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