and in my PST (pre service training…Peace Corps LOVES acronyms) site for 24 days. We have language classes 6 days a week and technical, safety/security, medical, and cultural integration workshops multiple times a week. We are all busting our backsides to learn the language and we all seem to be making steady progress. Living with our host families really seems to help.

Speaking of host families – mine is pretty cool. I have a mama and tata gazda (host), a 12 year old brother named Nicolae, an 11 year old sister named Olga, and an 11 year old cousin named Elena living in my house. Elena lives here with us because, like many other Moldovans, her parents are working abroad in Ireland. The town we live in is beautiful…its name means something about being between hills, and I think that is an apt description. My house is on top of one of the hills and the view is spectacular. There are fields and gardens everywhere…oh, and goats, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, ducks, rabid looking dogs, and the occasional cow of course. PS…I have discovered that rabbit soup is delicious J

My sora gazda (host sister) speaks a tiny bit of English, but most of my communication with the family involves random noises, crazy facial expressions, and rather complex pantomimes. So far, I haven’t had any crazy issues with miscommunication – unlike my friend who thought his host brother was telling him that he was going to eat raccoon instead of lobster the other day…oops!

Public transportation here is a constant adventure…I feel like we are putting our lives into the hands of a lunatic every time we take the bus to our hubsite which is a town about 8 km away from our village. Bus is really too generous a word for what we ride in…it is really more like a van that feels like a clown car due to the excessive number of people crammed onto it at any given time. Air conditioning is unheard of and the windows are never open due to a superstition involving the belief in the evils of the “current” (this same superstition also explains why you can’t ever have the door open if you also have a window open). The smells are delightful J All of us have learned very quickly to get over any idea of personal space while traveling. Many of the “roads” we travel on have no lanes and are littered with potholes. Most drivers tend to make up their own traffic laws as they go. My personal favorite is the use of the horn in place of indicators when changing lanes, passing other vehicles, or driving in reverse at high speeds. I do enjoy driving through the countryside though because the scenery is so beautiful and green. The day after arriving at site, I got to ride in the back of a van on the way to a masa (party). It had 2 seats in the front and none in the back…they did, however, have a wooden armchair (complete with cushion) somehow tied down in the back. I was lucky enough to ride in that seat of honor while my cousin and sister crouched on the floor.

My mama gazda seems to be a really good cook – Moldovans take a lot of pride in their food and their wine. I have definitely tried more new food in the past couple of weeks than I had in the past year back home. Every meal comes with tomatoes and cucumbers…and I mean every meal. I have had lots of cabbage, potatoes, fresh apricots, cherries, and raspberries – all from my family’s garden. I have also been able to sample (only in moderation, of course…wink wink) a variety of homemade wine. Delicious! Although I haven’t tried any of the plum brandy that my grandpa has warned me about repeatedly, I have had visinata which is some kind of cherry cognac that my mama makes. Despite the burning sensation, it is quite tasty and is a lovely pink color.

Our Corpul Pacii mentors (current volunteers) took all of the new trainees around the capitol last weekend. We walked around to get a basic idea of where the main offices and things like the main market and stores are. The main market was quite impressive. You can find anything there from amazing fresh produce and dairy products to toilet paper, clothes, and toys. We also visited the first (and only) mall in Moldova. It is called Malldova and has only been open for a few months. The current volunteers were thrilled to show us that the food court has a Chinese place (in addition to the traditional Turkish and Moldovan options) and a KFC! It was quite a treat for them since they have all been away for at least a year already. I have to admit that my favorite part of the day was when we stopped at McDonalds in Chisinau for a cheap beer. Apparently you can get a beer with a happy meal here. It was just what the Dr. ordered after trekking around the city on a hot day. We are all looking forward to the 4th of July. From what I understand, all Americans throughout Moldova gather at a party hosted by the US embassy to celebrate. Most of the Peace Corps, embassy staff, and military personnel in the country get together for lots of food and drinks.

Anyways…better get back to studying my Limba Romana. Buna seara!

PS…if you want to reach me by mail, you can use the following address until I move to a different site towards the end of August
Peace Corps
Annika Graham M-24
#12 Grigor Ureche Strada
Chisinau, Moldova 2001

To reach me by phone, you can call my cell at
373 68 29 08 23
If I call America on my cell, it uses up my minutes at an extremely rapid rate. I think it is more reasonable if I receive the call instead of making it. Anyone want to get a phone card?

I want to learn to dance like this!

This was the Moldovan entry for Eurovision 2009...I have to say that I got pretty excited when I saw it. I sincerely hope that I will learn to do the Hora so that I can teach everyone when I come home. Don't even pretend like you don't want to get up and dance after watching this :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTeZlfs2NVY

The Countdown Begins...

This whole blogging thing is definitely new for me, but I figure this might be an easy way to keep everyone (or at least everyone who cares) updated on my experiences over the next couple of years. As most of you know, I am leaving the good ole lone star state to teach English with the Peace Corps in Moldova (small country to the east of Romania). I have not actually counted the exact number of days I have left since it freaks me out just a bit, but it is hovering somewhere around 24 or 25.

I just moved back to Humble from San Antonio a couple of days ago and am already wondering what to do with the whole concept of having unlimited free time for the first time in years. I guess I should really be spending it getting ready to leave...I've got lots of shopping, organizing, and paperwork to do - not to mention plenty of family and friends to visit.

I guess that is all for now...I will try to keep this updated periodically while I am gone, but I have no idea what my internet access will be like so it may be a bit sporadic. In the mean time, keep your fingers crossed for indoor plumbing :)